Sad News Of The Death of Nadia Warner

I've just learnt of the sad death my beautiful friend, the artist Nadia Warner. She died in December after a long illness. I've known Nadia from my time as a student in Birmingham in the 1970s and she was a special person with an inner as well as an outer beauty. There was something different about Nadia, an inner light and a way of looking at the world that was very unusual compared to anyone else I knew. The last time I saw her she was all packed to travel round the world and find a new place to live in either Australia or Hawaii. She settled in California for a number of years, furthering her talent as a painter and photographer. But illness brought her back to the UK. Here her painting Veiled Sunset:

New Version of 'Baobab' for Harpsichord premiered in Lille

A new harpsichord version of my percussion piece Baobab was premiered in Lille, France by the Polish harpsichordist Kasia -Tomczak-Feltrin in late 2008. I only just heard that it had been played as the invitation to attend didn't get to me. Baobab uses African-inspired polyrhythms that shift across each other, making it difficult to play. I believe there will be another performance sometime in the near future, perhaps in London. I'm working on more pieces for harpsichord using electronics and prepared objects as well as eBows to create a continous sustain on the strings.

Spicer's 'Hydrogen' For Flute & Electronics Performed At Malmo's Music Academy By Aimee de Gruchy-Lambert

The talented flutist Aimee de Gruchy-Lambert performed my composition 'Hydrogen' for flute and electronics at Sweden's Musikhogskolan i Malmo in late December. The piece employs multiphonics and extended technique for flute and is inspired by bebop and contemporary jazz solos. The piece is fast and twisting and has an electronic soundscape created using MAX-MSP and Reason software. There is a recording of the performance.

The Brake Drum Assembly To Play Andi Spicer's Percussion Piece 'Baobab' At Henry Wood Hall In London

The London-based percussion quartet Brake Drum Assembly are to perform my Baobab piece on Saturday 28th February at the Henry Wood Hall in London. Sadly, I won't be attending as I have to go to Birmingham that weekend. This is the fifth time this composition has been played and I'm very pleased it's had such a good track record. Baobab is hard to play as it involves polyrhythms inspired by mbira music from southern Africa. Also interesting is that Oli Mayne, who was the BDA's vibes player is now resident in Budapest, so I imagine that a new member will be playing the vibraphone.

Here's the details:

TELEPHONE +44 (0)20 7403 0118
FAX +44 (0)20 7378 8294
EMAIL bookings@hwh.co.uk
POST HENRY WOOD HALL LTD
TRINITY CHURCH SQUARE
LONDON - SE1 4HU

http://www.hwh.co.uk/

If you want to know more about my music - here's my official web site: http://www.andispicercomposer.moonfruit.com/

Julien Feltrin & Michel Sicinski To Premiere Andi Spicer's 'Haut Voltage' in Calais, France

Ensemble Alchemia with Julien Feltrin on Midi Woodwind Controller, Recorders and Michel Sicinski on clarinets are to premiere my composition 'Haut Voltage' for Midi woodwind controller, clarinet and laptop electronics on Wednesday 17th January, 2007 in the French coastal city of Calais. This is an interesting piece that uses electronics and improvisation from the two players. Julien is a fine musician who I've worked with in the past with 'Euclid Alone'. This is the first time I've worked with the talented Polish clarinetist Michel Sicinski.

Here is the programme:

Mercredi 17 Janvier, 20h30 Salle Didier Lockwood, 43, rue du 11 Novembre / Calais, France. This is near the Ecole Nationale de Musique de Calais.

Haut Voltage (première) Andi Spicer ( 1959) MIDI Woodwind Controller, Clarinette et électronique
New-York Contrepoint (1985) Steve Reich ( 1936) Clarinette et CD
Prisma (première) Michal Talma-Sutt (1969) Contrebasse Paetzold et électronique
Meditation (1993) Quentin S.D. Grant (1962)
Jackdaw (1995) Wayne Seagel (1953) Clarinette basse et électronique
Integer Valor (1993) Giorgio Magnanensi (1960) Flûtes à bec, live electronic et CD
Breath of Nature (2006) Ryszard Osada (1972) Contrebasse Paetzold, clarinette basse et électronique"

Here some recent performances:

Click Language - Brighton Festival - Sussex Arts Club - July 2005
Baobab - Brighton Festival - Sussex Arts Club - July 2005
Baobab - Bartok, London - Dec 2005
Euclid Alone - Brighton Festival - May 2006
Bird - Brighton Festival - May 2006
Click Language - Brighton Festival - May 2006
Baobab - Brighton Festival - May 2006
Anglo Boer War Mv I-III - The Warehouse - All Ears Festival, London - Sept 2006
Polonnaruwa - The Warehouse - All Ears Festival, London - Sept 2006
Baobab - Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival - Nov 2006
Haut Voltage - Salle Didier Lockwood, Calais, France - Jan 2007

Links:

Review in French:
http://www.coteo.com/opalenews/index.php?search=&index=&lg=1&id_bouton=6&fiche=14087&page=

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andi_Spicer
http://www.julienfeltrin.blogspot.com/

Arno Schmidt's The Egghead Republic

Returned after many years to a favourite writer of mine, Arno Schmidt. I first read his 'Egghead Republic' in my youth and am enjoying it very much after all these years. Its subtle humour and complex imagery make it a 20th Century milestone. He's still a much underrated writer and almost unknown outside of German-speaking countries, despite fine translations of many of his works.

Saw Performance by Gyorgy Kurtag in London

Spent a beautiful evening at London's Wigmore Hall watching a performance by Gyorgy Kurtag and his wife Marta. A very private affair with the two playing duets from his Jatekok cycle of games for piano. Before this, Japanese violinist Hiromi Kikuchi treated us to a dazzling display for the UK premiere of Hipartita, a piece for solo violin.
Kurtag has such a sense of space and proportion in his music.