We generally don’t think of Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) as a source for song texts but rather as the man for tales of the realism and drama of the Victorian English countryside. Yet, when the 20th century hit, nearly all Hardy

I never thought I’d write an article on “note bashing”. In general it’s not something I advocate – mindless repetitive practise, thoughtlessly hammering away at the same phrase or group of notes. However, during my work on one of Schubert’s

‘Be True to Yourself’ A Bartok concerto in Kiel and Hamburg, a Prokofiev concerto in Hong Kong, a Brahms concerto a week later in Tokyo… 30 year-old Valeriy Sokolov thinks nothing of having these giants of the repertoire at such

If you think that all classical music has to be deadly serious, let me introduce you to Jacques Ibert (1890-1962). Ibert was a graduate from the Paris Conservatoire who won the coveted Prix de Rome at his first attempt despite