What sort of things go into making a piece of music? There are many ways to hear a composition. From a composer’s point of view, you could come up with a concept or idea about your piece. That could come

The metaphor of The Hero’s Journey, a pattern of narrative identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development, can help understand the development and challenges of the musician’s life and

In praise of street pianos A piano asks to be played and is a wonderful reminder of the nature of play and the pleasure of making music, regardless of genre. Most people passing by a piano can’t help but strike

Anyone in the field of the performing arts knows that first impressions are important. After all, as soon as performers walk onstage, even before the performance begins, audiences are bound to form some opinion on how likeable they are. Dancers

I keep meeting people who tell me they “just don’t get” classical music. Or that they “don’t understand” classical music and therefore cannot appreciate or enjoy it (an attitude which I think is inculcated early on in school and does

When I was a young student I sought out the best teachers, practiced many hours, and performed a great deal of repertoire with the ambition to land a position in a major orchestra. I thought playing well would be enough

Piano accompanists are, rather like page turners, the unsung heroes and heroines of the music world, often receiving smaller concert fees and less prominent billing than the singers and instrumentalists with whom they work. Often unfairly regarded as “failed soloists”,

Why would a talented leading British composer include a document called a Failure CV on her website, alongside details of her extensive oeuvre and the many plaudits for her work?