Mozart / Lupu – Celebrating the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with a special artist, Radu Lupu. Listening to his Sonata for Two Pianos K.448 with Murray Perahia and the previously unreleased Piano Quartets with members of the Tel Aviv Quartet. Such artistry!

“Mozart’s music just IS, in all its perfection and profundity and charm. A gift from God.” - cellist Steven Isserlis

One of the supreme geniuses in music history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was born on this day in Salzburg, Austria. He would live to be just 35. Mozart composed in every musical form of his day. His piano concertos are my favorites of his works.

Happy birthday, Jackie! "Playing lifts you out of yourself into a delirious place." – British cellist Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987). She would have been 81 today. Multiple sclerosis limited her life and career, but never her spirit.

View from my condo this morning.

On his birthday, let’s not forget that French painter Edouard Manet (1832-1883) had a rebellious streak. He put it on display in the direct gaze of the nude subject of his “Olympia,” painted in 1863. Yet he also painted with suave sophistication that earned him respect in Paris high society.

Happy Friday. Enjoy your coffee and stay warm this weekend! 

As a 1981 grad, I haven’t been swimming as vigorously as some in the IU-football-victory sea, but here’s a fine and fun way to celebrate the Hoosiers’ national title from cartoonist and historian James MacLeod. If IU hasn’t commissioned this yet, they should get going.

I don’t advise constantly looking over your shoulder as a strategy, but it can’t hurt occasionally. 

Congratulations to pianist Imogen Cooper on being awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal, presented by HRH The Duke of Kent on Sunday evening after her unforgettable performance of Schubert piano sonatas at @wigmore-hall.org.uk

Passion - I have been a fan of jazz pianist Fred Hersch ever since he made his Nonesuch debut 30 years ago this week with “Passion Flower: Fred Hersch Plays Billy Strayhorn.” The album with trio and string orchestra is a personal tribute to Duke Ellington’s longtime musical partner. @nonesuch.com

With the 2026 College Football National Championship now decided, let's remember one of the finest teams in classical music. They didn't make the playoffs this season but kept racking up wins: the revered Marc-Andre Hamelin and the Takacs Quartet on @hyperionrecords.bsky.social.

Congratulations to Imogen Cooper, who was awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal, presented by HRH The Duke of Kent, KG, on Sunday evening after a stunning performance of Schubert piano works 🏅 Did you miss the performance? You can catch up by watching the live stream on our website now 📺

Remember that even on the dreariest winter day, there is beauty. Art: Dwight William Tryon (1849-1925), "November Afternoon" (detail), 1905, oil on canvas

Happy Positivity Monday as we honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. today. A reminder to do for others.

Happy Friyay, friends. Have a cup by the sea, or wherever you are this morning. Art: Richard Wieth, "Cup by the Sea," oil on panel, 8 x 10 inches.

'This piece has a special place in my heart because it was on the very first LP I owned as a child … I was instantly entranced by its plucking guitars and melancholy melody.' It's the first single from Stephen Hough's new solo piano album, 'Stephen Hough's Piano Postcards'.

My latest article for Evansville Living - Room to Shine - is all about the new Eykamp Sculpture Gallery at the Evansville Museum, which is home to an impressive array of historic and contemporary sculptures from the permanent collection. www.evansvilleliving.com/eykamp-sculpture-gallery-debuts/

Celebrating American sculptor Lee Bontecou (1931-2022) on what would have been her 95th birthday. She pioneered the use of unconventional materials in her sculpture and assemblage. After a high profile in the 1960s, she dropped out of the art scene in the 1970s, only to re-emerge in 2004.

Celebrating the birthday today of late Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons (1943-2019), one of the finest conductors of the past century. With humility and heart, he led orchestras in Oslo, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam and Munich. These early Rachmaninov and late Beethoven recordings are outstanding.

Today I came across paintings by the late British artist Mike Hall (1937-2025). They are my cup of tea. His luminous yet quiet scenes focus on quiet interiors, British coastal landscapes, and solitary figures. Hall created a strong sense of mood and narrative with a subtle use of light.

Happy Positivity Monday. Do it now. 

A reminder that All Creatures Great and Small, Season Six, makes its premiere tonight on your local PBS station.

Last night at the Under The Beams concert in New Harmony, Indiana, Latin-Grammy nominees Jorge Glem and Sam Reider gave us a Venezuela-to-Brooklyn blend that got the 2026 season off to a great start.

Happy 85th birthday to national-treasure folk singer Joan Baez. I first heard her classic 1975 album Diamonds and Rust in 1977 and fell in love with its title track (about her relationship with Bob Dylan). Don’t miss her amazing and funny send up of him in Simple Twist of Fate.

Happy Friday. Time to enjoy your coffee and start the day. Art: “Coffee and Croissant” - Postcard from Provence by Julian Merrow-Smith, oil on board, April 2025.

For music collectors, the fun thing about celebrating musicians’ birthdays is the chance to pull music you haven’t heard in years off the shelves. That happened to me today, because it was the birthday of 20th century French composer Francis Poulenc (1899-1963). Joyeux anniversaire!

Congratulations to pianist Simon Callaghan and the Royal Northern Sinfonia on being selected an Editor’s Choice in the January issue of Gramophone Magazine for their superb recording of piano concertos by Williams Sterndale Bennett on Lyrita.

Happy First Positivity Monday of 2026. Make it Great.

Collecting CDs often means discovering artists whose work is featured on the covers. This series of piano works of Finnish composer Selim Palmgren (1878-1951) led me to learn about his contemporary artists Pekka Halonen and Väinö Blomstedt today.

Happy belated birthday (yesterday) to British composer Michael Tippett (1905-1998): "I am quite certain... that modern music and modern art is not a conspiracy, but is a form of truth and integrity for those who practise it honestly, decently and with all their being."

Happy Friday, friends. Grab a chair and have a cup. Your day and weekend lie ahead.

Pastoral - Celebrating the birthday of 20th century British composer Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950). The son of an Irish father and English mother, Moeran composed evocative, lyrical works imbued with the folk music of England and Ireland he loved. His symphony with Boult on Lyrita is special.

Congratulations to composer Max Richter for being awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to music. “To be recognised for my part in the wonderful world of human music truly is something I am deeply grateful for,” he said. His score for Hamlet is up for an Oscar.

Today, International Cello Day, we celebrate the birth of cellist-humanitarian Pablo Casals (1876-1973). "My first obligation is to the welfare of my fellow man. I will endeavor to meet this obligation through music, since it transcends language, politics, and national boundaries.”

myaskofiev 2 December 29 is InternationalCelloDay, which commemorates the birth of Pablo Casals (1876-1973). He was virtually unknown in Russia when brought there by Alexander Siloti in 1905. Their friendship contributed to Casals returning for concert tours every year up until 1914.

Happy positivity Monday. Have hope.

Tonight, I’m thinking about American pianist and piano teacher Gary Graffman (1928-2025), who passed away at home in New York earlier today. He was part of a remarkable generation of American virtuosos that included Byron Janis and Leon Fleischer. May he rest in peace.

Happy Friday. Have a cup, take a walk, and enjoy this day after in peace. #postcardfromProvence

Santa’s getting them ready!

Happy Positivity Monday! Notice them.

Happy Winter Solstice! As we slowly tilt towards the sun, every day will bring us more daylight to enjoy. Later, buds, green leaves and a warm breeze. Until then, take another run down that hill. Art: Norman Rockwell, Sledding, 1959, Norman Rockwell Museum.

It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans. 🧵 1 of 9

Happy 77th Birthday to pianist Mitsuko Uchida. Revered as an interpreter of Schubert, she is outstanding in Mozart, too. Her approach to his music ideally balances warmth and restraint. She is in the process of rerecording the concertos, directing the Cleveland from the piano.

Suffragists didn't just march. They baked, held bake sales and sold cookbooks to raise money for the cause of equality.

Happiest of Birthdays to cellist Steven Isserlis, one of my favorite musicians. He champions the sublime music of Gabriel Fauré, artistry of cellist Danil Shafran, and comedy of Harpo Marx (curly his kind of Marx Brother). Thank you, Steven Isserlis, for sharing your joy for life.

Happy Friyay! Take a sip of coffee, and – as my friend Laura said this morning - gift yourself a moment of peace.

Let It Snow - For some reason, this morning has me thinking of show-covered Connecticut hills and Michigan streets immobilized by a blanket of it. Time to share works by Willard Leroy Metcalf, my favorite American painter of snow scenes (these, Cornish, NH). He saw snow's beauty others did not.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), history’s great musical genius, also is my favorite composer. There are more recordings (OK, hundreds) of his music in my collection, including 38 sets of the symphonies. Of these, I’ve listened most to these conductors (bias: Karajan and Wand).

Happy birthday, big guy! He was most likely born on this date in 1770. His friends at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra certainly knew how to mark his 250th birthday five years ago. Yes, I had to get the T-shirt!