A level music in schools could ‘disappear’ in little more than a decade

 

Research finds A level music in schools could ‘disappear’ in little more than a decade. Picture: Alamy

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

 

“The opportunity to study A-level music seems likely to end first for those children who are at a disadvantage,” researchers claim.

A level music in schools is at risk of disappearing in just over a decade, researchers have warned.

Alarming new research by Birmingham City University revealed the qualification could have zero entries by 2033, following years of cuts to local and central government funding.

In the report, it was confirmed that a rapid decline in access to A level music in state schools, means the subject is increasingly available only to pupils with an independent school education.

Lead researchers Dr Adam Whittaker and Professor Martin Fautley’s study is now galvanising music academics and industry bodies to call for urgent action and improved policy and funding, to support music provisions in state schools.

Dr Whittaker said: “We know from trends in A-level uptake over the last few years that the number of pupils taking A-level music has fallen to a very concerning level.

“We are now in a position where there are parts of the country with very limited access to A-level music or, in some cases, no access at all.

He continued: “Children can’t choose a qualification that isn’t offered to them. What is the child who wants to take A-level music to do if the nearest school offering it is 30 miles away? We need A-level music, and other specialist subjects, to be offered in a range of schools right across a local authority area.

“This is important as A-level music can support young musicians to pursue music in higher education and their future careers, including as the next generation of music educators.”

Whittaker and Fautley warned that looking at the current rates of decline, A level music is likely to have zero entries by 2033.

“Those who lack the means to support private instrumental study are unlikely to have sufficient income to pay for independent school fees, even if a bursary supports them to a greater or lesser extent,” they added.

The report also revealed that independent schools have a much higher number of A level music entries, narrowing the potential pool of young music talent.

In the Midlands, the proportion of students in the Midlands studying music has dropped to one percent, due to schools and colleges no longer offering the subject at all.

In an interview last year for Black Lives in Music, star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who went to a state school in Nottingham, warned opportunities for ethnically diverse young musicians are worsening because of state arts education cuts.

“The cuts that have been [made] to music at my primary school have been devastating – and as a result, there are few children who are able to have this music education,” he said

“You create this two-class thing where those able to pay for music lessons are able to become musicians and be enriched by these wonderful experiences. There’s a massive divide in this country in opportunities. It highlights a really big problem in this country.UK- Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said: “There has been a worrying decline in the number of young people studying music at A-level in recent years. Unless action is taken to reverse that trend, there is a real risk of serious damage to the talent pipeline on which the music industry relies.

“Music education enriches the lives of countless children and young people, but it also brings huge cultural, economic and social benefits to the UK.

“At UK Music, we are continuing to talk to the government and education leaders about how we can ensure that children from every background get the best possible chance to study music which is one of our great national assets.”

In a separate report by the Department for Education, ‘Music education: call for evidence’, it was found that many young people, despite holding an interest in pursuing music as a career, are feeling pressure to choose other subjects because GCSE or A level music are not options in their schools.

A Tchaikovsky piano concerto is being played at the Olympics ...

...  instead of the Russian National Anthem. Here’s why.

By Kyle Macdonald, ClassicFM London

The nation of Russia is officially banned from the Olympics. So, Russian athletes are hearing Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto when they win.

Have you been catching a great Russian symphonic epic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? It would appear that Tchaikovsky is the latest musical star of the world’s biggest sporting event.

In 2019, Russia was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency from all international sporting competitions, including the Olympics. The ban lasts four years and will remain in place throughout the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

After the ban, and so as not to punish individuals, the International Olympic Committee is allowing the Russian athletes to take part in Tokyo in a different way. Together they compete under the banner of the ‘Russian Olympic Committee’.

Though athletes still wear the Russian colours of white, blue and red, they are prohibited from other displays of national representation. And this includes Russia’s national anthem, ‘Rossiya – svyashchennaya nasha derzhava’.

So, with the thunderous Russian national anthem not an option for medal ceremonies, organizers have called in assistance from the greatest Russian composer of all, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

When those athletes win gold at Toyko, like the women’s 10m air pistol’s Vitalina Batsarashkina and the ROC women’s team gymnastics, the epic opening to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 proudly scores the podium ceremony.

And it’s fair to say that gold-standard Tchaikovsky is going down well with the punters at home...

Tchokyo 2020, anyone?

Hopeful pieces of classical music -

 - as chosen by the nation’s leading youth orchestra (I)

Hopeful pieces of classical music, as chosen by Classic FM’s Orchestra of Teenagers. Picture: NYO

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

 

These are unequivocally music’s most hopeful melodies, according to Classic FM’s Orchestra of Teenagers...

Throughout the uncertainty of the pandemic, the brilliant teenage musicians of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYO) have embraced music as an essential tool for escape, motivation and hope for the days ahead.

And so, this summer, the world-leading orchestra will finally return to great UK stages with their ‘Hope Exchange’ project, a series of hope-filled concerts at Saffron Hall (28 July), Southbank Centre (31 July), Birmingham Symphony Hall (6 August) and Leeds Town Hall (8 August), featuring star soloists from saxophonist Jess Gillam to violinists Nicola Benedetti and Francesca Dego. All concerts are free for those under the age of 19.

To find out which pieces of music feel like ‘hope’ to some of our country’s most exciting young musicians, we spoke to a handful of the NYO’s members, who told us of the composers and melodies that helped them a period of social isolation, silenced culture and uncertainty for their future.

1. Prelude from Cello Suite No.2 – J.S. Bach

   “A Prelude, as an opening movement, is a moment of hope in itself as the composer begins their journey of sharing their work and message with us. The reflective phrasing mirrors the human experience of hope, illustrating how it often grows out of darker periods and rarely exists without setbacks. The piece finishes with triumphant fanfare-like chords which I interpret as Bach’s portrayal of musical optimism.”

   – Max Rayworth, viola

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4. Amazing Grace – spiritual

   “‘Amazing Grace’ is one of the first pieces I learnt on the bass, and listening to its stirring melody and poignant lyrics makes me reflect on the importance of belief, and to have faith in a more hopeful world.”

   – Jelly Rowe, double bass

   Cellist Yo-Yo Ma plays ‘Amazing Grace’ at the Celebrating America concert

   Bella Ciao – Trad. 

5. "Growing up with an Italian background I have often heard versions of a very famous Italian protest folk song by the name of ‘Bella Ciao’, first written in the late 1800s. The song was later adopted as an anthem of the anti-fascist resistance against Mussolini and Hitler. Today versions of ‘Bella Ciao’ are sung in many other countries as a modern-day anthem of freedom and hope. It is this theme of hope against hardship and despair that led many Italians to play the song in unison from their balconies at the beginning of the first lockdown in March last year.

6. – Gabriella Bavetta, violin

7. ‘Nigun’ from the Baal Shem Suite – Ernest Bloch

   “I learnt and played ‘Nigun’ from Ernest Bloch’s Baal Shem Suite during lockdown and it was the piece I turned to, to let my emotions run freely. There were so many emotions bottled up during the many months I spent at home, and this piece allowed me to move on and release those negative emotions in order to find a more hopeful outlook.”

   – Sakura Fish, violin

8. Hope for Marimba – Adam Tan

   “Adam Tan’s ‘Hope’ for marimba is beautiful in its honest simplicity, developing from a simple thread of tune. It is not a flashy or particularly challenging piece but has a pathos all of its own. The fact that it is new and composed in these difficult times gives the piece an extra appeal.”

   – Paddy Davies, percussion

9. Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’ – Beethoven

   “So many of the pieces we are playing this summer tell a story musically and contextually of hardships; of ideals coming up against an anxious sense of reality. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 known as ‘Eroica’ (Heroic) was named for his contemporary Napoleon, until Beethoven’s admiration turned to bitter disappointment and the composer scrubbed the name from his manuscript. Charged with emotion, Beethoven’s momentous, expansive vision of human dignity and hope endures.”

   – Kynan Walker, violin

   Read more: 10 works of Beethoven that actually changed the world

10. Malinconia from Sonata No.2 in A minor – Ysaÿe

    “I started learning this piece during lockdown at a time when I was feeling particularly isolated, lonely and somewhat despondent. I was badly missing making music with others. It is called ‘Malinconia’, and its melancholic character reflected my mood at the time. It is peaceful, serene, and reflective – almost prayer-like, and made me feel hopeful that soon we could be out of the very strange last few months, moving forwards and collaborating once again.”

    – Maya de Souza, violin

11. White Cliffs of Dover – Walter Kent

    “During the war, this song was seen as a symbol of hope and unity, values which I think we have all shared throughout the pandemic. For me it represents the light at the end of the tunnel.”

    – Georgina Bloomfield, violin

12. Soulforce – Jessie Montgomery

    “There is so much music waiting to be explored from the last decade and the fact that NYO is helping introduce these to a wider audience is fantastic. Jessie Montgomery's one-movement symphonic work portrays a solitary voice struggling against the shackles of oppression. With a title that draws on Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and embracing musical influences from big-band jazz, funk, hip-hop and R&B, Soul Force pays homage to the diverse musical voices that have risen up to create a space for free expression.”

    – Will Clark, violin

    

    Young violinist chooses composer and string player Jessie Montgomery’s ‘Soulforce’. Picture: Getty

13. ‘Coming Home’ melody from ‘New World’ Symphony – Dvořák

    “When Dvořák came to USA he told his students to listen to the diversity of indigenous and immigrant voices. This music represents this individuality and diversity, which combines into a whole greater than its component parts. It brings hope to all who hear it.”

    – Zak El-Shirbiny, cello

    Neeme Järvi​ and the Verbier Festival​ Orchestra perform Dvorák Symphony No. 9

14. (To be continue!)

The Story Behind: Carnival of the Animals

Published by StringOvation Team on March 10, 2021

Composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) composed Le Carnaval des Animaux (Carnival of the Animals) in 1886 while taking a vacation in a small, beautiful Austrian village. The whimsical suite features 14 different movements, each one featuring an animal or group of animals. 

In the past century and a half, the work has become one of the romantic-era composer’s most famous works, which is ironic because he was a bit embarrassed about it being published at all.

From the Serious Spawns the Whimsical

At the time, Camille Saint-Saëns at the height of his musical and compositional career. By the year 1886, he had garnered widespread public acclaim and was known as a serious and mature composer. Saint-Saëns was already well-admired by the public for previous piano and violin concertos as well as other orchestral pieces. The pianist, organist, and composer had also published and performed several operas by that time. Although his operas didn’t gain much public traction in the moment, they didn’t diminish his reputation either. 

By the mid-to-late 1870s, Saint-Saëns enjoyed positive receptions in his honor across the European continent, adding to his reputation as a respected composer with his Danse Macabre in 1874, a superb First Cello Concerto, Op. 33, and a fourth piano concerto in 1875.

The year 1886 was an intense one for Saint-Saëns. He embarked on his Symphony #3 Organ in C minor, Op. 78. A San Francisco Symphony program note describes how immensely challenging the creative process was for him, “On May 18, 1886, Saint-Saëns wrote from London to his publisher, Auguste Durand: ‘We have sight-read the symphony. I was right: it is really terribly challenging.’” The process of composing the symphony was so difficult in fact, that Saint-Saëns took a break in the middle of the work and headed to Austria to rest.

Of course for the true composer “a restorative vacation” rarely means a complete break from music because the entire world is filled with song and inspiration. While he may have put his Third Symphony on hold for a bit, Saint-Saëns’ creative and artistic soul became entranced by the musical interpretation of the animals he had witnessed both in the small Austrian vacation town as well as throughout his world travels. (In addition to being a musical genius, Saint-Saëns was an avid world traveler, archaeologist, and writer.)

Thus, The Carnival of the Animals commenced, but only on paper...

Publication Put on Hold for 34 Years

Carnival of the Animals is typically the first of Saint-Saëns’ compositions a classical music lover ever hears and is considered one of his best works. Thus, it’s hard for contemporary musicians and audiences to believe his reluctance to publish and perform the work. Instead, Saint-Saëns struck a deal that the piece would not be published or performed (with one exception noted below) until after his death, which didn’t occur for another 34 years. 

The gorgeous and lyrical orchestral piece is 14 movements long. As mentioned before, each one represents a single or group of animals, often depicted with humor and wit and exceptionally creative use of instrumental voicing. We invite you to listen to the Royal Philharmonic performing the full 14 movements as you read their descriptions. 

If you aren’t already familiar with the work in its entirety, we suspect you’ll recognize more than one or two of them:

I. Introduction et marche royale du lion (Introduction and Royal March of the Lion)

II. Poules et coqs (Hens and Roosters)

III. Hémiones - animaux véloces (Wild Asses - quick animals)

IV. Tortues (Tortoises)

V. L'éléphant (The Elephant)

VI. Kangourous (Kangaroos)

VII. Aquarium

VIII. Personnages à longues oreilles (Characters with Long Ears)

IX. Le coucou au fond des bois (The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods)

X. Volière (Aviary)

XI. Pianistes (Pianists)

XII. Fossiles (Fossils)

XIII. Le cygne (The Swan)

XIV. Finale

There was one exception to Saint-Saëns’ “no publishing rule,” and that was for Movement 13: Le Cygne (The Swans). Watch the famous movement performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott below:

Ultimately, the Carnival of the Animals feels like the ultimate expression of Saint-Saëns and his many talents. His virtuoso level of musicianship and composition, combined with his powers of archaeological observation, interests in the natural world, and abilities as a storyteller, yielded one of the most entertaining, moving, and famous classical music pieces ever written.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23 historic photographs of classical composers doing incredibly normal things

 By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

Iconic preserved moments of history’s most esteemed maestros, doing very normal stuff.

Photography is vital to our world. It gives us a deep connection to the past, preserving memories and moments of historic importance, and telling truths if ever sinister attempts are made to mask reality.

And as photography became increasingly widespread during the 19th century, classical composers began to enjoy their own moments under the flash-and-powder.

Now, from Gustav Mahler to Leonard Bernstein, we often hail these musicians’ art as so influential, so unrivalled, that we can forget they are just human beings like all the rest of us. Human beings, with really mundane hobbies outside of the recording studio.

Seeing is believing, as these great maestros show an interest in falconry, sledging and, well, swinging. Of the playground sort, mind you…

1. Claude Debussy having a nap (1900)

   

   Claude Debussy having a nap. Picture: adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images

2. Dmitri Shostakovich watching his favourite football team on a Sunday morning in Moscow (1942)

   

   Dmitri Shostakovich watching his favourite Spartak football team on a Sunday morning in Moscow. Picture: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

3. Dame Ethel Smyth waiting impatiently for women to have equal rights (1930)

   

   Composer and political activist Dame Ethel Smyth waiting impatiently for women to have equal rights. (1930). Picture: History collection 2016 / Alamy Stock Photo

4. Young Sergei Prokofiev playing an intense game of chess (date unknown)

   

   Young Sergei Prokofiev playing a highly competitive game of chess. Picture: Alamy

5. Richard Strauss in Schierke, Germany, sledging with noticeable discomfort (date unknown)

   

   Richard Strauss sledging in Schierke, Germany. Picture: Roger Viollet via Getty Images

6. John Williams dropping by to visit Luciano Pavarotti in his dressing room at the Grammy Awards (1999)

   

   John Williams and Luciano Pavarotti clasping hands at the Grammy Awards. (1999). Picture: Ron Wolfson/Online/Getty

7. Leonard Bernstein swinging barefoot outside his Fairfield, Connecticut home (1986)

   

   Composer Leonard Bernstein swings outside of his Fairfield, Connecticut home (1986). Picture: Joe McNally/Getty Images

8. German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen smoking a pipe during a recording session (1970)

   

   German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen smokes a pipe during a recording session. Picture: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

9. Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan enjoying a spot of falconry (1955)

   

   Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan enjoying a spot of falconry. (1955). Picture: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

10. French composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger, exasperated during rehearsals (1976)

    

    French composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger, exasperated. (1976). Picture: Erich Auerbach/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

11. Opera legend Jessye Norman and film maestro John Williams share a moment (2012)

    

    Opera legend Jessye Norman and film maestro John Williams share a moment at Williams’ 80th Birthday Tribute (2012). Picture: Paul Marotta/Getty Images

12. Gustav Mahler enjoying some family time with wife Alma, and daughters Anna and Maria (1910)

    

    Gustav Mahler enjoying some family time with his wife Alma and daughters Anna and Maria. (1910). Picture: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd/Alamy

13. Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi with his beloved dogs (1800s)

    

    Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi with his dogs. (1800s). Picture: Alamy

14. Composer Benjamin Britten and English tenor Peter Pears having a rather sombre picnic (1954)

    

    Artist and set designer John Piper, composer Benjamin Britten and English tenor Peter Pears having a break while in Venice for the premiere of Britten's opera 'The Turn Of The Screw'. (1954?). Picture: Erich Auerbach/Getty Images

15. Gustav and Alma Mahler taking a stroll nearby their summer residence in Toblach (1909)

    

    Austrian composer Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma take a stroll nearby their summer residence in Toblach. (1909). Picture: Imagno/Getty Images

16. Composer Sally Beamish at her home in Scotland, on a hammock, with a dog (2014)

    

    Sally Beamish on a hammock, with a dog. Picture: Alamy

17. Soviet composers Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich and Aram Khachaturian, just hanging out (date unknown)

    

    Soviet composers Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich and Aram Khachaturian just hanging out.. Picture: Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

18. Composer John Philip Sousa among his four-legged “musical friends” (1922)

    

    US composer John Philip Sousa among his four-legged "musical friends". Picture: George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

19. Leonard Bernstein at lunch with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1946)

    

    Leonard Bernstein at lunch with fellow composer Aaron Copland at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts. (1946). Picture: Erika Stone/Getty Images

20. Pioneering composer Amy Beach posing for a photo with four American female songwriters (1924)

    

    Pioneering composer Amy Beach with four American female song writers in April, 1924. Picture: Lebrecht Music & Arts / Alamy Stock Photo

21. Claude Debussy, flying a kite with Louis Laloy

    

    Claude Debussy flying a kite with Louis Laloy. Picture: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

22. Leonard Bernstein, sitting atop a tree in Israel (date unknown)

    

    Leonard Bernstein, up a tree in Israel. Picture: Wiki

23. George Gershwin photographed while painting a portrait of Arnold Schoenberg (1936)

    

    George Gershwin photographed while painting a portrait of Austrian composer Arnold Schonberg. Picture: ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

A composer is setting portraits of cats and dogs to music ...

They are just beautiful!

By Kyle Macdonald, ClassicFM London

 

Incredible cat and dog portraits in music, from a musician who specializes in striking animal scores.

Furry friends, cats, dogs, bunny rabbits and more are being set to music, and they sound as lovely as they look.

After graduating from his music studies, Jerusalem-based composer Noam Oxman wanted to find a way to apply his talents. He thought about his three loves: animals, music and drawing. Could there be an ingenious way to combine all three?

This was how ‘Sympawnies’ came to be: creating bespoke compositions and graphic scores that illustrate much-loved pets.

Pets set to music by composer Noam Oxman. Picture: Noam Oxman

Oxman says he was fascinated by J.S. Bach’s unique, stylized handwriting style. Bach’s musical hand was flamboyant, contoured and sometimes contained hidden symbols or meanings. Combining his compositional skills and his penmanship, Oxman created graphic shapes made out of musical notes, that also form a wonderful, unique composition.

Our cat-loving composer also says the musical language he uses in his symphonies is based on Baroque and Classical styles, because of the flexibility and expression it provides. Take a look at how a cat portrait becomes a quartet below...

Oxman studied jazz piano, composition and music theory at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. He also volunteers in animal shelters and works with rescue animals. Oh, he and his partner have three cats too.

What an amazing way to combine your loves. If you have a furry or feathered friend, who you’d like to have immortalized in music, Oxman is open for commissions. Find out more on his Instagram, Facebook or YouTube channels.