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Some of the articles that appear in our Newsletters
Nerds v. Geeks
Artistic Director—and proud nerd—David Juritz considers contribution of both nerds and geeks to the world of music
Back in the 1970s, two new classifications of personality type came into common usage. ‘Geek’ and ‘nerd’ described someone with an introspective and/or slightly obsessive character and who had a narrow but consuming interest. ’Normal’ people often didn’t appreciate the subtle distinction between the two terms but those of us on the inside (like most musicians, I’m a proud nerd) knew exactly which category we were in.
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Back in the 1970s, two new classifications of personality type came into common usage. ‘Geek’ and ‘nerd’ described someone with an introspective and/or slightly obsessive character and who had a narrow but consuming interest. ’Normal’ people often didn’t appreciate the subtle distinction between the two terms but those of us on the inside (like most musicians, I’m a proud nerd) knew exactly which category we were in.
The classic nerd had already been around for quite a while but it wasn’t until the emergence of the home computer that geekery truly began to flower. There was, at first, a sense of kinship between the two groups. We ‘got’ each other. After all, someone who has spent hundreds of hours working on Hanon’s The Virtuoso Pianist or Ottakar Sevcik’s seminal, Op. 1, Position Changing Exercises for the violin will completely understand the mindset required to plough through hundreds of lines of Fortran code.
There had also been geeky involvement in music for well over a half century by then; before the Moog Synthesiser (think Switched on Bach) had come the theremin (Doctor Who), and the spectacular ondes martinot (Messiaen etc.) the last two of which were hybrid instruments in that they relied as much on physical interaction as circuitry to manipulate the sound. For a couple of decades there was a happy co-existence as nerds used the inventions of the geeks to create listenable (and un-listenable) music. Meanwhile another piece of geekery, the storage device known as a compact disc, led to a bonanza for musicians as entire record catalogues were re-recorded. The nerds did well out of the relationship – so far so good.
It was with the dawn of the internet that things began to change. The first sign of things to come was Napster, an early file-sharing system which used another geek creation, mp3 file compression, to effectively distribute recordings for free. Battle lines were drawn and, although Napster and file-sharing services were eventually closed down, it was more of a cease-fire than a victory for the music industry. Streaming was here to stay.
At the same time Apple’s ubiquitous music player, the iPod, used the same combination of mp3 technology and music as the springboard to leapfrog several other electronics giants and become a leading smartphone manufacturer. Music helped them create a lot of company value. Today, another company, Spotify, is the way most people access music but it’s worth noting that the prime motivation for people to take out a paid Spotify subscription is not that they want to pay for the music they listen to – it’s that they don’t want to listen to any advertisements. Not an exactly healthy business model, is it?
As in any conflict, alliances are constantly shifting. Record companies have been happy to fall in with the Swedish company and are now major investors. Musicians’ relationship with Spotify is better described as Stockholm Syndrome; we love it as a resource but it would be much better if it helped us pay the bills. What is in no doubt is that the geeks, now re-branded as ’tech-bros’, have the upper hand.
The arrival of AI has seen a flurry of litigation about copyright infringement. That’s nothing new. Accusations of plagiarism have kept music-industry lawyers in work for well over a century and, because the arguments are so nuanced, the legal side of the business is guaranteed a steady income as long as music is around. Established law is that chords, chord progressions and riffs can’t be copyrighted but that melodies, bass lines and other components can. Stravinsky’s famous quote, ‘Good composers borrow, great composers steal’ should have continued ‘Wise composers have good copyright lawyers.’ Indeed, one iconic jazz musician had a reputation for backing up his wholesale appropriation of ideas with pre-emptive litigation.
Disputes happen because people’s livelihoods are at stake. If AI-generated music has been ‘trained’ on works created by human composers, who owes what to whom? Should the
intellectual property rights be shared with artists whose work has been sampled rather than retained completely by the company that generated the computer code to do the sampling?
It’s already relatively easy now to create something in the style of, say, Taylor Swift or Vivaldi. But although most composers and song-writers are happy to talk about musicians who have influenced them, a request to produce something ‘in the style of’ a living composer is a real red flag to all the composers I know. They simply won’t go there – it’s bad for their reputation, their self-respect, and lays them wide open to litigation. Unfortunately the ‘move fast and break things’ mentality of the tech industry is less cautious in that regard and this is likely to be music’s big legal battle of the next few decades. Ultimately, if the AI industry prevails (likely, given its deep pockets) it is going to be next to impossible for composers of new music to support themselves. How will we then feel about going to hear performances of AI generated music?
Computer generated music is already out there and it’s quite possible that I will have already played something generated by a computer. I genuinely don’t know. Live musicians do, however, have one quality that makes them indispensable.
We can all be relied on to screw up from time to time. Fallibility is one reason that makes live performances exciting and, until the geeks work out how to programme that, the best music will stay live.
Long live humans.
And nerds!
From Serbia to Dorset
Anja Milivojević talks about joining Miloš in Burton Bradstock for the Festival
I had heard so much about the Bradstock Festival of Music and Art ever since I met Miloš – from him, his parents, Paprika friends, and also from Harriet and Meg from Kosmos. Normally, as musicians, we are invited back, once or twice, but when Miloš told me that he has been coming every year since 2007 I knew there must be something special about it.
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Miloš often told me about the festival, concerts, friends, the incredible atmosphere, and how grateful he was for all the help and support from the village. I also heard that Serbian cakes and plum brandy visited the village a couple of years ago! Since completing my master’s studies, I have worked with many orchestras in Serbia as a freelance musician. As soon as I arrived in the UK I immediately felt welcome and at home. I was in touch with David Juritz before I came to London and he was incredibly supportive and helpful, always pointing me in the right direction. I moved to London in May 2023, and only 10 days later, I performed with Yuri and Natasha and their excellent Tchaikovsky Camerata Orchestra in London. A couple of weeks later, I joined David, Adrian, and Phil of the wonderful Atea Quintet, at the Craig’s Festival near Chipping Norton. As musicians, we are very lucky to be able to travel and visit so many places. This was the best way for me to get to know the English countryside, and I loved it.
Coming to Burton Bradstock for the first time, I felt I already knew everyone even before we had played a single note together! The atmosphere was lovely and people from the village were extremely welcoming. The village looked like in old English movies – picturesque streets, flowers and charming houses, just like in a fairy tale. Less than 30 minutes after we arrived, we were already planning the programme for the tea party and the planning was shorter than the concert itself! But it was huge fun! Seeing people gathering together, ladies preparing coffee, tea and delicious cakes, people enjoying their picnics, everything looked idyllic. I loved the spontaneous introductions and the relaxed atmosphere. A barbecue at the beach has become a regular event for all the BB musicians, a time to catch up and have fun. I have never worn so much at the beach, but we are in the UK and it gets cold sometimes! Catherine and Darren were lovely hosts and made us feel at home, and Miloš and I ended up playing both upstairs & downstairs and running around between rehearsals and concerts. During the week, all the concerts were really special, and I was grateful to David when he asked me to perform music from Schindler’s List. I was able to experience, hear, and perform with such a fantastic group of musicians. Although I had heard about multiple concerts, short rehearsals, and challenging programmes, one simply had to experience the fact that the Festival players ended up rehearsing in the tent for the final concert.
This time I was part of it! It’s true – we all loved it! Miloš and I were so happy to perform a double concerto, as this was our very first concert together. The late-night concerts were so atmospheric and moving. I remember telling Miloš after hearing Adrian play Bach: “Wow, I never heard anyone play like that before…simply magical.” As musicians, we constantly aim to improve our skills, learn, make progress, and mature musically, and we often talk about special moments on the stage. I know that for Miloš, BB represents the highlight of the year and everything he does. Now I know and understand why. Burton Bradstock has become his third home, thanks to the support he received during visa issues and the help towards his new instrument. David comes with some extraordinary programming ideas, imaginative and fresh as well as challenging, both for musicians and the audience. I must admit that the speed and efficiency of the rehearsals and the quality of the performances have blown me away. David keeps us on the edge of our seats, but it always feels that we are in safe hands! Apart from the concerts, having all our meals together feels like a luxury nowadays. Often, musicians disappear quickly afterwards without a chance to socialise and properly meet each other. That’s certainly not the case in BB, and we are so lucky to have such an amazing group of ladies who look after us so well. That certainly keeps us going strong during the week.
Also, it is wonderful that many musicians have formed partnerships thanks to the BB festival. David Gordon and Virginie Guiffray are our nearest musical friends, and this year, Miloš and I had the pleasure of performing at their new Oxhey Sounds Concert Series. We are delighted that such a wonderful series is happening in North London and have many plans for the future. I enjoy the musical diversity the UK has to offer. At the beginning of 2024, I was invited to perform alongside the Hastings Philharmonic, Marcel Sinfonia and Gabrieli Consort Orchestra, and most recently something different – the Rock Orchestra – playing well-known rock covers on electric instruments, advertised as music for anyone – 7 to 77 and beyond! We performed in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and all over the UK – the ideal opportunity to get to know the country well.
I have also been teaching violin, and have had a great time with my little students. I love that there are no language barriers and they even pronounce our surname Milivojević correctly! I feel privileged to be able to teach them and help them discover the power of music. Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone. I’m already really looking forward to next year’s festival! P.S. We must remember to bring plum brandy to BB in 2025 – it went down really well during our wedding last year!
The rehearsal schedule is always a nightmare of organisation. This was the most unusual rehearsal space and luckily not repeated!
Adrian Bradbury plays Bach for Monique Pasche
A very moving Castaway
Monique Pasche explains the moving process of being Castaway in 2023
After the Music Festival Spring Concert on Friday, I was right back to this time last year, when I was preparing my Castaway interview. Reflecting on 85 years of life, with all its ups and downs, tragedies and celebrations, and finding suitable music to illustrate it all, was quite daunting.
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Sandy Burnett, who was going to lead the interview, was working in Australia at the time and our only way of communication was through emails (technology is not my strong point). The first and only time we were going to meet face to face was on Sunday night – the eve of the event! It helped that I had known Sandy since he became a regular musician at the Festival, and he had known me over the years (he speaks very good French).
Choosing the eight records required by the format of the programme was a real challenge. So, to help myself, I thought of one record for every ten years, representing the most significant times and the sounds of each decade for me. I needed help! So, I asked Bridget Pearse, who plays her violin every year with the Festival Players, to help me to choose the best recordings, the best interpretations of the songs etc. She is so knowledgeable and so good at researching through the sounds and archives that we put together suggestions to put to Sandy for approval. It was his job to find the chosen recordings.
We met on Sunday late afternoon, after his drive from London, at Rob and Rebecca’s where he was staying in Burton Bradstock. Final decisions on the music tracks were made and Sandy asked me the sort of questions that he would ask to guide me and move the interview on between the recordings. No script, no rehearsal. Just total trust that it was going to work because of the truly professional skills of Sandy; his quick reaction to my unscripted storytelling; and adapting his questions to my answers.
I was quite apprehensive in the morning and wondering who would come and pay money to listen to ME. I wondered who would be sitting in the front row and how many faces I would know etc. But, once we started, and after Sandy’s introduction, it all took its own course.
When Adrian Bradbury played the last piece live, a cello fugue by Bach, a lot of us were moved to tears… and so was I.
David Juritz had agreed to make a sound recording (no video) of the session and provide me with a CD in due time. I received it in the autumn and kept it secretly to myself without listening to it, until a group of friends asked if we could all meet up before Christmas to listen to it. Their reactions were really moving for me; they really enjoyed it and found the music choices quite surprising.
I have found the experience profoundly emotional, and it took me a while to absorb what the audience told me personally after the show. I wanted them to know how important the people of Burton Bradstock had been in my life, and how much I have enjoyed being involved in the Music Festival over the years, making such wonderful friendships.
Rejoice!
Supporter Duncan Ousely shares his appreciation of the Festival
Burton Bradstock is the loveliest of villages in the loveliest of English counties. We have known it for many years. But not until recently have we known it for its music. Mention to Londoners such as ourselves—a shortcoming over which we weep—that Burton Bradstock has a Music Festival, and it conjures a picture of sitting on a firelit beach with music accompanied by the sounds of sea and pebbles. Few would guess the reality.
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Renowned professional musicians perform across the spectrum of music styles from early baroque to modern film music from a local composer, to jazz and Latin American. Some pieces are arranged specifically for the various combinations of instruments in play.
The programmes are introduced with wit and expertise by Festival Director, David Juritz. The musicians’ high skill, originality and zest in their music-making together, draw the audience into the music and into their enthusiasm. Even the old Church rejoices.
Lunchtime, afternoon, and evening, early and late: these Festival days are wonderful days of summer—quite beyond any reasonable expectation of a village, and an immense tribute to all the musicians, Festival organisers and helpers.
Burton Bradstock: A Festival like no other!
Musician Paul Cavaciuti shares some of his favourite things about the Festival
I first played at the Festival in 2015, when David Gordon invited me to play the Jazz Night with the wonderful (and much-missed) Tina May. I remember driving into the village for the first time, down the narrow streets with their crazy bends, past the beautiful houses, and finally arriving at its heart, St. Mary’s.
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Passing the Village Hall and seeing the posters for the Art Festival was the first suggestion that this was an unusual event; the whole village involved in a simultaneous Art and Music Festival? Perhaps my experience of rural festivals is limited, but this seemed to me something more common to the South Bank in London than a small village on the Dorset Coast.
Even then, as someone just coming down for one night, the first thing that struck me was how friendly everyone was. Going into the “refreshment pavilion”, I was treated like a weary traveller returning after years of pilgrimage. I was plied with tea and a selection of delicious sweet and savoury snacks, packed with those nutritious carbs so essential for drummers. Even the other musicians were exceptionally friendly and welcoming(!). What was going on? And then I went to the Church…
Now, buildings which are designed to carry the musical praises of choir and congregation all the way to Heaven don’t always provide the best acoustic for the drum set. Perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise; the instrument is, after all, a product of “The Devil’s Music”, but in St. Mary’s, God seems to have shown a tolerance for such musical heresy uncharacteristic of many of His other venues. Once you get a big enough audience to provide a certain amount of acoustic dampening, and provided the percussionist doesn’t get too carried away, making music in St. Mary’s is a joy.
There were another couple of Jazz Nights after that, but it was only in 2019 that I was finally baptised into the True Faith of Burton Bradstock. David G. asked me down again to play his Concerto for Accordion and Guitar. I had asked if I could stay on for a couple of extra days, thinking that my wife (pianist Nadine André) and I might get a small holiday. However, almost immediately I had arranged this with David J., a strange phenomenon started to manifest; emails began to arrive saying things like, “Would you mind playing a bit of triangle in the Elgar?” or, “Are you up for adding some woodblock and kazoo to some arias by Rameau (no, really, it’ll be fine!)”. Nadine was roped in to play for the now-legendary version of “The Three Little Pigs”, brilliantly narrated by a dragged-up Sandy Burnett, looking magnificent (and only slightly disturbing) in fishnets and high heels! And so, our short break turned into three full-on days of rehearsal and performance…and so it’s been ever since.
It’s hard to put your finger on what makes Burton Bradstock unique; really, it’s a combination of things. First, it’s the only festival I know where the same pool of musicians plays the entire week. Most festivals feature different artists every day, but here, the same people play in different combinations for six days, three concerts a day (along with a few guest artists). This creates a feeling that I can only describe as familial. Not only do we play concerts every day, we also rehearse and take meals together. That’s a lot of music-making and hanging out.
In my other life, I’m a music-therapist, and, with apologies to all the painters in the village, I believe that music is, by far, the most intimate of the arts. At its heart, music is social activity that mediates a form of communication between people that is uniquely profound and immediate. When you play music with others every day, it creates a bond between you. Of course, it goes without saying that the two Davids have assembled a group of musicians whose playing and musicianship is peerless, but I like to think that playing and spending all that time together has led to some real musical high-points for all of us. I know it has for me.
With the two Davids organising the music, the Festival also has a delightfully anarchic feel to it. Thanks to their wide range of musical knowledge and interests, the repertoire is incredibly varied (the “Baroque Planet’s Suite”, side-by-side with Tango and the theme from Succession, is just one example), and while much of it is planned well ahead, there is just enough improvisatory, seat-of-the-pants, “Wait, I’ll just print out another violin part!!”, “Can you add some cowbell to this?” mayhem to ensure that the music never gets stale. More importantly, it keeps it fun!
Another principal ingredient in the Festival’s character is the late-night concerts. Every night, after the main concert of the evening, we are fed comforting snacks, then troop back through the gathering darkness into the church. We take a pew (literally) and, as the lights dim and the bats flutter around the old oak rafters, we find ourselves in one of the most exquisite and intimate concert settings I have ever experienced, one where I have seen and heard some performances that will live with me for a long time; 2019’s Verklärte Nacht was one standout among many.
But the Burton Bradstock Festival would be a shadow of itself without the people of the village who make it all work so smoothly. We musicians are blessed to be looked after so well, by the people who cook and serve incredible food, pretty much all day, every day; the people who welcome us into their homes for up to a week at a time, and the people behind the scenes who spend months organising the Festival, both the music and the art sides, without whom it would never happen.
Finally, perhaps one of the most important elements is St. Mary’s herself. Quite when a church first appeared on this site is unclear, but a couple of features of this wonderful old building date back to the 12th century. I think the fact that people have been coming together and making music in this place for over 800 years gives playing in the church an extraordinary, transcendent quality. As the tomb of Elizabeth Best (d.1747) in the west transept reminds us: “Life HOW short – Eternity HOW long”. St. Mary’s hasn’t been there for eternity, but she’s been around a lot longer than any of us; in a society that seems increasingly obsessed with speed and progress, it’s wonderful to spend a few days in a place that, to me at least, feels like a still point in an ever more-rapidly turning world.
Burton Bradstock, truly a Festival like no other. Can’t wait to be back this year!
Behind the scenes at the Art Exhibition
Wendy Hart, Chair of the Art Committee
While much of the effort early in the year appears to be focused on sorting details of the music festival so we can distribute the Brochure before the Spring Concert, behind the scene the Art Committee is busy contacting local artists.
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Burton Bradstock Art Exhibition has a very good reputation as an annual Art event. Throughout the year, the Art Committee enjoy looking out for new exhibitors. We visit studios, exhibitions, fairs, retail outlets and we search the internet. We have a “by invitation only” policy and, while we extend our search beyond West Dorset to surrounding counties, we like to encourage local artists.
In a busy week before the exhibition opens, the Village Hall will, once again be, transformed into a vibrant art gallery at the heart of the Festival. On display will be some superb West Country paintings, prints, greetings cards, ceramics, woodwork and jewellery on striking display panels and stands. You can take away a picture you buy and, when a picture is sold, the artist is asked to provide another picture, so the display is in constant flux – a good reason for repeat visits. Perhaps you will find that gift for a special occasion.
As usual, the Art Exhibition will be open all week from 10am daily, closing after the evening concert interval (when attendees can also get a refreshing glass) and at 7pm at the weekend.
This year we are delighted to invite back Friends of the Festival to our Private Preview (Invitation below) from 18.30 – 20.00 on Friday 9th August, an opportunity to view the exhibition, meet the artists and members of both committees, enjoy a glass of wine (on presentation of the Invitation) and hopefully make an early purchase. We might have some early arrival musicians with us too. We hope to see you all there
Revision therapy
David Juritz, Artistic Director
I’ve been doing a bit of revision lately. First up on the music stand was Bartok’s Sonata for solo violin, one of the more challenging works in any fiddler’s repertoire, which I played a couple of years ago. Coming back to it after a healthy gap was quite encouraging. I found that in the really demanding passages (and there are plenty of them) I was much more relaxed and in control.
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Practise is something that musicians do more for the brain rather than for the fingers. One has to rehearse the sequence of thought that will mean you are focused on the right thing at the right time. Letting a piece of music lie for a while allows one to break old mental patterns and build new, more useful ones. There’s also the ‘kitchen cupboard’ syndrome. just as some of us know which jar of pickle in their kitchen cupboards to ignore, it’s very easy for musicians to fall into habits about what they pay attention to and, perhaps more importantly, what they don’t. After a bit of a break you’re more likely to have forgotten where you’re not supposed to look and so can home in on the real problem and find a better solution.
So, after a very encouraging couple of sessions on Bartok I decided to return to a piece of Schubert which I had first played when I was about eight years old: his Sonatina in D major.
Big mistake! I don’t remember it giving me any trouble the first time round but now, I found myself struggling with every bar.
I often tell students to do a kind of triage on anything they are playing; work out which bits are difficult, what requires some attention, and what’s easy. Usually most material is pretty easy, some is a little tricky and only a small amount is really difficult. (Actually, in Bartok it’s virtually all difficult or worse, but that makes it all the more crucial to know when you can afford to relax.)
The problem, I discovered, with this Schubert Sonatina is that it’s all really straightforward and suddenly that kitchen cupboard spotlight was homing in on all sorts of stuff I didn’t even know not to look at.
The solution is a long, hard look at the basics and what I should have learned in my first violin lessons at five years old. I suppose I could just put the music of the Sonatina back on the shelf – but it’s a nice tune so I think it’s worth struggling on with.
Julia Fischer does play it very beautifully – Spotify
44th FESTIVAL
15-23 AUGUST 2026
Classical, jazz, folk and world music with internationally acclaimed performers and a nine-day exhibition featuring some of the finest art and ceramics in the South West