Katherine Lewington
Katherine is a second-year Music student at Hertford and the incoming president of Hertford College Music Society.
Click the titles below to read Katherine’s comments. Listen to her tracks in the YouTube playlist – to select a different song click the three horizontal lines in the top right of the video.
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Aaron Copland – Clarinet Concerto
Originally written to be played by the legendary Benny Goodman, the luscious harmonic colours of its first movement make this one of my favourite pieces for the clarinet.
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Arnold Bax – In Memorium
Bax wrote this piece in memory of his friend Patrick Henry Pearse, an Irish poet who was shot during the Easter Uprising of 1916. It is a very moving depiction of loss, and the main theme never fails to take my breath away.
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Claude Debussy – Piano Trio
This is among Debussy’s least widely-performed pieces, but every movement is just an absolute gem. Amazingly full-sounding textures are created with just the three instruments.
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David Bowie – Space Oddity
A sad but apt song to be listening to on a desert island, depicting Major Tom’s loneliness and disconnect from society, but I think I’d welcome the Bowie-fuelled escapism nonetheless.
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Fleetwood Mac – Landslide
When I think of songs I couldn’t get tired of hearing, this immediately comes to mind. It never fails to make me feel soothed and rejuvenated!
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Jean Sibelius – Symphony No.2
This was the first piece I ever played with a full symphony orchestra, and it has really stuck with me since. From the opening’s calming sense of nostalgia to the stunning release of the fourth movement, I continuously return to and enjoy it.
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Lin Manuel Miranda – Wait for It
Of course I couldn’t go to a desert island without some Hamilton – this is one of about twenty favourite songs I have from the show.
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Richard Strauss – Serenade for 13 Wind Instruments
The best way I can describe this piece is like a big warm duvet. Its glorious climactic moments remind me exactly why I play a woodwind instrument!
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Book
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. I was a bit late to the party and only read this for the first time recently, but I’d already like to reread it – what better opportunity than on a desert island!
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Luxury item
My clarinet… and plenty of reeds, if possible!
