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Since leaving the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland I've spent most of my working life teaching, pupils of every age and standard, and a great many concertos and concert showpieces have crossed the musi … read more

Chicago, the summer of 1893. The World's Columbian Exposition, in a hall built to show what women had made. Amy Beach was at the piano and Maud Powell had the violin, playing a Romance Beach had writt … read more

A few bars of orchestra, and the soloist is already playing. There is no introduction to speak of, no cadenza anywhere in the movement, and when the first movement runs out of things to say it does no … read more

Every piece in this blog series so far has been about music that got overshadowed by something more famous. Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor doesn't have that problem. It's often called the g … read more

Over the last two posts we've looked at the violin concerto that made Bruch's name, and then at the two viola works his final years produced almost as an afterthought. This one turns to the cello, and … read more