Alphabet associations - I

[mercia]

assuming we have got it right

more than

[Nick Armstrong]

You just have to get it in, innit

Ooops sorry Ammy, my chronological reference was purely insouciant! As they say in the soaps: oooh, touched a nerve??!

I was thinking of a different Largo in Rome but never mind!

Thank you Anna, very gracious, Heartface...

Here you go then: You're looking for an "M" linking

1. A reminiscence, a fairy tale and an elegy
2. A Maharajah
3. Golders Green

[mercia]

to be sure, this would be Nikolai Medtner (1880 - 1951) of 69 Wentworth Road, Golders Green who wrote lots and lots of Fairy Tales (Skazki), a Sonata reminiscenza and (at least) 2 elegies and had a society, founded by His Highness Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur, the Maharajah of Mysore to promote his works, the Medtner society (1949). Buried in Hendon Cemetery. Born in Moscow, came to England in 1936. The Maharajah was a Fellow of Trinity College of Music. Medtner's Third Piano Concerto is dedicated to him. Sounds a fascinating chap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Metner_N.K._Postcard-1910.jpg

I had to google all of that because I am not clever

[Nick Armstrong]

to be sure, this would be Nikolai Medtner (1880 - 1951) of 69 Wentworth Road, Golders Green who wrote lots and lots of Fairy Tales (Skazki), a Sonata reminiscenza and (at least) 2 elegies and had a society, founded by His Highness Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur, the Maharajah of Mysore to promote his works, the Medtner society (1949). Buried in Hendon Cemetery. Born in Moscow, came to England in 1936. The Maharajah was a Fellow of Trinity College of Music. Medtner's Third Piano Concerto is dedicated to him. Sounds a fascinating chap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Metner_N.K._Postcard-1910.jpg

I had to google all of that because I am not clever

Bish bash bosh! You got it Mercia Well done I wonder what your first route in to googling was - the three sonata names?

Medtner is a bit of a private passion with me - some of his stuff is absolutely gorgeous if you like that sort of intense wistfulness you get in the best Rachmaninov. The slow movement of his 2nd piano concerto for instance.

Well Mercia - you're cleverer than the others and so you're lumbered with "N"

[mercia]

I was about to ask you if you recommend Medtner, but it's obvious you do.

I read that the Maharaja wanted to be a concert pianist but family duties took over.

Yes, when I googled the reminiscence etc. Medtner was all they came up with. Sorry to be a cheat.

[Anna]

Medtner is a bit of a private passion with me - some of his stuff is absolutely gorgeous if you like that sort of intense wistfulness you get in the best Rachmaninov

Ooh, look Mr. 'Orne, 'e's being wistful, wistful. Go on Jules, now put on yer intense wistful face, oh lovely, looks a picture don't 'e? All sad and pining. Go on Jules, pine a bit more! Give us the full benefit of your pine Ducky!

Well, I don't know Medtner, so must investigate, 2nd piano you say. Well done mercia!!

[mercia]

Anna, sorry to be a pain, what Ns have we had? I'm too lazy to look for them.

[Anna]

Anna, sorry to be a pain, what Ns have we had? I'm too lazy to look for them.

You're not a pain mercia, I just have them saved to a Word doc everytime they are updated by rubbers. So the Ns are

Neville Cardus, Nielsen (2), Neptune, Nono, Nyman, Newcastle, Nevers, Naples, Nocturne, Night, Nash, Nixon, Nelson

[Nick Armstrong]

I was about to ask you if you recommend Medtner, but it's obvious you do.

I read that the Maharaja wanted to be a concert pianist but family duties took over.

Yes, when I googled the reminiscence etc. Medtner was all they came up with. Sorry to be a cheat.

A pianist I know is a bit of Medtner specialist, Yevgeny Sudbin - he's also very generous with clips on his website. If you go about half-way down on this page, you'll find an mp3 of a live performance by him of the Medtner 'Sonata Reminicenza' - and then further down (and even better, for me) one of the 'Sonata Tragica', awesome!!!

http://www.yevgenysudbin.com/artist.php?view=media

(Listen to the Bach/Friedman 'Sicilienne' towards the bottom of the list too - one of the best performances of anything I know!)


Yevgeny's also recorded the Medtner 2nd piano concerto http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sudbin-Plays.../dp/B002SF2VHA

[Nick Armstrong]

Ooh, look Mr. 'Orne, 'e's being wistful, wistful. Go on Jules, now put on yer intense wistful face, oh lovely, looks a picture don't 'e? All sad and pining. Go on Jules, pine a bit more! Give us the full benefit of your pine Ducky!

Well, I don't know Medtner, so must investigate, 2nd piano you say. Well done mercia!!

Have a prod around in my friend Yevgeny's website, as per my message to Mercia above!

[Tapiola]

Good afternoon all. I don't know what's being happening here but you turn your back for 2 weeks and over 100 pages have been crammed with puzzlement, mirth, proposals of marriage, actual marriages, aleatory doodlings, interesting factoids, coarse humour, not to mention references to that bizarre Kellogg film, the Floyd, the Zeppelin, Zappa, Siegfried, my own real name, my daughter's name etc. In fact it has taken me since lunchtime (and happily at The Man's expense) to get back up to speed.

I hope you have all been well.

[Nick Armstrong]

Just played that live recording of the Sonata Tragica for the first time in a long while... God, it's good!!! The wistful pining stuff after the initial stormy passages - fantabulosa!

You can download the clips to iTunes or whatever - right click on the above website page... The wistful bit of 'Tragica' which is getting me starts at 2' 58"... Just listening for the third time this afternoon... Beats work!

AH! welcome back Taps! Good holiday, we trust? Did you go far? And were the name mentions coincidental?? How mysterios!!

[mercia]

hello again Tapiola

an N please to connect

- a Norwegian grotto
- magma
- Frank Zappa (!!)

[amateur51]

Have a prod around in my friend Yevgeny's website, as per my message to Mercia above!

I dunno, what with you & salymap, this floor's a disgrace! - names dropped everywhere!

[Anna]

Good afternoon all. I don't know what's being happening here

I hope you have all been well.

To be honest Tapiola, I don't think most of us have had a clue as to what's been happening! Nice to see you back looking so fit and tanned and bearing sticks of rock for all of us (ooh, look, it says Mustique all the way through!) Go on, tell us where you went! Unburden yourself!

Caliban, I don't have iTunes, iPod and gadgets but I'll have a dig around that site later on this evening for a listen.