The right notes

‘Would you like to go and play the new public piano at St Pancras and write about it?’ asked Erica, the editor of Pianist. ‘Did Liberace like diamonds?’ I replied. ‘I love the idea of public pianos. S

Is there a special sorcery in Seoul? Cunning creativity in Canada? Preternatural pizzazz in Paris? Oh, why do so many great pianists come from this or that country? We even have some in Britain; is th

Patterns, says Clare Hammond. Learning a new piece, especially if you’re committing it to memory, and the clock is against you, is all about finding patterns. ‘If you can find patterns in a piece of m

CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN on inviting celebrities to play her hit game of strategy and suspicion

CONCERT HEAVEN Careful the tale you tell Kitty Whately (mezzo-soprano), Simon Lepper (piano) et al Wigmore Hall (December 2020) My ‘Concert Heaven’ choice is a recital called ‘Careful the tale you tel

Trumpeter Alison Balsom has revealed that her recent appearance at the 2025 Last Night of the Proms was her final public performance. During an interview for BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life shortly b