a certain sound of snow—

·Not from underfoot
crunching but

·The sound of
falling flakes

·New down dipping
on an ocean of spray

·Pianissimo,
fading into silence

Claudio Abaddo had learned listening
skills from his maternal grandfather, an expert in ancient languages. Together
on holidays they would walk in silence near the Matterhorn. And as an adult he
walked there again, “specifically to test on the silence the orchestral scores
that flowed, perfectly memorised, in his head.” (TheEconomist,
“Claudio Abaddo” obituary, Feb 2, 2014)

Listen.

“In rehearsal this was almost his only
word, accompanied by a gesture, finger to lips, or one of his quick, dazzling,
toothy smiles, or a sudden glance of the eyes that were, he thought, his most
effective tool. He did not dominate the music, but was its servant. So no
shouting, like Toscanini. No furious baton-play or maestro posing, like
Karajan, whom he hadon 17th September. He is also excluded from the M25 area during the DSEI arms fair, as part of his bail conditions.

Cole said: “Especially in a time of war, we are called to resist the great lie that our security and well-being lies in bigger and better weaponry. The truth is that only justice and love will, in the end, bring real peace and real human security to our nation and the world as a whole.”

Chris Cole has been a speaker the Greenbelt arts and music festival, which takes place over the August bank holiday weekend. He is a member of the Network of Christian Peace Organisations and has previously been jailed for his demonstrations.

In 2007 Cole was jailed for refusing to pay a fine of £661 arising