The concert is rounding off Jon’s stretch as this year’s ‘composer in residence’ with the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra near Dortmund. To this end, the orchestra has been performing several of his pieces over the past few months, most recently a breath taking performance of From Darkness To Light, which was broadcast by German radio WDR3 on May 15.

About that performance, Jon later wrote to Hagen’s conductor Florian Ludwig:

‘It was a truly wonderful and emotional experience sitting in my house in England and listening to the glorious sounds you were making in Hagen – wanting to be there and yet in a way happy that you could not see me with the tears in my eyes. The piece means a very great deal to me, and you played it as if you had looked into my heart and soul and found what I was thinking and feeling as I wrote it.’

For the concert on July 6, and subject to the continued progress of his recovery from cancer, Jon will play Hammond organ on his Durham Concerto and piano on a further selection of his solo pieces mixed with works by other composers connected to Jon and his music.

Go to:
Ticket sales
Der Westen review of From Darkness To Light in Hagen (German language)

The broadcast starts at 20.05 on WDR 3 and will feature the world premiere of Jon’s new arrangement of From Darkness To Light, A Prayer For The Millenium for tenor, choir and large orchestra.

The evening’s programme opens with In The South by Edward Elgar, continues with Jon’s piece and concludes with Jean Sibelius‘ Symphony No. 5.

More:
Hagen Orchestra info and tickets
WDR 3′s website
Listen live online

Website update:

Pictured Within itself
Evening Song
Wait a While

Over time we aim to add all the words written by (or to) Jon for his music. Tell us your favourites, and we’ll try to do those first.

The results of UK’s biggest classical music poll were revealed over Easter, and Jon’s music has secured him two spots in the Top 300.

Classic FM writes:

“The transfer from pop or rock musician to classical music supremo is a path many have attempted to tread, with only limited success. In the case of the former Deep Purple keyboard player Jon lord, though, the traversal from one genre to another has been triumphant.”

#87 - Durham Concerto has climbed an impressive 66 places.

#242 - Boom of the Tingling Strings has re-entered the Classic FM Hall of Fame and is Jon’s second entry this year.

The albums

Durham Concerto was released in January 2008 and is among Jon’s most accomplished works. Listen to selected excerpts here:

- Durham Awakes (4:05 mp3 4Mb)
- Rags & Galas (2:41 mp3 3Mb)
- Road from Lindisfame (5:57 mp3 5Mb) 

Boom of the Tingling Strings was released in March 2008. The piece has autobiographical flavours. You can listen to EMI Classic’s podcast-special on the album.

Buy:
Durham Concerto
Boom of the Tingling Strings

Check out the entire Top 300 of the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2012.

Some of the older releases – including Deep Purple and the Hoochie Coochie Men - are offered at lowered discounted prices.

Support Jon on eBay.

Jon Lord with Paul Mann, Zermatt 2004

On April 21, Jon’s music will rub shoulders with such esteemed British composers as Malcolm Arnold and Benjamin Britten in Granada, Spain.

That evening, the city’s Auditorio Manuel de Falla will host a programme featuring Jon’s Disguises (off the Boom of the Tingling Strings album), conducted by Paul Mann.

The evening’s full programme:

April 21
Malcolm Arnold: Sinfonietta no. 1
Jon Lord: M.A.s.q.u.e. (from Disguises)
(Dedicated to Malcom Arnold)
Benjamin Britten: Suite on English Folk Tunes (A time there was…), op. 90

On piano will be the winner of the 54th International Piano Competition held in Jaén, Spain on April 12-20.

Jon is not scheduled to appear at the concert.

Working from plans put in motion early last year, this Spring will see the orchestra perform five of Jon’s pieces; The Cathedral at Dawn, a segment of his Durham Concerto; Diguises, released on the Boom of the Tingling Strings album; From Darkness to Light in a brand new arrangement for full orchestra; To Notice Such Things and Sarabande.

Click the dates below to find more info.

Jon has previously done several other concerts with the orchestra, starting in February 2008.

February 28, 2012
Jon Lord: The Cathedral at Dawn
Peter Tschaikowski: Violinkonzert
Dmitri Schostakowitsch: Sinfonie Nr. 9

April 24, 2012
Jon Lord: Disguises
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Violinkonzert
Franz Schubert: Sinfonie Nr. 6

May 15, 2012
Jon Lord: From Darkness to Light (World premiere of version for large orchestra)
Jean Sibelius: Sinfonie Nr. 5

June 12, 2012
Johannes Brahms: Haydn-Variationen
Jon Lord: To Notice Such Things
Johannes Brahms: Violinkonzert

July 6, 2012
Jon Lord: Sarabande

All concerts take place at Hagen’s Stadthalle.

Jon’s previous appearances with the Hagen Philharmonics:
Review: Serious fun in Essen (2010)
Report: Preparing for Purple and the classics in Essen (2010)
Review: Wildly staged mix og genres (2009)
Review: His Lordship asked to ba-roque (2009)
Review: Jon Lord and Hagen celebrate 100 years (2008)
Photos: Jon Lord in Hagen (2008)

Jon has featured prominently in the poll the past few years. In 2010, both the Durham Concerto and Boom of the Tingling Strings entered the Top 10 of pieces by living composers.

It would be wonderful if the Durham Concerto could retain its position in the Classic FM Hall of Fame, but please don’t vote for Concerto for Group and Orchestra as it is not on Classic FM’s playlist.

Have your say and help put Jon into Classic FM’s Hall of Fame this year too.

Click here to vote.

Read more about Jon’s history with Classic FM’s Hall of Fame.

In July, Jon Lord was made honorary Doctor of Music at Leicester University

Happy New Year to all of you, our visitors here at Jon’s website.

2011 was by no means an ordinary year for any of us. Here’s a look at how his website fared through it all.

JonLord.org was viewed about 400,000 times in 2011. 

London Olympic Stadium holds 80,000 people. So if we were competing there, it would take about 5 sold-out events for that many people to see us. Thank you all.

Not surprisingly, August 10th was our busiest day with 15,530 views for our most read post – A Message from Jon.

Since then, you guys have posted more than 1.000 kind and loving messages to Jon, for which he has already thanked you. It is all very heart warming and inspiring.

Our most read articles in 2011
1. A Message from Jon - August 2011
2. Jon: Your responses have touched my heart – August 2011
3. Jon Lord releases orchestral live album – August 2011
4. Lord & Wakeman world premiere at Sunflower Jam – July 2011
5. Jon Lord Blues Project release live CD – July 2011

Where do you all come from?
Most of you come from Germany with United Kingdom and USA not far behind.

But we get visitors from every corner of the world; Japan, Greenland, Mexico, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, etc, etc. You are all very welcome here.

How do you find us?
Our top referring sites in 2011 were:
• facebook.com
• thehighwaystar.com
• picturedwithin.com
• en.wikipedia.org
• de.wikipedia.org

Want to say something?
Thank you all for your continued support. Remember, you can keep up with us via Facebook, Twitter and our RSS-feed (links top right).

Your messages to Jon, to this website, and your opinions and thoughts in general are welcome in the comments box below.

With the best wishes for 2012.

I have been mightily sustained by reading them and will continue to be so. You are a very special lot indeed.

I am doing well and I will be back with more news and updates in the next week or so. In the meantime, party hearty but look after yourselves.

I wish you success and happiness, and above all I wish you health.

God bless

Jon