Over the Christmas holidays I’ve been talking with friends and family about the topic of my next book. I’ve got some ideas of my own, but one night someone suggested to me that I could ‘crowd-source’ ideas from people who read my blog. If ‘crowd-source’ seems a little hyperbolic, let’s say ‘group-source’. What would people like […]

I haven’t written anything here for a while because I’ve been away at the International Musicians’ Seminar ‘Open Chamber Music’ in Prussia Cove, Cornwall. We had a week of rehearsals in Prussia Cove (see photo), and then eight of us did a week of touring, giving five concerts around the south of England: Truro, Bristol, Wimborne […]

A reader has reproached me for not including the classic Richard Tauber recording in my previous blog post about different versions of Léhar’s aria ‘Dein ist mein ganzes Herz’. He points out that the composer actually wrote with Tauber’s voice in mind, so mine was obviously a crucial omission. Here is Richard Tauber’s thrilling version from […]

Sad news about the death of Peter Cropper, inspirational first violinist of the Lindsay Quartet. I didn’t know Peter so well myself, but always felt connected to the Lindsays because the original viola player of my group Domus, Robin Ireland, moved to become the viola player of the Lindsays. We were always hearing tales of the […]

After writing about my preparations for Monday’s concert at Wigmore Hall with Erich Höbarth, I’m delighted to report that we had a wonderful time. In fact, it was one of my most favourite concerts of recent years. Erich was tremendous, and I felt that I was ‘in the zone’, always easier to feel if you know […]