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Rebecca Franks

@becca_jf21

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Writer, reader, listener, journalist and editor
Classical music critic @timesculture

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Terrible camerawork by me, phenomenal orchestral work by the Berlin Philharmonic and conductor Kirill Petrenko. It really was a dream to hear them play at the Proms last night. The Elgar Enigma Variations were so beautiful in places, those swelling emotions so heart-fully (not a word, I know) conveyed, that string sound so full of layers and lines I hadn’t heard before. It was so moving. And the Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony was thrillingly done - I loved its ghostly waltzes and those funny little drooping decorations, like autumn leaves falling to the ground. by @becca_jf21

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a month ago

You know that feeling when you randomly pick up a book by a classic author who you’ve never read before, and then you read the first page and it is just so well written, and you want to tell everyone wow, check out Zola, have you heard of him, as if you’ve made a real discovery? Well, that.

Mind you, Thérèse Raquin is totally grim in parts - and there are aspects definitely best left in the 19th century - but still, what a writer, what a book. My Zola journey begins here. by @becca_jf21

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a month ago

It’s taken me three tries this year to complete the beginners section of the @chaiandconversation Learn Persian bootcamp, but third time’s a charm! Giving myself a little pat on the back for finishing it, and enjoying the certificate. 🍾🎉🌸 Language learning in your forties is definitely harder than as a child, but it’s also a lot of fun. by @becca_jf21

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a month ago

Nearly twenty years living in Bristol and I’ve finally visited Henleaze Lake, which is as utterly magical as everyone has said. I can’t believe it, really, that this oasis is here in the city. Loved swimming in water edged with lilypads and willow trees. Signed up to the waiting list which is a mere 4,500 people long…

Also pictured: sunsets, eclipses, hot air balloons, butterflies (I’ve seen so many this summer) and territorial gulls. Loving this summer’s accidental theme of seeing the familiar through fresh eyes. by @becca_jf21

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2 months ago

And my personal Proms season is off to a great start! A Sunday matinee of brass band music and an evocative evening of Spanish classics. Reviews up at @timesculture now, where you’ll be able to keep up with all the latest Proms coverage. by @becca_jf21

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2 months ago

I recently went to Leipzig for @thetimes to meet the brilliant harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and to stroll the very same streets our shared hero, Johann Sebastian Bach, once walked, when he worked at the Thomaskirche.

We talked Bach – of course! – as Esfahani has just released a wonderful album of the keyboard concertos on @hyperionrecords, and he had many wonderful Bach facts and anecdotes to share.

But we also spoke about what it means to him to be an American born in Iran, and why the Iranian diaspora has failed to come together against the regime.

“Hopefully we’ll sort out our homeland. I would love to go back and be part of the generation that builds the country,” he says.

Link in stories. by @becca_jf21

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2 months ago

Thank you @bbcmusicmag for letting me explore the clutch of composers who were also inventors. We’re talking…

🧪 Elgar and the Sulpheretted Hydrogen Machine
📼 Oram and the Oramics Machine
😢 Ravel and his father’s disastrous Whirlwind of Death

… among others. It’s in the latest issue, which looks packed with goodies, and is out now. by @becca_jf21

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2 months ago

This was a ‘pinch me’ moment! Last night, after the final of the Mahler Competition (more on that to come), I was lucky enough to meet Marina Mahler, granddaughter of Gustav and Alma Mahler, and I absolutely did not play it cool for the few minutes I got to chat with her, but she very generously agreed to a photo. And here it is. (And I think it absolves me from not taking a selfie with the Gustav cardboard cut-out.) by @becca_jf21

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3 months ago

I’ve not been posting much here recently (at least I don’t think I have), and that’s for lots of reasons, not least feeling once again in a weird space with social media, but anyway, I did want to share some of my recent reviews for @timesculture, particularly the opera ones, as over the past couple of months I have really heard some wonderful, stimulating things. I loved Elena Langer’s Four Sisters at the Linbury (and so glad to read that English Touring Opera is putting on more of her work next season). Berg’s Wozzeck shocked me - and not just for the usual reasons but also in relation to use of AI in creative contexts (something I’m going to write more about). Angel’s Bone from ENO set me thinking about trauma in art - and how even in the decade since it was written, that has changed. How do we strike the balance between telling the truth of someone’s story (clearly important) and audiences then essentially watching that trauma re-enacted in pretty much real time (clearly upsetting)? The content warnings were very much needed. Elsewhere, I hugely enjoyed hearing Beth Taylor in Orlando, going to Das Rheingold at Grange Park Opera, and sampling new bite size operas in Birmingham (hard to believe, writing this in such heat, that it was so cold I needed blanket to sit through them). by @becca_jf21

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3 months ago

I didn’t manage to take many photos of the day, but I loved the event masterminded by @lucycuthew celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Bath Spa MA in Writing for Young People. There were talks by writing legends @jgreenauthor and @davidjohnalmond, a wonderful ‘writing the summer’ workshop for everyone by @svoake, and smaller group workshops by amazing tutors @rachelhamiltonbooks @sambeckbessinger @ajgraingerbooks @alexcotterwrites @elen_caldecott and Sue Bailey Sillick. And it was so brilliant to see old writing friends, chat to new ones and to feel part of the wider writing community. An inspiring day all round. 📚❤️ by @becca_jf21

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4 months ago

It was an absolute joy to interview the phenomenal viola player @timothyridout_viola for @bbcmusicmag’s June issue (out now at all good retailers etc etc).

We spoke the day he played @marksimpson732’s new viola concerto, which was written for him and is a piece to be reckoned with. We talked Bach, British viola players, 20th-century repertoire, feeling like you’ve started too late, and his passion for the instrument - among other things.

Highly recommend digging out one of Timothy Ridout’s many recordings if, for any reason, you tend to overlook the viola (and, equally, if you don’t)! by @becca_jf21

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4 months ago

Just landed on the doormat! My second issue of Cathedral Music, the magazine of @cathedralmusictrust, which I now edit. I was delighted to have one of the Trust’s Ambassadors, the brilliant @annalapwoodorgan on the cover - and inside she talks compassionately and candidly about the challenges of life as an organist and choir conductor, as well as her exciting ambitions. Plus there are pieces on Herbert Howells and grief, why Evensong is flourishing in Europe, and teenagers telling us why they love singing in choirs.

Thanks to all the wonderful writers who have contributed this issue and to the great publishing teams @markallengroup. It’s out now for members and will be available online too. by @becca_jf21

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5 months ago