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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.
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...
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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...
Cardiff Singer of the World
I've been a keen follower of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition for many years. This year it seems even more appealing as a distraction from what's going on with the Tory leadership contest and all the rest of it. It's remarkable to see how the twenty...
Edinburgh Book Festival appearances
Last night the Edinburgh International Book Festival launched its 2019 programme, and what a programme! Writers from every corner of the world will be coming to Edinburgh to discuss topics from politics, nature and storytelling to history, fashion, poetry and...
‘They would have been x years old today’
It was my father's birthday yesterday. He's no longer with us, but of course we think about him each year on his birthday, and we always say, 'He would have been [x years old] today.' My dad reached the age of 91, as far as I know the greatest age that any member of...
New technology
The other day I gave a copy of one of my own CDs as a gift to some young musicians. They thanked me politely, but I caught them eyeing the CD with a certain blankness. Suddenly a thought occurred to me and I said, '...Don't tell me you haven't got CD players!' They...
Fake news
There's so much talk about 'fake news' at the moment. Most of us are gradually getting better at spotting it. Fake news often seems to be accompanied by a certain style of presentation, which we often see in public speaking. Smiles that don't arise from the inside. An...
Gaps between hype and reality
Recently for work reasons I've had to look through the websites of lots of different young musicians and chamber groups. Websites are dazzling! It's clear that everyone now employs sophisticated media skills and professional designers. Gorgeous artwork, glamorous...
Musicians studying across Europe
I've just returned from a week in Germany, on the jury of the Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition in Weimar (see photo of the splendid Music Conservatory where it all happened). There were groups from most corners of the world. Many of them were living proof of...
40 years of women in mixed Cambridge colleges
Last weekend I was at a dinner in Christ's College, Cambridge to celebrate 40 years of women in the college (founded 1505). Women have only been allowed to study at the University of Cambridge since 1869, when Girton College was founded. Newnham followed in 1872, but...
The intonation of public speaking
I seem to have turned into the kind of person who stops what they're doing in the afternoon in order to tune into live Parliamentary debates about Brexit. Last week I spent several afternoons listening to politicians giving speeches, scripted and unscripted. Being a...
Toe-tapping in the Baroque era
I did some guest teaching at the University of St Andrews the other day. During one of my sessions, a member of the audience asked an interesting question. I didn't know the answer and am still thinking about it. He said: 'I have some modern recordings of Baroque...
A calendar of marmalades
The season of Seville oranges has come to an end and with it the chance to make Seville marmalade, by general consensus the tastiest of all marmalades. We have tried making others with 'ordinary' oranges combined with lemon, grapefruit or lime, but nothing quite...
Is there a way to avoid concert clashes?
I'm preparing for next weekend's Winterplay, my mini-festival of collaborative music at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh. We have a children's music-and-movement workshop led by Monica Wilkinson, a music and words event with Janice Galloway, a pre-concert talk by Robert...