17/18

An EB again. And worse - a bit of a cheat. My excuse is a very busy day - it’s been sunny (hooray) but I have been largely inside.

A Christmas present was an excellent book featuring a piece of classical music to play for each specific day of the year. I am familiar with some, others are new (there are some really good female and modern composers). I have to download the playlist each month, and the blip is of today’s album cover.

I first heard this piece of music in 1976. I was at a Rolling Stones concert. I jumped out of my seat at the opening drum strokes and cymbal crashes (it was played very loudly). A huge flower opened on stage and Mick Jagger walked along a petal towards the audience. Eventually this dramatic classical fanfare gave way to the opening bars of honky tonk woman. It was the highlight of the show for me.

Today’s music was commissioned in 1942 to boost patriotic morale and the war effort in the USA. It was premiered deliberately at income tax time. Today is the last financial day of the year in the UK, which is why it’s featured. Bottom right might give a clue to the identity of the composer.