One never knows whether to fear or look forward to ‘customer reviews’ on Amazon. Ever since a couple of high-profile rows involving well-known authors hiding behind false names in order to rubbish their rivals’ work on Amazon, we’ve all been alerted to the possibility that customer reviews may not be what they seem. At the […]

A fine book from an underrated pianist ‘When my biography of Leopold Godowsky was first published some thirty years ago [writes Jeremy Nicholas in Gramophone magazine], I prefaced the narrative with a quote from Confucius: “I do not seek to be known. I seek to be worthy to be known”. It is a quote that […]

Here I am signing copies of my book Speaking the Piano this morning in Blackwell’s Edinburgh bookstore. Blackwell’s is my favourite bookshop in Edinburgh. I’m usually there as a customer browsing the latest novels, buying a greetings card or having a coffee, so it was a delightfully through-the-looking-glass kind of experience to be sitting in […]

My new book ‘Speaking the Piano‘ is noted as being of interest on the Bookshelf page of New Yorker music critic Alex Ross’s influential blog ‘The Rest is Noise’. Let’s hope this mention will bring the book to the attention of some American readers! Some of my best correspondents on this blog are readers in […]

My book ‘Speaking the Piano‘ was published last week, and by a happy coincidence on the same day it received a five-star review from Jessica Duchen in the July issue of BBC Music magazine. (see photo) ‘Susan Tomes’s insights as a performer and teacher are fully matched by her literary eloquence: at the piano or […]