An appetite for music

As a young man, I had the good fortune to be taken under the musical wing of an ex-Radio 3 music producer, who decided my cultural education was lacking and that she would try and remedy this. Her name was Diana Gordon, and she was a well-known figure on the London musical scene; after retiring from the BBC, she was persuaded by Jim Ede to curate the recitals and concerts at his newly formed Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge.

That’s how I met her in 1976 – as a freshman, in my first week at university - when I innocently volunteered to turn the pages at chamber music recitals; I’ve always loved turning pages – being part of the action without the pressure of performing. Bright-eyed and intensely interested in everyone and everything she encountered, Diana instantly invited me round to tea, and an unusual friendship blossomed.

To accompany the Earl Grey, Diana produced a delectable orange yogurt cake and I complimented her. ‘Musicians love their food,’ she explained. ‘There must be some connection and one day they’ll discover it.’ This was the first of countless home-cooked feasts I enjoyed in her company, and the first of many life lessons I learnt from her. When she died, I inherited her precious handwritten recipe collection, of perfect, simple, unpretentious dishes, including that yogurt cake, for which I’m proud to share the recipe below.

She confided in me that for most of her life she had been excruciatingly shy, but in her fifties experienced a sort of epiphany and decided she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life hiding in corners. At her favourite haunts – Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room – she seemed to know half the audience, and if someone looked interesting, she would find a reason to march up, introduce herself and as often as not, invite them round to tea.

She wasn’t, of course, the first person to observe that musicians have gourmet tendencies. In Larousse Gastronomique you’ll find Tournedos Rossini, Turkey Tetrazzini (named after the celebrated Italian soprano), Melba Toast and Peach Melba, named in honour of Dame Nellie. Pasta alla Norma (with aubergine) is named after the opera. A compulsory souvenir of a visit to Salzburg are the chocolate-pistachio balls wrapped prettily in foil and known as Mozartkugeln.

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During her career at Radio 3, Diana produced all styles and periods of classical music. It may be apocryphal, but the story goes she was commissioned to record all Scarlatti’s 550 keyboard sonatas, played by the great artists of the day, including Wanda Landowska, Kenneth Gilbert and George Malcolm. The project had to be abandoned when she discovered that the last two hundred she ended up with were all in G minor – a programme planner’s nightmare.

She formed lasting friendships with many of the leading musicians of the day and it was thanks to her that Kettle’s Yard became known for its world-class chamber music programme (see the star-studded list at the bottom of the page). I particularly remember Vlado Perlemuter’s yearly appearance, when the great man would enthral the eager young audience with his Ravel, Fauré and Chopin. (Sadly for me, he didn’t need any pages turning.)

Diana apologised to me that since her retirement she’d ‘reverted to type’ and only really enjoyed listening to the ‘greats’ – principally Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. To my enormous good fortune, she made it her mission to improve my sketchy musical knowledge. Over many years we played our way through Schubert’s piano duet repertoire (my playing wasn’t a patch on hers but I was a good sight reader) and she told me how touched she was to have been able to pass on to me her love pf his music: ‘Beethoven one deeply admires, but Schubert one loves.’

At Radio 3 she necessarily produced a lot of modern and contemporary music but never warmed to it. One composer she couldn’t abide was John Ireland, which was tricky because she was great friends with the pianist Alan Rowlands, who recorded his collected piano music. (I thought Alan knew of her dislike, and put my foot in it by mentioning it.)

On the other hand she much admired the work of South African composer Arnold van Wyk; in fact I noticed Diana always turned ‘misty’ when his name was mentioned and couldn’t help wondering if there had been an attachment. Another champion of van Wyk was their mutual friend, the composer Howard Ferguson. In 1995 he set aside composition to write Entertaining Solo – A Cookbook for the Single Host. Diana presented me with a copy signed by the author, but to my eternal sorrow this was lost in a house move.

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Our friendship lasted for more than 25 years. Whenever possible, we continued to meet up whenever possible to play duets and enjoy cosy suppers. She moved from Victoria (as the crow flies, she was Queen Elizabeth’s nearest neighbour) to a basement flat in Fulham, where the disagreeable tenant living above would stamp on the floor if she didn’t like the music being played. Diana took this in her stride, and resolved to change her Blüthner for a harpsichord.

 It turned out not to be necessary because in 2002 Diana found a lump on her head and was diagnosed with brain cancer. ‘It’s the oddest thing,’ she told me. ‘I don’t feel at all depressed about it.’ After she died, her goddaughter gave me some of her pictures, sheet music and her piano chair, but it’s the life lessons I carry about with me, including some that still make me chuckle.

For instance…

• The better to concentrate, she invariably listened to music with her eyes closed (audience members frequently assumed she’d fallen asleep). Her car radio was never switched on, because how could you listen and drive at the same time?

• She was horrified by musicians’ lack of dress sense, specially singers.

• She adored young people and young things – babies, kittens, seedlings, chicks.

• She swore by the Alexander Technique, and said it had added an inch-and-a-half to her height.

• Music frequently moved her to tears; she decided this was because deep-down she realised the time was approaching when she would no longer be alive to hear it. 

DIANA’S ORANGE YOGURT CAKE

The novel measuring method in this recipe is very Diana.

Prep – 10 minutes

Cook – about an hour

Slices into 10

Keeps for 3 or 4 days and freezes well

FOR THE CAKE:

150ml pot plain low-fat yogurt - use the pot as a measure for other ingredients

2 pots self-raising flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ pots of caster sugar

½ pot of oil, such as sunflower oil

2 eggs

Grated zest of an orange

Pinch of salt

FOR THE GLAZE:

Juice of half an orange

2 tablespoons sugar

1 Line a medium loaf tin (about 1 litre capacity) with baking paper.

2 Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Transfer to the tin and bake at 170C/fan 150C for about 50-60 minutes until well browned and a toothpick comes out clean. (If cake starts to brown too soon, shield with a foil.)

3 While it’s baking, heat the juice and sugar till dissolved. When the cake comes out of the oven, remove from tin and brush the top with the glaze till it’s all absorbed. Leave to cool and slice.

DIANA GORDON AT KETTLE’S YARD

I asked Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge if it would be possible to have details of the recitals and concerts Diana organised between 1974 and 84, and the Music Chair spent many hours going through the archives to provide me with a full list. It reads like a Who’s Who of the British chamber music scene of the period.

Among the pianists were Vlado Perlemuter (seven recitals), Radu Lupu, Andras Schiff, Imogen Cooper, Howard Shelley, Melvyn Tan, Richard Goode, Malcolm Binns, John McCabe, plus harpsichord and organ recitals by George Malcolm, Trevor Pinnock, William Christie, Virginia Pleasants, Blandine Verlet and Gillian Weir.

String quartets featured prominently – among those who came to Kettle’s Yard at her bidding were the Lindsay, Aeolian, Chilingirian, Gabrieli, Alberni, Orlando, Endellion and Brodsky Quartets. String players were also favoured - including Raphael Wallfisch, Cecil Aronowitz, Amaryllis Fleming, Moray Welsh, Gyorgy Pauk, Yfrah Neaman and Steven Isserlis. Singers included Judith Nelson, Jane Manning (with Richard Rodney Bennett), Emma Kirkby and – most years – duo Ian and Jennifer Partridge.

The last concert organised by Diana - on 7 June 1984 - was given by George Malcolm and Andras Schiff.