This is Gavin Edwards (left) and myself at Hampton Court yesterday.
Thanks to Step Parikian (orchestral manager, London Chamber Orchestra) for sending me this photo.
He has captured my eye colour perfectly.
July 20, 2012 | Categories: hornplaying | Tags: Gavin Edwards, Hampton Court, handhorn, Step Parikian | Leave A Comment »
Gavin Edwards (handhorn virtuoso) is always keen to explore the possibilities of new technology with the old classical and baroque horns.
This time it’s custom fitted headlamps for illuminating sheet music during stage blackouts.
July 19, 2012 | Categories: phonecamera | Tags: Gavin Edwards, handhorn, London Chamber Orchestra | Leave A Comment »
Here is my hornplaying friend and colleague, Harry Johnstone, of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
I caught this shot of Harry during a moment of quiet contemplation during the recording sessions for Mozart’s Divertimento, K 334
The recording was for Linn Records. The divertimento features two horns in D and a string quartet with double bass instead of ‘cello.
The elegant instrument Harry is holding was made by Engelbert Schmid – a beautiful horn and exactly the same as the one I was using.
Congratulations to all involved for some extremely fine playing and some very intense work!
The other players were:
Alexander Janiczek – director/violin
Nikita Naumov – double bass
Ruth Crouch – violin
Jane Atkins – viola
August 4, 2010 | Categories: hornplaying, photos | Tags: Alexander Janiczek, Divertimento, Glasgow, handhorn, Harry Johnstone, horn in D, K334, Linn Records, Mozart, natural horn, Schmid, Scottish Chamber Orchestra | Leave A Comment »
This photo was taken after our final rehearsal in New York when Iván Fischer arranged for his two orchestras to meet each other. Members of the Budapest Festival Orchestra who had been attending our rehearsal came up onto the stage to mingle, shake hands and pose with us for photographs taken from the back of the hall.
And here’s one of those photographs taken from the back of the hall. The OAE players all have instruments out, and all the others are members of the B.F.O.
April 2, 2010 | Categories: hornplaying | Tags: Alice Tully Hall, handhorn, Iván Fischer, Lincoln Center, natural horn, New York, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment | Leave A Comment »
“And the ensemble’s three hornists — Phillip Eastop, Martin Lawrence and Gavin Edwards — played with an impressive unity and spot-on intonation.”
Read the whole review here:
March 29, 2010 | Categories: hornplaying | Tags: Beethoven, Eroica, Gavin Edwards, handhorn, Martin Lawrence, natural horn, New York Times, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment | 2 Comments »
I’m away again with Scottish Chamber Orchestra, this time for concerts in Perth (Scotland), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bydgoszcz and Krakow (Poland), Budapest (Hungary) and Istanbul (Turkey).
The best thing about this trip is the music. All seven concerts are of the same program, which includes two of Mozart’s greatest piano concertos, in C minor and Bb Major.
The soloist, Poland’s own Piotr Anderszewski, has been playing incredibly beautifully and with no conductor we have all been enjoying the freedom to tune into each other and play just how we like. The woodwind section for these concerts is on exceptionally fine form.
Another thing I like is that Harry Johnstone and I are playing on natural horns. It’s precarious, but exciting and fun. I so much prefer it to playing classical music on modern horns.
The Polish audiences have been great. Full halls, no mobile phones going off, no beeping watches, and tremendous enthusiasm expressed through synchronised clapping, cheering and standing ovations.
March 25, 2009 | Categories: hornplaying | Tags: handhorn, Scottish Chamber Orchestra | Leave A Comment »
I went with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, to Budapest to play a New Year’s Day concert of Haydn’s Creation.
My horn went ahead of me in the orchestra’s truck, in a nice big padded crate, along with the basses, timps etc. When I got my horn out for the rehearsal – this was New Year’s Eve – I found that the linkage to the 2nd valve had broken.
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It was pretty obvious to me that it couldn’t be fixed and that I had to decide whether to try to find a horn to borrow or play the Creation using handstopping. I went for the handstopping option. I really hate playing other people’s horns.
In the end it went pretty well, I think, although it was quite nerve-wracking. For E horn and A horn I had to remember to turn the 2nd valve around, by hand, to the correct setting. I had to leave the 2nd valve cap off and use the notches on the top of the valve spindle to line it up. Then, crucially, I had to remember to rotate the valve back for A horn, F horn, Eb horn, D horn (third f-side valve), C horn and Bb basso horn.
Also, it felt quite weird playing an eight-valved modern instrument using classical handstopping technique. Something like rowing a speedboat…
January 3, 2009 | Categories: hornplaying | Tags: Budapest, handhorn, handstopping, L.P.O., London Philharmonic Orchestra, valves | 2 Comments »
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October 21, 2008 | Categories: hornplaying | Tags: crooks, handhorn, natural horn, OAE, photo | Leave A Comment »
