Friday, May 7, 2021
Peter Dickinson recalls how the French composer s profile increased radically in the 1970s - and the role he played in that
Erik Satie: Peter Dickinson recalls how the composer s reputation changed in the 1970s (photo: Tully Potter archive) Register now to continue reading Thank you for visiting Gramophone and making use of our archive of more than 50,000 expert reviews, features, awards and blog articles. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
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5 March 2021
John Erik Kaada has stumbled upon an interesting little concept. The Norwegian composer has coated some of the strings inside his piano with a gluey FunTak-like substance – he calls it PuttyKit, or “heftemasse” – and decided to record a series of plaintive classical selections to hear how he could mutate or reinterpret them.
Misinterpretations, the resulting LP, out 5 March, is a genuinely intriguing collection, with many of the songs cast in odd and very particular new lights. While it sometimes is not as daring or adventurous as some of Kaada’s electroacoustic suites, it provides an engaging and complete little view onto a window of piano-sound that will surprise longtime followers of the instrument and its forms and tones.
REOPENINGS/ Civic museums
Henry Moore working on Elephant skull etchings in 1971, on display at the Museo Novecento. Ph/ Errol Jackson
Civic museums got the go ahead to reopen in a highly anticipated announcement this week. Exhibitions that can now be viewed once more include Tutankhamon: Journey to eternity at the Galleria delle Carrozze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, and Henry Moore at the Museo Novecento as well as a whole host of other cultural favourites at the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens, Palazzo Vecchio, Torre di Arnolfo, Museo Bardini, Brancacci Chapel and the Santa Maria Novella Museum that s currently hosting Massimo Sestini s photographic show based on Dante. The museums listed will be open on weekdays and only in regions classed as yellow zones (medium-low risk of Covid-19 infection). Tuscany is currently classified as a yellow zone until January 24, when the situation is due to be reevaluated. Read more about the opening times here.