I have done an interview for the 'Brainland' podcast, a series 'where neuroscience, the arts and humanities mingle'. An old college friend, doctor and cellist Steve Brown, interviewed me about how I got started in music, how I got into chamber music, what motivates...
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Debussy's Prelude 'La Puerta del Vino', from his second book of Preludes for piano (written 1912-13), has been one of my favourites for a long time. I've always loved its evocation of harsh guitar music, flamenco singing and the rhythms of the habañera. Long ago I...
Today is 'World Piano Day' (as if every day wasn't piano day!) and Yale University Press has been tweeting a little clip of me talking about the French pianist-composer Hélène de Montgeroult. De Montgeroult is one of the pianist-composers featured in my new book Women...
On Saturday we attended the last night of Mark Morris Dance Group performing ‘L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed il Moderato’ at the Coliseum. Readers will remember that Mark Morris is a hero of mine. Dance critics were in raptures about this show, but I still think that Mark...
It’s amazing what the arrival of a box of organic vegetables and farm produce can inspire. Hours after taking delivery of our box, Bob had made this superb quiche with courgettes, aubergines, leeks, olives, garlic, rosemary, crème fraiche and home-made pastry. Here it...
The weather has turned cold again, and on the day I took this photo in Richmond Park, we had hail, thunder and lightning in the afternoon. By now, the high winds and heavy rain have probably ripped most of the early blossoms off the bushes. So I think I was lucky to...
Here I am on one of my favourite sofas in the Friends' Room at the Royal Academy of Arts. Over the years, on this very sofa or the ones next to it, I've discussed all manner of things with friends from near and far. We've met here partly to look at paintings and...
'If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?' It's funny how the first flowers of the year - crocuses, daffodils, aconites -seem especially vivid in colour. Are they really brighter than other flowers, or do they just strike us that way because our eyes have gradually...
The Guardian is publishing excerpts from Out of Silence in the Review section on Saturday 20 March. I’ll post the link on Saturday when I know it. In the meantime, many thanks to everyone who silently toasted my book from several different countries and three...
Thursday's the day when Out of Silence is officially published. As I haven't managed to organise a book launch party, how about a virtual book launch that day? At 18:00 hours (UK time) on Thursday 18 March, I’m going to raise a glass to toast my readers, wherever they...
I’m practising Schumann’s wonderful set of piano pieces, Davidsbündlertänze, for a concert later this year. As usual, progress is unpredictable. Sometimes things move on, sometimes not. Feeling short of inspiration one day this week, I sat down to listen to a historic...
A very busy week ended with a concert and party for the Friends of the Florestan Trio. What a nice thing a Friends’ Organisation is! So much of a musician’s time, especially a pianist’s time, is spent working alone or with just a few other people. It’s easy to lose...
A most unexpected and heartwarming New Year gift arrived today in the form of a comment made in a Times book review by the distinguished cellist Natalie Clein. Reviewing a new book on Bach’s cello suites, she muses on the difficulty of writing about music, and says,...
This new year has found me in thoughtful rather than celebratory mood. So here is a photo of the tide gracefully looping its way along Portobello Beach in the winter sun in Edinburgh, where I spent Christmas. There is much to look forward to in 2010, and I wish you...
Yesterday brought the very sad news that American cellist Felix Wurman has died, age 51, of cancer. Felix was an inspiring person with a passion for adventure and an extraordinary gift for making friends. He was the founder of the music group Domus, which had its own...