In my previous article I wrote about the Ogdon-Stokowski recording of Brahms’ first piano concerto. Here, I would like to write about the performance of the concerto with consideration to the original score. The concerto, Op. 15, was finished in

What Does Singing Have to Do With Increasing Human’s Rate of Survival When Charles Darwin proposed the theory of Evolution, it quickly became common knowledge that organisms constantly adapt to their environment for survival. This is where the catchphrase “survival

Have you ever heard the song Gloomy Sunday, the 1933 tune composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress? This song is said to be the saddest tune ever composed, and is rumoured to have sparked hundreds to commit suicide.

Brazilian children have a game called “wireless telephone”. Perhaps it is played all over the world, but this version is very simple: you sit next to each other in a circle and the first person whispers a message, a few

A masterclass of The Hong Kong Arts Festival PLUS. 22 Feb 2011, Concert Hall, HKAPA. Whether you are an instrumentalist or just a mere enthusiast without instrumental training, the Art Festival Plus Masterclass series is definitely worth your investment of

I am convinced that there are real masters hiding among ordinary people – a real Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as we Chinese often say. So when I recently happened to see several anonymously posted pictures on the internet, I was

The Mediaeval French motto “souvent me souvient” given to St John’s College by it’s founder Lady Margaret Beaufort is as potent in this Quincentenary year as it was when the College was founded in 1511. Inscribed throughout the College on

I am naturally attracted to works by the “B-composers”- J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bartok, Barber, Britten- each having their unique musical character and captivating power. When I first heard about the idea of bringing a concert of Beethoven 7 &