The concerto is one of the greatest corners of the pianist’s repertoire. A showcase for performer and instrument, it’s an opportunity for the composer to capitalise on the combined forces of soloist and orchestra, with thrilling and highly expressive results.

What is classical music and why does it make some people tremble in their boots? “Do you like classical music?” I ask. Responses range from, “I don’t know anything about it!”, “I can’t sit still for that long…” and “I

Evening music sets us up for relaxing, slowing down the day, or does it? Some composers see the evening as a time for quiet time and others note that not every evening ends quietly.

It’s interesting how some music is just perfect in the morning and other music is better for later in the day. Perhaps it’s the mix of light woodwinds in the morning and then the heavier brass at night. The interesting

Bugs and music – hmm, not as common as birds, but then when you start to think about it, they start to creep up on you. Probably the first piece of bug music you might have learned was Frank Loesser’s

Musicians through the ages have had a keen sense of responsibility to the music of composers of their time. We are fortunate there were cellists who inspired composers to write new works for the instrument, (Rostropovich inspired both Prokofiev and

For music and nature, birds are the natural – they sing! Or, rather, we hear their communication as singing. A friend in Hong Kong trains birds to sing, playing them beautiful songs from model birds to learn. The ones with

Autumn is crisp, it can be cold, it can be many things, but it’s the last signal of life before winter shuts everything down. Georgy Sviridov’s Otchalivshaya Rus‘ (Russia Adrift) is a 1977 setting of the poetry of Sergey Yesenin,