Derby - City of Culture?!?!
I noticed the latest round of nominations for this accolade and was taken aback that Derby was in the running, the CoC was a feature on this mornings Broadcasting House. Here’s a city with no decent concert hall, the Assembly Rooms was technically built as one but it was never a success as it’s low ceiling rendered it acoustically dead. Oh, it also caught fire in 2014 and nothing has yet been agreed regarding its repair or replacement. Great for snooker and beer festivals, not much use for anything else.
And there’s the old Hippodrome, a Grade 2 listed theatre currently crumbling away with no roof and visited regularly by local amateur arsonists.
I know the award isn’t totally for the arts and on those grounds there is some important industrial heritage of note although most is in the Derwent Valley rather than the city. The surviving railway Round House narrowly escaped the wrecking ball. Nevertheless, I think Melvyn Bragg was pretty accurate when he lambasted the local inept council with his ‘culturally empty’ comment.
There’s a theatre of course - the former Playhouse which was a highly regarded company before the local worthies sat by and ignored it in its death throes.
A decent smattering of choirs (Choral Union and the Derby Bach Choir). A visiting orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, the most recent reincarnation of what began as the English Sinfonia.
The Cathedral tries its best as a host venue but doesn’t have the resources to do much more - in the 1970s they (with the support of the old East Midlands Arts Council), held a festival or two which could match anything in any other city. I was fortunate to see and hear Shura Cherkassky, Thalben-Ball, ASMF, Segovia, Swingle Singers (wow, they really were amazing) and every festival ended with a big oratorio with the CBSO and an expanded Derby Bach Choir.
What’s left now couldn’t run a lunchtime recital
I mustn’t leave out the local worthies - Percy Fletcher and, more importantly, Ronnie Binge. Whatever your attitude towards lighter music I think that Ronnie’s contribution is on a very high level. He is now thankfully credited with helping to create that Mantovani sound, working out a method to score the effect Mantovani wanted. An amateur musician by today’s standards but a considerable intellect - I have a copy of ‘Vice Versa’, a piano piece that can be played forward or backwards or even upside down and it sounds the same. He composed it as a palindromic challenge and it’s pretty mind boggling (although as much a fan of Ronnies music as I am it not the greatest piece of music!). And here’s another example of the local ignorance - there was a concert given at the Assembly Rooms during which a blue plaque was unveiled for Ronnie. Someone suggested they ought to include a short piece by RB in the programme (given by the East of England Orchestra, yet another iteration of the English Sinfonia). Needless to say the conductor refused on the grounds of something vaguely ‘unsuitable’. Thanks but no thanks Ronnie - no wonder he moved down south
And why am I interested? Its my home town and an acute embarrassment…….
My money’s on Bradford, it’s near to me now and much more interesting.
I noticed the latest round of nominations for this accolade and was taken aback that Derby was in the running, the CoC was a feature on this mornings Broadcasting House. Here’s a city with no decent concert hall, the Assembly Rooms was technically built as one but it was never a success as it’s low ceiling rendered it acoustically dead. Oh, it also caught fire in 2014 and nothing has yet been agreed regarding its repair or replacement. Great for snooker and beer festivals, not much use for anything else.
And there’s the old Hippodrome, a Grade 2 listed theatre currently crumbling away with no roof and visited regularly by local amateur arsonists.
I know the award isn’t totally for the arts and on those grounds there is some important industrial heritage of note although most is in the Derwent Valley rather than the city. The surviving railway Round House narrowly escaped the wrecking ball. Nevertheless, I think Melvyn Bragg was pretty accurate when he lambasted the local inept council with his ‘culturally empty’ comment.
There’s a theatre of course - the former Playhouse which was a highly regarded company before the local worthies sat by and ignored it in its death throes.
A decent smattering of choirs (Choral Union and the Derby Bach Choir). A visiting orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, the most recent reincarnation of what began as the English Sinfonia.
The Cathedral tries its best as a host venue but doesn’t have the resources to do much more - in the 1970s they (with the support of the old East Midlands Arts Council), held a festival or two which could match anything in any other city. I was fortunate to see and hear Shura Cherkassky, Thalben-Ball, ASMF, Segovia, Swingle Singers (wow, they really were amazing) and every festival ended with a big oratorio with the CBSO and an expanded Derby Bach Choir.
What’s left now couldn’t run a lunchtime recital
I mustn’t leave out the local worthies - Percy Fletcher and, more importantly, Ronnie Binge. Whatever your attitude towards lighter music I think that Ronnie’s contribution is on a very high level. He is now thankfully credited with helping to create that Mantovani sound, working out a method to score the effect Mantovani wanted. An amateur musician by today’s standards but a considerable intellect - I have a copy of ‘Vice Versa’, a piano piece that can be played forward or backwards or even upside down and it sounds the same. He composed it as a palindromic challenge and it’s pretty mind boggling (although as much a fan of Ronnies music as I am it not the greatest piece of music!). And here’s another example of the local ignorance - there was a concert given at the Assembly Rooms during which a blue plaque was unveiled for Ronnie. Someone suggested they ought to include a short piece by RB in the programme (given by the East of England Orchestra, yet another iteration of the English Sinfonia). Needless to say the conductor refused on the grounds of something vaguely ‘unsuitable’. Thanks but no thanks Ronnie - no wonder he moved down south
And why am I interested? Its my home town and an acute embarrassment…….
My money’s on Bradford, it’s near to me now and much more interesting.
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