My parents were both musicians. There was never any doubt in our household. Music lessons were essential. I took lessons both on cello and piano with the requisite theory lessons, and that was that. No instructor, no teaching style, no

Giacomo Puccini’s final opera was Turandot, set in exotic Peking. The story of a Chinese princess who keeps herself unattainable by the perplexing riddles she sets her prospective suitors, only to be brought down by a riddle that she, herself,

It’s easy to forget that the creation of a new piece usually involves a substantial amount of money changing hands to ensure that the composer is paid fairly. Trusts and foundations, organisations such as the BBC, or private donations have

Let me put it bluntly. I am not fond of musicians who play without taking risks, who either delivers a composition so precisely that a computer could have done the same or blatantly regurgitates a teacher or mentor’s interpretation or

Have you had the horrible feeling when you’re playing a concert—“CRAP—I don’t know what comes next?” It’s demoralizing and embarrassing. A memory slip can destroy your confidence. Memorization is one of the biggest challenges for a musician—often causing panic, sweaty

Why do you attend concerts? Is it for the performer or the work being performed, or, is it because it’s the place you need to be to see and be seen? There’s nothing sadder than attending a fabulous concert and

Are you ready for a bit of specialist musical trivia to impress your friends? Here it goes! What is the name of the instrument that you can see, you can hear but you can’t touch? Performing on this instrument has

You can’t tell the players without scorecard, as the old baseball metaphor goes, and in classical music, we use the program for the same purpose – who’s singing / playing / responsible for what. In UK theatres, you still buy