Music

In the 1720s, Mrs Holt's Italian Warehouse (a warehouse was a sort of 18th-century department store) in the Strand opposite Exeter Change. According to the trade card that William Hogarth engraved for her, she stocked Read more »

Carrying on along the north side of the Strand, heading east towards Fleet Street and away from Trafalgar Square, we reach the Adelphi theatre.

The Adelphi theatre today.

I had a lovely day yesterday in the company of the George Edwardes Musical Comedy society. We all gathered at Westminster Reference Library to celebrate the Edwardian theatre star Lily Elsie, who made her name in the first London production of The Merry Widow at Daly's Theatre in 1907. There was a talk by Steve Bartlett on Lily's life, accompanied by numerous illustrations from his large post-card collection. And then one by Ken Reeves (the president of the society) on the theatre of that period.

This painting was brought to a Strandines session by Louise, who comes to the Age Concern Day centre in Covent Garden

'Handel in the Strand' by Percy Grainger was originally composed in 1911-12 'for piano and two or more strings, or for massed pianos and string orchestra'; it was arranged for piano solo in 1930.

The Kennedy Centre tells me that this piece of music was written as a clog dance; Percy Grainger offered a brief note on the the piece: Read more »

Heading towards Tate Modern through Peter’s Hill, I heard somebody playing the piano. The vibrations the strings spilled through the air dispersed my thoughts across the space around me. They moved my body, too. Turned my head to the left to find these reflections coming from the walls of the buildings in front of me.

December 10-11^th, 2010 Read more »

Photo taken at night of the South Bank Centre from Waterloo Bridge

© St Martin-in-the-Fields Archives.

© St Martin-in-the-Fields Archives.