Welcome

If your facade has been adorned by a shiny blue plaque, then lucky you

Do you live in a house that was once owned by a famous classical musician? Perhaps Franz Liszt once leaned up against your mantelpiece; or Poulenc paced up and down your hallway? Ever since the 18th century, London, Birmingham, Manchester and other UK cities have been rich melting pots of international culture – and of course, visiting conductors, artists and composers in their droves needed to have somewhere to stay during their tours of the country’s great concert halls. They might have simply been put up by a friend, unfolding a Z bed to kip on the landing, or rather more lavishly bought their own pied-à-terre for easy access to their adoring fans… If your facade has been adorned with a shiny blue plaque commemorating a composer’s birthplace, or a singer’s final dwelling, then lucky you. And if you turn to page 36, you can read our feature celebrating a selection of the most fascinating and curious plaques, from Edvard Grieg’s Clapham base to Mendelssohn’s palatial Belgravia pad. But for every blue plaque, there are dozens of houses that remain unmarked, and we want you to tell us about them, as well as any tell-tale signs – did Rachmaninov scratch the opening bars to a piano concerto on your coffee table; did Elgar accidentally leave a baton behind in the loo? And what about today’s musical heroes? Have you played host to Joshua Bell or Daniel Barenboim? We’d love to know, so do drop us a line at music@classicalmusic.com or write to us at our usual Bristol address, and we’ll print the best in a future issue.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was playing second fiddle in the Independent Association of Prep Schools Orchestra at Snape Maltings (see p40), my first experience of playing in a proper hall. But 30 years have passed, and it’s hard to believe that Britten had died just 12 years previously. I clearly remember how warm and welcoming the hall was, and I still have the cassette recording we made of Dvoπák’s New World Symphony that gives a hint of its fabulous acoustic. Now that it’s 50 years old, the hall at Snape still looks as if it was built yesterday…