This article has been written in reaction to hearing “I don’t like this [enter instrument, genre, artist etc.]” too often. As a composer, diversity in music is equal to the painter’s, who constantly seeks for new colours, or the chef’s

Last year, I was invited to perform during a special week of commemoration and celebration upon the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, and the 70th anniversary of his appearance at the Displaced Persons camp in Landsberg, Germany. It’s a picturesque,

Jean Rondeau records ‘Vertigo’ for harpsichord Asking whether the harpsichord is the greatest instrument ever, is like asking can fish swim? Now that I’ve answered my own question, here are 10 reasons why the harpsichord is the greatest instrument ever.

“I’ve always listened to my own voice. I was discontented with the kind of music that everyone said I should write – all clever and dissonant, intellectualised. I wanted to write music that was deeply felt, music that would move

Published in 1828, the year Schubert died, and written between 1823 and 1828, the six Moments Musicaux (literally “musical moments”) are amongst Schubert’s best-loved works for piano and are as accessible to the competent amateur pianist as they are to

In 1926, the American composer Virgil Thomson went to the fabled address of 27 Rue de Fleurus, where the American poet and writer Gertrude Stein lived with her companion, Alice B. Toklas. Thomson was familiar with Stein’s writings and spoke

Love has been an unfailing interest of mankind and an indispensable element of human lives. Love is much more than superficial attraction: at its best, love displays trust, commitment, longing, making sacrifices for the greater good. Yet on the flip

A few days ago, we were invited to an historic home on a nearby lake, a rambling manor that had been in one family for generations. Inside we encountered sensory overload—antiques, and collectibles, decades-old toys, hundreds of books, silver sets,