Since the end of the ARD Competition in Munich I have been mulling over the concept of competitions. Of course we all understand the point of competitions, and many are prepared to put up with the negative aspects in the hope of benefitting from the positive ones. Personally, I always found it hard to play […]

The ARD-Competition in Munich ended with three out of the four categories (violin, viola, bassoon, piano trio) awarding no first prize. Only Yura Lee won a first prize in the viola category. I wonder if it is generally realised by the public that the rules in Munich do not allow the first prize to be […]

I am still working on the jury of the ARD Competition in Munich, which reaches the Final of the piano trio competition on Saturday. Obviously I can’t write anything about the competitors, but I can say how interesting it has been to hear so many different groups playing in the same hall. In the first […]

Another Cerne Abbas festival has come to an end. Remembering last year’s dreadful weather, during which one of the group had to drive to Dorchester to buy some thermal undergarments, I had packed some rather warm concert clothes, which I regretted as soon as I realised how sunny this year’s festival was going to be. […]

Someone has drawn my attention to the fact that last Saturday, in the Family section of the Guardian, a reader submitted a favourite recipe along with a recollection of her childhood, in which her late mother played the piano music of Billy Mayerl on the family’s beloved upright piano. The reader, Nikki Copleston, mentioned that […]