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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.
Review of my book on Presto Music
I was on my way to Wigmore Hall in London for my recital a few days ago when this very pleasing review of my Nocturne book popped up on Presto Music. I think reviews are a new kind of offering on Presto Music, so in case readers haven't come across it, I thought I'd...
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Friction-maxxing
The other day I was thrilled to come across the concept of 'friction-maxxing'. 'Friction-maxxing' is a term recently invented to describe the conscious attempt to balance the high-tech smoothness of your life with other activities requiring old-school effort and...
Thinking back to my first time at Wigmore Hall
Preparations are going well for my recital at London's Wigmore Hall on 17 April at 1pm. If you live near London, I hope you might come along. I can't remember if I've told this story before, but I can't track it down in a previous blog post, so here it is, with...
‘Adapting to the new reality’
So the UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has suggested that musicians and other creative artists may need to re-train and look for other opportunities as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “I can’t pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job that they were doing at...
Re-classifying music as ‘hospitality’
Like many other musicians and freelancers in the arts world I have been shocked this week by further evidence that we are being treated less well than employees on furlough. Our workplaces remain closed by government order. Many freelance musicians have earned nothing...
The appeal of the Green Room
On Monday, cellist Philip Higham and I played one of the first post-lockdown concerts for a socially distanced live audience at Wigmore Hall (see photo). At first, we had been told that only 56 people would be allowed in the audience, but the rules changed and we were...
Playing at Wigmore Hall on 14 September
On Monday, 14 September at 7.30pm, cellist Philip Higham and I will be stepping in at short notice to play a duo recital at Wigmore Hall in London. We're replacing two artists caught up in quarantine rules. With countries hopping on and off the quarantine list, the...
Doing a performance under Covid restrictions …
Since lockdown, I've only had the chance to do one concert. It was a special one, though! - the Edinburgh Festival's Chamber Soundscapes online series. Although there was no audience, the performance took place under concert conditions. In five months of lockdown, I...
Edinburgh Festival recording + YouTube broadcast
Yesterday Philip Higham and I recorded our programme for the Edinburgh International Festival's Chamber Soundscapes series. Music by Nadia Boulanger, Martinu, Suk, Debussy and Beethoven. Our performance was relayed through speakers in Princes St Gardens at lunchtime...
Hooray, an actual engagement!
Believe it or not, I actually have a concert next week, though it will be a 'closed door' recording made without an audience. It's part of the Edinburgh International Festival's online offering which replaces the programme for this year's cancelled Festival. A series...
Edinburgh without its festivals
At this time in Edinburgh we're usually starting to experience the surge of visitors arriving for the city's festivals - the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe and the Book Festival (plus a host of minor festivalettes). But all have been cancelled, or at...
Remembering an old college friend
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...
Lockdown practice insights
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...
Exploring the Shelves, 20: Bach’s first Invention
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...
Exploring the Shelves, 19: Gershwin’s Three Preludes
This is probably the penultimate in my lockdown series about neglected music on my shelves. It has been a helpful focus for me during a phase when more people had time to read. As we start to come out of lockdown, it seems right to wrap it up. I'll try to get to...