I'm excited about the paperback edition of Women and the Piano coming out this Tuesday. As you probably know, not all hardback books are subsequently released in paperback. It depends on the type of book, on the hardback sales, on the presumed size of the readership....
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A kind reader in the US (thank you Diana) has alerted me to the fact that my book Women and the Piano is one of Jeremy Denk's choices in this week's New Yorker magazine. New York pianist and writer Jeremy Denk was asked to recommend a few books that deal with the...
Today, January 27, is Mozart's birthday. 269 years since he was born! His is the only 'composer birthday' I regularly remember, I suppose because he is still my favourite composer despite stiff competition from about 25 others. I remember his birthday for its own sake...
Yesterday's Guardian Review carried a fascinating article by Michael Church, editor of 'The other classical musics - fifteen great traditions', a new assortment of essays by Church and other world music experts published by Boydell Press (who also publish my books)....
Excerpt from a review of my book 'Sleeping in Temples', in the newsletter of the London Chamber Music Society (you can download the whole newsletter from their site). 'I don't usually 'judge a book by its cover', but in this case the cover is a lovely place to start:...
Sad news that Edward Greenfield has died. He was senior music critic of The Guardian for many years, and a longstanding contributor to Gramophone magazine. Although 'Ted' was a professional critic, it always seemed to me that he was determined to accentuate the...
'Sleeping in Temples is the fourth book by the pianist and author Susan Tomes. The book is drawn from the author’s memories, experiences and thoughts about the music she has been intensely and sincerely committed to as a pianist performing at the highest international...
I recently did an interview with Andrew Ford of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's 'The Music Show'. We talked mainly about my book 'Sleeping in Temples', but strayed onto other topics such as why it is that, in the last movement of Beethoven's E major piano...
The new issue of Chamber Music America magazine has as its endpiece an abridged version of one of the chapters of my book 'Sleeping in Temples'. It's the chapter called 'The Iceberg', in which I contrast the huge amount of time most musicians spend practising and...
I wrote a while ago about the memoirs of Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus, 'the Highland Lady', whose memoirs of life in Scotland in the early 19th century were so popular. Now I'm reading her later volume of memoirs, written when she was married and helping to run an...
My new book has had its first 'review' in the States. 'Choice', the professional magazine of the American Library Association, has recommended it for students, professionals, and general readers. This is a big step forward because 'Choice' is an important influence on...
The March issue of Gramophone Magazine carries a review of my book 'Sleeping in Temples'. As the review is not available online except to subscribers, here's an excerpt: " 'Out of Silence' [my previous book] was written in diary form. 'Sleeping in Temples' is a series...
There's an article by music critic Ken Walton about me and my book in today's Scotsman newspaper - click here to read it. For now, an excerpt: 'Just read her recent fourth book, Sleeping in Temples, in which she muses, in 16 essays, on issues that challenge and...
I've been reading the wonderful 'Memoirs of a Highland Lady', written by Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus. What a series of unforgettable pictures she paints of her life in the Highlands of Scotland in the early years of the 19th century! As a teenager, I used to get...
There's a review of my new book in today's Guardian. Here's an excerpt: 'Fascinating essays from the celebrated pianist ... Susan Tomes has devoted her career largely to chamber music - a niche market within the niche market of classical music, and one in which she...