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Piano Diaries - Movement

May 18, 2020
1 min

Piano Diaries - Movement

#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

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Piano Diaries - Staying Alert

May 11, 2020
1 min

Piano Diaries - Staying Alert

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

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Introducing... Piano Diaries

May 8, 2020
1 min

Introducing... Piano Diaries

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

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - Z

Apr 25, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - Z

We have come to Z. The last letter in this project reflects the endeavours of Alexander Siloti. He pushed #piano #technique to new levels. Siloti acquired this facility through a #regime of disciplined, isolated hours of studies that were inflicted upon him, then which became accepted and self-maintained. Yet, out of seemingly the most mundane #exercise that is carried out little more than with a sense of #duty and perhaps #faith in its future benefit, Siloti unearthed and

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - X

Apr 24, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - X

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

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - W

Apr 22, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - W

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

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - V

Apr 22, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - V

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

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - U

Apr 20, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - U

To say that 2020 has thrown an #unexpected spanner in the works is probably one of the biggest #understatements I can make. Oh well, in the spirit of the unexpected here is a tribute to those moments in our lives that go by largely unknown... #COVID19 #workingfromhome #music #piano #houseconcerts

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - R

Apr 17, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - R

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

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - Q

Apr 16, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - Q

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

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - P

Apr 15, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - P

When that a cetain absurd air of pompous self-importance lingers around, it’s only a matter of seconds before eyes roll. For #Debussy it was an invitation to unleash his acerbic wit and indulge in some #musical #Parody! Here the hallowed #Wagner is not only in the #Children’s #Corner, but thrown out in the street amidst a the #moonwalk or perhaps boogie-woogie of its day - the #Cake #Walk. Go on, have a snigger... #COVID19 #workingfromhome #piano #music #humour

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - O

Apr 14, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - O

Contorting fingers in quite a popular #pastime at the #piano. Virtuoso pianists in the twentieth century were especially fond of what they called #organist fingering - where you make a silent, sneaky substitution. It lets you layer the music underneath and over a melodic line in a way that makes it seem like it flows opulently in all directions. The effect is of hypnotic yet deceptive simplicity. See if you agree! #COVID19 #workingfromhome #yoga #piano #relaxing #music #sha

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - N

Apr 13, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - N

#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

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Lockdown Piano Alphabet - M

Apr 12, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Piano Alphabet - M

#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

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Lockdown Piano Alphabet - K

Apr 10, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Piano Alphabet - K

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

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - F

Apr 5, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - F

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

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - D

Apr 3, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet - D

Turning to letter D I reflected on the idea that in times of difficulty perhaps the most important thing we can dare to do is to #dream. That is to say: to stay awake to reality, but rather than fall into despair, to #dig deep to unearth those resources that to all cold logic seem unlikely, or indeed impossible. To me, nothing captures this better than #Schumann’s ‘Dreaming’ (Traumerei) from Kinderszenen Opus 15. #COVID19 #lockdown #music #dream #piano

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet: C

Apr 2, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet: C

The letter C conjures up a whole wealth of associations, both musical and not. After thinking about many contenders for this post I decided to share with you #Chopin, and his masterful #command and #control of #chiaroscuro (the art of contrasting #light with dark). In Chopin’s so-called ‘Raindrop’ Prelude the sound-world seems to change so dramatically when the ominous chorale casts its shadow. It is, however, nothing more than that - a passing shadow. It melts away and t

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Lockdown Pianist Alphabet: A

Mar 31, 2020
1 min

Lockdown Pianist Alphabet: A

It's the second surreal week of '#Lockdown' in the United Kingdom. No one knows when restrictions will be lifted, but it does not seem to be soon. So, I am going to start posting a series of musical thoughts at the #piano that hopefully will lift your spirits for a couple of minutes. I'm going to make it a bit more challenging for myself by working through the alphabet. Join me to see what I come up with. Enjoy, #share and keep your morale high! Lockdown Pianist Alphabet:

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An Imperial Stage, a Mariinsky Fairytale

Feb 29, 2020
4 min

An Imperial Stage, a Mariinsky Fairytale

Turning off onto the embankment of the Fontanka the hubbub of Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospekt almost immediately melts away. In that pocket of calm stands the majestic Sheremetev Palace where I would be making my own Saint Petersburg debut in a recital of Sergei Rachmaninov's songs with two superb Mariinsky Soloists, Ekaterina Shimanovich and Natalia Evstafieva. Walking into the concert hall nothing can prepare you for the resplendent mirrored walls and glistening crystal

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