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

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

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

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

Today is Russian Orthodox Easter, so it’s a lively and joyful toe-tapping musical offering for the Lockdown PIano Alphabet. It’s a set of Romanian Folk Dances, or Tanze, by Bartok - from Transylvania... I won’t tell if you jump around it to as an extra to your allowable ‘one daily exercise’. #COVID19 #workingfromhome #dance #music #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

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

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

#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

#Smiling is good for us. I’ve been assured it’s a fact that has been backed up with plenty of science. So why are classical concerts full of such serious faces even when the music is trying its best to make you #giggle? I wonder if it’s because like all good #jokes, a musical joke needs #context. It’s only funny if we appreciate what is being parodied. A few weeks ago we would not have found it funny to see memes playing with the idea of #SocialDistancing. So, J is for jo

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