“The loneliness doesn’t worry me……I spend most of my life alone, even backstage…….I’m there completely alone. I like the time alone….” British pianist Stephen Hough, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs programme
Opinion
“Marginal Gain Learning” (MGL) is a training concept employed by the British cycling team which has reaped brilliant rewards, as their success in both the London and Rio Olympics has demonstrated. The concept was developed by the team’s coach Dave
It’s very hard to carve a career as a musician, never more so in today’s fast-paced, highly competitive and image-driven world. The changes in the industry are unparalleled in history and therefore so are our roles. Today it’s not enough
Whenever we have a thought or physical sensation thousands of neurons are triggered and get together to form a neural network in the brain. “Experience-dependent neuroplasticity” is the scientific term for this activity of continual creation and grouping of neuron
Going beyond the notes …a virtuoso was, originally, a highly accomplished musician, but by the nineteenth century the term had become restricted to performers, both vocal and instrumental, whose technical accomplishments were so pronounced as to dazzle the public. ‘Music
“The more I play, the more I am convinced the pedal is the soul of the pianoforte!” Arthur Rubinstein “….abusing the pedal is only a means of covering up a lack of technique, and that making a lot of noise
In my previous article on gesture, I talked about the physical gestures we can employ to influence and enhance the quality of our sound and how we can create certain effects at the piano, such as staccato, a rich cantabile