February 14th sees the release of “I’m Alright Now”, the newest single from English singer-songwriter David Ford. Thematically, the single sits between the somewhat petulant “Go to Hell” and the chorus-intensive emotional ballad “I don’t care what you call me”. The first few seconds of the song are promising, with cautious violins gradually giving way to guitar and drums. Unfortunately, the listener is reminded within a few more seconds that David Ford is not a particularly gifted lyricist. This would not pose a great problem were it not for the fact that Ford’s songs, due to their heavily melodic nature and the artist’s promise of "brutally honest” self-condemnation, rely largely on the quality of the lyrics.

In “I’m Alright Now”, David Ford indulges his propensity for starting small and building up to a rhapsodic climax. The verses serve as respite from the intensity of the choruses, which invite the listener to “sing along when [their] heart’s finished bleeding”. This song, on the first listening, is relatively disappointing. On the second listening, it seems marginally more palatable as the listener presumably knows what to expect. Post-third listening, it quickly seems tedious and melodramatic. To sum it up, Ford’s “I did things of which I am not proud” seems quite appropriate as a sentiment, considering the quality of this single relative to the artist’s obvious potential and considerable intelligence.
by Nick Maxfield 

The Maggini String Quartet gave a solid performance of a diverse and challenging programme at the Holywell Music Room, as part of the Oxford Chamber Music Society’s 2008 concert series.

The first piece, Haydn’s String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 20 No. 5, was briefly was described by the quartet’s cellist Michal Kaznowski as a ‘contrast of light and dark’. The performers enhanced the frequent trade-off of major and minor keys with rich dynamic contrasts throughout all four movements. Balance amongst the players was perhaps a little uneven at times, with the lower strings sometimes obscuring first violinist Lorraine McAslan’s mellow sound.

The highlight of the concert was John Ireland’s Sextet for Clarinet, Horn and String Quartet, for which the Maggini quartet were joined by clarinettist Robert Plane and hornist David Pyatt. The influence of Brahms’s clarinet quintet and horn trio shows throughout Ireland’s opus, with the rich and sonorous blending of string, wind and brass making the listener yearn for more chamber music with such instrumentation. The quartet will be recording this work for Naxos later this year, hopefully raising awareness of this composer’s fascinating early work.

The final piece on the program was Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 4 in E Minor, op. 44, no. 2, cited in the program as being ‘one of our literature’s greatest quartets’. Violist Martin Outram offered a strong and rich opening melody. The fiery fourth movement demonstrated the quartet’s outstanding technical skill, especially in virtuosic fast passages at the exhilarating climax.  The quartet’s encore, William Alwyn’s ‘Novelette’, brought an enjoyable afternoon to a close.

The Oxford Chamber Music Society presents its next concert on 2 March with the Duke Quartet performing works by Steve Reich, Bartók and Ravel. Anyone under 23 years old can obtain a free ticket on the day through the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust upon presentation of ID.

by Aaron Mertz

Click here to listen to the Quartetto di Cremona performing Haydn op.76 n.4 Sunrise Menuet.

Four men, three unshaven, enter the room wearing dark suits: certainly not looking like the kind of people you’d like to meet down one of Oxford’s alleys on a dark night. They are, however, the members of the Cremona string quartet, who performed at the Holywell Music Room last Sunday.

The quartet’s intimidating aura was continued by the aggressive opening to Bartok’s string quartet number four, with the slipping of the cello spike at the end of the second movement adding to the drama of the piece. The interesting techniques used by Bartok (such as hitting the string with the wood of the bow) were carried off well by the quartet, and the humorous fourth movement (which is almost entirely pizzicato) induced quiet smiles from the audience at the end.

Following the Bartok, the Italian quartet played one of Beethoven’s opus 59 ‘Razumovsky’ quartets: the vigorous ending of the first movement was particularly impressive technically. The very emotional second movement led into a gracious-sounding minuet: whilst this provided a release of tension after the previous movement, it was perhaps a little uninteresting serving more as a bridge between movements.

Whilst perhaps not to everyone’s taste, I believe that the macho nature of the quartet’s playing was well suited to these Beethoven and Bartok quartets. It was interesting to hear the quartet play the cavatina from Beethoven’s string quartet opus 130 as an encore and its passion contrasted greatly with some of their earlier playing.

The quartet’s music was fascinating to listen to, and their aura very much added to the experience. Should they come and play in Oxford again, they are a must-see for any chamber music listener.

The next coffee concert at the Holywell music room is next Sunday, February 17th, at 11.15am, and will feature cellist Gemma Rosefield playing sonatas by Beethoven and Chopin (tickets available from Tickets Oxford 01865 305305).

by Robin Thompson, Cherwell24 Music Editor

Oxford Philomusica play Tchaikovsky, 8/2/2008

“Worthless, unplayable”, said Nikolai Rubenstein of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto soon after it was written.  Yet it has become a keystone of the Romantic repertoire, and Rubenstein later admitted how wrong he initially was.

Stephen Hough’s rendition of the concerto was the highlight of the evening as the Oxford Philomusica (the University of Oxford’s resident orchestra) played a programme consisting of Prichard’s ‘Seven Pieces for Orchestra’ and Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto number one and symphony number six (‘Pathetique’).

Deborah Prichard (Worcester College) wrote ‘Seven pieces for string orchestra’ having been inspired by Chagall’s stained glass windows at Tudely Church, Kent.  The work was commissioned to commemorate the death of Sarah d’Avigdor-Goldsmid, who drowned in 1963 aged twenty-one.  ‘Seven pieces’ is palindromic in structure, with the first, fourth and final movements related and movements two and six, and three and five, mirror-images of each other.

Stephen Hough’s virtuosic playing stunned the audience so much that they applauded after just the first movement of the piece.  The contrast between the quiet, lyrical sections (such as the start of the second movement, which felt as intimate as much chamber music) and grand themes was brought out wonderfully by both orchestra and pianist alike.

After the interval, another large romantic work was perhaps a little much for the audience (especially given the uncomfortable seats in the Sheldonian theatre!), and the outpouring of emotion so typical of Tchaikovsky was a little hard to take in.  The symphony is based on life, growing out of nothing in the first movement and fading away at the end.  The ensuing silence showed the audience’s appreciation of the performance.

The Oxford Philomusica’s next concert at the Sheldonian Theatre will be on 6^th March, featuring a complete semi-staged performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni(tickets available from Tickets Oxford 01865 305305).

by Robin Thompson, C24 Music Editor

I think we all agree now that China and India are the economic powers of the future. But do the German media do justice to this, or are people over here left in a puddle of ignorance about Asia's emerging tiger and dragon? A fellow German year abroad student reports (in English!) for the radio station Deutsche Welle.

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95 per cent of international students rate Britain as being an “attractive or very attractive” place to study, research has shown.The study, undertaken by i-graduate, asked 11,000 students from over 143 countries about their perceptions of university life abroad.The US is still deemed the most attractive destination for foreign students, but the results of the study show that the UK is increasingly challenging US popularity.Many students view the UK as a safe place to study, where they may obtain reputable qualifications and receive high-quality teaching.
Read more in this week's Cherwell.By Sophie Pitman

Holywell Music Room, 3rd February 2008

Every Sunday morning at the Holywell Music Room some of Britain’s finest musicians come to display their talents. Yet whilst the concert venue is often full, very few students are present. Perhaps few students are interested in classical music? But this is hard to believe with hundreds across the university involved with various choirs, orchestras and other ensembles.

Then, maybe students cannot afford to go and see concerts? However, the £8 entry fee (including coffee at the King’s Arms following the concert) is a small one in comparison to the amount spent on nights out to clubs.

Last Sunday, the Adderbury Ensemble performed at the Holywell Music Room coffee concert. The group was formed in 1986, and after initially performing solely in the north Oxfordshire village of Adderbury, now performs throughout Europe. It also helped to set up the Oxford coffee concert series, and will record two CDs in 2008.

The concert opened with Vaughan-Williams’ ‘Phantasy’ quintet, a work for strings that is much less well-known than several of his other works written just after the end of the First World War. His love of the viola is clear from the opening theme of the first movement, and, judging by the audience’s excited chatter at the end the piece, the rendition was very well received.

The second and final piece of the concert was Mozart’s String Quintet in G minor, k. 516. Despite being well played, its tragic and grave nature made it unremarkable after the Vaughan-Williams.

Next Sunday’s coffee concert at the Holywell Music Room is at 11.15am, where the Cremona string quartet will be playing quartets by Beethoven and Bartok (tickets available from Tickets Oxford 01865 305305).

by Robin Thompson

At the halfway stage of this term and the three-quarter mark of the JCR League season, there are still many vital issues to be decided. For all but the giants of the Premier League, a successful season means only one thing- promotion. The battle for places in the top tier of the JCR League is still far from over, while the Division Two title race looks like it might go right down to the wire. Most teams only have a handful of games left to play, but fans and players alike will no doubt be nervously biting their nails as the promotion run-in reaches its climax.

DIVISION ONE
In Division One, St Catz are undoubtedly in the driving seat, as they lead second place Magdalen by a comparatively massive seven points. They face a potentially tricky run-in, including fellow promotion chasers Christ Church both home and away, but should be nailed on for a return to the promised land. Beyond that, it really is anyone’s guess who will claim the remaining promotion spots. Second-place Magdalen are in a strong position as they have a game in hand on the teams around them. Their run-in also features three eminently winnable home games. However, Christ Church are still far from out of it. In spite of a few shaky defensive displays, they are in reasonable form. Having said that, they still have to take on St Catz twice in quick succession. Any slip up for them would allow fourth place Exeter to perhaps steal in and grab a second consecutive promotion. They should definitely be seen as dark horses for a promotion spot, bearing in mind that they are still to play bottom of the table Somerville twice. The likes of LMH, Keble and Balliol, all tied on 18 points, would still regard themselves as in with a chance, but a late promotion charge from any of them would be a real surprise.

DIVISION TWO
The Division One promotion race may be tight, but it is nothing compared to the epic battle going on in Oxford’s basement division. Perhaps as many as six of the division’s nine teams are still in with a shout of promotion. Univ are currently leading the way on 25 points, but Merton-Mansfield trail by only three points and crucially have two games in hand. Adding further spice to the matter, the top two are still yet to play each other this season. The two games between the pair, scheduled for the next two Fridays, could decide the destination of the Division Two title. However, the chasing pack are still hot on their heels. Corpus-Linacre currently sit in third, just two points behind Merton. They also have the services of JCR League top scorer Luke Bennett at their disposal. Having said this, recent defeats to Univ both home and away will have come as a massive blow to their hopes of going up. A few months ago St John’s looked out of it, but a fine run of results, including a 5-0 home win over a solid Merton-Mansfield team, have propelled them to fourth place. It would be a real surprise if they overhauled Univ’s lead though, bearing in mind the five-point gap. Behind John’s lie Trinity and Pembroke, both teams relegated from Division One last season. Both teams have struggled slightly, and on first glance look out of the promotion shake-up. They both have games in hand on the top teams though, and while they would no doubt prefer to have points on the board, they may still play a role in the run-in.

UNIVERSITY 1 CORPUS-LINACRE 0 
University entertained Corpus-Linacre on Friday in a game of vital importance to the Division Two promotion race. Just before Christmas, top of the table Univ travelled to Corpus and came from behind to win 2-1. It was a real smash and grab job, and one Corpus fan remarked ‘at least Dick Turpin wore a mask’. There was little doubt that the away side was out for revenge today.  
Having said this, Univ’s home record this season has been near perfect, and despite again missing several important players, they started confidently. In the early stages, the prolific Will Stuart was twice played through, but on both occasions rolled the ball inches wide of the post. Corpus looked in defiant mood though, and defended stoutly against the home side’s free-flowing football. The game descended into a war of attrition, and midway through the first half Univ midfielder Owen Goodfield was harshly booked for a marginally late challenge. The first half was not one for the purists, as clear-cut opportunities were few and far between. Univ are certainly not the most physically strong team in the division, but were forced to match the aggressive approach of the away side today. The first half ended with the scores locked at 0-0, with little indication as to who might eventually come out on top. 
The second half began as the first period had concluded, with both teams looking tense.  However, just after the hour mark, the decisive incident of the match occurred. Univ’s Will Stuart was again played through, but this time was impeded by the Corpus keeper, who came charging out of goal and pole-axed the striker, leaving him dazed and confused. The resultant penalty was of course left to top scorer James Gingell, who confidently powered the ball into the net. The keeper went the right way but found the strike too hot to handle. Univ took a priceless one-goal lead. 
As a result, Corpus were forced to throw men forward in an attempt to salvage something from the game.  They were incensed not to be awarded a penalty with just ten minutes left on the clock, while at the other end, Chris Taylor came agonisingly close to doubling the home side’s advantage. His toe-poked effort was well turned away by the Corpus keeper. As the game went into stoppage time, Corpus’ efforts became more desperate, but in truth they never really threatened the home side’s back four, who were excellent throughout. Univ’s celebrations on the final whistle befitted those of a side who had just taken a huge step towards promotion, while Corpus were left to ponder another narrow defeat at the hands of the High Street club.