Susan Tomes

A fascinating history of the piano explored through 100 pieces chosen by one of the UK’s most renowned concert pianists Tomes . . . casts her net widely, taking in chamber music and concertos, knotty avant-garde masterworks and (most welcome) jazz. — Richard Fairman, Financial Times, “Best Books of 2021: Classical Music” [One of] the most beautiful books I got...

Women are an essential part of the history of the piano—but how many women pianists can you name? Throughout most of the piano's history, women pianists lacked access to formal training and were excluded from male-dominated performance spaces. Even the modern piano's keys were designed without consideration of women's typically smaller hands. Yet despite their music being largely confined to...

Women are an essential part of the history of the piano—but how many women pianists can you name? Throughout most of the piano's history, women pianists lacked access to formal training and were excluded from male-dominated performance spaces. Even the modern piano's keys were designed without consideration of women's typically smaller hands. Yet despite their music being largely confined to...

An engrossing history of the music of twilight and sleep, from the nocturnes of Field and Chopin to Max Richter In an insomniac age, ambient and sleep music have become increasingly popular. But our association between music and sleep is not new: lullabies may be the oldest form of music and are instantly recognisable across peoples and cultures. Why does...