Saturday, November 12, 2011

More about Purcell

I know this news was only the blog before last and was there a very long time(!) but IE wouldn't let me into the blogger. Now I am back courtesy of FireFox! A quick update on Purcell connections. It's amazing who finds you - like the German television station that does an equivalent of 'who do you think you are?' but starting from the standpoint of a famous antecedant (HP) and an ordinary descendant (SR). Anyway, I was invited to appear on the TV show which in Germany is a rather formal affair. There was a bit of a quiz on who my ancestor might be and originally they thought I was Dutch, so my German accent must have been a bit gravelly (yes, I gave most of the interview in German, much to their surprise!). Then they gave a potted biography of Uncle Henry and his achievements and then I was interviewed and they played some of my music. It was in Baden Baden and we had a great weekend making the show and then taking the waters! Didn't visit the casino which apparently is quite famous but stayed in a wonderful hotel. I can recommend a visit. More Purcell family news soon.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Kapustin Piano Music for PlayStation

Quite a few years ago we fell in love with the music of Nikolai Kapustin. His compositions for piano are astonishing. The pieces tap into a whole range of musical languages - jazz, blues, ragtime, boogie-woogie and they are vibrant and so full of energy and excitement, even in the most disarmingly tuneful passages.
This is now being picked up by musicians all over world and there are some really terrific performances. The Toccatina from one of the Etudes has even just been released as the sound track for the latest PlayStation Gran Turismo 5. Now I know absolutely nothing about PlayStation but listen to the track http://www.tutti.co.uk/featured-sheet-music/music-from-gran-turismo-5 and you can hear how fantastic the music is. To play the music you need at least 12 fingers(!) and there are some great performances out there. Look out for Kapustin, it is really terrific music.