Festival Music
For everything you need to know about all the Festivals visit www.list.co.uk/festival JONATHAN BISS Young American talent brings passion to EIF opener
Whether volunteering for Barack Obama in the Primaries or traversing the globe with his intimate piano recitals, the young Jonathan Biss has long proved he’s no run-of-the-mill talent. Light on pomp and heavy in enthusiasm, the Indiana-raised pianist opens this year’s Queen’s Hall Series for the EIF.
For the 30-year-old Biss, the programme boasts a perfect mix of light and dark, highs and lows. Leon Kirchner’s ‘Five Pieces’ will begin proceedings before Schumann’s ‘Kreisleriana’ and Mozart’s ever- wonderful ‘Adagio’ in B minor. Beethoven’s fiery Piano Sonata in F minor Op 57 ‘Appassionata’ will bring the concert to a close.
‘It’s about creating a journey for the audience with the pieces you choose and the order you play them,’ explains Biss with a smile, tired but happy after a recital in New York. ‘There’s something so very personal about playing alone on a stage, and feeling the response from an audience. People feel when you’re engaged [as a musician]; that creates a connection. We’re all sitting hearing the same thing, but with truly great works like these, it can mean something absolutely different to everyone.’ (Anna Millar) ■ Queen’s Hall, 473 2000, Sat 14 Aug, 11am, £7–£27.
MERRILL GRANT: A TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX Playful homage to silver-screen greats With her Southern twang, strawberry- blonde hair, beaming smile and can- do attitude, Merrill Grant is the epitome of a 1930s belle. Which is just jim-dandy, given the cabaret act she’s bringing to this year’s Fringe. Inspired by her love of Shirley Temple, Twentieth Century Fox celebrates a roster of Hollywood greats, from Temple herself to Alice Faye and Julie Andrews. ‘I love everything about
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62 THE LIST 12–19 Aug 2010
Withered Hand This likeable oddball is a key player in Edinburgh’s alt.folk scene. Singer Dan Willson is a regular performer at Fence Record nights (he also pops up at this week’s Haarfest
festival, see page 129) and counts Neil Pennycook (of Meursault) Bart Owl (from eagleowl) and Benedikt Hermannsson (aka Benni Hemm Hemm) amongst his showbiz pals. They’ve all collaborated at one time or another with Willson, who brings a quirky humour and tenderness to his dysfunctional folk-pop. ■ Electric Circus, 0844 499 9990, 16 Aug, 7pm, £10. Part of The Edge Festival.
When I get on stage, I like to think that Shirley is looking back, proud of the performance she sees.’ (Anna Millar) ■Pleasance at Ghillie Dhu, 556 6550, until Mon 30 Aug (not Mon 16), 2.45pm, £10 (£9).
NICK GRIMSHAW Champion of new music finds comedy feet Radio 1 returns to the Fringe following last year’s Scott Mills: The Musical. DJ Nick Grimshaw was set the challenge of writing a one-man
show, with five weeks to prepare. Here, he explains the show he’ll perform this week. ‘Don’t get me wrong – I love to
perform; I’m a radio presenter after all. But I’ve never done comedy before, so I’ll be really bloody terrified the night before. ‘It’s quite stressful thinking up an
idea – I bombed out a few first. There was talk of Lindsay Lohan: The Musical, How to Solve a Problem Like Marina [and the Diamonds]. Then I realised people love to hate stuff. So I’m going to round up “my top 50 personal hates”. In my top 50, there’s my dad’s lack of grasp on popular culture (who the hell is the singer ‘Trudy Whitehouse?’); overcooked broccoli (can’t stand that stench); Ke$ha and her stupid dollar sign; politicians who try to be hip – I’ll be covering a lot of ground.
‘It’ll be amazing to rant and let off all
that negativity — I’m probably going to feel so calm after it.’ (Interview by Claire Sawers) ■ Scott Mill’s Radio 1 show will be broadcast live from the Fringe, 16-20 August, 4-7pm. Nick Grimshaw’s ‘Team Hate’ will be broadcast during the show on Tue 17 Aug. Nick Grimshaw’s own radio show follows, 10pm–midnight. www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/
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Shirley, from her character to her musicality, so I really just built the show from there,’ explains Grant, who’s set to charm the audience with quirky numbers such as ‘Be Optimistic’, ‘Goodnight My Love’ and ‘My Favourite Things’. A musical romp from a bygone era, she hopes her US success transfers across the pond: ‘People talk about celebrities today, but these women were real stars,’ enthuses Grant, who still treasures her grandmother’s Shirley Temple doll, complete with droopy curls and faded dress, as well as a letter she received from Temple. ‘I was bowled over. It meant such a lot.