Friday 9 February 2007

I'm uncommonly tired today, after this week entailed an unexpectedly large amount of reading: all of it worthwhile though. This afternoon I was in Edinburgh - I was going to type "through in Edinburgh" but that seemed like self-consciously local colour - to meet Jonathan Mills (and Alison and Matthew) at the Festival, which was, like the best meetings, swift, to the point and successful. The details can be revealed later, but I think my diary is now full until September. 

I've also been reading for pleasure and personal if not financial profit Bob Katz's 'Mastering Audio: the art and the science' and 'How to Stop Acting' by Harold Guskin, which, although it's written for actors, has much to teach musicians about spontaneity and truthfulness in performance. Guskin's techniques also chime well with my reluctance to pencil instructions into scores or parts in the accepted orchestral manner, leaving the musician free and able to respond better to the surrounding sounds - that's what being a musician is, after all.