It’s been a cool autumn day so this seems appropriate. It’s from the classic 1958 album Somethin’ Else which was Cannonball Adderley’s first as a leader, and one of Miles Davis’s last as a sideman (also a rare recording for Miles on the Blue Note label). Adderley went on to play alto sax with the great Miles Davis sextet that recorded Kind of Blue, and Miles obviously influenced this album enormously, but the rhythm section here is different from that band’s – Art Blakey on drums, Hank Jones on piano, and Sam Jones on bass. Miles Davis was also responsible for this arrangement of the standard Autumn Leaves, which he based on a version by Ahmad Jamal.
Archive for the Music Category
Autumn Leaves – Cannonball Adderley
Posted in Jazz with tags Art Bl;akey, Art Blakey, Cannonball Adderley, Hank Jones, Sam Jones on October 23, 2025 by telescoperClyne, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich at the National Concert Hall
Posted in Biographical, Music with tags Anna Clyne, Anna Rikitina, Dmitri Shostakovich, Mairéad Hickey, National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Restless Oceans, Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto on October 18, 2025 by telescoper
It had been over a month since my last visit to the National Concert Hall in Dublin so I was happy to be able to attend this week’s Friday night concert last night. It was great to see that the venue was very full too. I think that was at least partly down to the fact that one of the pieces featured Irish violinist Mairéad Hickey who has a sizeable local following. Conductor for the evening with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland was Anna Rakitina (who was born in Russia).
The concert began with a short piece by Anna Clyne called Restless Oceans. This is an energetic and an excellent way to get the orchestra revved up for the rest of the evening. I’d never heard this work before and I think it must be the first time I’ve seen a performance in which the string section sang or hummed a wordless accompaniment in one part and, in another, the whole orchestra provided extra percussion by stamping their feet.
After that zesty appetiser, Mairéad Hickey appeared on stage, resplendent in a green dress, to perform the first course proper, the Violin Concerto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This is a familiar work but it was ravishingly played by Mairéad Hickey, who seem to revel in the virtuosic elements of this work, as well as bringing out the lyricism in the more romantic passages. The only things I don’t like about this composition are the gratuitously showy cadenzas which go on far too long, in my opinion. The audience clearly loved the performance, though, as did I, and we were treated to an encore in the form of some traditional Irish fiddle playing which was lovely.
After the wine break, we had the main dish for the evening, the Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovich. This is a very famous work and one of the higlights of the entire symphonic repertoire. It is also perhaps the most accessible of all the Shostakovich symphonies. It was an immediate success with Soviet critics and public alike when it was first performed in 1937, and though it marked Shostakovich’s return to favour with the authorities after his denunciation by Stalin, this work has the composer’s very characteristic sense of things not being quite as they seem on the surface. Indeed, in this and many other of his compositions, seems to manage to say one thing at the same time as saying the exact opposite of that thing; nowadays this might be called `constructive ambiguity’. This is especially true in the finale, in which the sense of triumph it ostensibly portrays seems rather forced, so it approaches a parody of itself. This tension between possible interpretations gives the piece a palpable sense of danger.
Overall the Fifth Symphony is a sombre work, the dark undertone established right at the start with an imposing theme on the cellos and double basses, but it has passages of great beauty too, especially in the slow third movement. Like all great symphonies – and this is one of the greatest – it takes you on a journey full of of excitement and interest. It was a compelling performance by the NSOI, with outstanding playing by the whole orchestra, but especially the woodwinds.The 45 minutes or so of this performance seemed to fly by. It’s ending ending was greeted with rapturous applause and a standing ovation from many in the audience.
It’s interesting to consider that only 60 years had elapsed between the composition of these pieces by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich, but what different musical worlds they represent!
“Celebrated Air” on the Piano
Posted in Music with tags Air on the G string, Alexander Siloti, Celebrated Air, Johan Sebastian Bach, Valentina Lisitsa on September 30, 2025 by telescoperA while ago I went to a concert that featured a Mozart Piano concerto with soloist David Fray. I mentioned then that his encore was a piece by Johannn Sebastian Bach, arranged for piano. I thought I’d post a performance of the same piece today.
Originally the second movement “Air” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, this piece became known as the Air on the G string when it was arranged for solo violin and orchestra, by August Wilhelmj, which involved transposing it down from D Major to C Major so that the violin part could be played entirely on the lowest of the four strings. It’s also sometimes called the (and sometimes “Celebrated Air”, which is more appropriate when it is played on anything other than a violin. The piano version performed by David Fray was arranged by Alexander Siloti and I think it’s very beautiful, based on a beautifully simple bass. Bach’s keyboard pieces often have a left-hand part which is interesting on its own. You can also see hear why jazz musician’s like Bach so much; the left hand provides such a steady but rich foundation for improvisation with the right hand.
Anyway, here is a nice performance of the same piece, at a gently swinging tempo, not unlike a slow blues, by Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa.
One of the Youtube commenters calls this version “melancholy”, which I don’t agree with at all! Whatever it is, it’s a nice way to spend 5 or 6 minutes relaxing in between lectures.
McTee, Mozart & Strauss at the National Concert Hall
Posted in Music with tags David Fray, Ein Heldenleben, Leonard Slatkin, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20, music, National Concert Hall, National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, Richard Strauss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on September 13, 2025 by telescoper
As it was foretold, last night I went to the National Concert Hall in Dublin for the opening performance of the new season by the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, this time under the baton of veteran conductor Leonard Slatkin.
The appetiser for this concert was Timepiece by American composer Cindy Mctee. It’s a short piece, quite new to me before last night, with a slowish introduction leading into a very energetic main body of the work. This piece brought out some fine playing by the orchestra, especially the percussion section. You can read more about this intriguing and enjoyable composition in the composer’s own words here. She was in the audience last night, and came up on stage at the end of the performance to receive the plaudits.
Next we had a very familiar piece: the Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with David Fray at the piano. Mozart apparently composed this in a rush to meet the deadline of its first performance, but it doesn’t seem that way. The three movements (marked Allegro, Romanza and Allegro Assai) are very different in mood: the first (which is quite long) is brooding and rather Sturmy and Drangy, while the second is much gentler; both these movements feature memorable tunes; the third is much more pyrotechnical, with a very propulsive start and some virtuosic cadenzas. I think the last was played the best. David Fray is a curious performer to watch: he sat in the same sort of chair as the members of the orchestra – one with a back – rather than the usual stool, and had a very unusual posture. He slouched, in fact; he often turned round to look at the musicians behind him too. Anyway, he played very well indeed and for an encore he gave us some Bach (a solo piano arrangement of Air on the G String), which was lovely.
After the wine break we came back for a performance of Ein Heldenleben (“A Hero’s Life”) by Richard Strauss. I had never heard this piece in full before last night, and I have to say I didn’t like it much. There are some very nice passages in it, and there was some excellent playing by the brass and solo violin by NSOI leader Elaine Clark, but overall I found it a rather aimless reworking of some of Strauss’s other tone poems (some of which are actually very good). It’s also far too long for what it has to say.
The “Hero” of the title is of course meant to be the composer himself, which says something of the high regard in which Strauss held himself. At times the piece is tediously bombastic. The composer was 34 when he wrote this piece; about the same age that Mozart was when he died. I don’t think had he lived the latter would have written a self-indulgent piece like this crowing about his own achievements, which were far greater than those of the former.
Still, at least I can now say I’ve heard Ein Heldenleben…
P.S. For those of you wondering: no, the President of Ireland did not attend this concert.
September in the Rain
Posted in Jazz with tags Lionel Hampton, Mezz Mezzrow, September in the Rain on September 1, 2025 by telescoperI’ve been seeing the phrase vibe coding bandied about quite a lot these days and it always makes me think of Lionel Hampton. Since it’s now September and it’s raining outside, today it made me think of this recording of Lionel Hampton playing September in the Rain. How’s that for a link?
This track was recorded in Paris in 1953, an LP of which was released in 1956. I have a later issue of it. It features members of Hamp’s band, which was ona European tour at the time, alongside a number of local musicians. For a long time it puzzled me that among the musicians present was clarinettist Mezz Mezzrow whose style didn’t seem to fit. Eventually it was explained to me that Mezzy was the man who could be relied upon to supply appropriate smoking materials. This number however is chiefly Hamp on his own, on vibes (naturally), and frequently accompanying himself on vocals (sort of).
The Things Are Here – The Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band
Posted in Jazz with tags Dizzy Gillespie, Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band, Dizzy's Fingers, The Things are Here, Things to Come on August 20, 2025 by telescoperBack in the 1940s, early in his career, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie incorporated the theme from a tune called Be-Bop, or sometimes Dizzy’s Fingers, into a swirling big band arrangement and called the resulting piece Things to Come. It was a wild, gyrating score usually played at breakneck speed (often around 300bpm) that invariably proved a handful to perform. The Things Are Here is the eventual sequel to that composition that the Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band played in the 1960s. Many concert performances of this are very long indeed, but this one (recorded in Berlin in 1968) lasts only about 8 minutes. I have this on vinyl but haven’t get got around to transferring it to digital. Here you hear the stunning power and virtuosity of this thrilling band; there must have been a tough entrance examination to get a place in it!
As you’d expect there’s a lot of solo space in this performance for Gillespie himself, but also room for solos and duets from the other musicians, including James Moody and Paul Jeffrey on tenor saxophone, Sahib Shihab on alto saxophone, Cecil Payne on baritone sax, Curtis Fuller on trombone and, right at the end, Otis Finch brings the house down with a drum solo.
It’s a wild, white-knuckle ride, so strap yourself in!
The Tower Records Experience
Posted in Biographical, Music with tags 10 Piccadilly, Dawson Street, Dublin, music, Tower Records on August 16, 2025 by telescoperI lived in London from late 1990 until the very end of 1998. One of my favourite places for shopping in those days was the excellent Tower Records. There were two stores then, but I only ever visited the one at Number 10 Piccadilly as it was very conveniently placed to skive off from meetings of the Royal Astronomical Society at Burlington House, which is just round the corner.
It wasn’t just the huge selection of records, tapes and CDs across all musical genres but also the extremely helpful and knowledgeable staff. I always found their advice very helpful and often left with many more things than I intended to buy when I went in.
Tower records was acquired by the Virgin Group in 2003 and the store in Piccadilly closed down completely in 2009. I haven’t been past the site recently, but I think it is vacant and awaiting redevelopment.
The reason for mentioning this is that Tower Records is alive and well and living in Dublin. There are two stores in the city but I’ve only ever been to the larger one in Dawson Street. It’s not as big as the one in Piccadilly, but it does have a very good selection of music (including a large section of classical music) and very friendly staff. It also has a wide range of hifi equipment, including turntables for those of us who have a vinyl collection. It also has an online service. The last thing I ordered from them was delivered to my house in Maynooth the next day at no charge.
It brought back a lot of memories when I first went inside as it has the same old yellow and red signage and very much the same vibe as the old London store; you can see some interior pictures here. Tower Records (Ireland) is highly recommended for those who are nostalgic for the old Tower Records (London) as well as those who just want to visit a proper, independent, music store. I hope it not only survives but prospers.
Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
Posted in Music with tags Gustav Holst, Saturn, Saturn the Bringer of Old Age, The Planets on August 12, 2025 by telescoperI listened to a Proms performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets the other night. It’s a piece I’ve heard dozens of times, but it was definitely the first time that I felt the most resonance with the Fifth movement, “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age“. According to Wikipedia, this was Holst’s favourite section. It comprises three parts, “a slow processional which rises to a frightening climax before fading away as if into the outer reaches of space”. The central part has a touch of Charles Ives about it, I think.
Cricket Limbo
Posted in Cricket, Music with tags Booker T and the MGs, Chris Woakes, cricket, England v India, Soul Limbo, The Hundred on August 5, 2025 by telescoperSince moving to Ireland I haven’t seen much cricket, though I do follow some games on the internet and watch the highlights from time to time. Yesterday’s final-day victory by India over England by just six runs at the Oval brought to an end an excellent series of five Test matches, drawn 2-2 with one match drawn. Chris Woakes had to go into bat at Number 11 with an arm in a sling because of a dislocated shoulder. Shades of Colin Cowdrey going in to bat against the West Indies at Lord’s in 1963 with a broken arm. Neither Cowdrey nor Woakes faced a ball, actually. England drew in 1963, while still six runs behind with one wicket standing, while Woakes was not out as India won by six runs. A series draw just about seems a fair result to me.
Test cricket is something special and the 2025 England vs India series had more than the usual share of memorable moments. The two teams were evenly matched, tempers got a bit frayed from time to time, but both sides should be congratulated for providing such magnificent fare. A Test Match series is a cricket feast like no other.
As Keith Flett mentions in his blog, the Oval test has traditionally the last of the summer, usually taking place later in August, the lengthening shadows given that distinctive end-of-season feel. This year, however, the Oval test finished on 4th August (yesterday), and there’s no more Test cricket this summer. The schedule has been pushed forward to accommodate the gimmicky and unintestering competion called The Hundred, which starts today. The first of the last three County Championship fixtures don’t start until September 8th. It’s all a bit shit, really.
Anyway, just for nostalgia’s sake, I thought I’d post the old theme song from the BBC’s cricket coverage (when it used to be free on TV). It is Soul Limbo by Booker T. & the M.G.’s. We never got to hear the whole track, but as proper cricket is in Limbo for a month it seems appropriate to do so now.
Lehrer and Lobachevsky
Posted in mathematics, Music with tags "Analytic and Algebraic Topology Of Locally Euclidean Metrizations Of Infinitely Differentiable Riemannian Manifolds", Gambler's Ruin, Nicolai Lobachevsky, Probability Theory, Songs by Tom Lehrer, Tom Lehrer on July 28, 2025 by telescoperI couldn’t resist adding a little anecdote by way of a postscript to yesterday’s item about the the late Tom Lehrer. I didn’t know anything about this story until yesterday when I saw it as a thread on Bluesky (credit to @opalescentopal). The whole thread can be read here, so I’ll just give you a short summary and add a bit of context.
Tom Lehrer’s debut album, Songs by Tom Lehrer, released in 1953, contained a number called Lobachevsky. At concerts he would introduce this song with the words “some of you may have had occasion to run into mathematicians and to wonder therefore how they got that way”. If you don’t know the song then you can listen to it, for example, here. This song contains this verse:
I am never forget the day
I am given first original paper to write
It was on "Analytic and Algebraic Topology
Of Locally Euclidean Metrizations
Of Infinitely Differentiable Riemannian Manifolds"
Bozhe moi!
That’s relevant to what follows.
In 1957, while he was still working as a mathematician, Lehrer co-wrote a paper for the U.S. National Security Agency, with R.E. Fagan, under the title Gambler’s Ruin With Soft-Hearted Adversary, the full text of which can be found here. For those of you unaware, the Gambler’s Ruin is an important problem in the theory of probability. The paper was an internal document but was unclassified. It was later published, in 1958, with some modifications under the title Random Walks with Restraining Barrier as Applied to the Biased Binary Counter.
The 1957 paper was filed away, attracting little attention until 2016 when the person who wrote the Bluesky thread looked at it and noticed something strange. The reference list contains six papers, indexed numerically. References [1], [2] and [4] are cited early on in the paper, and references [5] and [6] somewhat later. But nowhere in the text is there any mention of reference [3]. So what is reference [3]? Here it is:
(It’s a pity about the spelling mistake, but there you go.) Although the song Lobachevsky had been written a few years before the Gambler’s Ruin paper, and had proved very popular, nobody had spotted the prank until 2016. This is episode is testament to Lehrer’s mischievous sense of humour, and to his patience. He made a joke and then kept quiet about it for almost 60 years, waiting for the payoff!
P.S. The Lobachevsky reference was omitted from the modified paper published in 1958.
In the Dark 