After nearly 20 years of dilly-dallying, Hong Kong finally got rid of a construction project it never understood nor wanted! I am talking, as you might have guessed, about a dedicated 21st century concert hall at the West Kowloon Cultural

“Practise makes perfect” – that oft-quoted phrase beloved of instrumental teachers the world over… It’s a neat little mantra, but one that can have serious and potentially long-lasting negative effects if taken too literally.

As performing musicians we have to develop a split personality. This somewhat schizophrenic state (or states) of being has to do with our need to understand and appreciate the difference between practising and performing. The most visible way in which

French pianist Agnelle Bundervoët (1922-2015) started to learn the piano age age 4 and by age 7 was enrolled in the Conservatoire National de Marseille and by age 10 was at the leading school in France, the Paris Conservatoire. She

In the mid-19th century, a great many French musicians were forced to leave their homeland and seek their fortunes elsewhere, sometimes far from Europe. Many of these were refugees from the events of the Third French Revolution of 1848, which

Sometimes – often! – learning a new piece of music can feel like ascending a steep mountain. The first few weeks, when the piece is still very new, can be an uphill slog as you cope with note-reading and learning,

French pianist Henriette Faure (1907-1985) made the music of Maurice Ravel sing on the performing stage. One of the first to play his music in public, she made recordings of his works from the 1930s to 1950, but died before

Despite the fact that epilepsy has appeared in medical history as early as 400 BC and an estimated 50 million people around the world are affected by it1, there are still many misconceptions that surround the condition.