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

To celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, I would like to introduce ten contemporary female composers who have not been introduced on Interlude before. While certainly not exhaustive, this list of ten composers illustrates the wide scope of