Stoke RMC At-Home Evening 16th August 2008

TThe Stoke Recorded Music Circle held the 4th of its 5 annual Summer At-Home meetings on Saturday 16th August when 21 members met at the home of Sheila and Tony Baines.
First held in 2003, the Summer meetings have done much to cement friendships and enhance the ethos of the society. When the dates are fixed, members indicate which meetings they are able to attend, and then Vice-Chair Sheila Stanier has the tricky job of deciding who can go where, being careful to share the goodies equally.

On Saturday, not being tied to time, we enjoyed two hours of a varied feast of music. Pieces by lesser known composers such as Philipp Scharwenka, Jacques Ibert and Clara Schumann sat side-by-side with Peggy Lee and Fats Waller. Of particular interest was an extract from the BBC archive of historical recordings, dating back to as early as 1890. We heard a lady talking of her meetings with Brahms when taking piano lessons from Clara Schumann. This was followed by a very scratchy and indistinct recording of Brahms introducing himself and playing the piano - barely credible but true.

From the poignancy of the Lachrymosa from Mozart's Requiem to the particularly ear-catching Rondo from Hummel's Trumpet Concerto, from the ever-popular Tiny Frozen Hand with Pavarotti and Freni to a little know piece by Berlioz, we ended the evening with the thumping, joyous Carnival Overture by Dvorak.

The last meeting of the summer season takes place on Saturday 30 August at the home of Stoke Chairman John Mould and his wife Rita, the Programme Secretary.

Ibert

Schumann, Clara