The End Of ViolinMP3.com!

OK, this is what's happening.

It's impossible to run a website without having people to do it for you, when you have a violin to play! At least, that's the situation for me.

So from 1 February, ViolinMP3.com is - shock, horror! - going to be mothballed and archived. If you're reading this there or on my blog at http://www.courtlanemusic.com/blog/ - this is the last post. And if you're reading here...

http://www.simonhewittjones.com/

...then it's the first one!

Let's be honest, ViolinMP3.com had run its course; it wasn't getting updated often, and it was very generalized, unexceptional writing... millions of other websites do that better.

From now on, there's just one website, and it's a simple blog in my name. More music, less extraneous bits. More writing, although less about technology and more about the violin (though I'll continue to explore the 'essential questions' that ViolinMP3.com helped to identify.

RIP, ViolinMP3.com (2002 - 2007). I enjoyed working with you.

See you at http://www.simonhewittjones.com/.

[please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds! New RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/simonhewittjones ]

[http://www.courtlanemusic.com/blog/ and ViolinMP3.com will both stay online indefinitely as an archive]

And Now A Short Interlude Whilst I Reflect

I've only just taken a look at the footage from the Gardening Club. Raw(!), but the beginning of an answer I think. Or at least the next stage of questions ;)

I'll get a snippet of it on here soon.

For now, I'm going to take a little time out to reflect on the Virtuoso Violin Tour, build up some repertoire for concerts later in the year, and start working out how best to move forward (I have a month's break from performing anyway, so I'm going to expand London Violin Studio - enquiries welcome!). But I think there are some fundamental changes underway, and the subjects of environment, repertoire genre programming, new music, juxtapositions of type of music (e.g. virtuoso to sonata ratio) without seeming boring, are all part of it.

One thing I won't be doing for now though is any more adminstration. If I don't reply to any emails for several months (or possibly forever) it's because I'm practicing ;) . There are so many exciting possibilities now, but I can't do it all on my own, because I have a violin to take to the next level. Agents and/or administrators over to you!

Another thing I might do is move this blog over to wordpress, and perhaps make some swingeing changes to ViolinMP3.com. We shall see.

May I close with one more thank you for the amazing generosity of those who supported us in the last month or two. It would have been even tougher without your help. I (& we) will be back, bigger, better, more refined, soon.

See you in a month or so.

Yourspace Maybe. But Not Myspace

Myspace is supposedly the pinnacle of music social networking sites. Well, if you're wondering why my myspace page is over six months out of date then you should know that despite multiple emails to myspace explaining that my email address has expired, I have received nothing but identical copied-and-pasted standard replies (each taking nearly two weeks to arrive) telling me to reset my password using the email address... that I had already explained wasn't working. No sign of them actually reading my correspondence in the near future then...

I recognize the currency of Myspace at this moment in time, but in the longterm, I have yet to be convinced that it will in the future be relevant - particularly if they continue to treat professional musicians with the attitude they've shown towards me. If I ever regain access to my account, I intend to redirect it to my own website, and then forget about it for good.

There are good things out there though. I have since the beginning of our winter tour last month been addicted to a recording of Bloch's Prayer by cellist Olly Coates & others (accordion?).

http://www.myspace.com/olivercoates

It just so happens he's sharing a concert platform with me in London on Thursday. You have reserved tickets, haven't you?