Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

American Record Guide review of ‘The Piano – a History in 100 Pieces’

Posted by Susan Tomes on 6 March 2023 under Musings  •  Leave a comment

I have just been sent an American review of my book The Piano – a History in 100 Pieces. The review actually came out a year ago, but I was not aware of it until now. A pity, as I would have liked to use a quote from it with the other quotes on the […]

‘Famously opaque world of classical music’

Posted by Susan Tomes on 20 January 2023 under Books, Musings, Reviews  •  5 Comments

The other day I read a review in The Guardian of a book, ‘In Good Hands’, by conductor Alice Farnham, about the art and craft of conducting. I haven’t read the book, but I was struck by several phrases the reviewer, Caroline Crampton, used when talking about classical music: The conductor stands ‘with their back […]

Advent at King’s College Chapel

Posted by Susan Tomes on 28 November 2022 under Musings  •  1 Comment

Last night I attended the Advent Service in the chapel of King’s College, Cambridge. The service, which commemorates the events leading up to the birth of Christ, has a simple and irresistible narrative. At the beginning, the chapel is in darkness. Approaching from the west end, the choir pauses at various places in the great […]

Paper trail

Posted by Susan Tomes on 19 November 2022 under Musings  •  7 Comments

Last week a friend was showing me how she can call up musical scores on various electronic devices, linking the devices so that she can use whichever best suits her needs at the time. She even had the option of writing in fingerings and expression marks with an electronic pencil; any changes she made would […]

Playing in the RSNO chamber series for the first in-person audience since the pandemic

Posted by Susan Tomes on 7 November 2022 under Concerts, Musings  •  1 Comment

It was great to be part of the RSNO chamber series in Glasgow yesterday afternoon in its first ‘live’ concert for an in-person audience since the pandemic.  That’s a gap of almost three years! Photo shows (L to R) cellist Pei Jee Ng, me, violist Tom Dunn, violinist Lena Zeliszewska, violinist and RSNO concertmaster Maya […]