The Soundtrack of my Life
My mother advised me that Tchaikovsky was ‘chocolate box’ music. Jani Allan grew up in a household where pop music was banned. She was raised on a strict diet of Chopin and Hanon. At ten she was a...
View ArticleGrosvenor Gardners Sunday
Benjamin Grosvenor The young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor—so young, that he is in fact, the youngest British musician ever to sign a contract with the record label Decca (who released his latest album,...
View ArticleOld-School Pianism From Young Exponent
Benjamin Grosvenor (file photo) Benjamin Grosvenor has been in the international spotlight for half his short life, having won the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age...
View ArticleWho smeared Dutilleux as a Nazi collaborator when he was, in fact, a Résistant?
The files have been brought out of the vaults. Two days ago, the Mayor of the 4th arrondissement of Paris refused to allow a plaque to be affixed on Henri Dutilleux’s apartment, claiming he had been a...
View ArticleExclusive to support the Mediathèque Musicale Mahler
Support the Musée Rodin and the Mediathèque Musicale Mahler in grand style. The museum is offering, in an exclusive limited edition, a copy of Rodin's 1909 bust of Mahler. This is no ordinary...
View ArticleBudu’s Bagatelles More Than Mere
Christian Budu (file photo) On the eve of Easter, the second night of Passover and the NCAA’s “Final Four,” Jordan Hall appeared rather depopulated, but those rapt 100-plus auditors for pianist...
View Article'I knew it was my music': Idil Biret Concert & Interview
Those assembled in Westminster Cathedral Hall earlier this month had the pleasure and privilege to hear the celebrated Turkish pianist Idil Biret in a concert arranged by the Chopin Society, performing...
View ArticleFinished in Japan
Yesterday was a beautiful warm day, up to 25 degrees, and provided an opportunity for a quick walk down to the rose garden in Verny Park by the harbourside. The presence of the US navy is evident in...
View ArticleClassical & Opera Listings for June 5-11 - New York Times
Classical Music. Bargemusic (Friday through Sunday) Three enticing concerts take place this weekend on the undulating barge with one of the city's best views. On Friday, the pianist Jerome Lowenthal...
View ArticleClassical & Opera Listings for June 5-11 - New York Times
Classical Music. Bargemusic (Friday through Sunday) Three enticing concerts take place this weekend on the undulating barge with one of the city's best views. On Friday, the pianist Jerome Lowenthal...
View ArticleClassical & Opera Listings for June 5-11 - New York Times
Classical Music. Bargemusic (Friday through Sunday) Three enticing concerts take place this weekend on the undulating barge with one of the city's best views. On Friday, the pianist Jerome Lowenthal...
View ArticleClassical & Opera Listings for June 5-11 - New York Times
Classical Music. Bargemusic (Friday through Sunday) Three enticing concerts take place this weekend on the undulating barge with one of the city's best views. On Friday, the pianist Jerome Lowenthal...
View ArticleSome of My Features for the "Rough Guide"
Again, just a few “representative samples” for (I hope) your delectation and delight. Click each one to read and enlarge. ROBERT SCHUMANN Schumann, a middle-class boy from the provinces, occupies one...
View ArticlePurpose and background
As I was thinking of a title for this blog, I remembered a friend of mine who also recently started a blog. He will be traveling around the world for the next 12 months, and will document his...
View ArticleLabel news: Sony signs cool hands Luke
This has been in the works ever since Lucas Debargue signed with the talent warehouse, Cami, and I think we may have reported it before. But from today it’s official: Lucas Debargue, star (and loser)...
View ArticleFauré Weekend at Brandeis
Fauré by Sargent (Fogg Art Museum) This Fauré Festival was arranged by Daniel Stepner of the Brandeis music faculty and first violinist of the Lydian Quartet. I don’t think there had been a comparable...
View ArticleSherman: Risks and Rewards
The total concert experience can often be as much about the atmosphere as the performance. On Sunday evening, a distinct aura inhabited the Jordan Hall of New England Conservatory. It almost reminded...
View ArticleA concert pianist goes out canvassing in Cleveland
Our friend the pianist and videographer Zsolt Bognar did his civic duty this weekend in some of the most deprived areas of his hometown. Not many musicians venture this far off the beaten track. Here’s...
View ArticleAgi Jambor: a nearly forgotten pianist
I came across her name for the first time ever, on YouTube, about six years ago. A gentleman called ‘Stephen’, who had been a friend of Ms Jambor’s, had uploaded some of her audio recordings on the...
View ArticleHenry-Louis de La Grange, a heartfelt personal tribute
Henry-Louis de La Grange (26 May 1924 - 27 January 2017) Henry-Louis de La Grange died this morning. He was such a vivacious personality, so full of positive energy, that even though he'd been unwell...
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