As of now, my blog has gone ‘video’- Perhaps that might encourage me to do more posting! Starting with a five part series, the not-at-all-provocatively titled “Difficult Music: Fact Checking the Avant-Garde.” Here is the first episode, “The Tristan Chord”. It features the opening to Tristan and Isolde played in a way that I am Read More …

In this article and all others to follow, I will refer to our art-form as ‘classical music’. It’s not a great moniker, but just like ‘Raga Dolls’, it’s the one we’re stuck with. At what stage and why, did we start evaluating music based not only on what it is, but on when and by Read More …

I was clearing out some of the dustier corners of my computer and came across this, from January 2013, no less. Not too shabby surprisingly, and quite relevant when you consider there has been a fair bit of discussion around academicism and the role of autodidacts in the arts of late. Suits me, being one Read More …

For me, this Dylan winning the Nobel Prize thing has been a gift that keeps giving. I mean, I was thinking before about the beautiful symmetry (that surprisingly no one seems to have alluded to just yet) with that famous incident in Manchester 50 years ago when, as he strapped himself into a black Fender Read More …

After 2 1/2 Months of sometimes seemingly comical missteps, Episode 2 of Dot and the Kangaroo is finally here. More of that in a moment. First a story, typical of the things that have been happening to me. How we love to create a narrative when a lot of things go wrong in succession. Am Read More …

The first call I got, shortly after I read the news of David Bowie’s shock departure was from my 19 year old daughter Clare wanting to tell how much it meant to her. I think it says so much about the brilliance of that particular generation of artists that our great heroes have also become Read More …

It’s been a while… Not my forté I’m afraid, this regularly updating activities thing… Anyway the news is that I’m returning to Australia for about 6 weeks on Tuesday, in order to perform a concert for the ANZAC centenary. It’s part of commemoration events being conducted by the good people at the historic Maygar barracks Read More …