“As musicians, we are already doing something for the world … We make it more flowing? … Through music”. Pianist Lang Lang Shirley Apthorp, “Piano Man”, The Australian, May 14 2011.

Beauty captivates the flesh, seeking permission to pass directly to the soul. — Simone Weil S. Weil, G Panichas (ed.) The Simone Weil Reader, New York, McKay, 1977, p. 378.

Vaughan Williams had asked Holst about his experience of having an agent. Holst, who was at Harvard University at the time, replied: I’m very glad I’ve made use of Duncan McKenzie (OUP) as an agent. He has been really helpful and I hope you’ll at least consider using him. The alternative would be to print […]

Chopin gave a recital in the Gentlemen”s Concert Hall, Manchester, on 28 August 1848. The audience of 1,200 people was the largest Chopin had ever performed to, but Chopin’s delicate playing was not really suited to such a large venue. Conscious of this fact, Chopin requested that another pianist, George Osborne, who was also performing […]

Title: Impromptu (Op. 97, no.5) Composer: Jean Sibelius (arr. Greg Smith) Instrumentation: Trombone and piano Product medium: PDF score and part

John Sublett (stage name, John Bubbles) was a tap dancer unable to read music.  He was chosen by Gershwin to perform the role of Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess.  However…. Rehearsing as Sporting Life, John Bubbles was a special problem.  He was so laid back as to be often absent when needed.  At one […]

A poet is a nightingale who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds; his auditors are as men entranced by the melody of an unseen musician, who feel that they are moved and softened, yet know not whence or why. Percy Shelley, A Defence of Poetry, 1821

In the ninteenth century, the piano was not only regarded as a musical instrument but as a part of the decor a room. An article in The Musical Times in February 1893 describes some possible applications: Placed near a bay window, it shuts in the cosiest lovers’ next imaginable. Soft-cushioned window seats that have room […]

“Our happiness in this world depends on the affections we are able to inspire.” – Duchess Prazlin Cited at QuotationsBook

We often focus too much on the myth of Mozart, the myth of the prodigy and the myth of the genius – but as he writes in some of his letters, he often feels totally misunderstood and that people don’t give him credit for all the tireless work which he does. In one letter he […]