In a recital space somewhere in central London a group of people are seated in a rough semi-circle around a Fazioli 212 grand piano. Some lounge in their seats in a pretence of relaxation, others crane forward eagerly for a

The orchestra string section rests on two supports: the double-basses and their smaller cousins, the cellos. I say cousins because the cello and the double bass actually have different antecedents. The cello is part of the violin family and the

The following is a continuation of the story ‘A Day in the Life of A Musician’, starring the pianist Alexander Kravetsky. Having spent the morning adjucating a youth music competition, Sasha now faces a long afternoon of teaching… 1:50pm As

This is a fictional story about the pianist Alexander Kravetsky. All characters appearing in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 8:45am I arrive at the foyer of the Rathborne auditorium, where

Ah, the poor viola, butt of a thousand jokes (What’s the difference between a violin and a viola? The viola burns longer), but, in the end, provides the warm sound that counteracts the often brittle violin sound. In a string

When you attend a symphony orchestra concert, the first instrument you see, on the left of the stage, are the violins. No classical music concert is complete without a violin. Violins are small string instruments that are played with a

I was at a concert the other evening where the opening work was Schubert’s Fantasia for Piano 4-hands. Two pianists, sitting side by side, at one piano performed one of Schubert’s greatest pieces. The two pianists angled their benches carefully

We forget how much the English contributed to the beauty of orchestral music through their lush pastoral string writing. And the Bridge is Love, a new recording by the English Chamber Orchestra led by Julian Lloyd-Webber, brings all of this