A Live Putney Knitting Concert

Also available on line - Robert Bridge brings you Beethoven's Diabelli Variations

So, fingers crossed, Putney Knitting Concerts are back live at last. After the government announcements this week things are still a little uncertain but with profuse thanks to the new Director of Music, Alex Turner, and the Administrator, Lottie Clarke at All Saints, who have fielded my endless communications with patience and good humour, it seems that there can actually be a concert with a live audience. Fingers crossed....

Sunday 27 September, 5pm

All Saint's, Putney Common

Beethoven - 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op.120

Robert Bridge (piano)

In order to keep audience levels to a manageable number Robert Bridge has chosen to play one of the grimmest, most impenetrable and least rewarding works ever written for the piano: Beethoven's Diabelli Variations.

But he lies............

It's an astonishing piece. Just astonishing. Many pianists and musicians - and clearly the two groups are mutually exclusive - would put it up there with the Goldberg Variations, and Robert believes that if you park the Goldberg Variations as pieces for harpsichord then this is the greatest set of variations written for the piano.

The back story is that the wily pianist and publisher Diabelli wrote a waltz and sent it to all the leading composers in Vienna and invited them to contribute a variation for a collection that he would then publish to raise money for local orphans and widows. Maybe. He was a shrewd businessman and it is reckoned that he was going to do quite well out of it himself. Beethoven took one look at the waltz, decided that it was beyond banal, and threw it away. Meanwhile lots of composers wrote and submitted their variations including the ailing Schubert and a precocious and rather spotty Liszt who was just 12. Then Beethoven got wind that Diabelli was offering some money for this venture so he dug the scrumpled copy out of the bin and got back in touch and asked how many composers had submitted variations so far. Diabelli told him that 32 composers had each produced a variation. Okay, said Beethoven, I'll write you 33. And he did in a project that took him several years and spanned the creation of the Missa Solemnis and the final piano sonatas. And the end product is nothing short of astonishing, turning the idea of a set of variations on its head and producing an extraordinary sequence of 45 minutes of music that is, in my opinion, the most engaging and often humorous music that Beethoven wrote. If you want to know how extraordinary this music is and why then listen in, in person or online, on September 27th.

If you'd like to come along you need to email Robert and book yourself a place. Please don't just turn up on the door. You will probably get turned away. There will be no refreshments, probably not even a programme sheet and you are asked to leave your knitting at home. Not a lot to entice you to be honest unless you fancy listening to some Beethoven. I'll also ask you to

Please prepay a small donation to cover costs. And it will be first come, first served. If you miss the cut, or would prefer to listen online, Robert has promised to set up a live Zoom relay but again please contact him for details as he will need to know likely numbers ahead of time.

Robert said: "I really hope this will work. There will have been times over the last six months when some of us must have wondered when we would ever be able to attend a live concert again. If we can pull this off then, apart from celebrating Beethoven's 250th, I hope this will pave the way for other Knitting Concerts again."

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.



September 18, 2020