In the introduction to his play ‘Jaques and His Master’ Milan Kundera writes the following: “I often hear it said that the novel has exhausted all its possibilities. I have the contrary impression: during the four hundred years of its history, the novel has missed many possibilities; it has left opportunities unexploited, roads unexplored and [...]
Basho in Helsinki
I have a well-worn copy of the poetry and travel sketches of Basho, a book I bought from a second-hand shop when I was a student. I’ve always enjoyed his style of writing – concise, clear, and crystalline – because it resonates with the way I approach composing. So I was delighted to recently be [...]
Ay! – piano version in Toronto
The winner of the recent Open Piano Competition in London was Valentin Bogolubov. In his final prize-winning recital he included a couple of pieces from my White Book 2 – Night Journey to Cordoba, and The Sadness of the King. It’s possible to hear the detailed and imaginative performances he gave of these pieces here [...]
Three Cut-Outs for solo sax – USA
A few weeks ago the Rodriguez and Keepe duo gave a concert which included three of my pieces. They gave the first performance in a sax and piano version of In Arcadia, and they also played Alba, which Mike has performed a number of times before. And alongside these works Mike gave the premiere of [...]
