Mary Carewe and a family affair at the Cadogan Hall
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
It was a complete delight to go to the Cadogan Hall last week to attend a concert by Mary Carewe once again. I know I have written about her before, but this was something of a special occasion. The concert consisted of a mixture of cabaret songs drawn from the age when Berlin was the focus of all that was risqué and decadent. Cutting satirical songs from Kurt Weill to the more exotic and challenging Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg made for a heady mix.
Not only was Mary on stage but the concert was conducted by her father John Carewe, Sir Simon Rattle’s original mentor, and in the Berlin Kabarett Ensemble was her sister on the cello. Simon’s son Sasha was playing the clarinet, and throughout the evening three of my own family appeared. Three concert gowns made over a period of 15 years; a silver beaded gown for Pierrot Lunaire, a black beaded tailcoat for the Berlin songs, and a multi-coloured beaded\netting combination to add a little more spice. It was certainly the night for beads!
Mary makes her Carnegie Hall debut with Carl Davis next year so with a bit of luck I will be able to synchronise my next US sales trip with the performance.
Photo: thanks to www.sanctuaryclassics.com
