You see them huddled on top shelves in antique stores, pinned to the walls in themed bars and restaurants, or piled in mouldy smelling cases at swap meets and antiques fairs. What can be done with these poor abandoned instruments?

Most of us have had to live in lockdown or under various restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic for over a year now. It has been a particularly difficult time for musicians, in an already precarious profession, and the knock-on

Ah, auditions. One of my favourite performance experiences where nothing ever goes wrong and I feel totally calm and relaxed and always play exactly how I do in real life with no silly mistakes at all… If only, right? Apart

Once upon a time, Shanghai was a small fishing village on the Yangzi River delta. By the mid-19th century, however, the village turned into a city administered concurrently by the British, Americans and French. Each colonial presence brought its particular

It is often said that musicians — particularly performers — and athletes behave similarly. As a matter of fact, it is quite true. Aside from the physical, training and practice aspect of their activity, both are bound to dedication, discipline,

This quote from an interview I did with pianist Antoine Préat perfectly expresses my relationship with many composers and their music. When I returned to playing the piano seriously in my later 30s, after a break of some 20 years,

Does music come from some place other than through a musician or a composer? When I first started making music, much of it flowed through me by what I had learnt from other composers. Now, that is still part of

You’ll recognise it instantly: that happy “lift” at the end of a piece in a minor key, an unexpected lightening of the mood, like a ray of sunshine peeping through the rain clouds. That expressive “lift”, an expression of happiness