Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

Presto Music Award arrives

Posted by Susan Tomes on 2 February 2022 under Musings  •  3 Comments

I have got so used to everything being online-only that I was very surprised when an Actual Thing turned up in the post to commemorate the Presto Music Award 2021 for my book The Piano. It’s a nice little sculpture of the blue Presto Music ‘arrows’ logo. I knew about the award before Christmas, I […]

Financial Times ‘Books of 2021’

Posted by Susan Tomes on 20 November 2021 under Musings  •  1 Comment

The Financial Times has been publishing its ‘Books of 2021’, category by category across recent days, and now they have arrived at Classical Music. I’m proud to see that my piano book is one of their Books of 2021. This is the link, but unless you’re a subscriber it seems to lead only to a […]

In the pocket of the music

Posted by Susan Tomes on 25 October 2021 under Daily Life, Musings  •  3 Comments

The autumn season of Strictly Come Dancing is under way and this year the judges seem inclined to give us a bit more insight into what they are looking for. I have enjoyed learning more about posture, weight, inside edges, head position, arm extensions, ‘spotting’ ( a technique to stop yourself getting giddy when spinning), […]

Playing without effort

Posted by Susan Tomes on 14 October 2021 under Musings  •  1 Comment

I’m playing through the whole volume of Mozart sonatas again. The other day I came to the B flat Sonata K333. This has difficult associations for me because I learned it for one of those endless exams one always seems to be taking in teenage years – I can’t now remember if it was for […]

Continual assessment

Posted by Susan Tomes on 9 October 2021 under Concerts, Musings, Reviews  •  Leave a comment

A friend of mine has been musing on this question: How many other professionals are subjected to continual public assessment the way musicians are? For a long time, musicians have put up with being publicly reviewed because good reviews can bring them quickly to the attention of ‘movers and shakers’ around the world. At least, […]