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 mad attack upon your hands’
When I was playing in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago, I had an interesting conversation with a student there. (Birmingham University is rightly protective of its students' identities, so I won't name her.) She was studying aspects of the history of women playing...
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!
Today is György Sebök’s birthday
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...
A nice memory of Prunella Scales
News of the death of the wonderful comic actress Prunella Scales at the age of 93 has reminded me of a little anecdote in my first book, Beyond the Notes, in the section about touring Japan with the Florestan Trio in 2000. Twenty-five years ago! For context, I should...
Scotsman article today
There's an article by music critic Ken Walton about me and my book in today's Scotsman newspaper - click here to read it. For now, an excerpt: 'Just read her recent fourth book, Sleeping in Temples, in which she muses, in 16 essays, on issues that challenge and...
Practising in the dark, 1812
I've been reading the wonderful 'Memoirs of a Highland Lady', written by Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus. What a series of unforgettable pictures she paints of her life in the Highlands of Scotland in the early years of the 19th century! As a teenager, I used to get...
Guardian review of ‘Sleeping in Temples’
There's a review of my new book in today's Guardian. Here's an excerpt: 'Fascinating essays from the celebrated pianist ... Susan Tomes has devoted her career largely to chamber music - a niche market within the niche market of classical music, and one in which she...
Ex Libris
At New Year we played a game we hadn't played for ages - Ex Libris. It's a game where all the players have to write the opening or closing sentence of a book which already exists. Each player in turn selects a book from the shelves (obviously you have to have lots of...
International Piano magazine review
There's a nice review of my new book, Sleeping in Temples, in the Jan/Feb issue of International Piano magazine. I know from my own attempts that it isn't always easy to track down this interesting magazine, so I thought I'd take the chance to reproduce an excerpt...
Freedom to add, change and take away
I've been listening to recordings of pieces I'm currently working on. One is a Moment Musical by Schubert, represented by many different performances, including a YouTube clip of Horowitz playing it in front of a rapt audience in, I think, Carnegie Hall. Horowitz's...
Dame Fanny’s observations
Dame Fanny Waterman, who is standing down from the Leeds Piano Competition she co-founded in 1961, has caused quite a storm with her remarks about the decline of piano-playing in the UK. She attributes this partly to the growing popularity of electric pianos ('a waste...
Balloons
There's been a lot in the press recently about coughing in classical concerts, and whether it's acceptable or not. We classical musicians (and listeners) tend to get upset about performances being marred by loud coughing. However, compared with some musicians, I...
‘Maurice Guest’
Readers who followed my enthusiastic recommendation of 'The Real Charlotte' may be interested in another recommendation from the same period. I've just finished reading 'Maurice Guest', published in 1908 by Henry Handel Richardson, the pseudonym of Ethel Richardson,...
Kyung Wha Chung’s response to coughing
Lots of people have written to me today about coughing. Why? Because of a BBC News report about violinist Kyung-Wha Chung's comeback recital at the Festival Hall in London. She was disturbed by a child coughing in the audience, and remonstrated with the parents. Her...
Classical Music ‘Books of the Year’
My book 'Sleeping in Temples' has been named as one of the 'Books of the Year' by Classical Music magazine. In November it was their 'Editor's Choice' with a five-star review, and now in December it has been upgraded to one of the ten 'books of the year'. What...
Reviews update
Three more mentions of my new book have appeared this weekend: Alex Ross, music critic of the New Yorker and eminent music blogger, includes it in his 'Recommendations'. Frances Wilson reviews it in her Cross-Eyed Pianist blog: 'This absorbing and insightful book will...