The other day I was talking about piano-playing with some very good amateur pianists. As it happens, they were all high-flyers in other professions. A surgeon was saying ruefully that people don't realise how much work it takes to be a very good amateur pianist,...
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A friend and I have been discussing the career of a mutual friend who died recently. He was a fabulous musician who wasn't as well known as he should have been. Writers and visual artists can stay put in the place where they choose to live, and create their work...
I have been keeping half an eye on the 2025 Van Cliburn piano competition in Texas, partly because when I was writing Women and the Piano I did a fair amount of research into the gender disparity one can see in the lists of piano competition prizewinners around the...
Today the Herald has an arts supplement with Books of the Year 2016 chosen by various guest selectors. Broadcaster Sheena McDonald has chosen my book 'Sleeping in Temples' as one of her books of the year: 'What makes a successful concert pianist? The...
It is very sad news that the American violinist Ida Levin has lost her battle with leukaemia. Ida was devoted to the International Musicians' Seminars in Prussia Cove, Cornwall. I met her there when she came to study with Sandor Vegh. He immediately liked her and her...
Today I'm making my Christmas cake, a few days ahead of 'Stir-up Sunday' which is, I believe, this coming Sunday. It's a traditional day for families to get together to make steamed Christmas puddings, and in these days when most households have their own ovens, baked...
The weather has been extremely humid lately and my piano doesn't like it. I have a little device which registers the temperature and humidity; for weeks it has been announcing the humidity as 75%. I have an older piano with ivory key coverings (newer pianos have...
On Tuesday the Guardian had an article about the growing number of stand-up comedians who bring a 'work in progress' to the Edinburgh Fringe instead of a fully-developed show. During their run, which could be anything up to three weeks, they 'develop' the show, which...
This morning there was a discussion on Radio 4 about the response of the arts in the UK to the Brexit vote. Contributors rightly said that there is much we can and must do to understand who we are, what are the social issues facing us, how can we forge a constructive...
I haven't written much recently because I seem to have turned into a 'news junkie' following the UK's vote to Brexit. I did write a blog post about Brexit, but it attracted no responses so I went back to reading newspapers and law blogs. Many other music organisations...
The UK vote to leave the European Union has shocked the classical music world, particularly the young European musicians who have opted to study, live or work in the UK courtesy of EU rules and funding. I've taught them and played with them on various courses and have...
Recently I've had to memorise various piano pieces by Schubert. I find his music unusually hard to memorise, for a reason that throws light on why it is so profoundly satisfying. Composers often use themes or musical material which they bring back later in the piece....
Two recent topics of conversation have come together in my mind to prompt a question. Topic 1: the number of classical concert reviews is shrinking rapidly. Everyone in the profession has noticed it. Many newspapers are reducing the number of classical reviews they...
We have a lovely cat, Daisy, whom we 'rescued' from a cat shelter. Shortly after she moved in, another cat got in through the catflap one evening. We were out and didn't see what happened, but the two cats had clearly had an epic struggle. Clumps of cat fur were on...
At the weekend I had an unusual experience. Following the conclusion of BBC Young Musician and viewers' anger that the result was so under-reported, I wrote a letter to The Guardian about the wider issue. We've heard a lot recently about orchestras folding, opera...