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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.
‘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...
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‘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...
A New Year wish for musicians everywhere
The last live music I heard in 2018, outside my home, was some excellent jazz in a city bar (pianist Brian Kellock and bassist Kenny Ellis). The bar was buzzing with people enjoying long lunches and toasting the end of the year. Crockery clattered and the coffee...
Limelight review of Speaking the Piano
Australia's leading arts magazine, Limelight, carries a review of my book Speaking the Piano 'Tomes offers warm, thoughtful insights into the art of teaching' 'Speaking the Piano explores more than simply the nuts and bolts of mastering an instrument - it tries to...
Scotsman review of Bob’s book
Rave review of Bob's book today in The Scotsman. I can't find it online yet, so here it is: Stocking filler of musical scholarship is far more inspiring than a Google search ‘These days it’s as easy as pie, when listening to a random piece of music on the radio or...
American Music Teacher review
My first American review of Speaking the Piano has just appeared in American Music Teacher (December 2018/Jan 2019). It's a relief to me to have the approval of professional teachers, for as I explain in the book my own experience of teaching has evolved slowly and...
San Francisco Chronicle recommends Robert’s book
This website continues to be a bulletin board for news about my husband Robert Philip's book, 'The Classical Music Lover's Companion to Orchestral Music'. [Yes, I know - the author could have his own website. But, having seen how much work it takes to feed a hungry...
Front-of-house book display in Blackwell’s
I'm not sure my books have ever before made it into the display at the front of a major bookstore, so it was a thrill to find Speaking the Piano just inside the main door of Blackwell's Bookshop in Edinburgh (see photo) when we were there to do some Christmas...
My own favourite reads of the year
Inspired by the idea of 'Books of the Year' (see blog post below this one), I have been making my own selection of the books I most enjoyed during the year. Short Stories: Anything is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout. The first book I read in 2018 and one of the finest....
Speaking the Piano is a ‘Books of the Year’ choice
Good news at the weekend about my book 'Speaking the Piano': it has been chosen as one of the Books of the Year by the Financial Times and by the Sunday Times. 'An all-embracing exploration of how to make music come alive' (Financial Times, 24 Nov 2018) 'Studded with...
Robert Philip’s new book: a playlist and an interview
As I'm the one with the website, I'm helping to do some publicity about my husband Robert Philip's epic study of orchestral music, The Classical Music Lover's Companion to Orchestral Music, just out from Yale University Press (see photo of the author with his book)....
Jazz and its women instrumentalists
In my new book Speaking the Piano, there's a chapter about the time I went to America in the 1980s to learn jazz piano. I loved learning about jazz, but didn't find a way into the jazz world at that time. One of the reasons was my feeling of discomfort at being a...
Robert Philip’s ‘Companion to Orchestral Music’
It's a great moment in our household because my husband Robert Philip's epic study of orchestral music is about to be published by Yale University Press. Pre-ordered copies have started to land on people's doormats, probably with a thud. The Classical Music Lover's...
Australian radio ‘The Music Show’ interview
This Sunday morning, 14 October, ABC radio in Australia is broadcasting a substantial interview with me on 'The Music Show', presented by composer Andrew Ford. We were talking about my book 'Speaking the Piano'. The interview was recorded with me in Edinburgh and...