Today, 2 November, is the birthday of the late and much-missed Hungarian pianist György Sebök (1922-99). Sebök was a distinguished pianist, but to his students and those who listened to his classes he will always be remembered primarily as a superlative teacher. I...
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The other day I was listening to a pianist playing the fearsome second movement of the César Franch Sonata for violin and piano. The piano part is highly virtuosic and, apart from anything else, a very good proof of the fact that these big piano parts are not...
At a book sale at the weekend I picked up a copy of Heinrich Neuhaus's book The Art of Piano Playing. Neuhaus, who devoted the main part of his career to teaching at the Moscow Conservatory, was the teacher of Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels and Radu Lupu among...
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...
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...
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...
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....
In a cheese shop the other day, conversation turned to exotic cheeses and someone mentioned Gjetost, the Norwegian goat's milk cheese which looks like a block of fudge and has a distinctive, caramel element to its taste. It's a cooked cheese made with whey and cream,...
The other day I was listening to a ballet dancer reminiscing on radio about the time when, as a girl, she took part in a ballet masterclass given by Dame Margot Fonteyn. Dame Margot, it seems, was more terrifying in person than the students had expected. 'She hardly...
Today is a melancholy day, the funeral of one of my first college friends. He had battled for years with depression, anxiety and a cascade of associated health problems. His passing led to a burst of correspondence between those of us in his circle in those university...
During lockdown I have had plenty of time to practise slowly. Normally, I practise things because I'm getting ready to perform them. But with all concerts cancelled, there was no reason to prepare in the usual way - that is to say, securing things in a way that I knew...
Most people who learn piano will have come across Bach's Two-Part Inventions, but their eyes may not have alighted on his Foreword. Mine hadn't until the other day. 'Forthright instruction, wherewith lovers of the clavier, especially those eager to learn, are shown in...
I mentioned last weekend that I've been trying to learn Chopin's fourth ballade, a wonderful piece of music although not easy to master. After some days of quite intensive effort, I felt like having a rest from it. Some parts of it are very difficult, and day by day...
I have been reading an enthralling book, 'A Hundred Years in the Highlands', written in 1921 by Osgood Mackenzie. He was the founder and owner of the famous gardens at Inverewe. Osgood Mackenzie was an elderly man when he wrote the book and could recall childhood...