Yesterday I was at an art exhibition celebrating 200 years of the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. Various historical documents were displayed in glass cases. One of them I found very touching. It was a handwritten appeal - for royal patronage, I think - written...
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I intended to watch the Eurovision song contest last night, but after listening to preview clips of some of the songs, I decided not to. Every year it baffles me that the UK, and indeed other countries, can't find a skilful songwriter to write them something appealing...
I've been re-reading the great James Thurber's The Years with Ross, an account of the time he spent working for the New Yorker magazine in the 1920s, 30s and 40s under its founder and chief editor, Harold Ross. It's a joyously detailed and entertaining account of the...
I'm preparing for a solo recital at Kettle's Yard museum in Cambridge on November 24th. Kettle's Yard is a beautiful little museum which began in the 1950s as a personal art collection by Jim Ede, who used his own house as the display venue. It was the first gallery I...
At the Edinburgh Festival this week we went to the Usher Hall to hear the French orchestra Les Siècles performing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring on instruments of the period. (The difference in those instruments was not immediately apparent, though there was a soft grain...
Hearing of the death of renowned theatre director Peter Brook, I went back to my book Beyond the Notes in which I described going to Paris in 1982 to ask his advice about how to keep our chamber music group Domus alive and in good heart despite the many difficulties...
A couple of readers said they'd like to hear more about Radu Lupu. I only met him a few times and didn't know him well, but I vividly remember the impression he made. When I went for my lessons, I was probably focusing on trying to play each phrase as beautifully as I...
Very sad news today that the great pianist Radu Lupu has died. He was probably the first 'favourite pianist' I chose for myself rather than taking my teachers' choices on trust. I tweeted something about having once had a couple of lessons with Radu Lupu when he was...
At the end of December, I usually reflect on my favourite concerts of the year. This year however, as you will know all too well, we spent the entire year in a pandemic. Concert life is still badly impacted, and freelance musicians have been more impacted than most....
I was discussing 'Strictly' with a friend who's also a fan of the show. He asked me: 'How do you think it would work if celebrities were partnered with professional pianists, to learn to play the piano in a few weeks and then perform, say, a piano concerto in front of...
One of the most depressing sights of lockdown in Edinburgh - for me, anyway - was the sight of the Usher Hall being turned into a Covid test centre. I know that test centres are important. But it seemed a sad change of fortune for the first big concert hall I got to...
My new book comes out today. Perhaps there's no real significance to the formal publication date, especially as pre-ordered copies have been landing on people's doormats for a week or two now - but still, it feels like a day to be happy. I made a YouTube playlist to...
Last week I followed the Cardiff Singer of the World competition on TV with great enjoyment through all the rounds. I was so impressed with these singers who, despite a year of lockdown and no opportunities to sing to live audiences, were able to come out and perform...
At the weekend a bunch of us, all pianists, got together to be sociable and listen to one another play some live music. One of us had realised that the layout of her house offered the opportunity for us to obey current rules while still enjoying some piano music. Her...
This week I was the guest on a podcast called The Classical Top Five. During lockdown, a group of critics and broadcasters have been making their way through various 'top five' categories ranging from the serious to the light-hearted, and this week they turned their...