Time flies. It’s been a while since I checked in here, so I thought I should at least explain myself.

For the last few weeks I have been doing my yearly gauntlet of teaching English in order to hold myself over financially for the long Summer. Throw in a couple of nasty headcolds (taking a sick day from a language school during a pandemic starts all sorts of rumours) and a little time and trouble geting my new computer working, and I’ve been left very little time for podcasting or blogging. I’m sorry about the long delay between my last few blogs and (especially) the last few episodes of Classical Introductions. Work is winding down for the Summer now, and I should be able to get the podcast back to a weekly thing, starting this Sunday most likely on Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata. There, I’ve said it now, so I’ll have to stick to it.

Fortunately, teaching has not been my entire life for the last few weeks, and I have had a little time to listen to a little new music. (I’m hoping to write up a review of Kirsten Flagstad’s performance in Purcell’s Dido And Aeneas, which includes one of my absolute favourite compositions, over the next day or two. Sadly I’m not as fond of the performance as I am of the piece, though as I said it’s a favourite so I think I’m allowed to be picky.) I have also very kindly been asked to write a guest blog for the Contrapuntal Blog of the Glenn Gould Foundation, which I’m putting the final touches on at the moment. (In fact, I strarted this blog post as a distraction from it – typically enough for me. I have literally just interrupted typing this parenthesis to send said blog post to a friend for a reading over.)

My ’secret project’ composition has been embarrassingly under-nurtured over the last month or so as well – I’ve only written a few bars of it – but I should be getting back to serious work on it over the next few days as well, and I think I have a good idea of the overall shape of it now. I also have a few ideas for the pieces I’d like to work on after it’s done, which is usually the way. Starting pieces is so much easier than finishing them. But finishing them feels even better, when you do it.

Anyways, that’s all from me tonight. Expect more updates with more frequency soon.

Update: Due to a(nother) computer malfunction, and a mix-up with copyrights, I haven’t recorded this week’s podcast yet. Broke my promise, so. Deeply sorry all round.

Anyways, I would be optimistic if I said I’d definitely have it up tomorrow, but that’s my aim. More realistically, I’d say Wednesday evening.

First blog post in nearly two weeks – sorry about that! I have, in my defence, during those two weeks changed computer, caught a fairly nasty head cold, and had to move house at short notice.

I am now sat on the train on my way to Maynooth, where I shall be living for the Summer, and am glad to have the opportunity for thoughts to happen.

Over the next couple of months, I’ll mostly be teaching English, but also hope to finish writing the piece I’ve been working on (which, predictably enough, is already overdue…) and organise a couple of concerts.