Sunday Sevens #41

This post’s a bit late, but it’s been a busy weekend and I’ve not had chance to sit down and write. So here’s my Sunday Sevens devised by Natalie at Threads and bobbins.

Walking the Dog: 
The highlight of the week has been walks with Riley.

Riley and Daffodils

David and Riley and Eros

Today we visited Sefton Park in all kinds of weather. While the daffodils bent their heads in the wind we jogged and walked in the snow, sleet, hail and rain! We had fun though and added three miles to my annual mileage.

#walk1000miles:

This week I managed 35 miles, bringing my total to 108 miles! I also ordered the 2018 badge. If you are partaking in the challenge, how are you doing?

TV:

I have recently been enjoying the BBC 2 programme A House Through Time. Presented by David Olusoga, featuring a house in Faulkner Street, Liverpool. The programme is in four parts and follows the lives of the people who lived in the four storey house.

A Year in Books:

I am currently reading Tom Hank’s Uncommon Type, a collection of short stories with a typewriter mentioned in every one. David informed me that Hanks collects typewriters hence the love for them in this collection of stories. Have you read the book? What were your thoughts?

Elgar’s Enigma – Liverpool Philharmonic

Night Out:

On Thursday David and I took a trip to the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The orchestra performed a varied programme. The low point was a premier of Stephen Pratt’s Symphonies of Tide and Time, which sounded discordant and seemed to have no theme whatsoever. Lithuanian violinist Julian Rachlin performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto enthusiastically, while the high point of the night was Elgar’s Enigma Variations. It was lovely to hear Nimrod played poignantly and variations 11 and 12 were both fun and melancholic respectively.

Classic FM Hall of Fame:

It’s that time of year again, when voting is open for Classic FM’s Hall of Fame. This year I voted for:

1. Rachmaninov’s 2nd Symphony
2. Elgar’s Enigma Variations
3. Massenet’s Meditation from Thais

Even though we are in the midst of winter I am looking for signs of spring. I have not seen snowdrops yet, but I have seen daffodils and willows showing their catkins. Have you seen any signs of spring where you are?

That was my week, how was yours?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

2016 Classic FM Hall of Fame.

It’s 20 years since Classic FM started their yearly poll on the nations favourite classical music.

In 2016 I have voted as follows:

My choice for number three: goes to Antonín Dvořák Symphony No 9 (From the New World).

I chose the scherzo as an example of the vibrancy of the piece. Though I do love Leonard Bernstein’s 1962 version with the New York Philharmonic.

Over the past year I have enjoyed listening to the 9th symphony, when it plays on the radio. It makes me want to know more about Dvořák, of his life and his works.

My choice for number two: has got to be Sir Edward Elgar’s Nimrod from his Enigma Variations.

It has always been a piece of music that stops me in my tracks. Whether it be cleaning, cooking or changing the bed sheets, I always have to stop and think, to reflect as the music drifts around me. I chose this piece last year and it reached number three in the chart, so who knows. Maybe we can get Elgar and his Nimrod to number one??

And for my number one, this year: I have picked a Rachaminov, but not his piano concerto number two, (which is divine) and had my vote for previous years! I have decided to go against the grain and vote for his symphony number two! It is only one of a few symphonies that I can listen to in its entirety. The others being Mahler’s 5th, Beethoven’s 5th (you can see a pattern there? – must be something about the 5th symphony!), Sibelius’s 2nd symphony and Dvořák ‘s 9th symphony!

In previous years I have been glued to the radio, listening with bated breath as to which composer achieves the accolade as being the nations favourite. In 2016 I shall worry less about whether Rachmaninov or Vaughn Williams gets to the top spot. I will just be enjoying the countdown over the Easter weekend.

Will you be voting in this years poll? Who will get your vote?

Christine x