Weekend of music

Music can be a terribly solitary pursuit - particularly when completing a major work as I have been doing in composing my Preludes Book II - but this weekend has been a joy as I have been visited in my home by young musicians keen to hear my Preludes (which I have been practising quite a bit) and share their own musical journeys.

On Saturday classical pianist Simon Tedeschi came. Not quite 25 Simon is already something of a household name in Australia, a teenage prodigy and quite a character who often pops up on TV panel shows. Simon has a very strong interest in jazz too. It was great to finally hang out with him, a deep and penetrating musician.

Then today my good buddies Emily-Rose Blanchard (frequent commenter here) and Laura Altman came for a day of music and eating. Both have a seemingly insatiable appetite for music, and both compose as well as play with all their heart. They have only just finished school. Emily-Rose brought her new boyfriend Kirill Monorosi, a young concert pianist originally from Kazahkstan who studied in Moscow and now lives in Australia. He also composes and is the only person I have met outside Russia who appreciates Borjomi, the incredibly robust mineral water from Russian Georgia which I fell in love with in Moscow and have recently managed to obtain a case of (to the tame, it tastes like Alka-Seltzer!).

It's a cliche, but the future of the musical arts is in the hands of the likes of these young musicians and it gives me great hope.

Two more things about the Preludes. They are dedicated to my late teacher the wonderful concert pianist and pedagogue Igor Hemlnitsky. And here's a sample of 1 of the 39 pages.