On the radio the other day they were talking about albums of recorded music, and whether the concept of 'an album' still makes any sense in an era of singly streamed tracks. Commentators thought that there were certain albums, for example Amy Winehouse's 'Back to...
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This week I've been watching quite a lot of sport - World Cup football and Wimbledon tennis matches. I'm a latecomer to sports fandom and, to be honest, I only follow the big tournaments. The rest of the year, sport fades from my consciousness. But I still feel one...
We had a great evening the other night in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh (see photo), listening to the four young finalists in the Directors' Recital Prize competition run every year by St Mary's Music School. The competition is open to the final two years...
So the UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has suggested that musicians and other creative artists may need to re-train and look for other opportunities as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “I can’t pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job that they were doing at...
On Monday, cellist Philip Higham and I played one of the first post-lockdown concerts for a socially distanced live audience at Wigmore Hall (see photo). At first, we had been told that only 56 people would be allowed in the audience, but the rules changed and we were...
On Monday, 14 September at 7.30pm, cellist Philip Higham and I will be stepping in at short notice to play a duo recital at Wigmore Hall in London. We're replacing two artists caught up in quarantine rules. With countries hopping on and off the quarantine list, the...
Since lockdown, I've only had the chance to do one concert. It was a special one, though! - the Edinburgh Festival's Chamber Soundscapes online series. Although there was no audience, the performance took place under concert conditions. In five months of lockdown, I...
Yesterday Philip Higham and I recorded our programme for the Edinburgh International Festival's Chamber Soundscapes series. Music by Nadia Boulanger, Martinu, Suk, Debussy and Beethoven. Our performance was relayed through speakers in Princes St Gardens at lunchtime...
Believe it or not, I actually have a concert next week, though it will be a 'closed door' recording made without an audience. It's part of the Edinburgh International Festival's online offering which replaces the programme for this year's cancelled Festival. A series...
Zoom music-making has been a feature of lockdown. Hardly a week passes without someone sending me a link to a recording: Zoom choirs, Zoom orchestras and ensembles, each performer singing or playing away in their own home and on their own little screen. To create a...
We're hearing a lot about the days of heedless international travel being over for classical musicians. In today's Guardian, Charlotte Higgins does an admirable job of summing up some aspects of the situation. It's worth remembering that darting about to play in San...
The other night, after watching the last in the category finals of 'BBC Young Musician', I tweeted that I had now watched the wind, brass and string finals and had not once heard them mention the name of any of the pianists who played with the young competitors. My...
The Scotsman newspaper is offering readers some lockdown entertainment, or solace, in the form of contributions from various artists who've recorded themselves playing, reading poetry, singing, or whatever in their own homes. There's an accompanying article written by...
A music-loving friend and I were discussing the prospect of concerts resuming after lockdown. It might be months away, but most musicians are eagerly, indeed desperately looking forward to this point. 'Trouble is', said my friend, 'I might not feel all that confident...
The coronavirus situation is constantly changing. Many people's plans have already been impacted by it, even though in Scotland, where I live, there are just a few cases at the moment. In the past few days I've had several worried concert promoters on the phone about...