Friday 26 January 2007

A peaceful sunny morning after a busy day yesterday. Glasgow University Concert Hall is a strange place to play, largely because it has no raised stage, and about 10 years ago (without the knowledge even of the music department) it was carpeted, so it feels like someone's very opulent drawing room after a misguided visit from a flooring salesman. I think the concert went well, and the audience seemed to respond, but it's not a room that lends itself to interaction. It's head down and get on with it, and get off.

Our big new set of Marshall/Burns tunes (the publisher and the poet, not the amp and guitar manufacturers) came together just in time. And I think I got away with my experiment of playing ludicrously hard music on the fortepiano, preparing it only on digital piano until the day of the concert. DG kindly gave me an hour to myself in the morning just to get to know the instrument, so that in the concert I was still trying out new sounds, phrasing, dynamics, and psychological approaches to getting all the notes to come out, trying to  work the knee levers without getting tired toes, and attempting to make music as well. Keeps the brain active. As Helen said later, 'bet you won't get Alzheimer's'. 

Then off we went with Alison to the RSAMD where instead of delivering my annual lecture on how to run a group (ha!), DG and I played some tunes, talked about our musical lives a bit, and took questions from a small but mentally active group of students (and Mairi Campbell who sat in at the back!). All off the cuff, but it felt like a stronger connection with our audience than we'd got at the concert 3 hours earlier.  

This morning, a phone enquiry that could lead to a very interesting collaboration indeed.