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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.
Jeremy Denk mentions my book in this week’s New Yorker
A kind reader in the US (thank you Diana) has alerted me to the fact that my book Women and the Piano is one of Jeremy Denk's choices in this week's New Yorker magazine. New York pianist and writer Jeremy Denk was asked to recommend a few books that deal with the...
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‘Search for a way to make it natural’
The other day I was listening to a pianist playing the fearsome second movement of the César Franch Sonata for violin and piano. The piano part is highly virtuosic and, apart from anything else, a very good proof of the fact that these big piano parts are not...
Music and longevity
I go to quite a lot of concerts given by amateur musicians - partly because there's a big amateur music scene in the city where I live, and partly because I often have friends and neighbours playing in the concerts. Of course my particular interest is piano. It dawned...
Cognitive advantage
A doctor friend has sent me an excerpt from the current edition of the British Medical Journal in which their writer 'Minerva' reports: 'Great composers have tended to die young, but great performing musicians often carry on getting better as they get older. An...
Munich competition afterthoughts
Since the end of the ARD Competition in Munich I have been mulling over the concept of competitions. Of course we all understand the point of competitions, and many are prepared to put up with the negative aspects in the hope of benefitting from the positive ones....
Munich competition ends
The ARD-Competition in Munich ended with three out of the four categories (violin, viola, bassoon, piano trio) awarding no first prize. Only Yura Lee won a first prize in the viola category. I wonder if it is generally realised by the public that the rules in Munich...
Tools of the trade
I am still working on the jury of the ARD Competition in Munich, which reaches the Final of the piano trio competition on Saturday. Obviously I can't write anything about the competitors, but I can say how interesting it has been to hear so many different groups...
‘The Walk’
At the weekend I went to watch a tango club at which an old friend of mine teaches. I know nothing about tango, though I've been to a few Argentine tango shows in London, and recently I had a lot of fun playing in a late-night performance of some Piazzolla tangos....
A little summer break from the blog
I'm having a little summer break from writing this blog. This is a good moment for me to crack on with the book I've been writing at every peaceful opportunity this year. It's over 80,000 words now, and the end is in sight (unless it turns out to be one of those...
The Cerne Abbas Festival comes to an end
Another Cerne Abbas festival has come to an end. Remembering last year's dreadful weather, during which one of the group had to drive to Dorchester to buy some thermal undergarments, I had packed some rather warm concert clothes, which I regretted as soon as I...
Reminiscing about Billy Mayerl
Someone has drawn my attention to the fact that last Saturday, in the Family section of the Guardian, a reader submitted a favourite recipe along with a recollection of her childhood, in which her late mother played the piano music of Billy Mayerl on the family's...
Off to a summer festival (fingers crossed)
I'm off to Cerne Abbas in Dorset for another of the lovely chamber music festivals run very successfully each year by the Gaudier Ensemble. Concerts are on 8-11 August inclusive. As far as I know, most concerts are sold out, but if you live nearby it's always worth...
Jealousy
I'm coming towards the end of my week in Fiesole, a week of baking heat during which I have realised that much of the music we've been studying must have been written in a cooler climate. In this kind of intense heat we can hardly face playing, or even hearing, some...
ECMA in Florence
I'm off to Italy to teach for a week on the European Chamber Music Academy course. ECMA is an unusual organisation which moves around during the year, holding courses at a number of 'host institutions' in different parts of Europe. It offers high-level coaching to...
Trying to gain a larger readership …
A few months ago, disheartened by the difficulty of 'growing' my blog readership, I consulted some of my students about the situation. I say 'students' but in fact they are all high-achieving young professionals who come for the occasional coaching. They all agreed...