Last night I did an ‘author event’ – the first in-person event of this year – at Toppings Bookshop in Edinburgh. This bookshop, fairly new to Edinburgh, has been beautifully designed around the many interestingly-shaped rooms of the historic building. Curved wooden bookcases follow the line of the curved walls. Rolling library ladders enable you […]

My book The Piano – a History in 100 Pieces has just been reviewed by ArtMuseLondon. Some excerpts: ‘…This book is not simply a chronology of the piano, not by any means; but rather a detailed exploration of some of the greatest music composed for the instrument as well as lesser-known gems, written from the […]

There’s a review by Gulliver Ralston of my new book in the August 2021 issue of Literary Review. As part of it is behind a paywall, some excerpts: ‘…Completed just as lockdown began in the UK last March, these short essays open worlds of sound and history, illuminating familiar and forgotten works with succinct vignettes. […]

On Sunday 1 August, I’ll be talking about my new book The Piano – a History in 100 Pieces on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Classics Unwrapped’ programme, which begins at 7pm. The interview will be ‘live’ and if you’re in a position to listen to BBC Radio Scotland, you can hear my segment from about 7.20 […]

In London yesterday, I visited the beautiful premises of Daunt’s Books in Marylebone High Street to sign some copies of my new book (see photo). The architecture of the store certainly gives one the feeling of being in a temple of books. Today I came across a nice review of the book in the new […]