“You can cage the singer but not the song.” — Harry Belafonte
There is so much music in my head. So many notes swirling around the rooms where I practice, so many harmonies exchanged in rehearsal, so much time poured into studying scores, so much music running through my mind when I lie in a dark room waiting for my son to fall asleep or sit in a train travelling from one concert hall to another.
There is so much music that one might expect one could grow full on it; that the body would reject such abundance after a time; that the tiny hair cells in our cochlea would lie down in protest, exhausted from all the pitch information flowing in.
But to me, there is no such thing as too much music.
In this month’s round-up, please find an invitation to a mini-festival in Berne that I’ve put together with Gwendolyn's Bridge Club and is bursting at the seams with an eclectic line-up of artists and music styles; a new mix “tape” in honour of Black History Month; a collection of photos taken at the “Global Beats” concert in Casino Berne last month; the BBC’s review of new release “LEGENDS”; and invitations to concerts I’m performing with Kim L’Horizon in Thun, Switzerland, and chamber music concerts in Braga, Portugal.
Enjoy the music!
Friday
03
March 2023 | 20:00
With Daniela Dröscher. Performing works by J.S. Bach, Biber, Vitali and Ysaÿe.
Thuner Literaturfestival
Rathaus Thun | Thun, CH
see website
Wednesday
08
March 2023 | 21:30
Piano quartets by Brahms and Schumann with Luis Magalhães (pn), Razvan Popovici (vla), Kyril Zlotnikov (vlc).
Theatro Circo | Braga, P
see website
Sunday
19
March 2023 | 14:00-19:00
Late Winter Fest, a mini-festival marking the end of winter. Music by Martinů and Tchaikovsky, performed by Gwendolyn Masin and Jiska Lambrecht (violins), Martin Moriarty and Sam Matzner (violas), Tommaso Verlinghieri and Sandro Meszaros (cellos). Special guests: Adaya, Táin, Kate Birch and Jella & the Late Knights.
Please note that the venue has strict capacity limit, so please come early to reserve your spot!
Programme
14:20 - Adaya
15:15 - Jella & the Late Knights
16:00 - Gwendolyn Masin and Martin Moriarty play Bohuslav Martinů's Three Madrigals
16:45 - Táin
17:30 - Gwendolyn Masin and Masters students from the ZHdK play Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence
18:30 - Kate Birch
Werkstadt Lorraine | Berne, CH
View the full playlist here.
Circlesongs 8 | Bobby McFerrin
Florence Price's Sonata in E Minor (2nd Movt)| Michelle Cann
Margaret Bond's Decision from Montgomery Variations | New York Philharmonic
Scenes from the Song of Hiawatha, Op. 30: Hiawatha Overture, Op. 30 | RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Nkeiru Okoye | Voices Shouting Out
Nina Simone | I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free (Montreux 1976)
Jimi Hendrix |Voodoo Child
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting | Charles Mingus
Mack the Knife, Kurt Weill | Ella Fitzgerald
Summertime, George Gershwin | Ella Fitzgerald
“Rat Race,” written by Quincy Jones | Count Basie
All Blues | Miles Davis
Strange Fruit | Billie Holiday
The Masquerade Is Over | Nancy Wilson
At Last | Etta James
Take Me to the River | Al Green
Superfly | Curtis Mayfield
Superstition | Stevie Wonder
Inner City Blues | Marvin Gaye
Give Me One Reason | Tracy Chapman
S***, Damn, Mother******| D’Angelo
Tyrone | Erykah Badu
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five | The Message
Michael Jackson | Don’t Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Kiss | Prince
Rhythm Nation| Janet Jackson
California Love |Tupac - feat. Dr. Dre
Hypnotize | The Notorious B.I.G.
Gimme Some More | Busta Rhymes
Formation | Beyoncé
N95 | Kendrick Lamar
Super Rich Kids | Frank Ocean
Desperado | Rihanna
This Is America | Childish Gambino
The Next Episode | Dr. Dre
Tightrope | Janelle Monáe
Freedom | Pharrell Williams
Lingus | Snarky Puppy feat. Cory Henry
Cranes in the Sky | Solange
Feelin' | Q-Tip
We Saw the Sun | Lil Yachty
The Seed |The Roots