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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.
Unyoking the horses
Today's blog post is on quite a niche subject. When I was writing a short biography of pianist Sophie Menter (1846-1912) for Women and the Piano, I mentioned some of the extravagant things her fans used to do to show their adoration. When she played in Copenhagen in...
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Proofreading your own words
I have been proofreading my book about Nocturnes, which has reached the stage of being typeset. This is the point at which it starts to look like a proper book. As the author, you dare to believe that it will one day really be published and start to live in heads...
‘… 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...
‘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...
I am a published photographer!
The Guardian weekend magazine has a page, 'Your Pictures', where they ask for photo contributions on a given theme. For today, the theme was 'produce'. I sent in a photo of our favourite Egyptian geese, whom we've been feeding for years on visits to Richmond Park....
My Mozart on ‘Summer CD Review’ this Sat
This Saturday, BBC Radio 3's 'Summer CD Review' has selected my Mozart piano and violin sonatas e-album, made with violinist Erich Höbarth, as one of their summer recommendations. You can see Saturday's playlist for the programme here. The recordings were made live at...
The piano on which John Lennon recorded…
Sad news this week that Steinway Pianos is to be sold to a private equity company. What does this mean for pianists? On the face of it, nothing; it's just a change of owner for the firm. But a friend writes from New York that the Steinway showroom on Manhattan's 57th...
Glasto musings
Listened to Sir Mick Jagger being interviewed about his upcoming Glastonbury appearance by John Humphrys on the Today programme this morning. John asked Mick what had changed about rock music since he started his career. Mick's reply ranged over things like lyrics,...