Borletti-Buitoni Trust
I’m not a writer. My teacher at primary school had always laughed at me when he was reading my essays … regardless of this fact I dare to write a few words about our last recording of Dvořák‘s music in Rudolfinum in Prague and share our feelings from this great experience.
I am sitting on a train heading north after a busy couple of months with the Quartet. I have a week of holiday to recharge, learn some notes, wash my entire wardrobe and give my dog some serious love and attention before setting off for a busy summer of concerts.
Well, by now it’s old news. But although it started with a bang (literally), it must have taken sometime for most people to realize how much their life could be affected by the whims of Eyjafjallajokull, the world’s most notorious volcano for the past few days.
An extraordinary week in the life of Susan Rivers, Chief Executive, BBT.
Part Two. Saturday 20th – Monday 22nd February 2010. Utrecht – Mora – London
On February 19th, 2010, the moment had finally come, to which the Borletti-Buitoni Trust and I had looked foward for four years: the première of Gavin Bryars’ Piano Concerto ‘The Solway Canal’, a co-commission of the BBT and the Dutch radio. I clearly remember the very first visit to Gavin’s place in Leicester almost half a decade ago, together with David Hoskins and Graham Johnston, in which we laid out our very first ideas. Already at that time, I definitely felt a pleasant artistic and personal ‘click’ with Gavin. Now, four years later, that feeling proved to be correct.
An extraordinary week in the life of Susan Rivers, Chief Executive, BBT.
Part One. Monday 15th – Saturday 20th February 2010. London – Aldeburgh – Utrecht
My trip starts one evening in mid-September 2007:
There we were three young oboists at Herkulessaal in Munich, after having played Strauss Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at ARD´s competition finals. The Jury came to stage, we were down where the audience sits, waiting for the result.
In Spain people speak constantly about “Duende” and recognize it with unfailing instinct when it appears. Federico Garcia Lorca gave a famous lecture on “La Teoria y Juego del Duende”. So in honour to Lorca’s creative force they have taken the name Duende which challenges us to keep our ears open to the ‘dark sounds’, to keep in touch with the ghosts of those who have come before, to never refuse the struggle which is needed to keep the spirits working on the side of truth!
I’m just getting ready to leave Amsterdam in a few hours to get back to London. I’ve been here for sessions with the respected photographer Marco Borggreve to produce a set of ‘publicity shots’ appropriate for programmes, album covers and inserts, and other uses. It is a rather poignant experience to be writing this blog entry for the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in the city on the Amstel, a place that over the years I have visited throughout various stages of my life.
I was walking by the sea, the wind and rain was almost unbearable, and I tried to listen to the answer machine on my mobile. The distance between the rehearsal venue and my hotel was not very long, but in this weather it was not very pleasant. The message on my mobile was from Susan Rivers; had I heard about the Borletti Buitoni Trust?