The thirty-sixth interview in my Classical Conversations Series features British concert pianist and Liszt specialist Leslie Howard. I met him at his home earlier this month for a most interesting chat. Renowned concert pianist Leslie Howard has given recitals and concerto performances all over the world. His repertoire embraces the whole gamut of the piano…
Tag: Concert Pianist
Martin James Bartlett in conversation with Melanie Spanswick
The thirty fourth interview guest in my Classical Conversations Series is BBC Young Musician 2014, Martin James Bartlett. Martin is a student at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and is about to start an undergraduate degree at the RCM Senior Department in September, where he will study with Professor Vanessa Latarche. We met up…
Ian Fountain in conversation with Melanie Spanswick
The thirty-third Classical Conversation in my series features British concert pianist Ian Fountain. We chatted at the Royal Academy of Music earlier this month, where Ian is professor of piano. In 1989 Ian Fountain became the youngest winner of the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition in Tel Aviv at the age of 19. He…
Hamish Milne in conversation with Melanie Spanswick
The thirty-second Classical Conversation features British concert pianist and professor of piano at the Royal Academy of Music, Hamish Milne. We met last month at Jaques Samuel Pianos in London to chat about his life and work. Hamish has appeared as soloist with most of the leading British orchestras and has given over two hundred broadcasts…
Artur Pizarro in conversation with Melanie Spanswick
My twenty-ninth Classical Conversation features Portuguese concert pianist Artur Pizarro. We met recently at Blüthner Pianos in London to chat about his life and career. Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1968, Artur Pizarro gave his first public performance at the age of three and made his television début on Portuguese television at the age of four….
The Art of Piano Fingering by Rami Bar-Niv
I have written many times on this blog about the importance of fingering in relation to piano playing. It’s an issue which needs constant addressing and re-addressing, and it plays a crucial role in all genres of piano music. So when I was sent a book focusing solely on this topic, I couldn’t resist taking a look….
Philip Fowke in conversation with Melanie Spanswick
My twenty-seventh interview features British concert pianist and teacher Philip Fowke. We met up a few weeks ago at Steinway Hall in London for a fascinating chat about many aspects of Philip’s career. Philip’s first piano teacher was Marjorie Withers. At seventeen he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London where he…
Andrei Gavrilov in conversation with Melanie Spanswick
My twenty-sixth interview is with the Russian concert pianist Andrei Gavrilov, who I met at Monkton Combe School near Bath (in the UK) a couple of weeks ago, before he gave a series of master classes in the West Country. Andrei Gavrilov was born in Moscow in 1955 into an artistic family. His father Vladimir Gavrilov…
A Master Class with Andrei Gavrilov
Master class opportunities are usually plentiful and they can be useful on many levels, but coaching sessions with outstanding artists are indeed rare, especially those encouraging the inclusion of pianists who essentially play for their own pleasure. Andrei Gavrilov is a pianist of the highest calibre, with a once stratospheric career. This week he has…
Comfortable Piano Playing
Piano technique is by no means an easy element to teach and it’s even more tricky to learn and assimilate properly. Few tutors teach it successfully, whether this is because they know little about it or possibly because they find it difficult to relay to pupils (it is!). A good tutor must be able to break…
Melanie Spanswick 