Henning Kraggerud

Henning Kraggerud was the soloist in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto played at last night's Halle Thursday Series Concert. And what a performance he gave! Exciting, brilliant, sensitive, heartfelt are just some of th adjectives that come to mind as this sensational young norwegian found his way round this virtuoso war horse. This is the first time that I have heard this thirty four year old (though I believe that he has played with the Halle several times before) and I look forward to hearing him play again! Meanwhile I shall have to content myself with listening to three Naxos compact discs in which he plays and which I have now ordered: 'Norwegian Violin Favourites'; 'Grieg - Violin Sonatas Nos 1 - 3 ' and the "Sibelius; Sinding - Violin Concertos" Can't wait.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Royal Exchange, Manchester

This is one of the great plays of the 20th century and a long one too i.e. if you perform it as currently at the Royal Exchange in Manchester where the director, Sarah Frankcom, has decided to weld acts one and two together so that the second half of this long evening begins with act 3, which for me does n't really work. Proof of which were the large number of empty seats after the first act which weighs in at two hours. One has to concentrate really hard for this length of time, not to mention also have a strong bladder! As a result we also miss the titles of each act, which give us a clue as to what is about to follow: Act 1 Fun and Games; Act 2 Walpurgis Nacht and Act 3 Exorcism.

There have been some great productions of this play in recent times: Kathleen Turner gave a great performance in London last year and there was of course the celebrated film version with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. In other words some hard acts to follow!On the whole the Manchester team do extremely well. But I had problems with the accent of Barbara Marten who plays Martha and who sounded at times like a gangsters moll so thick was her Bronx vocal twang. Philip Bretherton plays George who seemed to me to get everything right. His performance grew in staure as the evening progressed. Michael Begley and Joanne Froggatt convincingly play husband and wife Nicky and Honey.

Manchester United 4 - 1 Bolton

Manchester United did the business again yesterday against Bolton, bringing the Premiership Title a lot nearer. Worryingly though was the ankle injury that Gary Neville received from a bad tackle involving Gary Speed, which looks as though he will now be precluded from taking part in the forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers with Israel and Andorra.

I'm not really interested in the world of fashion. I regularly, without reading, cast aside all the supplements in the Sunday newspapers and I think what a waste of time and money including all that rubbish in a newspaper. Did he/she really pay £100 for a pair of badly torn jeans I ask myself. I therefore vacillated about seeing 'The Devil Wears Prada' ; even though lots several friends had recommended it. After watching the recently released DVD this week I now realise that I should never have wavered: this is a funny and clever film that is well directed by David Frankel and wittily written by Aline Brosh McKenna, who provides us with some amusing not to say philosophical insights into the fashion industry. Meryl Streep as 'the Dragon Lady', Anne Hathaway as 'the new Emily' deliver some entertaining characterisations. Mention must be made also of a fine supporting cast: principally Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. I won't go into the plot and storyline, that would just spoil the surprises for those who haven't yet seen this delightful film. Highly recommended.

Rachmaninov's Hands

Rachmaninov famously had large hands able to span over an octave and a half on a piano making some of his piano compositions incredibly difficult to play. Click on the link below to see one pianist's novel way of overcoming this problem........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKKlhYF53w

Liverpool 0 - Manchester United 1

Down to ten men in the closing minutes of the game , Manchester United managed to hold on and score a deciding goal in what looked as though it was going to be a goalless draw against Liverpool at Anfield Road this lunchtime.

The Story of the Weeping Camel

Told in the style of a documentary this understated film tells the story of a group of Mongolian herders and their attempts at getting one of their camels to bond with it’s newly born colt. Superbly photographed and naturally acted by its cast, 'The Story of The Weeping Camel' slowly unfolds, revealing how three generations of people go about their simple daily lives tending their sheep and camels whilst living on the edge of modernity. The people fascinate and enchant as we observe them living their uncomplicated lives in their canvas houses in the desert. Yes, for some the story may seem unhurried and measured, but it is because of this that we are given the opportunity to watch, take in and consider what we are viewing; not something we are allowed to do when viewing most mainstream films. And what of the title? Well you have to wait till almost the end of the film for the answer to that question.

Summary

Superbly photographed and naturally acted by its cast, 'The Story of The Weeping Camel' slowly unfolds, revealing how three generations of people go about their simple daily lives tending their sheep and camels whilst living on the edge of modernity. Highly recommended.