Colin's Alimentary Apocrypha!

Greetings and a very happy new year. Enjoying local delicacies is the natural pursuit of many an itinerant artist, or certainly one worth their Maldon Sea Salt. Trapped, stranded, abroad, away from my kitchen, spices and cooking partner, often do I turn to the (potential!) comfort of a decent meal, or make a project out of hunting down that special bar or funky lounge. So to that end, I thought I'd post some foodie notes, randomly, and see if there might be some interest, or even a connection out there with any of the following... Favourite mealtime selections - Breakfast; Pain au chocolate, a couple of espressos and fresh OJ. Lunch; Bento Box. Dinner; Italian food, maybe Antipasti followed by salt-baked Sea Bass with spinach, then sorbets.

Favourite liquid refreshments - Sparkling water with ice and lemon, Burgundy wines or Pinot Noirs from Oregon, real ale.

Favourite restaurants - Uli(All Saints Road, London), Sally Clarke(Kensington Church Street, London) Sugiyama(Japanese in NYC), Cal Pep(Barcelona), Irene Legrandi Antique(Budapest; for the most entertaining meal out of your life, guaranteed!)

Favourite Pubs - The Eagle(Farringdon Road, London), The Landsdowne(Primrose Hill, London), The Alex(now closed, Lancaster, fond memories!)

Top Bars - Mandarin Oriental Hotel(NYC), Nu Teras(Istanbul), Rosa's Shot Bar(Kabuki-cho, Tokyo, for the best Filipino Karaoke in the world, and I've tried a few!)

Favourite Hotels - The Heathman(Portland Oregon, for sheer excellence of service and down to earth comfort and catering), The Halekulani(Honolulu), Al Bustan Palace Hotel(Muscat, Oman)

Favourite chef - Kevin McConkey; Freind, and "expert of good times"!

So - as I embark on this month's US tour, let's see if I can't endeavor to amend and upgrade the above...the search is on, and all suggestions/dinner invitations are gratefully received!

Best, Colin.

New Dawn Fades - I get the Joy Division bug...

Greetings - and have YOU heard Joy Division?! This is a question I have been asking around the past few weeks. Some ready-converts scoff and respond with a knowing laugh at my rare foray into the world of pop music. Others have not been so fortunate, and I set about them, obtaining their word that they will have a listen, and soon. I was always intrigued by their record company Factory Records from my work with Steve Martland, and subsequent close association with composer Joe Duddell, whose eulogies on Joy Division were always given an air of authenticity by his droll Mancunian accent. The (excellent) BBC documentary aired recently on BBC4 spurred me on to get hold of some music, and I have quickly come to obsess about Joy Division's album "Unknown Pleasures" especially. It has many rare things, all too absent from more commercially inclined music - pop, classical or otherwise; a natural honesty, originality, boldness, integrity and purpose. I am definitely inspired by this music; the band sounds great(clangy guitars, unexpected bass-line adventures, tubby driving drums) and the energetic turmoil displayed so selflessly by Ian Curtis really rattles. I might be behind the times, but it is all the more intriguing to be making this circuitous route "back" to pop music. Not just any pop music of course.... Excellent trips recently - a great honour to play with the Bergen Philharmonic and classic to see fellow Firrhill High School graduate Tom Hunter in the percussion section there - bravo Tom! The Higdon concerto continues to burn brightly in the US, and a big thankyou to Frank Almond and the Milwaukee Symphony who were so positive in welcoming such a loud drummer! The European premiere of this work is in December chez London Philharmonic - I have now played the work 21 times, with many more performances in the pipeline.

Well - somewhat jetlagged/partylagged from another great visit to Chicago (where I stayed with good friends Kevin McConkey and Josephine Lee, boy do they look after you!!) so off to the sofa to continue Michel Houellebecq's latest novel "The Possibility of an Island"...acerbic stuff!

Best, Colin.

Back to school...!

Well good morning all! Seriously back to practice now after a terrific Summer and an few easy weeks. The new Simon Holt concerto is on the music stand, the metronome is cranked down to 11 and the slow work is in painful progress. Amazing new piece! Ambitious, cheeky, intense, powerful. A unique addition to our repertoire, which I intend to play often. Everyone also please check out his amazing violin concerto "Witness to a Snow Miracle", it is completely stunning. Similarly, very chuffed with the reaction to my new ONYX disc, which got its first (5 star) review the other day as disc of the week in the Daily Telegraph, and a great time at the Proms this season with the superb BBC Scottish Symphony who played awesomely on August 16th. Otherwise, kitchen activities abound, including our annual wine-tasting event(THE hot Summer ticket) and a terrific new cocktail creation, based on Sloe gin and freshly squeezed fruit juices. As the new term starts, best wishes too to all my students at the RAM and the Conservatoire in the Hague - looking forward to another year of grafting, and grinning!! Best, Colin.