Author: jeremy chan
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Lessons from a piano competition part 2: observations
In my previous post, I talked about what I did to prepare for the 2025 Frechilla-Zuloaga Competition based on what I learned from previous competition experiences. But it wasn’t just about things I changed leading up to the competition; I also made sure to observe the competition itself. A standard, high level piano competition normally…
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Lessons from a piano competition part 1: preparation
A few weeks ago I came back from the beautiful city of Valladolid in Spain, where I participated in the 2025 Frechilla-Zuloaga International Piano Competition. I spent a whole month preparing for the competition intensively, but unfortunately things did not go the way I wanted it to and I was eliminated after the First Round.…
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Jonathan Ferrucci x Matthew Johnson at Wimbledon International Music Festival: Bach’s Goldberg Variations
Pictures of a half-naked Jonathan Ferrucci in different poses and positions pepper the walls of St John the Baptist Church in Wimbledon. These are the fruits of a creative collaboration between pianist and yogi Jonathan Ferrucci and photographer (and sometimes cellist) Matthew Johnson surrounding Bach’s timeless Goldberg Variations, presented at the Wimbledon International Music Festival.…
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How to be an Individual Artist: Interview with Aïda Lahlou
Aïda Lahlou discusses her album “Mirrors and Echoes,” emphasizing themes like nature and self-introspection, and advocating for individuality in classical music programming and artistry.
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Preparing for the Chopin Competition: Interview with Yuanfan Yang
We think that a lot of piano playing and this kind of competition preparation is physical, but actually so much of it is mental. How you think mentally can affect how you play or practice something.
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Richard Goode’s late Beethoven and Schumann at Wigmore Hall
What better way to break my summer hiatus from Wigmore Hall than to attend a recital by Richard Goode? The cool autumn breeze out on Wigmore Street put me in the perfect mood for late Beethoven and Schumann, and Goode delivered a masterly reading that showed just how warm and intimate the music of the…
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Playing Messiaen’s “End of Time” Quartet at the Fidelio Café
Last Tuesday I returned to Fidelio Café to perform Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” with the Fidelio Collective. Once again an intense experience with the music turned into a beautiful evening meeting wonderful new people and sharing great food with friends. Three of the four in the quartet had performed the “End of…
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Pairing Schubert and Wine
Last week I was invited to perform in a wine tasting event at Fidelio Café. I have talked about Fidelio in a previous blog post. Its walls peppered with music scores and Bauhaus-style posters of classical music make it a very Instagram-worthy alternative venue for classical music. A majestic Steinway in the middle of the…
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Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” in English at the Proms
On Monday evening I found myself on the train once again, swimming against the current of commuters towards the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. This time the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Singers and English National Opera joined forces under John Storgårds’ baton to present Shostakovich’s grand operatic tragedy Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, celebrating the…
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My First Time at a French Festival: Part Two
Day Three I was glad the Chopin Waltzes were over, but I couldn’t put my feet up totally just yet. There was still the duet recital to do. Bridget and I basically had one rehearsal—during which we were both sightreading—three months prior before we met again yesterday. She had spent the last two months in…
Literally Left-handed 