Last week I was in Vienna for a few days of Easter holiday. We managed to pack in lots of music-related things: a concert at the Musikverein, an evening at the State Opera, a visit to one of Mozart's apartments, a visit to Haydn's house in what was the village of...
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I've been watching Channel 4's new series, 'The Piano', in which amateur piano-playing members of the public put themselves forward to come and play an upright piano in the foyer of one of Britain's main railway stations. Unknown to them, watching behind the scenes...
We generally try to make our own decorations for our home-made Christmas cake. We used to attempt traditional scenes of snowmen, sledging, fir trees, snowballs etc. In recent years, after icing the cake, we've switched to making animals out of the leftover icing. Each...
Feeling slightly disturbed by large advert in today's Guardian: 'Do you know the value of your instrument?' it asks, above a photo of 'A Fine French Violin by JB Vuillaume'. It goes on, 'The last 20 years have seen a huge price increase in the value of musical...
In today's Guardian I have a letter on the subject of political lobbying, which is headline news in the UK at the moment. The letter was cut before being published, and I felt that part of my specific point had been lost, so in case anyone would like to read the full...
Tonight, Tuesday May 28, between 9pm and 9.15pm, BBC Radio Scotland's 'Classics Unwrapped' is playing a track from my new e-album with Erich Höbarth of Mozart piano and violin sonatas. It's the first track on the recording, the 'Allegro con Spirito' from the D major...
Spring seems to be arriving late this year, but my favourite spot in London for spring colours, the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park, is defying the cold weather and starting to look fabulous. Whoever planted the azaleas here was a genius of gardening. This year...
".... your ultimate companion to a summer of music", says today's Guardian Guide to Festivals. But is it? Not if classical music is your thing. I subscribe to the Guardian, look forward to reading it every day and love it to bits, but every year when they publish...
I've just signed up for Twitter. My Twitter username is @susantomespiano and there's a 'follow me on Twitter' button on the left-hand side of this page. It's daunting, because I already feel I'm drowning in email. But the younger generation keeps telling me I really...
My e-album of Mozart Sonatas for piano and violin, made with the wonderful Erich Höbarth, goes live today. You can buy it from CD Baby, and also from iTunes, Amazon, and lots of other download sites like Google Music Store, Shazam, Nokia, Rhapsody and MediaNet. You...
I'm going to the BBC tomorrow to record an episode of 'Saturday Classics', which I'm presenting on Saturday 11 May from 3-5pm on Radio 3. Each week a different presenter chooses two hours' worth of classical recordings and chats about their selections. The presenter...
A chance encounter after a recent concert gave me the chance to visit the beautifully refurbished Savoy Hotel at the invitation of Jon Nickoll, the pianist in the famous American Bar. I've long wanted to visit the Savoy, where Billy Mayerl made his name as the young...
I've been leaping boldly into the world of new media by uploading an audio file to one of the new online music distributors which helps artists to get their music directly to new audiences. (Details to follow when I've got to the end of the process). It's instrumental...
A nice surprise this morning - my Cobbett Medal (to be presented next week at a dinner of the Worshipful Company of Musicians) is mentioned in the Herald newspaper. I was re-reading a chapter from my first book the other day, in preparation for yesterday's event at...
We have been in snowy Vienna, where we were invited to hear a performance of Beethoven's opera 'Fidelio' in the very theatre where it was premiered (see photo). We were sitting right behind Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the conductor. It was thrilling to be in the Theater an...