The mysterious case of the Lyrical Waltz
I’ve just had an email from a teacher, asking me what I understand by the term “Lyrical Waltz.” Short answer, I don’t understand anything by it, but the long answer…
Diamond fairy variation: new piano arrangement
I had to play this yesterday at a competition, and surprisingly, it’s the first time I’ve had to do it in public. It’s vile to play. Nowadays, if I’m faced…
What is a mirliton? The best link so far
The mystery of Tchaikovsky’s mirlitons If you know my site, you’ll be aware that I’ve been trying to find pictures of and information about “mirlitons” the title of one of…
A year of ballet playing cards #44: A long, jolly polka/galop from Le Diable à quatre (5d)
Download the score of the galop for ballet class (pdf) for free Read more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards Something about this galop for ballet class is so…
Happy 2015: A new year’s ramble about Black Swan and other ballet anomalies
As it’s the first day of a new year, I’ve decided to do something about one of the greatest annoyances in my list of ballet-pianist anxieties: the Black Swan female…
Confessions of an anxious ballet pianist day #12: Wrong notes
“You should play more wrong notes, then people wouldn’t notice so much.” That was the kind, but impractical advice given to me by a good friend in a company many…