Blog
I’ve been writing this blog since 2009, but there still seem to be plenty of interesting topics to mull over. You can subscribe (it’s free) to follow the blog by email – each new post will pop into your inbox.
A letter in the Royal Scottish Academy’s archive
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 Various historical documents were displayed in glass cases.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...
Search the Blog
Get The Latest Posts
Interested in what Susan has to say about all things classical music? Subscribe below and whenever Susan writes a new blog post you will be notified by email. Simple!
Eurovision song contest
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...
Review of my book in the US Journal ‘First Things’
There's a lovely review of my Nocturne book in the US journal First Things, 'America's leading journal of religious and public life'. In case you don't come across it, here's an excerpt: 'Tomes is the author of eight books on classical music, and the elegant,...
‘Nocturnes’ is out now
My book Nocturnes and the Fascination of Night Music comes out today from Yale University Press. Tomorrow (Wednesday 25 March at 7pm) I'll be talking about it at Toppings Bookshop in Edinburgh. When I did a radio interview recently, the presenter asked me, before we...
‘Human Authored’ logo for books
As a member of the Society of Authors in the UK, I was recently sent information about a new scheme - developed with the Authors' Guild in the US - which allows 'authors to register their books and download a ‘Human Authored’ logo to display on the back cover of...
Radio 3 ‘In Tune’ interview this evening
This evening I'm doing a live interview about my Nocturne book with Katie Derham, presenter of BBC Radio 3's 'drivetime' programme In Tune. Normally these interviews are done in person in the London studio, but as I live in Edinburgh I've been offered the possibility...
It’s a wrap
We're having the windows of the piano room double glazed this week. For safety, the piano has been closed up, wrapped in blankets and swathed in plastic sheeting. To give the workmen more space to bring things in and out of the door (perilously near the end of the...
Fractions of a second apart
I've been watching some of the Winter Olympics on TV and marvelling at the way that the top competitors all seem to achieve times which are within a fraction of a second of one another's. Time and again the commentators point out that the winning margin is...
Every part of the brain
This morning I listened to a pleasing report on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, about a neuro-scientific experiment to observe a pianist's brain activity while he played the piano. The leader of the 'Glass Brain' study commented that playing the piano is one of the...
A travelling force
I've been reading An Angel at my Table, the autobiography of New Zealand writer Janet Frame. It's an unusual and absorbing read. Janet Frame grew up without much access to music, but when she first came across classical music she loved it. Gradually she gathered some...
Measuring-sticks and ‘the canon’
I learned something the other day when visiting the Hunterian Art Gallery in Glasgow. In one of the rooms, there was an explanatory sign (see photo) about the word 'canon', meaning a collection of works recognised as being of enduring value and importance. I had never...
Tickets go on sale for my Wigmore recital in April
Tickets have just gone on sale for my lunchtime recital at Wigmore Hall in London on Friday April 17. Click here for booking information. As you'll read on the Wigmore Hall website, the concert marks the publication of my book on the history of the nocturne. To give a...
Reading books, reading music
They were talking on the radio about the good things that reading can do for your brain. Reading a book, that is, as opposed to scrolling through social media. When you read, you read one word at a time. Your brain tries to guess the next word. the interaction between...
Fading before the end of the story
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...
Marmalade
At last, Seville oranges have appeared in the shops, which means it is time for marmalade making. Bob is the marmalade maker around here. Each January he tries to make enough Seville marmalade to last us through the year. You can make marmalade from other kinds of...