Strange times indeed. #Lockdown has relied on people explaining and preaching that it is a moral duty to abide by the rule of not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary. Now you might forgive people for thinking that under the circumstances, driving for an hour at the height of Lockdown to Barnard Castle and back to check one’s vision really does feel like it’s pushing it? Is it any wonder that the mood of people, after warming up with Bank Holiday and VE day celebra

It was a surreal feeling to be reminded it’s a Bank Holiday. In many ways #Lockdown has felt like one long Bank Holiday. Even the weather was in a balmy Mediterranean mood. And yet, it is anything but a Bank Holiday as the Pandemic has put on hold so many plans and projects. I should have been working in the Far East these few days. #Decluttering is a time-honoured and suitable Bank Holiday activity, so here is some #Debussy...

#Lockdown has really highlighted how easy it is to take #movement for granted! With the easing of restrictions taking small steps, the streets and skies are not just a visual reminder of movement. As people are begin to take casual, perhaps inessential, strolls (rather than the one deliberate outing to stake their right for that ration of ‘one daily exercise’), idle chatter is heard in and out of focus as it mingles with the hum of the environment. How much movement in the so

Today we wake up with a new slogan to guide our lives through this next #phase of #COVID19#Lockdown in the UK - #stayalert It’s hard not to keep developments from playing on your mind. Even in the confines of the #piano studio it appears. I will explain in my video below. Before I do that, I alluded to ‘Yes Minister’ in my previous blog post - and this excerpt is so astute at summarising a perennial #problem of what happens if we let down our guard... So, without further a

As #Lockdown stubbornly persists I would like to continue to think I can continue to bring a few moments of musical inspiration to you, albeit as virtual audiences. Rather than live streaming concerts - I'm not sure my lockdown piano is quite up to being exposed to such formal judgement! - I will be posting some honest glimpses into the piano studio. I will be posting these on this blog and YouTube. If you #subscribe to these you should be able to receive automatic notifica

When things get tough one of our strongest reactions is that to cling onto something of the past. Yearning for something that used to bring warmth and smiles becomes our comfort. With it inevitable perhaps that tinge of frustration of something that might be gone forever? Yearning for something just out of reach is bread and butter of creative artists. Knowing it can never be achieved, that the horizon moves away from us the closer we think we approach it, also gives that

Sometimes the signs are all around us. Distractions, convenience of ‘ready-processed’ information, laziness, denial, closed-minds and self-isolation can blind us to what is happening around us. X is a tribute to the cryptic but extraordinary games that #music can play... #COVID19 #workingfromhome #piano #lockdown

Has anyone else noticed the wonderful new #lockdown phenomenon where people walk out of the front door timidly, then gathering more and more confidence start looking alive as they launch into their once-daily permitted ration of stepping out into the world? Then, returning back they disappear - not to be seen until a new, clear day beckons again... Sounds familiar? Of course - it must be that #magician #Debussy capturing the #music of the legendary submerged isle of Ys! #COVI

In the recent weeks we’ve heard far too much #rhetoric for comfort about #war, #restriction of liberties, #sacrifice and the instigation of the so-called ‘new normal’. #Vote, the Treaty of Versailles and the spirit of the people (#Volksgeist) are all part of this session in #Lockdown #Piano #Alphabet... and some bubbly Schubert to go with it! #COVID19 #workingfromhome #houseconcert #together #share

#Simplicity requires by far the greater mastery, command of your craft, and empathy, or perhaps compassion, of your environment. The most #beautiful things that we hold dear often sound the most simple. It is surely no accident that in this #Lockdown people are accepting that as they are pushed from so many fronts to define and defend #Essential, they draw comfort from cherishing the #simple relationships, actions and things around them. Beethoven’s middle movement of the ‘

The murmurs about when and how #Lockdown will end are gathering momentum just as it has been extended for another three weeks. People are signing off emails with the sentiment that they are hoping for a quick return to normal. Changes over these past weeks have, however, been swift moving and profound: Some revealing selfless kindness and compassion of humanity at its best. Others, have encouraged the sinister side of human nature to show its face. We are living through a

I never thought I’d think, let alone say this, but - as the Government has officially extended #Lockdown by 3 more weeks - when will we finally be able to experience the chaotic hustle and bustle of non #SocialDistancing #queues? For now, here is what feels like a distant memory with Mussorgsky’s bustling Limoges #Market. Enjoy! #COVID19 #workingfromhome #piano #music #share #together

#Words usually dictate - that is their downfall. Too often we see or hear words and act according to their instuction, or repeat them, without pausing to think about what they mean to us; what they might mean to someone else; and what the consequences might be of them being undestood differently, or taken out of context . #Music has the distinct position of being able to narrate where words fail to capture a nuance or suggestion. Music can #evoke. It doesn’t carry a prescri

#Meditation has somehow been adopted into #trend. Social media is flooded with meditation tutorials, books give us a run down of the #essential #mindfulness and #creative #visualisation #techniques, and companies are selling hours upon hours of mind-numbing noise marketed as #music for meditation. #Retreat #weekends and #meditation #holidays in Nepalese monasteries for those affluent enough entice punters with promises of #remote #isolation. Well, we are in #lockdown... ye

#Learning from #larks.... Composers often quote birdsong in their works - and many were avid ramblers and early risers too. COVID-19 has made #London eerily quiet. The birds seem to sing louder. Or is it that they no longer compete with the traffic, aircraft and human chatter that until a few weeks ago was all part of the perpetual of our towns and cities? In any case, being in #lockdown should not be a lockdown of the mind and soul. These surreal times have the potential to

Pianos - #Klaviers - were not very popular. They were unable to match the power of harpsichords, and clavichord were already popular lyrical ‘private’ instruments in homes. They did, however, give the player the opportunity (with a little practise) to make a #kaleidoscope of #colours through its nuanced dynamics. Think of a lute, think of a guitar; add some noble aristocratic restraint... and you are not far off... #COVID19 #workingfromhome #piano #lockdown #concert #Scarla

Art is an #illusion. I feel very strongly that the #comfort that art brings must in some ways be linked to its ability to give a chance for people not simply to #believe, but to actually sense that something which seems #impossible is actually #possible. Scriabin’s Prelude for the Left Hand alone is one of those works where melancholy somehow - unnoticed by us - melts away into calm. #COVID19 #lockdown #WorkingFromHome #music #PushingTheLimits

H is for #hybrid. I am going to say something contraversial: Purity is overvalued! In art at least, there is no such thing as a pure breed. The #best things are a mix. The video below spotlights the hybrid nocturne genre, and the cosmopolitan hybrid Chopin. Enjoy! #COVID19 #lockdown #workingfromhome #Chopin #hybrid #multicultural #cosmopolitan

G is for #grip. The more we know something to be #true, the more we must hold on to it - grip it and not let any distractions allow it to slip away. This adage forms the core of much piano technique and principles. I cannot think of a more poignant piece through which to demonstrate it than Rachmaninov’s heart-aching Prelude in C-sharp minor. Please enjoy and share! #COVID19 #lockdown #workingfromhome #emotion #neverletgo

As society the unquestioning trust for the written word, and the weight collectively given to common opinion (or the ‘normal way’ of doing things), can transcend all sense of logic. Art thrives when it is free to question. So, F is for #fabrication and #fantasy, as well as a little #faith... #COVID19 #lockdown #music #fact #fiction #fantasy #fabrication #Beethoven #Bach #piano