Playlists!

The pianist in the photo was Radu Lupu (1945-2022). He was Romanian, and one of the greatest pianists ever. We are very lucky to have recordings of his performances. Lupu started studying piano when he was six years old. In 1969, at the age of 24, he won the famous Leeds International Piano Competition. In …

Vingt-et-Un!

Vingt-et-un is a card game in which you have to collect twenty-one points. Here’s a quick summary of the rules: I hope you’ll have a go at this age-old gambling game! I grew up on it! And now the reason we’re diving into “vingt-et-un” today: old-fashioned metronomes are the answer. Old-fashioned metronomes, those lovely pyramid-shaped …

Humoresque

A Humoresque is a genre of Romantic music, characterised by pieces with fanciful humour in the sense of mood rather than wit. (Wikipedia, accessed 09: 50 2nd April 2025)