Selected Writings

• Which Master's Voice? [PDF]
• Rudolf Serkin [PDF]  
• Chopin and the Waltz [PDF]
• On a Philosophy of Pianism   [see under Teaching]
  

Selected Public Presentations

The Elements of Music

A 5-part series of hour-long talks exploring musical language from the inside out, investigating the properties and interaction of tone, time, timbre, scale, chord, texture and form, and examining their symbolic power as a metaphor for our spiritual and physical perceptions of life. The series was designed equally for the innocent layman and the seasoned professional and has elicited equal enthusiasm from both. For listener response to the original radio series see under 'Reviews'.

The Pride of the Parlour

A light-hearted, highly anecdotal bird's eye view of the home music scene from the sixteenth century to the present, from the palaces of Europe to the log cabins of the Wild West and the electronicised 'dens' of the 21st century. The presentation normally takes 90 minutes but can contract or expand to suit the circumstances.

The Perils of Pianism: a Sado-Masochistic History of Teachers and the Taught
or ‘Piano Teachers and How to Survive Them’. 30 - 45 minutes

Old Wives' Tales: Phrasing, Articulation and the Control of Ambiguity
or ‘The Menace of Metre’. A provocative look at the sources and varieties of accentuation in performance. 30 - 45 minutes

Tempo, Truth and Consequences: Rhythm, Pace and Polyphonic Melody
or ‘Surface and Substance’: The nature of melodic coherence and its implications for performance.
30 - 45 minutes

The Life and Times of the Piano;
The Life and Times of the Orchestra

Historical entertainments with musical illustrations, high anecdotal content and social observation, designed to inform, to stimulate and to amuse in equal measure. Normal duration: 60 - 90 minutes

The Great Composers

Biographical portraits, containing plentiful musical illustrations and readings from the words of the composer in question and his contemporaries. High narrative and anecdotal content. 60-90 minutes.

The Armchair Traveler

A guided tour through the diverse folk musics of the world, with special emphasis on their fascinating interconnections. 60-90 minutes.

Speaking to the World or Confessions of a Broadcaster

An informative, entertaining, sometimes almost unbelievable account of the pleasures and the pitfalls, the responsibilities and the unique power of a medium which reaches almost every corner of human society. As a source of news, information, education and entertainment it remains unsurpassed, even by television, with its pictorial dimension. This potted 'behind the scenes' tour includes highlights of some of the most famous broadcasts ever made, including 'The War of the Worlds', which sent an entire nation into a state of panic, and some of the most hilarious mishaps ever to be captured by a microphone. Normal duration: 1 hour