23 febbraio 2026

Chi entro maggio ha in programma di visitare il Buckinghamshire potrebbe voler far tappa a Milton Keynes, e non solo per via della scuderia di Formula 1 della Red Bull: al Museo d'arte cittadino c'è infatti la mostra An Arc from the Eye con i dipinti di Euan Uglow (1932-2000), oltre una quarantina tra paesaggi, nature morte e i suoi celebri nudi. E tra i ritratti poi, quello di una persona cara: Alfreda Benge.

Euan Uglow was one of Britain’s most significant 20th century painters, known for his sustained observation and painstaking technique, often taking months, if not years, to complete a work. Each picture pursues a particular idea, seeking to depict the visual reality of the concept, expressed with radiant colours and light. Uglow often had three or four active ‘set-ups’ in his Battersea studio, using particular rectangular compositions in an attempt ‘to paint a structured painting full of controlled and therefore potent emotion’. Almost mathematical in his methods, Uglow left markings on his canvases that reveal his processes, including how the passage of time affected the depiction of his subjects. Best known for his large-scale nudes, Uglow also made landscapes in the summer light of the Mediterranean and still lifes, taking up the challenge of painting materials such as plastic, as well as organic material in gradual decay, such as fruit.

22 febbraio 2026


Phil Minton torna ospite dell'In Situ Art Society a Bonn per un nuovo appuntamento con il suo progetto collettivo sulla voce Feral Choir, con attività di laboratorio previste nel pomeriggio e doppio concerto stasera nella tradizionale sede del Dialograum Kreuzung an St. Helena assieme al duo con Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Metal Breath: la diretta streaming su YT inizia alle ore 20.30.

"The Feral Choir project is a series of vocal workshops with non-professionals, leading up to performances. It originated in the late 1980’s when I was asked to do some workshops with ‘non-singers’ in the Musik Centrum Stockholm. The success of these led me to develop the idea further. The choir consists of a workshop and performance, not only for singers but for anyone who takes a delight in the freedom to experiment. I encourage participants to take a vocal leap and explore all vocal possibilities through exercises and improvisations, over the workshop period, leading to a concert. Some of the choirs have been made up of professionals, sometimes actors and musicians, but many have been amateur groups with no previous musical interest or experience. These have been particularly rewarding, and the responses from the participants have been overwhelmingly positive."

Phil Minton ist ein legendärer englischer Sänger und Improvisator. Seine Stimmarbeit ist sehr speziell. Er hat mit seinem ganz persönlichen Stil Wege geebnet, auf denen sich heute abstrakte Stimmkünstler*innen frei und selbstverständlich bewegen können. Seine Chorarbeit ist einzigartig und das hängt vor allem an seiner Persönlichkeit. Phil Minton gibt einen so genannten Feral Choir, einen Improvisations-Workshop, der sich sowohl an Interessierte des improvisierten Gesangs, aber auch ausdrücklich an Unstudierte, Laien oder Amateure richtet, die sich mit ihrer Stimme aus der Deckung wagen wollen. Jeder ist willkommen! Auch Menschen mit Stimmbruch, Flüsterer, Stimmquerulanten oder Vokaldespoten! Der Workshops ist für ca 15 Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer ausgerichtet. Er ermöglicht die Beschäftigung mit erweiterten Stimmtechniken und die improvisatorische Auseinandersetzung sowohl mit der Alltagsstimme, als auch mit „unkultivierten Klängen“ wie Grunzen, Röcheln, Säuseln und Hauchen. („feral“ = wild, grausam).

Metal Breath: Stimmbänder im Dialog mit Metallrohren. Hübsch und Minton tauchen gemeinsam in unbekannte Klangwelten. Grundlage ihrer Interaktion ist blindes Vertrauen - der Raum öffnet sich für das Feine, das Wilde, das Überraschende, das Magische - und für die Ohren des Publikums. Unerbittlich lustvolle Musik jenseits von Idiomen. Das Duo hat soeben seine zweite CD veröffentlicht: more metal, more breath.

21 febbraio 2026

A poche settimane dal novantesimo compleanno del Nostro, Stuart Nicholson parla con Mike Westbrook - trovandolo come sempre attento al presente e rivolto al futuro assai più che al passato - e ne scrive per il numero di questo mese di Jazzwise: Such Suite Thunder.

One of the greatest British jazz composers, Mike Westbrook has been a whirlwind of creativity for the last seven decades. On the eve of his 90th birthday, he reflects on his life less ordinary, his voluminous back catalogue - and his undimmed passion for musical (re)invention as well as nurturing a sense of community. In March Westbrook will be 90 years of age. Normally this would be a time for reflection. Nine decades of accumulated memories and experiences a reminder there is more behind you than in front. But only if you stop to think about it, since the past is a country Westbrook seldom visits. Throughout his life he has been driven constantly forward - completing writing commissions large and small, working up new ideas into viable projects, preparing for this gig or that, booking flights and hotels, organising rehearsals, taking care of PR, the list goes on. "When I occasionally allow myself to look back at what we've done," he reflects, "there's an enormous list of pieces - theatre shows we wrote, shows that we toured with, the five operas Kate and I wrote that were all staged in France, all the different ensembles I've worked with, small bands, big bands, brass bands and ensembles with strings - all these things going on, often at the same time, as well as just sitting down at the piano and doing a gig!". The common denominator that links all this work together is in the triumph of the unexpected. His writing does not follow paths made by others, he goes where there are no paths, leaving a trail for others to follow. Like Charlotte Bronté's Jane Eyre, he has avoided selling his soul, in his case to musical trends or fashions, to 'buy bliss': "I have been incredibly fortunate to have had this range of opportunity and have not had to become enslaved to this direction or that, or even to the jazz business. Artistic freedom is paramount, and it doesn't mean freedom without any kind of social or artistic responsibilities or commitments, quite the reverse. Just free to approach things one’s own way, that’s what I most prize".