Kemble Pianos, the UK’s last piano manufacturing firm, closed today. Read my comments in today’s Guardian arts blog here.

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Even in the dark and without his lipstick-pink pashmina, I recognised choreographer Mark Morris standing chatting with two friends outside Sadler’s Wells Theatre an hour before his show last night. It wasn’t like bumping into Diaghilev: Morris was dressed in old corduroys and a shapeless black t-shirt. I thought it might be his “please don’t recognise [...]

Fascinating article in today’s Guardian about the hidden antagonism which some top sportsmen feel, or come to feel, towards their chosen sport. It seems they’re reluctant to voice such feelings because they know the general public regards them as fortunate beyond belief to be living the life that they do. ‘I play tennis for a [...]

We had dinner last night with a friend who plays professionally in a string quartet. He’d been coaching a young string quartet from Paris. They got to talking about rehearsal venues, always a vexing problem for chamber groups and one that I and my friends have never successfully resolved. We generally travel long distances to [...]

No dancer myself, I nevertheless love to watch good dancers, especially if they are musical. That may seem an odd qualification to make about dancers, but it often seems to me that the rhythm of the music and the steps of the dance are on parallel tracks.
Because my dad was a keen amateur ballroom dancer, [...]