Malcolm Arnold: Music for Brass Band
One of the best-known British composers of the 20th century, Malcolm Arnold composed everything from symphonies and ballets to concertos and film scores. His music is constantly engaging and directly communicative, but behind the popular image of Arnold was a rather...
The Ghosts of Motley Hall
Do you remember The Ghosts of Motley Hall on TV in the 1970s? It was filmed at the fictional Motley Hall – home to the fictional Uproar family. In reality this is Borwick Hall which I stumbled across recently on a trip up the Lancaster canal in north...
Mad Kings and Magic Squares
A personal celebration by Jack Van Zandt of Peter Maxwell Davies on the 90th anniversary of his birth It’s hard to imagine the impoverished world of working class Northern England where Peter Maxwell “Max” Davies grew up in the 1930s and 40s, but if you have ever read...
CONCERT REVIEW: Endless Fascination
St Elizabeth’s Church, Ashley, near Altrincham18 May 2024 Thomas Pitfield (1903-99) can best be described as a 20th century Renaissance man. Although primarily known as a composer, he was also a prodigious artist, poet, engraver and cabinet-maker. He taught...