I've finished reading several novels I received as Christmas presents. All were enjoyable, but at least two of them seemed to run out of steam before the end. I won't say which they were, because it doesn't seem fair to books which were very well written overall, but...
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Historian Tom Holland was guest-editing the 'Today' programme on BBC Radio 4 recently. He spoke about his experience of AI 'hallucinations', that now increasingly well-known phenomenon whereby Artifical Intelligence makes up information in response to a question. Tom...
I'm playing through the whole volume of Mozart sonatas again. The other day I came to the B flat Sonata K333. This has difficult associations for me because I learned it for one of those endless exams one always seems to be taking in teenage years - I can't now...
A friend of mine has been musing on this question: How many other professionals are subjected to continual public assessment the way musicians are? For a long time, musicians have put up with being publicly reviewed because good reviews can bring them quickly to the...
Last week I was thinking of writing a blog post about knitting. What is the connection between knitting and pianism, you may ask? Well, I had been reading about the 19th-century pianist Clara Schumann, who continued to tour and earn money for the family after her...
This morning I heard a report about scientists who have made a list of recommendations for touring musicians to cut back on carbon emissions. Amongst other things it recommended that musicians should use instruments or equipment 'held by the venue'. Good luck with...
Recently I've heard or coached a number of amateur pianists whose playing I haven't heard for 18 months, or before All This started. I had been afraid that everyone's playing would have fallen apart, but actually my impression was that lockdown has enhanced rather...
Last night I did an 'author event' - the first in-person event of this year - at Toppings Bookshop in Edinburgh. This bookshop, fairly new to Edinburgh, has been beautifully designed around the many interestingly-shaped rooms of the historic building. Curved wooden...
I recently recorded a 30-minute podcast for BBC History magazine - talking to interviewer Ellie Cawthorne about my new book, 'The Piano - a History in 100 Pieces'. The podcast is now available by clicking on this link:...
I've been watching the Euro 2020 football matches on TV - to the surprise of some of my friends. But I find that things are always interesting once you start to know a bit about them, and as there is so much coverage of the championship, it makes sense to take an...
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...
My new book The Piano - a History in 100 Pieces comes out in July and I'll be marking its launch with a concert on 23 July at Wigmore Hall, for a long time my favourite concert hall. The programme is drawn from pieces discussed in the book (the photo on the right...
As the university year draws to an end, some of my friends who teach at universities have been reflecting sadly on the experience of doing their job online for an entire year. Many of them did all their teaching without ever meeting their students in person....
My poor old piano has not been tuned for almost a year because of the lockdown. As the tuning became less delightful, I have practised 'mind over matter' - a kind of 'fingers in ears, la la la! I don't hear anything wrong' approach. In fact, my piano has held up...
