[size=55:u6tpplzi]Prague Post 16 September 2010

This might interest some of us

Classic rocker tries his hand at classical
Keyboardist from Deep Purple teams up with orchestra

Starting with hit albums like 1970's In Rock and 1972's Machine Head, Deep Purple became nearly synonymous with hard rock.

While the critical response to Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra, as performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969 and at the Hollywood l in 1970, was far more mixed than that to the subsequent rock albums, Lord never lost his classical dream.

Over the following decades, Lord continued his classical experimentation, including a spin into the Baroque in the late 1970s with the album Sarabande and a pastoral soundtrack co-composed with Alfred Ralston titled "
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady."


With 2010's To Notice Such Things quickly taking fourth spot on the UK classical music charts after its spring release, it's clear Lord's persistence to build on the legacy of British composers like Purcell, Elgar and Vaughan Williams while still keeping one pedal to the metal is as popular as it is interesting.
An Evening with Jon Lord, Concerto for Group and Orchestra

Jon Lord, Cry Free, Kasia Laska &
Steve Baisamo, Györ Philharmonic Orchestra
Oct. 24 at 8pm
Smetana Hall, Obecní dům
Admssion: 700-1,900 Kč, available through Ticketpro.cz


"
I bought Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein with the Dave Brubeck Quartet playing with the New York Philharmonic and loved it,"
Lord told The Prague Post from his home in Oxfordshire about an early 1960s venture into classical fusion. "
It didn't all work, but I was taken by it. When I was first becoming a professional musician and began studying music theory and orchestration, I always thought, 'One day.' "


That day would come, in April 1969.

"
My manager asked me, 'Are you serious about that idea for a group and an orchestra?' And I said, 'Sure.' And he said, 'Well, you better get working because I've booked the Albert Hall and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for September,' "
Lord recalls.

Since 2003, from London to Brazil, Lord's revised concerto has been well-received by audiences the world over. On Sept. 21, Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra will make its Prague premiere with Hungary's Györ Philharmonic Orchestra. The event promises to give concertgoers a chance to enjoy the ongoing progress of Lord's classical-rock fusion. Not only have Lord's composition and orchestration skills improved, but as he says, "
Today, orchestras are more open to playing this sort of thing than they were in 1969."


Whether reworking the concerto, presenting new original classical works or mining rock gems from the past, Lord admits there are traps to be avoided.

"
I don't like using the orchestra as a backing group,"
he said. "
I like to use the orchestra as a living full entity in whatever I do. It's sometimes difficult for me to find the right way to present a Deep Purple song with an orchestra, so I work very hard at it so that it does not appear the orchestra could be replaced, for example, by a giant synthesizer."


Also accompanying Lord will be Hungarian heavy metal band Cry Free.

"
I've worked with them six or seven times performing the concerto - in Hungary, Russia and Vienna,"
Lord said. "
Purple is one of their passions, and they understand the concerto and what I want from it."


Purists will likely shun the mix of classical and hard-rock influences, but as one music critic concluded in the liner notes of the 1999 re-release of Lord's Sarabande:

"
It's just goddamn fun music."

Legendary Jon Lord Excited to Meet Bulgarian Fans Again

Legendary composer and Deep Purple co-founder, Jon Lord, has arrived in Sofia few days before his second concert in Bulgaria, the organizers Sofia Music Enterprises have announced.

The reason for Lord's early arrival are the rehearsals with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and the musicians from the Bulgarian band TE ("
They"
). The joint production will be the second one, after last year's unique concert in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv.

Despite the rainy weather on Thursday, the musicians said that Sofia is a lovely city and he could not wait to meet his colleagues and start rehearsing.

Lord also said he was eager to meet again Nayden Todorov from the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, who conducted last year's concert. The composer has expressed his admiration for the orchestra, the talent and the hard work of the Bulgarian musicians.

The organizers of the event have announced that the rehearsals will take several hours a day and will be very intense, but will guarantee the great result for the show on October 30.

Lord has said he could not wait to meet again the Bulgarian audience, which gave him a warn and emotional welcome a year ago. The composer said he felt great in Bulgaria and promised a wonderful concert.

Jon Douglas Lord, who was born in England on 9 June, 1941, is a famous composer, Hammond organ and piano player.

He is recognized for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms. He has most famously been a member of Deep Purple, as well as of Whitesnake, Paice, Ashton &
Lord, The Artwoods and Flower Pot Men.

In 1968, Lord co-founded Deep Purple. He and drummer Ian Paice were the only constant band members during the band's existence from 1968 to 1976 and from when they reformed in 1984 until Lord's retirement in 2002.

In 2002 he retired from Deep Purple for good, to concentrate on composing. In 2008, he achieved success as a classical composer when his Durham Concerto entered the classical album charts.



TICKETS

TICKET PRICES FOR JON LORD CONCERT IN SOFIA
FROM 30 TO 80 BGN

TICKETS CAN BE BOUGHT at NDK, ONLIE ON [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

AND IN THE FOLLOWING STORES:

SOFIA - VISION , BULSKY TRAVEL , EUROTOURS , SELECT BOOKSTORE , MUSIC STORE “YAKO” , BLack lodge rock bar, TICKET CENTER „ TICKET HOUSE ”

PLOVDIV – MUSIC CENTER , ROCK SHOP

BOURGAS – SOUND GARDEN

SLIVEN – YOUNG TECHNICIAN

VELIKO TYRNOVO – MEDUSA

PLEVEN – RULI MUSIC STORE

VARNA – OZZ MUSIC

Anybody going to this ???????

If anyone is going some photo's would be nice