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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.
Words stamped into icing
Today I've been icing my home-made Christmas cake. It's taken months to reach this point. I made the cake in October and fed it with malt whisky through holes made in the cake with uncooked sticks of spaghetti. I wrapped the cake in tinfoil and stored it away. Each...
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A dream of a former home
I woke up in total darkness early this morning and for a few moments thought I was back in my house in London. In the darkness I thought the wardrobe was on my right and the windows straight ahead at the end of the bed, as they were in London. I realised fairly...
Take 1, 13, 21, 47, 109, 205
I've returned from London, where I recorded an album for Hyperion of piano music by some of the women featured in my book. I had a wonderful recording team. Incredibly, it's now 40 years since I first recorded an album with producer Andrew Keener, now a doyen of the...
Schumann and his favourite novelist
Now back from the Gaudier Ensemble's festival, I'm preparing an all-Schumann recital programme for the Aspect Foundation at Leighton House in London on June 25. The Aspect Foundation aims to expand listeners' experience of concerts by inviting historians and...
The instruments for the job
We're now at Concert 2 in the annual Cerne Abbas Music Festival in Dorset, a feast of known and unknown chamber music, and a showcase for the Gaudier Ensemble, whose 24th festival it is. As time has gone by, and the players have moved further and further afield and...
The composer’s markings
In a lot of the teaching I've been doing recently, one theme has been running through the lessons. I find myself pointing out to one person after another that they are not actually doing what the composer asked. I don't mean in terms of notes - those are usually fine...
Battle of repertoire
I was fortunate to be in the audience at the Finals of BBC Young Musician in the Usher Hall yesterday. What a treat! All three finalists showed a remarkable degree of poise, as well as a superb level of musicianship and skill. I was amazed by their calmness on the...
News of my new book
I'm delighted to be able to say that my fourth book will be published by Boydell Press later this year. I've just pressed 'send' on the final version of the manuscript - a huge relief after working on it intensively for over a year. I had to prise my fingers away from...
‘The noblest prospect …’
I've been quiet lately because I've been busy moving house (see scary picture of my grand piano being hauled through the window). After living in London since leaving university, Bob and I have moved to my home town of Edinburgh. To my surprise my return was mentioned...
BBC Young Musician
Here it is again, the heart-warming parade of talented young musicians competing to be BBC Young Musician of the Year. With every passing year it seems more remarkable that there is such a wellspring of young talent directed at classical music. It's tremendously...
Plain vs mysterious music
I've just been in Italy, where as usual I tried to discover if there were any churches where one could hear some live sacred music on a Sunday, and once again was told that there is no longer any real tradition of church music performance in Italy, except for the...
‘The Real Charlotte’
I've just finished reading a wonderful Irish novel written at the close of the 19th century. 'The Real Charlotte' was written by Somerville and Ross, a pair of female cousins who co-authored a number of books including one of my all-time favourites, 'The Memoirs of an...
Luxury
A young musician friend has been telling me about a fully-funded chamber music group based in Denmark. Each member of the group, which is supported by the Danish Government to expand the reach of chamber music across the country, is paid a full salary and has...
Louise Farrenc’s piano music
I've been learning the piano part of the first piano quintet by Louise Farrenc, a 19th-century French woman composer who enjoyed a fine reputation in her day as a concert pianist and teacher as well as a composer. Unfortunately, at a time when the French music-loving...
A passion for communication
I've been clearing out old boxes of letters dating from student days. In these days of email and texts, when most messages are brief and casual, it's amazing to sort through these handwritten letters. I'm struck by what a passion for communication we had. Whenever my...