As the Tchaikovsky Competition kicks off, we revisit a 2014 interview with the great Irish pianist Barry Douglas, who won the contest in 1986, and who is on the piano jury this year. He discusses the pleasures, the benefits and the perils of music competitions. Read the original article here. Benefits vs pressures ‘I was building up my career slowly and steadily, but winning something like the Tchaikovsky Competition is of vast importance. People invite you if they know that

Valery Gergiev was optimistic about the rise of Asian musicians but sounded a note of caution about the pressure on young competition winners, as he launched the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition Valery Gergiev described the rise of Asian classical musicians during today’s press conference for the International Tchaikovsky Competition, saying, ‘There is a clear tendency that Asian representation is increasing every competition.’ His analysis went beyond the usual rac

I'm just back from Wigmore Hall, where I watched the Kopelman Quartet demonstrate chamber music playing at its best: exquisite refinement, complete togetherness, impeccable attention to detail. All with their lustrous sound and a whole lot of humour, although possibly a wee bit comfortable. And watching the Russian bow hold in action is a whole violin lesson in itself. It's interesting to me that Russian players rarely use the palette one associates with Russian music - the P