Late bloomers

When I first heard the classical music of North India, my musical world shifted on its axis. I was in the cinema, watching Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, which had just opened in the UK and was takin

Tickling the ivories could help protect you from dementia, according to two recent studies looking into the brain health of older musicians. While one study looked at the effects of practising music f

The trumpet is one of the oldest musical instruments, evolving over many centuries from a rudimentary signalling device to the versatile instrument we know today. This journey has been shaped by the p

Take up languages, music, or get fit without spending

Echoes of Exile Works by Bartók, Ben-Haim, Enescu, Ysaÿe and Zimmermann Sueye Park (violin) BIS BIS-2332 63:06 mins Turbulence from the Second World War impacts most of the composers on this album. Th

I enjoyed reading Francesco Piemontesi’s Concert Heaven, Concert Hell interview (September) about his ‘best’ and ‘worst’ performance... in the semi-final of the Elisabeth Competition in 2007! In fact,