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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.
Different kinds of live music
I was lying awake in the night, with music playing in my head as it usually does when I'm awake in the wee small hours. Sometimes I set the music going consciously, as for example when I'm 'practising' something I'm currently trying to learn or memorise. At other...
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News of my eighth book
The manuscript of my new book has been accepted by my publisher, Yale University Press, and I'm delighted to be able give you some news of it. (It's due to be published in March 2026.) The book is called Nocturnes and the Fascination of Night Music. It's essentially a...
Tasting notes
Bob went to the wine shop and returned with a few bottles and a page of 'tasting notes' supplied by the shop. As usual I was charmed by the poetic way that wine producers describe their products. 'Notes of ripe, dark fruit, tobacco, chocolate and spice'. 'Delicate...
Brahms, Brahms and Brahms
I don't think I've ever played and listened to so much Brahms as I have this week. The Orion Quartet and I have now done three Brahms concerts this week in Oxford and London, and there's another tonight in King's Place. Every programme has been a mix of Brahms string...
Roses on fast-forward
For weeks I've been watching the development of buds on our roses. The buds started to open last week, but the sudden burst of hot weather seems to have accelerated everything. The buds open in the morning, are full-blown by the middle of the day, and by the evening...
Orion Quartet at King’s Place
It's just a week now until the first of my three concerts with the Orion Quartet at King's Place. Quartet fans will know that the Orion are, indeed, stars. Our concerts are part of the 'Brahms Unwrapped' series at King's Place in London. They're on May 31, June 1 and...
Winners and ‘losers’
A very interesting discussion the other day at an event organised by the Worshipful Company of Musicians to find out whether young musicians feel they're getting enough career advice. Many young musicians said sadly that in music the bar is set very high for...
BBC Young Musician result
Last night my TV recorder failed to record the Final of BBC Young Musician. I had been so looking forward to it and was crushed to find that I couldn't watch it when I got home from a coaching session. BBC iPlayer tantalised me with 'Coming Soon', but didn't say when....
Arrival of the baby birds
Suddenly lots of baby birds have appeared in the nests we've been watching for weeks on our local pond. A few days ago, everything was still quiet as the mother birds sat on their nests. Now there are six gorgeous cygnets on the lake, and three baby coots in their...
Herald review
On Wednesday, Erich Höbarth and I played the final concert in our Mozart Series in Perth Concert Hall. It has been a lot of work, and a lot of travelling (especially for Erich, coming from Vienna each time) but it has been very satisfying. In fact, it has been one of...
History coming alive
When I was in Cuba last week I saw something sweet at a concert. My daughter and I were in the Gran Teatro in Havana to see the graduation show of ballet dancers from the national ballet school, and musicians from the national music school. During the instrumental...
BBC Young Musician 2012
Through a fog of jet-lag I nevertheless enjoyed watching the finals of the Piano and String categories in BBC Young Musician 2012. The level of technical mastery in these young players is quite astonishing. I'm constantly amazed at how they manage to combine...
Back from Cuba
I am back from Cuba, but too jet-lagged to write much. It has been a big adventure. I am not sure if I have ever been in a country which seemed so clearly on the edge of change. The old socialist regime now co-exists with an influx of tourists whose money and spending...
Easter blog holiday
This blog is taking an Easter break while I go to Cuba with my daughter, leaving Bob peacefully at home to write his book on orchestral music. Oh yes, I agree: it's hard to imagine me in Cuba, even for me. I'm a bit scared of the tropical mosquitoes, but I'm...
Bus station classics
More depressing reports about Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and Mozart being used to deter gangs of young people from hanging around at bus stations and the like. Once again it's not clear what is really being said about classical music. On the one hand, transport bosses say...