The first time I heard Cecilia Bartoli live was at the opening concert of the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2011. Appearing on stage like a queen, she dazzled the audience not only with her exquisite singing of arias from

To orchestrate verb [ with obj. ] 1 arrange or score (music) for orchestral performance. 2 arrange or direct the elements of (a situation) to produce a desired effect Why do people write for orchestra? Because of the larger choice

My Cello and Me — We Were Made for Each Other I was smitten from the first moment. Finding an instrument is like finding your soul mate — you know it instantly. I was twenty- two- years old and had

Theme and variations for Clarinet and Piano ‘You should learn his Theme and Variations’, said my teacher. I was never a fan of variations, but Françaix’s take on the form changed my view of them quite a bit. (I also,

One of the most enjoyable musical experiences of my life has been performing Sir Michael Tippett’s extraordinary oratorio A Child of our Time with the chorus and orchestra of Clare College, Cambridge. Famous especially because of the series of five

Bach : Saint John PassionPart I: Chorale: Herr, unser Herrscher (Chorus) I am for the first time in my life living with Handel. I lived with Bach earlier this year, when I was involved in performances of his St John

At the Van Cliburn Piano Competition Four years ago, when the Van Cliburn Piano Competition was first presented on webcast, I found myself glued to my laptop for weeks, following what I considered one of the most exciting events in

‘Writing about music is like dancing about architecture’. These were the words of Miles Davis. Or was it Elvis Costello? Perhaps it was Thelonius Monk… Or Frank Zappa? Regardless of who said these words (maybe they all uttered it at