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Oblique Strategies (subtitled Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas) is a deck of 7 by 9 centimetres (2.8 in × 3.5 in) printed cards in a black container box, created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt and first published in 1975. Each card offers an aphorism intended to help artists (particularly musicians) break creative blocks by encouraging lateral thinking. (Source: Wikipedia)

Earlier this week I heard an interesting programme on BBC Radio 4 in which the poet Simon Armitage set out to discover more about the Oblique Strategies cards, their origins and how they are used. The cards were most famously employed by Brian Eno during the recording of David Bowie’s Berlin triptych Low, “Heroes” and Lodger in the 1970s. In the radio programme, Simon Armitage spoke to Carlos Alomar (guitarist on those Bowie albums) as well as music journalist Paul Morley and chef Ian Knauer who use these cards, and during the course of the interviews with various creative people, it became clear that these brief gnomic aphorisms, selected randomly, can bring new or unexpected ways of thinking to seemingly intractable problems and difficulties, not just those encountered during creative processes such as writing, composing or painting/making art, but also in every day life. It also struck me while listening to the radio programme that Oblique Strategies Cards could be used in practising to help enliven practising or shine a new light on an issue which may have been causing one problems, or just to help one think and act more creatively during practise. It is a fact universally acknowledged that if our practising becomes monotonous, unthinking, uncreative and boring, it will not be productive.

I have taken just a few Oblique Strategies and considered how they might be used in day-to-day practising, and also in preparation for performance. These are my own responses to the cards, and are simply suggestions and perhaps an inspiration to others to try this approach.

‘Repetition is a form of change’

So, we all know that repetitive practise is the activity which fixes music in head, hands, eyes and ears. Repetition is what trains the muscular memory (what psychologists call “procedural memory”, since in reality our muscles do not retain a memory of movement). But practising the same phrase or section over and over again, 20, 50, perhaps 100 times, can be dull and unsatisfying. So make each repetition count: listen, look, think, consider, so that each subsequent repetition has value.

‘What mistakes did you make last time?’

An obvious and useful aphorism. Never ignore mistakes: consider why they happened and how they can be resolved. See them in a positive light – we can always learn from mistakes – and take action to ensure they do not reoccur.

‘Look at the order in which you do things’

An excellent suggestion! If your practise sessions always follow the same pattern – warming up with scales and exercises, perhaps, before moving on to work on pieces – try mixing things up a bit. Maybe do some warm up exercises away from the piano while thinking about what you need to work on, and then try a quick study or some sight-reading?

‘Listen to the quiet voice’

Taking time to  listen carefully and play quietly (and slowly) is an important element of practise and one that is too often overlooked by youngsters (and more senior players too) who may want to play with all the exuberance of youth, or who simply want to get through their practise session as quickly as possible. When we play quietly and slowly we allow ourselves more time to consider the music: look at the details, the different “voices” and lines of melody. Maybe a “quiet voice” in the left hand has not been given enough attention? Try highlighting it and see what effect it has.

‘You don’t have to be ashamed of using your own ideas’

Don’t always rely on your teacher to guide you in aspects of technique, interpretation and musicality. Trust your instincts and be brave, learn from listening and observing others, in concert and on recordings. Make your own judgements. A good teacher will guide and advise and offer suggestions if something you are doing is “tasteless” or not in keeping with the genre or character of the music.

‘Use “unqualified” people’

This ties in with the previous card. Asking non-specialists and those who have little knowledge of music to listen to your playing can be a useful and enjoyable exercise. Take their comments on board. As musicians it is not healthy to exist in an isolated ivory tower.

‘Turn it upside down’

My father used to do this when he was practising. He was a fine amateur clarinettist who played in an orchestra in Birmingham in the 1970s which was run by the then senior oboist of the CBSO. Turning the music upside down was a common practice in orchestral rehearsals to break the monotony and add a new slant on familiar music. It’s not as straightforward for a pianist, but it’s a fun exercise. Or try practising everything with each hand, and things in symmetrical inversion, or transpose (keeps the brain alert!).

“Are there sections? Consider transitions”

Music is constructed from clear ‘architecture’, and usually in defined sections. We tend, by necessity to learn section by section and this can lead to a piece sounding disjointed, despite our best efforts to create a sense of flow throughout the entire work. So, take time to consider the bridges and transitions between sections: practise the endings and beginnings of sections and think about how the different sections relate to one another, or offer contrasts.

‘Use fewer notes’

Not to be taken literally for we should always show fidelity to the score, but sometimes our playing can genuinely appear too “notey”. Try different forms of touch and attack, consider the sounds, phrasing, and dynamic range.

‘Make a sudden, destructive, unpredictable action; incorporate’

If you’re someone who enjoys improvisation, this will strike a chord (forgive the pun!). And even if you’re not a natural improviser, why not try incorporating some improvisation into your regime? And even within the rather stricter confines of serious practising, one should allow the unexpected and see where it leads…..

‘Convert a melodic element into a rhythmic element’

Another improvisatory impulse which can be incorporated into everyday practise. And maybe that melody could do with more rhythmic vitality to bring additional colour to it?

‘Define an area as “safe” and use it as an anchor’

Here’s one to help with performance anxiety. Think about the last time you played that piece or pieces and recall the positive feelings associated with it. Try and recreate those feelings in your mind, and body, as you prepare for the next performance. Instead of focusing on the “what if’s?” or allowing negative thoughts to creep in, anchor your attention onto positives drawn from previous successful performances.

And a few more of my favourites, for no particular reason:

‘Change nothing and continue with immaculate consistency’

‘Make an exhaustive list of everything you might do and do the last thing on the list’

‘Imagine the music as a moving chain or caterpillar’

‘What would your closest friend do?’

There are a number of random Oblique Strategies generators online, smart phone apps, and even a few Twitter accounts, or of course you could purchase the cards in their traditional format. Thank you for reading: I’m off to ‘do the washing up’.

Listen to ‘Heroes’ by David Bowie

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Paul Badura-Skoda (Photo @ DR)
Saturday 10th May, 2014 – St John’s, Smith Square, London
Chopin
Waltzes – A minor, Op.34/2, C sharp minor, Op.64/2, D flat, Op.64/1; Nocturne, op. posth., Four Mazurkas, op. 30, Barcarolle, op. 60
Schubert
Impromptu in B-flat D935 No. 3 ‘Rosamunde Variations’

Sonata in B-flat D960

The words “great” and “world class” are all too frequently bandied about in reviews and articles about musicians (and artists and writers too). But how does one truly define these over-used descriptions? If “greatness” comes from a life spent living with, and performing and writing about, some of the finest music ever written, forming a profound relationship with it and its composers, understanding with intimate detail its structures and nuances, then Paul Badura-Skoda is a living example of this.

Paul Badura-Skoda is a pianist I have long wanted to hear live. I was aware of him more as a respected pedagogue, writer on music and editor of works by Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin and others. My teacher frequently refers to him, I have met pianists who have studied with him, and I have listened to some of his recordings (including his latest in which he plays Schubert’s final sonata on three different pianos) with interest and curiosity.

His concert at St John’s Smith Square was an opportunity for me and my companion for the evening (a fellow pianist) to share a unique musical experience – and one which will resonate with us for a long time to come. To attempt to “review” the playing, the pianism, the musical understanding and insight of such a master would be churlish.

Badura-Skoda created a special and intimate soundworld and atmosphere from the opening notes of the bittersweet A minor Waltz to the life-affirming closing cadence of Schubert’s final Piano Sonata, a place where generosity of spirit and good humour ruled, a place of great intimacy, as if we had been invited into his own musical salon for the evening. Of course, Paul Badura-Skoda is steeped in that particular European tradition of music-making, and his teacher, Edwin Fischer, connects him to an earlier golden age of music making and culture.

Despite his age (86), Badura-Skoda cuts a sprightly figure (compare his twinkling eyes and brisk gait with the frailer Maurizio Pollini at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in April, who is more than 10 years Badura-Skoda’s junior) and displayed an obvious pleasure in being at St John’s Smith Square. And if there were some smeared notes and uncertain rhythms, the overall effect was of a musician who has lived with this music for many years and whose knowledge and understanding allowed the music to speak for itself, free of ego and unnecessary gestures.

Before the Sonata in B flat, D960, Paul Badura-Skoda said a few words about the piece, how he regarded it as Schubert’s “farewell” (it was completed less than two months before the composer’s death in 1828), and how the sublime opening theme suggests the words of a hymn or prayer. The first movement had a spacious serenity in the main theme, and the range of colours and nuances which Badura-Skoda brought to the music shone a new light on a familiar work for me: for example, the bass trills were voiced differently each time which gave them a greater resonance and sense of foreboding, and the exposition repeat was observed. The slow movement’s ominous tread was relieved by a middle section of great warmth. The third movement bubbled with all the exuberance of a mountain stream, the darker Trio hardly interrupting the mood, while the finale had drive and energy coupled with wit and humour, despite one or two uneven moments. This was an engaging and entirely satisfying performance, which was met, deservedly, in my opinion, with a standing ovation.

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Who or what inspired you to take up the piano and make it your career?

I was inspired by my much older cousin Geoffrey who was at the Royal College of Music in London playing the piano when he and his parents came to us for Christmas. We had a good upright piano at home.

Who or what were the most important influences on your musical life and career?

Ruth Railton of the National Youth orchestra and teachers Dorothy Hesse and Maria Curcio.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

The greatest challenges have been getting to the top venues in the world.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?

A performance in Carnegie Hall New York, after which I was signed up by a big agent.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

Beethoven, most of the Romantic composers and Debussy.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

It depends whether I’m preparing for a recording and include that repertoire, and playing works which didn’t feature in the previous season. Also learning something new.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

The Wigmore Hall since I played there when I was twelve and it was the most exciting place in the world to me then. I love the warm intimate atmosphere.

Favourite pieces to perform? Listen to?

Beethoven Op. 2 no. 3, the ‘Appassionata’, Debussy’s Estampes and the Chopin 4th. Ballade. I love listening to Martha Argerich playing Gaspard de la Nuit.

Who are your favourite musicians?

Schnabel, Lipatti, Julius Katchen, Vlado Perlemuter Rubenstein and Argerich.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

First time in the Royal festival Hall with Tchaikovsky 1 and the RPO.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

To play through repertoire to people prior to a performance, and a concerto with someone accompanying on another piano, and to feel absolutely prepared for a performance. Also to learn how to look good, to walk and bow, and not to be put off if things don’t go well. Go back to the drawing board and try your best to put things right.

What are you working on at the moment?

The Chopin B flat minor Sonata & the 4th Ballade and the Schumann and Gershwin concertos.

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?

In 10 years’ time I would like to have gained greater recognition and have become a name synonymous with the top pianists in the world.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Either being on a horse or on a beach in the Bahamas.

What is your most treasured possession?

My cats and my grand piano.

What do you enjoy doing most?

Practising, and parties after concerts that have gone really well.

What is your present state of mind?

Optimistic.

Angela Brownridge performs Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in F minor, Op 57 as part of the third St Barnabas Beethoven Piano Sonatas Festival, 17-18 May 2014. Full details here

Angela’s playing restores spontaneity, character, and beauty of sound to the platform… Hailed as a major star in classical music Angela Brownridge has been compared with such pianists as the legendary Solomon, Rachmaninov, Cherkassy, and Bolet. She began her life in an atmosphere of freedom and individualism virtually impossible to find today. Under the guidance of Maria Curcio, who had been a pupil of Schnabel for many years, she absorbed the ability to produce every nuance of the piano, and to present music flexibly and persuasively instead of concentrating on a single method of technique or continual displays of brilliance, learning to deal with the differing requirements of a varied range of composers which recalls Cortot in his prime. Indeed, by realising that many pianists of a bygone age played with far more individuality, magic, and inspiration than has become the fashion, she was able to develop her own unique personality. In an age which has become over-fascinated with mere technique, and which seeks the degree of ‘perfection’ offered by over-edited CDs, Angela’s playing restores spontaneity, character, and beauty of sound to the platform.

A child prodigy, equally talented in composition, extemporisation, and technically brilliant, Angela first performed in public at the age of seven, and a year later had several pieces published. By the age of ten she had given her first concerto performance, and in her early teens was appearing regularly as a recitalist and concerto performer throughout Great Britain and abroad. She later won a piano scholarship to Edinburgh University, and after graduating B. Mus. was awarded a further scholarship for a two-year period of study in Rome with Guido Agosti. As the winner of several competitions she was able to continue her studies with Maria Curcio in London, where she now lives. Since then Angela has appeared in all the major London concert halls, and has visited Eastern and Western Europe, the USA, Canada, and the Far East, as well as performing extensively in the UK. She has been a soloist with many leading orchestras and conductors, and Festival engagements include Bath, Edinburgh, Warwick, Newport Rhode Island, Bratislava, Brno, Hong Kong, and Maastricht.

Her recorded repertoire is very varied, including some first ever collections of the complete piano music of Barber and Gershwin. Her recordings have received worldwide critical acclaim, several being voted “Critics’ Choice” by Hi-Fi News. She has also appeared on BBC TV in programmes which have involved her in discussion about the music she has performed. She often gives lecture recitals and master classes, and maintains her love of improvisation which has led her on occasions into the world of jazz. In 2004 Angela recorded the complete piano works of Kenneth Leighton who was her professor in harmony, counterpoint, and composition at Edinburgh University where she was on a piano scholarship. Leighton, who died in 1988 has been described as “the most important British composer of piano music of the twentieth century”. The three CD set is available on the Delphian label: DCD 34301. (Source: Mary Kaptein Management)

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A busy week of enjoyable and varied concerts in Brighton and London. Here’s my round up:

Sunday 4th May – Helen Burford, piano, Brighton

Helen has a particular interest in contemporary British and American music, and an unerring ability to create imaginative and eclectic concert programmes which combine her interests with more mainstream repertoire. For her afternoon recital as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival, she opened with Somei Satoh’s haunting Incarnation II, a work which allows one to fully appreciate the full range of sounds and resonance possible on the piano. An extraordinarily absorbing and unusual work. The Japanese connection continued with Debussy’s evocative Pagodes, followed by Haydn’s C major Piano Sonata Hob. XVI No. 50 with two witty and sprightly outer movements enclosing a slow movement played with expression and warmth. In typical style, Helen cleverly paired Hush-A-bye, a work by contemporary American composer Julie Harris, with Debussy’s much-loved Clair de Lune. Both pieces recall nighttime – the first has night sounds combined with fragments from the lullabies, “All the Pretty Little Horses” and “Hush Little Baby Don’t Say a Word”, while the veiled harmonies and rippling semiquavers of Debussy evoke moonlight. Helen closed her programme with a lively and foot-tapping Rumba Machine by Martin Butler.

Monday 5th May – Jonathan Biss at Wigmore Hall

Biss is a musician I was curious to hear live, having enjoyed interviews with him, and his insightful and intelligent writing about Beethoven. His recital opened with an early Beethoven Sonata, Op 10, No. 2, and there was much to enjoy in his nimble and witty rendition of the first movement. However, the second movement lacked shape and the final movement was too rushed. The second Beethoven of the concert was the ‘Waldstein’ which lacked structure and a clear sense of the underlying “four-square” nature of Beethoven’s writing. The end result felt rather superficial. Sandwiched between the two Sonatas were selections from Janacek’s On An Overgrown Path. These were enjoyable but lacked a certain sensitivity to the emotional depth inherent in these miniatures.

Wednesday 7th May – Behind the Lines: Music from the First War, MOOT, Brighton

Another lunchtime concert, hosted by Music Of Our Time, a wonderful music collective organised by the indefatigable Norman Jacobs. This year’s focus is on music and composers from the First World War, and the concert, duets and solo works performed by Helen Burford and Norman Jacobs, was a touching, tender and occasionally humorous tribute to composers such as Cecil Coles (who was killed in April 1918) and Frank Bridge, a committed pacifist who was profoundly affected by the war. There were also works by Debussy and Stravinsky, and the concert ended with a four hands version of ‘Mars’ from Holst’s Planets suite. The concert took place on the 99th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, which gave the concert an added poignancy.

Friday 9th May – David Braid, guitar & Sergei Pobdobedov, piano

The end of the week and a concert at the delightful 1901 Arts Club, a converted schoolmaster’s house not five minutes from the bustle and noise of Waterloo Station. One of London’s hidden gems, the venue seeks to recreate the ambiance and ethos of the European musical salon, with its gold and crimson decor and friendly, convivial atmosphere. It is the perfect place for intimate chamber music, and this evening’s concert was no exception.

I interviewed David Braid earlier this year and I was curious to meet him and hear him in performance, for his musical landscape and influences accorded, in part, with my own interests. He plays an electric archtop guitar, more usually associated with jazz or rock/pop musicians. He makes transcriptions for this instrument, with piano accompaniment (his duo partner Sergei Podobedov), of works by Renaissance and early Baroque composers such as Byrd and Sweelinck. The concert included music by these composers and Bach, together with piano solos of works by Chopin (two Scherzi, handled with stylish aplomb and energy by Sergei) and Schubert/Liszt, and some of David’s own compositions. Taken as a whole, this was a most intriguing and unusual concert, beautifully presented. It is hard to describe the sound of the archtop guitar with the piano: at times it recalls the Renaissance lute (which David also plays) while also sounding entirely contemporary, thus making the music sound both ancient and modern. David’s own compositions were haunting, delicate, fleeting – the Waltzes in particular had great poignancy and tenderness – and his contrapuntal writing connects his music to the Baroque masters whom he also plays. One of the nicest aspects of the evening, apart from the high-quality music, was that during the interval instead of disappearing upstairs, the musicians stayed in the salon to talk to the audience, further enhancing the sense that this was very much an evening of music amongst friends.