Listening to Elgar’s Cello Concerto and remembering, in gratitude. RIP Queen Elizabeth II, and thank you for your life of service and example to the people of the United Kingdom.
In Memoriam Queen Elizabeth II
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Category Archives: News
In Appreciation – Lars Vogt
by Ben Hogwood
Yesterday we learned of the incredibly sad news that the pianist Lars Vogt had died, at the age of 51.
The warmth and appreciation of tributes paid to him from fellow artists yesterday evening testify to his warm personality, strength of character and great musicianship. Lars was diagnosed with cancer early in 2021, but even in his chemotherapy found that playing the piano channelled the most positive energy and feeling. Here, for instance, is a wonderful performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no.24 given as part of the Parnu Festival with the Estonian Festival Orchestra and Paavo Järvi.
Lars was an extremely versatile artist, either as a soloist, chamber musician or conductor. Regular partners included violinist Christian Tetzlaff and cellist Truls Mørk, while he took part in a formidable piano trio with Christian and cellist Tanja Tetzlaff. He also proved himself a conductor of some note from the keyboard, directing the Royal Northern Sinfonia from the piano in recordings of the concertos of Beethoven and Brahms, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris in the concertos of Mendelssohn.
His orchestral partners spoke of him with great warmth, and certainly his time in Newcastle with the Royal Northern Sinfonia was characterised by energetic, creative music making and seasonal planning. My own memories of solo performance run back to a spellbinding account of the Goldberg Variations at Wigmore Hall:
As a concerto soloist I also recall a memorable account of Brahms’ Piano Concerto no.2 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Jiří Bělohlávek at the Proms:
At the same festival, I also recall a full-blooded account of the Bartók Violin Sonata no.1 with Christian Tetzlaff:
As a recording artist, Vogt enjoyed many peaks, mostly in the company of the Ondine label. The playlist below brings together just a section of these recordings, in the knowledge that a couple more are yet to be released.
He will be greatly missed, and we send condolences to all his family and friends. His lasting gift to us is in the form of recordings we will treasure greatly:
In appreciation – Lamont Dozier
Lamont Dozier in 1969. (c) Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images
Last week we heard the sad news of the death of Lamont Dozier, one of Motown’s chief songwriters. If you have listening to British radio stations over the last week you may well have heard a tribute or two in his honour – and even if you haven’t heard the tributes, the chances are you have heard a song in which Lamont had a vested writing interest.
The shower of tributes from artists in the wake of his death says everything about the quality of his songwriting. Carole King, in a Twitter post, said this:
As a member of that fabled Holland-Dozier-Holland trio (with Brian and Eddie Holland) he helped form something of a production line of quality Motown hits, a trio of songwriters the label could turn to at incredibly short notice, and who thought nothing of challenging their star vocalists.
First in this tribute is an appropriate one for this website – The Supremes’ I Hear A Symphony, from 1965. Here it is on an episode of Hullabaloo, introduced in a classical context:
Some of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s finest songs were written for The Four Tops – and it would be hard to top Reach Out, I’ll Be There, exploiting the incredibly powerful voice of lead singer Levi Stubbs to give the song its strongest possible impact:
Meanwhile another recipient of the trio’s fruits were Martha & the Vandellas, whose Heatwave remains one of Motown’s most powerful and affirmative calling cards:
Back to The Supremes, and the feverish You Keep Me Hangin’ On – not just for the pleading Diana Ross vocal but for the insistent guitar line that just will not go away:
Another Martha & the Vandellas track, Jimmy Mack, written in the wake of the death of the songwriter Ronnie Mack at the age of only 23, asks ‘when are you comin’ back?’
Another UK chart topper for Dozier and the Hollands was Band of Gold by Freda Payne, released in 1970 and a radio staple to this day:
Finally here is a wonderful song Lamont wrote for the imperious Alison Moyet in 1984. Invisible is surely one of her finest vocal achievements:
For a full list of songs in which Lamont was involved, you can go to the SecondHandSongs website
New music – Mark Peters feat. Dot Allison: Switch On The Sky
Some more good news from Sonic Cathedral. If you are a regular visitor to Arcana you will have seen our praise for the new Pye Corner Audio album Let’s Emerge, released on the label last Friday. Now we can bring confirmation of new music from Mark Peters, whose rather wonderful Innerland album provided a geographical record of his move back to Wigan in 2018.
The new album, Red Sunset Dreams, looks much further afield for its inspiration, casting longing eyes across the Atlantic in fact. It features contributions from pedal steel guitar legend B J Cole and vocalist Dot Allison, who sings on two tracks including the single released today, Switch on the Sky. They both appear as part of Peters’ fascination with the ambient side of country music, with Cole’s legendary steel guitar work becoming something of a healthy obsession.
The press release takes up the story, talking of ‘an incredibly evocative trip through the landscapes of old Western movies, exploring their links with the North West of England while touching on wider themes such as isolation, freedom and dementia. Sonically, it builds on the palette of the previous record with instrumentation equally inspired by the ascendant ambient Americana movement and classic country-rock. As a result it ends up somewhere between Acetone’s peerless I Guess I Would, Diamond Head-era Phil Manzanera and the dusty instrumentals on the second disc of David Sylvian’s 1986 classic Gone To Earth.
New music – Kennebec ft. Hemlock Ernst & Sudan Archives
You may remember Eric Phillips, otherwise known as Kennebec, from his previous appearance on Arcana. We were rather taken by his debut album Departure, released on Night Time Stories back in 2020 – and now he returns with a sequel.
The press release paints an intriguing picture. Phillips has clearly been busy, completing second album Without Star Or Compass, due for release on 7 October. It is a collaborative piece, made with and for friends – with guests including Sudan Archives, Yazz Ahmed and Future Islands frontman Samuel T. Herring, aka Hemlock Ernst.
Hemlock Ernst and Sudan Archives front the album’s lead single, the urgent stream of consciousness Tall Tales, which you can experience here:
We look forward to welcoming Kennebec back with a full album review nearer release date, but for now enjoy the prequel to what should be a very fine piece of work!
Arcana.fm 