After a quiet summer I am looking forward to a couple of piano recitals in October with no Beethoven or Schubert in the programme. The first performance is at The Red Hedgehog on the 7th October at 7.30 pm, a venue that might well have been another victim of the pandemic were it not for the Herculean efforts of Clare Fisher. I am very touched that I should be performing on the venue's birthday: cake will be served. Soon after this I will be travelling to Welshpool Music Club for a concert on the 12th October, also at 7.30 pm.

Frustratingly, events still conspire to force a postponement of the Beethoven cycle with violinist Krzysztof Smietana but we are working on the series for the 2023-24 season. In the meantime there is still this popular video of Beethoven's Spring Sonata.

The pandemic made me value live performance more than ever but recordings still fulfil an important role and as sales of actual CDs have dimisnished I have been mining the archive for recordings to post to streaming services. My first CD of Shostakovich's piano sonatas and preludes (recorded in 1996) is now on Spotify as is my most recent recording (2019) of violin sonatas by Busoni and Respighi with Krzysztof Smietana.

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