WEBVTT 00:00:26.379 --> 00:00:28.800 That was Scriabin's Nocturne for the Left Hand, 00:00:28.980 --> 00:00:31.879 Op. 9 No. 2, and it was performed by Nicholas 00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:34.960 McCarthy. I'm Erica Worth and welcome to this 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.060 Pianist Podcast. Today I am catching up with 00:00:38.060 --> 00:00:40.960 the British pianist Nicholas McCarthy, who, having 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:44.219 been born without a right hand, talks to me about 00:00:44.219 --> 00:00:48.899 his many inspiring achievements. Nicholas, it's 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:51.000 so wonderful to have you on the Pianist Podcast 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:53.939 today. Thanks for being here. Thank you so much. 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.460 It's lovely to be on this, so thank you. you're 00:00:56.460 --> 00:00:59.079 absolutely welcome i think it would be really 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:01.399 helpful for listeners to hear about your background 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:04.400 i mean having been born without your right hand 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:07.280 did you ever think you'd be a concert pianist 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:10.400 Yeah, obviously not. I mean, it's not the first 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:12.299 thing that anyone would think of, you know, being 00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:14.180 born without my right hand, you know, being a 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:16.500 concert pianist. No, certainly not the first 00:01:16.500 --> 00:01:20.719 on the list of career choices. And I had I come 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:22.340 from a very normal background. You know, I'm 00:01:22.340 --> 00:01:24.359 an only child, mum and dad, you know, just normal 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:27.599 working people. And, you know. kind of humble 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:29.739 background you know didn't have some country 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:32.000 estate somewhere or you know likewise didn't 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.799 have some famous concert violinist aunt or anything 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.400 like that so it was just very normal background 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:40.040 and I didn't start and I had a completely unmusical 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.900 childhood so you know the closest that I got 00:01:43.900 --> 00:01:47.000 to any music would be mum and dad doing the dishes 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:48.560 listening to the radio and that would be pop 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.620 stuff you know it certainly wasn't you know radio 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:54.510 three or anything like that and and I didn't. 00:01:54.510 --> 00:01:56.689 So I had this kind of unmusical childhood, didn't 00:01:56.689 --> 00:01:58.569 know anything about classical music whatsoever. 00:01:59.049 --> 00:02:03.069 And I then was in my school assembly and I saw 00:02:03.069 --> 00:02:05.290 a friend of mine who was a very good pianist. 00:02:05.329 --> 00:02:09.240 I'd seen her play many times before. But this 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:11.620 particular time, she was playing for, I don't 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:13.379 know, an awards thing. She was always asked to 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:14.960 do something because obviously, you know, she 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:18.060 was the only talented one, really, in our school. 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:21.000 So she was wheeled out for everything. And she 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.419 performed the first movement of Beethoven's Waldstein 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:27.719 Sonata. And all I can describe it, Erica, is 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:30.919 just this outer body experience and this kind 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:35.699 of real changing point in my life as a 14 -year 00:02:35.699 --> 00:02:39.060 -old boy. One that, you know, you would hear 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:41.180 like Oprah Winfrey describe on her talk show, 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:43.780 you know, this kind of thing that I heard this 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:46.800 and by the final crashing chords of the first 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.900 movement. My life had kind of been changed and 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:52.379 it had been changed forever. And I decided at 00:02:52.379 --> 00:02:55.960 that very moment that I was going to play the 00:02:55.960 --> 00:02:58.099 piano for a living. Now, obviously, I didn't 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:00.060 know what a concert pianist was. You know, I 00:03:00.060 --> 00:03:01.879 didn't have a clue. But remember, I really knew 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:04.599 nothing about music at this point. But I knew 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:07.300 that I wanted to communicate something and I 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:10.960 wanted music to be that vessel for me. in way 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.460 to communicate. And I think the fact that I was 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:16.860 14, you know, I was filled with teenage invincibility. 00:03:17.139 --> 00:03:19.199 You know, it's so easy to become a national. 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:21.560 It's so easy to become a gold medalist Olympian. 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:23.819 In my case, so easy to become a one -handed concert 00:03:23.819 --> 00:03:26.199 pianist, you know. And so because of that teenage 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:31.120 invincibility, you know, I was very open to everything. 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:33.699 I was like, you know, the possibilities are endless. 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:36.360 And that's how it started, really. That's how 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:40.310 my love of piano kind of begun. Goodness. Wow, 00:03:40.349 --> 00:03:43.030 that's so interesting. So from then on, I believe 00:03:43.030 --> 00:03:46.479 you went to the Guildhall? Yeah, so I started 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:50.099 with a local teacher down the road from me and 00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:53.139 very quickly I kind of did my first grades. I 00:03:53.139 --> 00:03:55.680 did my grades as a two -handed pianist. So I 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:57.699 used to play with what I call my little arm. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.120 So any listeners, I was born without my right 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:03.219 arm and my arm stops just below the elbow. So 00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:05.479 I have my elbow and a little bit of forearm and 00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:08.479 then that's it. But I can play a single note 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:10.759 with my little arm. So anything like, you know, 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:13.340 the famous Mozart sonata in C, I used to be able 00:04:13.340 --> 00:04:15.310 to play. My left hand would do... Alberti bass 00:04:15.310 --> 00:04:18.069 and my right arm would play a single note and 00:04:18.069 --> 00:04:21.250 so I did my grade two and my grade four ABRSM 00:04:21.250 --> 00:04:23.550 grades as a two -handed pianist playing standard 00:04:23.550 --> 00:04:26.970 repertoire and it wasn't till I um and then my 00:04:26.970 --> 00:04:29.629 current teacher that then she she encouraged 00:04:29.629 --> 00:04:33.759 me to audition for She felt that I had something 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:35.699 special, that I had something to say that she 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:40.860 wanted to cultivate in a school. So, yes, I went 00:04:40.860 --> 00:04:43.060 to the Junior Guildhall at 17. And so it was 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:44.699 quite a whirlwind. And then obviously into the 00:04:44.699 --> 00:04:47.720 Royal College at 19. So it was a real, from 14 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:51.420 to 19 at the RCM, you know, a really quick progression. 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:53.899 And at that point, when you went to the Guildhall 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:56.959 and Royal College of Music, you then became a 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:00.740 left hand. That's correct. Yeah. So I was encouraged 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:03.939 to kind of wave goodbye to my beloved repertoire, 00:05:03.980 --> 00:05:06.220 my Mozart, my Mendelssohn, all these things that 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:08.800 I, you know, these composers who I grew to know 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.040 and love, but sadly didn't write anything for 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:13.660 Left Hand Alone. I was then encouraged to specialise 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:15.819 in left hand repertoire, which was the absolute 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:19.279 right decision. And yeah, obviously that came 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:21.339 with its own challenges as well, because, you 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:23.579 know, I was, you know, only played the piano 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:25.800 for a number of years, literally a number of 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:28.709 years on one hand. and then all of a sudden thrust 00:05:28.709 --> 00:05:30.490 into the world of left -hand repertoire, which, 00:05:30.589 --> 00:05:32.730 as you know, is incredibly tough. You know, there's 00:05:32.730 --> 00:05:35.790 no kind of intermediary stuff. It's all big, 00:05:35.970 --> 00:05:39.870 big concert pieces and incredibly tough 20th 00:05:39.870 --> 00:05:42.610 century repertoire or late 19th century repertoire. 00:05:42.810 --> 00:05:46.129 So that posed, you know, some challenges as well. 00:05:46.170 --> 00:05:48.470 But, you know, I fell in love with that new repertoire 00:05:48.470 --> 00:05:52.290 and enjoyed kind of uncovering as much as I could. 00:05:52.689 --> 00:05:54.730 That's amazing. You must have had some very supportive 00:05:54.730 --> 00:05:57.899 teachers. Yeah, definitely. I mean, my first 00:05:57.899 --> 00:06:00.899 teacher, Laura, who, you know, when I was doing 00:06:00.899 --> 00:06:02.759 my early grades, she was lovely because she was 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:05.379 a music student herself. So she was young. She 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:07.360 reminded me of Alicia Keys. So I kind of looked 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:10.810 up to her and she, because she was young. And 00:06:10.810 --> 00:06:13.370 she was, again, open. She had a very open mind 00:06:13.370 --> 00:06:14.810 with that. So when you're teaching someone with 00:06:14.810 --> 00:06:17.029 a disability like me, I think that was helpful 00:06:17.029 --> 00:06:19.230 that she could really think outside of the box. 00:06:19.490 --> 00:06:22.790 And then obviously Nigel Clayton, my lovely teacher 00:06:22.790 --> 00:06:26.250 at the RCM, who I still will play. I've got a 00:06:26.250 --> 00:06:29.069 concerto that I'm coming up. I'll still go to 00:06:29.069 --> 00:06:31.129 him and he'll play second piano for me and we'll 00:06:31.129 --> 00:06:34.029 still have a chat. And he'll often offer some 00:06:34.029 --> 00:06:38.430 perspective on certain things. And he was great 00:06:38.430 --> 00:06:42.589 because I... I wait. knew my career wouldn't 00:06:42.589 --> 00:06:45.230 be a standard career you know for numerous reasons 00:06:45.230 --> 00:06:48.089 you know I have one hand so I'm only able I couldn't 00:06:48.089 --> 00:06:50.930 do 120 concerts a year even if that was offered 00:06:50.930 --> 00:06:53.550 to me you know because my you know the left hand 00:06:53.550 --> 00:06:55.470 repertoire is incredibly tough and yet that that 00:06:55.470 --> 00:06:58.430 one single hand you know it it's it's a different 00:06:58.430 --> 00:07:01.209 kettle of fish two I like doing other things 00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:02.730 you know I do a lot of presenting I do a lot 00:07:02.730 --> 00:07:05.750 of public speaking so I I knew I had these other 00:07:05.750 --> 00:07:08.170 um strings to my bow and Nigel really understood 00:07:08.170 --> 00:07:10.610 that about me and really could understand what 00:07:10.670 --> 00:07:13.889 what my career could could be you know it's very 00:07:13.889 --> 00:07:16.089 interesting when you say that because I haven't 00:07:16.089 --> 00:07:17.970 actually thought about it you're just playing 00:07:17.970 --> 00:07:22.230 with your left hand and so you know if if Us 00:07:22.230 --> 00:07:24.509 pianists with both our hands, if we were practising 00:07:24.509 --> 00:07:27.069 only with our left hand every day, day in, day 00:07:27.069 --> 00:07:30.230 out, I mean, it's quite a stress on the hand, 00:07:30.350 --> 00:07:32.509 isn't it? It's an incredible stress on the hand. 00:07:32.550 --> 00:07:34.449 If you think about it, you know, what I'm doing 00:07:34.449 --> 00:07:37.230 in a 90 -minute recital with five fingers versus 00:07:37.230 --> 00:07:39.069 a 90 -minute recital with a two -handed pianist, 00:07:39.069 --> 00:07:40.930 you know, there are some reprieves in the right 00:07:40.930 --> 00:07:42.589 hand and the left hand when you've got two hands. 00:07:42.689 --> 00:07:44.990 You know, these little moments where the tension 00:07:44.990 --> 00:07:47.290 can be released, whereas in left -hand repertoire, 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:49.290 you know, there really isn't, apart from the 00:07:49.290 --> 00:07:51.110 end of the piece where the pedal comes up and 00:07:51.110 --> 00:07:53.509 there's... silence apart from that you know there's 00:07:53.509 --> 00:07:55.689 something going on all the time and and of course 00:07:55.689 --> 00:07:59.290 that I factor in into my practice into my rehearsal 00:07:59.290 --> 00:08:02.250 schedule into my my performing schedule you know 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:04.870 as well that that's very important yeah I mean 00:08:04.870 --> 00:08:07.009 you can't do like and there are some pianists 00:08:07.009 --> 00:08:09.490 in music school that practice hours like six 00:08:09.490 --> 00:08:13.100 hours eight hours It's not possible, is it? No. 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:14.819 Well, when I first went to the Royal College, 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:17.339 obviously, you know, get flung into this wonderful 00:08:17.339 --> 00:08:19.019 world of, you know, these Russian competition 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:23.839 winners and music. Amazing. Fabulous. And and, 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.680 you know, you're this new student. And I remember 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:29.160 thinking, oh, God, I need to be doing six, seven, 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:31.379 eight hours a day. And again, it was Nigel who 00:08:31.379 --> 00:08:34.940 said. no and I was I was trying I'm sailing miserably 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:36.840 you know and I was getting really bad hand strain 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:39.139 probably on the verge of tendonitis I imagine 00:08:39.139 --> 00:08:41.779 right right back in my first year and he said 00:08:41.779 --> 00:08:44.360 he said you need to just think about you're doing 00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:46.759 different repertoire here and different you know 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:49.899 it's incredibly tough um and he said just think 00:08:49.899 --> 00:08:52.519 about two to three hours and see how you go so 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:55.320 really I tend to do about three hours which for 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.340 a concert pianist isn't many actually but for 00:08:58.340 --> 00:09:02.019 me that seems to to work I I managed to get done 00:09:02.019 --> 00:09:03.980 what I need to get done in three and and it's 00:09:03.980 --> 00:09:06.080 enough for my hand anything more than that I 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:08.970 do start to feel it I'm sure. I'm sure. Well, 00:09:09.149 --> 00:09:10.590 it must have paid off because you were the first 00:09:10.590 --> 00:09:12.730 one handed pianist to graduate from the Royal 00:09:12.730 --> 00:09:15.190 College of Music. Is that right? Yeah, that was 00:09:15.190 --> 00:09:16.730 right. I mean, I didn't realise that, of course, 00:09:16.750 --> 00:09:18.850 during the whole time I was studying there until 00:09:18.850 --> 00:09:21.590 the graduation day. My professor, Nigel, who 00:09:21.590 --> 00:09:23.330 I mentioned, he rang and he said, Nick, he said, 00:09:23.370 --> 00:09:25.169 now you're about to actually walk on stage and 00:09:25.169 --> 00:09:27.450 collect your scroll. He said, do you know you've 00:09:27.450 --> 00:09:29.230 made history in the College of History? There's 00:09:29.230 --> 00:09:30.950 been none other. And of course, that was that 00:09:30.950 --> 00:09:32.750 was lovely. You know, once we confirmed it with 00:09:32.750 --> 00:09:34.190 the college and everything, that was really lovely 00:09:34.190 --> 00:09:37.090 and extra special something for my for my grade. 00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:39.779 graduation and you've been honoured by the king 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:43.679 yeah so that was in 2018 yeah the RCM they made 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:45.759 me an honorary member which was lovely so that 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:47.879 was again a very special moment and it was lovely 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:49.980 to be alongside you know Sir Andrew Schiff was 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:52.019 was being honoured at the same on the same time 00:09:52.019 --> 00:09:54.460 so got to meet him and spend some time with him 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:56.559 as well so that was very special for me as a 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:58.240 periodist especially you know of course it's 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:00.720 fantastic it's fantastic I mean going back to 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.460 the repertoire There's so much gorgeous repertoire. 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:06.659 And on your album, your solo album, as it's called, 00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:10.519 you play some fabulous pieces, you know, by Scriabin, 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:13.200 original pieces, but also all these yummy arrangements. 00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:16.279 I guess there are a lot of arrangements out there 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.840 as well. Yeah, I mean, I've made a lot of my 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:22.720 own arrangements. You know, I'm very, I always 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:24.879 think no matter when I'm programming a recital 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:28.149 or likewise an album. Yes. I always think of 00:10:28.149 --> 00:10:30.490 my audience. So, of course, a lot of them are 00:10:30.490 --> 00:10:33.149 not going to have heard, you know, Brahms' Chaconne 00:10:33.149 --> 00:10:34.649 or they're not going to have heard Blumenfeld's 00:10:34.649 --> 00:10:37.289 Etude or whatever. And they'll enjoy listening 00:10:37.289 --> 00:10:39.450 to them, I hope. But at the same time, I feel 00:10:39.450 --> 00:10:42.370 that listeners' ears, including my own, you know, 00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:45.889 thinking from personal experience, are much more, 00:10:45.929 --> 00:10:47.809 we're much more ready to listen to something 00:10:47.809 --> 00:10:52.509 unfamiliar. when we've been warmed up with something 00:10:52.509 --> 00:10:56.950 familiar. And so I'm very keen to add onto any 00:10:56.950 --> 00:10:58.870 recording I do, or likewise into any programme, 00:10:58.950 --> 00:11:02.210 some pieces that just... are familiar to people. 00:11:02.269 --> 00:11:03.990 So that's where my own arranging comes in. Or 00:11:03.990 --> 00:11:05.389 likewise, I've worked with various different 00:11:05.389 --> 00:11:08.190 arrangers around the world, actually, who've 00:11:08.190 --> 00:11:11.730 written for me. And because I then feel, one, 00:11:11.789 --> 00:11:14.210 on a commercial level, on an album, that's good. 00:11:14.309 --> 00:11:16.649 But secondly, I feel that they're then much more 00:11:16.649 --> 00:11:19.370 open to listening to repertoire that you absolutely 00:11:19.370 --> 00:11:22.019 wouldn't have heard before. that's fascinating 00:11:22.019 --> 00:11:25.179 that's absolutely fascinating and i believe um 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:28.879 tell me about the first abrsm graded syllabus 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:32.679 for one hand which you launched in 2024. yeah 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:36.000 what did that comprise of so obviously for me 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.759 you know I've had to jump through many a hoop 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.100 in my career. And as you would have known, we've 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:42.720 known each other for many, many years as well. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.519 You know, it's not been an easy road, of course, 00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:47.840 when you've got a limb difference and wanting 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:49.700 to be a concert pianist, it's hard. It's a bit 00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:52.500 like swimming upstream. And so I didn't want 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:55.919 that. to be a barrier for younger people or people 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:58.519 who have acquired disabilities. You know, most, 00:11:58.620 --> 00:12:00.879 you know, anyone can become disabled at any point. 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:03.440 You know, stroke, you can lose the whole side 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:05.539 of your body, car accident, whatever. And so 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:09.409 I wanted to... allow people not to jump through 00:12:09.409 --> 00:12:12.669 the hoops that I had to jump through and so when 00:12:12.669 --> 00:12:15.009 when I approached ABRSM we did this collaboration 00:12:15.009 --> 00:12:18.450 and and we've just finished now grade grade eight 00:12:18.450 --> 00:12:21.190 that will be coming out next year I believe so 00:12:21.190 --> 00:12:24.190 now now from initial grade right through to grade 00:12:24.190 --> 00:12:27.860 eight you can do your exams for any hand, one 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:31.879 right hand or left hand. And so it's really opened 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:34.659 up a whole world for people who thought that 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:37.580 this was completely not for them. And so it's 00:12:37.580 --> 00:12:39.559 something I'm incredibly proud of, actually. 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:41.360 It's probably one of the few things in my career 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.320 where I'm very, very proud of it. And I'm so 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:46.879 thrilled that the response has been fantastic. 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:48.840 You know, the messages I get online from people, 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:50.659 oh, I've just done my grade or whatever. And, 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:52.720 you know, it's really great. It's really great. 00:12:53.230 --> 00:12:54.750 doesn't often think about repertoire for the 00:12:54.750 --> 00:12:58.000 right hand. Yeah, well, as you know, there's 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:00.559 really not a great deal of repertoire for the 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:02.059 right hand. I always joke and say, you know, 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:03.759 thankfully I was born the right way round in 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:05.960 the sense I've got my left hand that I can, you 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:07.740 know, have access to all this wonderful repertoire. 00:13:07.820 --> 00:13:10.840 But again, through commissioning and we worked 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:15.320 with ABRSM composer scheme and they wrote some 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:17.240 new works for right hand. There are a couple 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:19.700 of works for right hand, you know, in the repertoire. 00:13:19.779 --> 00:13:21.720 But again, there's just not a huge amount. So 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:24.759 we've managed to correct that and try to expand 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:27.120 that. And again, this will be an ongoing thing. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:28.899 This will be expanded, you know, throughout. 00:13:29.059 --> 00:13:31.460 But for now, there's plenty of repertoire for 00:13:31.460 --> 00:13:34.820 either hand and for students to be able to take, 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:37.659 which is which is exciting. Fantastic. I mean, 00:13:37.659 --> 00:13:40.659 obviously, some pianists with both hands do perform 00:13:40.659 --> 00:13:43.879 left hand repertoire. Do you think this is a 00:13:43.879 --> 00:13:46.320 good thing as a means of getting this music known 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:49.940 to a wider audience? I would. I mean, I've spoken 00:13:49.940 --> 00:13:53.500 about this and I'm always very honest in my interviews. 00:13:55.049 --> 00:13:59.049 It's a literal half and half. I'm thrilled that 00:13:59.049 --> 00:14:01.610 I get to hear other people's interpretations, 00:14:01.870 --> 00:14:04.710 especially when it's a star pianist like Yuja 00:14:04.710 --> 00:14:06.669 Wang playing Ravel left -hand concerto or something 00:14:06.669 --> 00:14:09.529 like that. I get excited as a left -hand pianist. 00:14:09.669 --> 00:14:12.809 At the same time, and this is me being completely 00:14:12.809 --> 00:14:16.000 honest. Yes. It is quite irking sometimes where 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:18.740 you have a pianist who has, you know, access 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:20.820 to a huge amount of repertoire, you know, and 00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:22.759 they can play everything. They play Raktuta that 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:24.659 comes out of the roof. And then they've chosen 00:14:24.659 --> 00:14:26.299 maybe not the Ravel because that's obviously 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:28.440 a very, very famous concerto, but perhaps a lesser 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:30.940 known left -hand concerto. And that's what they're 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:32.840 going around touring. And I'm kind of, you know, 00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:35.779 that's... And it's just me being human, isn't 00:14:35.779 --> 00:14:38.279 it? It's that kind of thing. Okay, well, you 00:14:38.279 --> 00:14:40.600 know, let's think of the authenticity behind 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:43.000 why this piece was written. It was written for 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:45.139 a one -handed pianist, not a two -handed pianist. 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:46.899 You know, where does that conversation start 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:49.740 and end? That's not up to me to decide. But obviously 00:14:49.740 --> 00:14:52.220 my feelings, you know, being human, I think everyone 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:54.779 would be the same. But like I said, it doesn't 00:14:54.779 --> 00:14:56.879 take away from the fact that there is also joy 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.860 from me. So it's very much split in my mind, 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:02.970 you know, how I view it. That's a really, I can 00:15:02.970 --> 00:15:05.549 understand even more so with concertos. Because 00:15:05.549 --> 00:15:07.490 you're right, there's so many great concertos 00:15:07.490 --> 00:15:10.929 out there. Maybe a pianist playing the odd Scriabin 00:15:10.929 --> 00:15:13.429 left hand piece at the, whatever is a different 00:15:13.429 --> 00:15:16.769 thing. Yeah. So it's an interesting one, isn't 00:15:16.769 --> 00:15:19.330 it? And again, it's, and like I said, I'm half 00:15:19.330 --> 00:15:23.269 and half. I get joy and not joy from the same 00:15:23.269 --> 00:15:26.679 thing. I can totally get that. But I mean, your 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:29.840 achievements, they go on and on. Last year, you 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:32.440 gave your prom's debut with Ravel's left hand 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:34.820 concerto. And I believe you said a dream come 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:38.220 true. Oh, it really was. I mean, it was just 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:40.919 it was everything I wanted it to be and more. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:45.179 And obviously, it's such a baptism of fire doing 00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:48.059 your prom's debut, you know, and you get a lot 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:49.679 of attention. And obviously, it was televised 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:52.700 and all of that stuff. And so, you know, talk 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:55.620 about pressure. But I'm so pleased with how it 00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:58.820 went. And the response was just fantastic. And 00:15:58.820 --> 00:16:00.899 it was just such a joyous occasion. And, you 00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:03.100 know, I mean, even now there was a little clip 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:05.620 come on. I was watching something the other day, 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:09.200 a recording of a drama. And it was obviously 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:11.850 recorded. from live television it was due it 00:16:11.850 --> 00:16:14.090 was during the summer so it had the prompts and 00:16:14.090 --> 00:16:16.529 advert in it which they the prompt had used me 00:16:16.529 --> 00:16:19.129 in in the advert bit from my from my debut and 00:16:19.129 --> 00:16:21.490 even then i kind of got shivers you know a little 00:16:21.490 --> 00:16:24.289 tingle thinking god was that really me you know 00:16:24.289 --> 00:16:26.549 it's kind of it was such a moment for me and 00:16:26.549 --> 00:16:29.809 my family and and friends and and it was it was 00:16:29.809 --> 00:16:32.350 yeah it was it was great it was was it nerve 00:16:32.350 --> 00:16:36.779 -wracking um the nerves happened for about a 00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:39.179 year prior because obviously I knew way in advance 00:16:39.179 --> 00:16:42.820 um and I was nervous really for a whole year 00:16:42.820 --> 00:16:47.539 until the day I had Erica I promise you I was 00:16:47.539 --> 00:16:51.139 so calm on that day I walked out and I just felt 00:16:51.139 --> 00:16:53.600 like happy to be there and just thrilled and 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:55.740 it was so strange because like I said the nerves 00:16:55.740 --> 00:16:58.740 were absolutely present all the way up to it 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:00.919 but on the day they were there were no nerves 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:03.539 it was the most chilled I'd feel like in any 00:17:03.539 --> 00:17:05.460 concert, really, which was just bizarre. But 00:17:05.460 --> 00:17:08.039 I was thankful for it, you know. That is incredible. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:10.420 And you gave an encore too, of course. I did 00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:12.359 my opposite. I had to do my Scriabin. You know 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.759 me, I love that Scriabin Nocturne. And of course, 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:18.259 I wanted to play something that meant a lot to 00:17:18.259 --> 00:17:21.230 me and had been part of my... my journey you 00:17:21.230 --> 00:17:22.930 know I've always played that was the first piece 00:17:22.930 --> 00:17:24.450 of left -hand repertoire that I ever learned 00:17:24.450 --> 00:17:27.730 and um and it's very special plus it's a wonderful 00:17:27.730 --> 00:17:29.869 work so I wanted to to play that to the audience 00:17:29.869 --> 00:17:33.529 Scriabin is divine isn't he I mean yeah absolutely 00:17:34.149 --> 00:17:36.430 Yeah. Why don't we get back to your motivational 00:17:36.430 --> 00:17:38.569 speaking, which I think is really interesting. 00:17:38.789 --> 00:17:41.710 How did you get into that? So like with most, 00:17:41.710 --> 00:17:43.890 I mean, I fell into it. So it was years ago. 00:17:43.910 --> 00:17:46.650 I'd kind of done a bit of telly stuff. And my 00:17:46.650 --> 00:17:48.789 name was just starting kind of getting getting 00:17:48.789 --> 00:17:52.470 out there. And I got invited to do a TED talk 00:17:52.470 --> 00:17:55.269 when I'd never heard of TED at the time. I didn't 00:17:55.269 --> 00:17:58.130 know that it was this massive global brand. And 00:17:58.130 --> 00:18:01.430 and my agent said, you know. Actually, there's 00:18:01.430 --> 00:18:03.390 no money in it, but do you want to do it? It's 00:18:03.390 --> 00:18:04.869 at the Royal Albert Hall. You know, it's in front 00:18:04.869 --> 00:18:06.950 of 6 ,000 people. Oh, yeah, go for it. You know, 00:18:06.970 --> 00:18:11.690 being early 20s. And I really enjoyed it. I spoke 00:18:11.690 --> 00:18:14.890 about my story, my journey, you know, triumph 00:18:14.890 --> 00:18:17.910 over adversity and how to overcome challenges 00:18:17.910 --> 00:18:20.069 and how to overcome obstacles. I kind of just 00:18:20.069 --> 00:18:22.710 shared it in this life interest way. And it went 00:18:22.710 --> 00:18:25.920 down really well. About a week, two weeks later, 00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:29.599 I got an invite from ITV for a conference that 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:31.480 they were doing and they were, you know, offering 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:33.519 a very handsome fee. And I was very shocked at 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:35.700 that and thought, OK, great, lovely. And then 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:37.779 Goldman Sachs contacted me and asked the same 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:39.940 thing. And again, and then I realised that it 00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:42.339 was actually a career. You know, people did this 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:44.039 for a full -time job and obviously it was never 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:46.000 going to be my full -time job. But yeah, since 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:48.559 that moment, really, I mean, I've done three 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.460 TED Talks to date, but I've spoken for some of 00:18:51.460 --> 00:18:54.460 the biggest brands all over, you know, like GlaxoSmithKline 00:18:54.460 --> 00:18:57.460 and, you know, lots of places and gone all over 00:18:57.460 --> 00:18:59.099 the world with it. So it's a part of my job, 00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:02.900 which I love because one, and I do include the 00:19:02.900 --> 00:19:05.840 piano. I always give a performance as part. So, 00:19:05.840 --> 00:19:08.140 you know, these people, you know, if I do a conference 00:19:08.140 --> 00:19:11.119 in South America for Pfizer, for instance, or 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:13.650 somebody like that. These are people who necessarily 00:19:13.650 --> 00:19:16.069 wouldn't be tuning into classical music. They 00:19:16.069 --> 00:19:18.410 wouldn't necessarily be into piano music. They 00:19:18.410 --> 00:19:19.970 wouldn't be watching the proms, for instance. 00:19:20.150 --> 00:19:22.970 But my story and me being there and then bringing 00:19:22.970 --> 00:19:26.170 them, say, some Scriven or some Brahms or whatever 00:19:26.170 --> 00:19:29.529 that I'm performing for them, it's bringing that 00:19:29.529 --> 00:19:31.670 audience into something that really they probably 00:19:31.670 --> 00:19:34.670 wouldn't have sought out themselves. So it's, 00:19:34.670 --> 00:19:37.529 again, it's a part of my job, which I love. And 00:19:37.529 --> 00:19:40.250 it's, again, it comes down to, for me, down to 00:19:40.250 --> 00:19:43.230 communication. about like I said when I first 00:19:43.230 --> 00:19:45.230 started I knew I wanted to communicate and I 00:19:45.230 --> 00:19:47.910 knew music was going to be the way to do it obviously 00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:51.029 now music and words but you know it's the same 00:19:51.029 --> 00:19:53.490 thing yeah well it's obvious that you really 00:19:53.490 --> 00:19:56.289 enjoy and you're very good at presenting I mean 00:19:56.289 --> 00:19:58.690 even chatting with you is just so natural but 00:19:58.690 --> 00:20:01.410 you know I've seen you present at various music 00:20:01.410 --> 00:20:04.670 related events in fact I think you will be presenting 00:20:04.670 --> 00:20:06.769 an award very soon at the bbc music magazine 00:20:06.769 --> 00:20:09.769 awards yes that's yes so um that's exciting i 00:20:09.769 --> 00:20:11.410 don't know i'm not i mean obviously i don't know 00:20:11.410 --> 00:20:13.789 who's the winner but yeah i'm not sure i can 00:20:13.789 --> 00:20:16.049 say too much but very excited to to be there 00:20:16.049 --> 00:20:19.309 you know again a big a big um a big award ceremony 00:20:19.309 --> 00:20:21.309 for us in our industry so yeah wonderful to be 00:20:21.309 --> 00:20:23.339 part of that Great. Well, I'll see you there. 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:27.559 What else have you got coming up this year that 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:31.279 we should know about? So I'm giving my Glasshouse 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:35.460 debut up in Gateshead. playing with the Aurora 00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:37.920 Orchestra. Again, my debut with the Aurora Orchestra 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:40.660 and Nicholas Collon at Snape Maltese, which will 00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:43.599 be wonderful. And yeah, later on, obviously a 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:45.720 new album. I think it's about time. I've done 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:49.220 two albums to date and this will be my third. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:53.410 And yeah, I'm very excited about it. roughly 00:20:53.410 --> 00:20:56.269 2027 but you know these yeah these things are 00:20:56.269 --> 00:20:58.269 kind of you know long in the pipeline it's amazing 00:20:58.269 --> 00:21:01.190 how long a lead time sometimes these things happen 00:21:01.190 --> 00:21:03.569 but again I'm very very pleased about that and 00:21:03.569 --> 00:21:05.230 one of the things that just was announced the 00:21:05.230 --> 00:21:08.910 other week is I think I've spoken lots in interviews 00:21:08.910 --> 00:21:11.609 about how you know Paul Wittgenstein the godfather 00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:15.130 of left hand alone repertoire and Without him, 00:21:15.170 --> 00:21:17.430 I wouldn't have a career today because he commissioned 00:21:17.430 --> 00:21:20.309 the leading composers of the day. Now, the difference 00:21:20.309 --> 00:21:23.009 between him and me was he was a super wealthy 00:21:23.009 --> 00:21:25.589 socialite, you know, absolute come from. I'm 00:21:25.589 --> 00:21:27.529 sadly not. You know, my dad isn't a billionaire 00:21:27.529 --> 00:21:31.849 like his dad was. And so I'm really thrilled 00:21:31.849 --> 00:21:34.670 to be able to thank you to the Royal Philharmonic 00:21:34.670 --> 00:21:37.269 Society and also multiple orchestras who've come 00:21:37.269 --> 00:21:39.869 in on board with this. And I'm really happy to 00:21:39.869 --> 00:21:41.990 be able to commission the first female composer 00:21:41.990 --> 00:21:45.119 to write a major. left -hand piano concerto because 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:47.059 that hasn't been done yet and I thought now me 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:49.200 being you know almost the Paul Wittgenstein in 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:51.819 the 21st century to readdress that balance and 00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:53.700 to commission someone new so I'm thrilled to 00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:55.640 be working with Danny Howard the composer on 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:58.740 that um and again that will be premiered um it'll 00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:02.640 probably be 2028 but again lots of exciting things 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:06.000 in the pipeline um and yeah I know she's starting 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:08.720 writing that in July so yeah very excited about 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.259 that you haven't seen the score yet No, God, 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:14.380 no. No notes have been added to paper yet, no. 00:22:15.140 --> 00:22:17.599 And with regards to your next recording, have 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:20.599 you decided what you're going to be doing yet 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:23.559 or is it still mulling around in your head? The 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:25.519 repertoire's kind of there. One thing I will 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:28.980 say, I will be recording the Ravel Piano Concerto 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:32.000 for Left Hand. It will be my first concerto recording. 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:34.859 And I thought, you know... It's a concerto I'm 00:22:34.859 --> 00:22:36.680 always going to be asked to play. It is the most 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:39.519 famous left -hand concerto. Obviously off the 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:41.380 back of the proms last year, I thought, you know 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:45.079 what, let's get this recorded. So again, very 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:46.599 excited about that. And I'm going to have solo 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:49.779 repertoire around it. Fantastic. Oh, this is 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:51.519 wonderful. Listen, you've given us so much information 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.259 already, but now I thought we'd go a bit lighthearted. 00:22:54.539 --> 00:22:58.980 Okay, go for it. Even if you always sound lighthearted, 00:22:59.140 --> 00:23:04.700 in the nicest possible way. I would like to pose 00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:07.619 some lighthearted questions to you. And if you 00:23:07.619 --> 00:23:09.579 could just answer off the cuff, that would be 00:23:09.579 --> 00:23:13.319 wise. Here we go. The first one. If you could 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:16.559 play only one composer from now on, who would 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:21.799 it be? Ravel. Okay. Definitely. Definitely Ravel. 00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:23.839 But I always say, you know, I do play the Ravel 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.599 Piano Concerto a lot. But I'm always very thankful. 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:28.119 You know, if I could play it every single day 00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:29.519 for the rest of my life, I think I'd be a very 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:33.589 happy man. You know, I find it... Absolutely 00:23:33.589 --> 00:23:35.930 astonishing and sublime. And every time I play 00:23:35.930 --> 00:23:38.349 it, I discover something new in whether it's 00:23:38.349 --> 00:23:41.230 in the colours even or, you know, the tone quality 00:23:41.230 --> 00:23:43.890 and how different halls change the colours of 00:23:43.890 --> 00:23:46.849 things. I love discovering. So, yeah, probably, 00:23:47.089 --> 00:23:49.509 yeah, Ravel. Oh, how amazing. I mean, I just 00:23:49.509 --> 00:23:53.049 love that first movement. I just wish as well 00:23:53.049 --> 00:23:56.369 he wrote a left hand, you know. Kind of that's 00:23:56.369 --> 00:23:58.009 Bardell and we or something, you know, something 00:23:58.009 --> 00:23:59.829 like that. And he just didn't. And if he was 00:23:59.829 --> 00:24:01.990 alive today, I'd tell him off and say, please, 00:24:02.589 --> 00:24:05.250 can you give us like a large scale solo work? 00:24:05.289 --> 00:24:07.109 But anyway, for now, we've got the we've got 00:24:07.109 --> 00:24:12.589 the concerto. Oh, dear. OK, next one. One pianist 00:24:12.589 --> 00:24:15.309 dead or alive. You travel long and far to hear. 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:18.039 Well, I think you will agree with me on this, 00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:20.319 Mrs. Argerich. You know, obviously, we've got 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:23.099 your Martha Argerich. I adore her. I know you 00:24:23.099 --> 00:24:26.380 share in the adoration of her as well. I have 00:24:26.380 --> 00:24:29.859 seen her in concert quite a few times. And yes, 00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:32.200 obviously, you know, while she's still on this 00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:35.519 earth and long may she be healthy and well, I 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:39.940 will love to continue to try and get to see her. 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:43.319 I mean, she's just something else, isn't she? 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:45.779 It's just superhuman and just watching her and 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:48.799 even, you know, obviously as she's gotten older, 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:52.039 you know, I just think how her athleticism at 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:54.359 the piano and thing, I just think, wow, God, 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:56.700 if I could play, you know, a quarter as good 00:24:56.700 --> 00:24:58.839 as that at any point, let alone age, you know, 00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:01.750 I'd be very happy. I know. I know, no, she's 00:25:01.750 --> 00:25:04.509 something else. She really is. I think a lot 00:25:04.509 --> 00:25:06.509 of people feel that same way. Yes, I know. I 00:25:06.509 --> 00:25:09.009 was going to say, I bet any pianist you've interviewed, 00:25:09.089 --> 00:25:11.529 I'm sure they've all probably, she's been off 00:25:11.529 --> 00:25:12.829 the top of the list. And to have a photo with 00:25:12.829 --> 00:25:14.329 her. I think I have one or two photos with her. 00:25:14.390 --> 00:25:17.269 I'm like, yes! I was going to say, I know you've 00:25:17.269 --> 00:25:19.349 met her. I'm very jealous. I'm very jealous. 00:25:19.809 --> 00:25:25.170 You have to try. I know. Okay. One person, dead 00:25:25.170 --> 00:25:29.009 or alive, you'd love to play for? I'd love to 00:25:29.009 --> 00:25:33.190 play for Scribbin. I feel he really understood 00:25:33.190 --> 00:25:37.589 left -hand repertoire. He wrote The Prelude and 00:25:37.589 --> 00:25:40.369 The Nocturne, Opus 9, and obviously I play both 00:25:40.369 --> 00:25:44.730 often, as you know. He also is, and again, I 00:25:44.730 --> 00:25:48.910 would tell him off if I did meet him, he also 00:25:48.910 --> 00:25:53.180 was... known to play this third work a very large 00:25:53.180 --> 00:25:56.500 scale 12 13 minute long concert work for left 00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:59.119 hand alone that was meant to be amazing and he 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:01.220 he never notated it down he used to perform it 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:03.119 from memory and it obviously he never noted it 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:06.839 um so yes that was um so i would tell him off 00:26:06.839 --> 00:26:09.039 for that firstly but secondly i would say look 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:11.299 you know if i can play for you you know because 00:26:11.299 --> 00:26:13.660 he just knew left hand repertoire he just understood 00:26:13.660 --> 00:26:16.819 it um and i'd love to i'd love to perform for 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:18.640 him yeah he'd give you lots of helpful advice 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:22.910 there wouldn't he I think so, yes. Yes. Now, 00:26:23.069 --> 00:26:27.509 any technical struggles at the piano? Definitely. 00:26:27.549 --> 00:26:30.509 I mean, obviously, because I started so late 00:26:30.509 --> 00:26:33.730 at 14, when I was studying, you know, especially 00:26:33.730 --> 00:26:35.789 when I was at Guildhall and then going into the 00:26:35.789 --> 00:26:38.750 RCM, you know, I had lots of holes in my technique 00:26:38.750 --> 00:26:40.950 because I'd started so late, you know, and so 00:26:40.950 --> 00:26:45.299 I worked incredibly hard to sort that. I think 00:26:45.299 --> 00:26:47.380 strengths, I'm very good with fast octaves. I'm 00:26:47.380 --> 00:26:49.039 very good with that. I think things like, you 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:51.640 know, thirds, they're always tricky, us pianists, 00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:54.440 you know, and again, there's not many pieces 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:57.700 that require it. So when, in my repertoire, so 00:26:57.700 --> 00:26:59.819 when there are like a string of fast thirds, 00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:01.299 I'm like, oh God, this is going to, you know, 00:27:01.339 --> 00:27:04.119 take a little bit of work here, you know? So 00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:05.740 yes, I would say that they're always, they always 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:07.440 kind of make me kind of sit up a little bit. 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:10.579 But apart from that, no, it's okay. It's okay. 00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:13.279 I get around. That makes me laugh. I just think, 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:15.779 have you ever tried, Any of the Chopin etudes 00:27:15.779 --> 00:27:18.059 the other way, like just with the left hand? 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.319 Well, the Godofsky ones, obviously, they're incredibly 00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:23.960 tough. And I've done most of those. But no, I 00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:25.740 mean, obviously, the thirds, the Chopin thirds 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:28.660 etudes, you know, Godofsky never tried to transcribe 00:27:28.660 --> 00:27:30.420 that for left hand. And I'm very thankful for 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:33.839 that. That's very funny. Oh, dear. What would 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:36.420 be your advice to an amateur pianist about how 00:27:36.420 --> 00:27:43.079 to improve? I would say. Short and sweet practice 00:27:43.079 --> 00:27:45.039 sessions. I think some people, you know, especially 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:48.140 when they're a new learner or they're starting 00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:50.019 to get into the intermediate stuff, I think they 00:27:50.019 --> 00:27:51.460 feel that they need to be doing, you know, an 00:27:51.460 --> 00:27:53.740 hour or whatever. And I think personally, you 00:27:53.740 --> 00:27:55.920 know, doing short and sweet, 20 minutes, go and 00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:58.339 have a coffee, come back another 20 minutes. 00:27:58.359 --> 00:28:01.680 And I think doing that. slowly but surely I think 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:04.079 that's going to be the quickest way to to improve 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:06.359 and the other thing I would say is recording 00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:09.180 yourself and listening back I do that a lot especially 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:11.500 when you know when I was preparing for my Queen 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:13.619 Elizabeth Hall debut and things like that you 00:28:13.619 --> 00:28:18.160 know here I'm lucky I've got um a Yamaha um Inspire 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:20.500 piano so it does the recording and everything 00:28:20.500 --> 00:28:24.200 so I would record myself and then I'd sit here 00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:27.140 with a coffee and my notepad and I would self 00:28:27.140 --> 00:28:29.779 -critique basically and that's how I kind of 00:28:29.779 --> 00:28:32.940 prepare for you know a big recital or something 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:36.029 that's you know very very intensely I suppose, 00:28:36.130 --> 00:28:39.990 career important. And I would say for any pianist, 00:28:40.029 --> 00:28:42.509 it's great to record yourself and listen back 00:28:42.509 --> 00:28:45.789 because we just, we kind of create our own narrative 00:28:45.789 --> 00:28:47.789 sometimes of what we do or don't do. And when 00:28:47.789 --> 00:28:49.490 you, I mean, it's happened to me lots of times 00:28:49.490 --> 00:28:51.069 where I've been driving home late at night after 00:28:51.069 --> 00:28:53.470 a concert, you know, and there's someone, a piece 00:28:53.470 --> 00:28:56.109 that I play comes on the radio. And then I'm 00:28:56.109 --> 00:28:57.829 thinking, oh God, they play that very slowly. 00:28:57.930 --> 00:28:59.809 Oh God, that's quite interesting. And then they're 00:28:59.809 --> 00:29:01.589 like, oh, and that was Nicholas McCarthy playing 00:29:01.589 --> 00:29:04.269 that. Oh, my God. You know, because we change 00:29:04.269 --> 00:29:06.609 when we grow and we change how we play things 00:29:06.609 --> 00:29:09.049 and our tastes change. Yeah. But secondly, you 00:29:09.049 --> 00:29:11.369 know, it is funny. We have different perspectives 00:29:11.369 --> 00:29:14.009 of what we have done or how we've played. So, 00:29:14.089 --> 00:29:16.730 yeah, I think recording is a really good, valuable 00:29:16.730 --> 00:29:20.230 thing. Very interesting. Yeah. And also, I think 00:29:20.230 --> 00:29:24.009 we close our ears to sections that we don't think 00:29:24.009 --> 00:29:26.829 we play very well. It's like we we're used to 00:29:26.829 --> 00:29:30.750 closing our ears to get over it. Yes. He just 00:29:30.750 --> 00:29:33.349 gets through it, I know. Exactly. Oh, that's 00:29:33.349 --> 00:29:37.049 really interesting. If you weren't a pianist, 00:29:37.230 --> 00:29:42.630 what would you be? Probably, I want to, I mean, 00:29:42.670 --> 00:29:44.549 again, another two handed job. I'm drawn to all 00:29:44.549 --> 00:29:46.809 these two handed jobs for some reason. I wanted 00:29:46.809 --> 00:29:49.069 to be a chef before I was a pianist. I love cooking. 00:29:49.309 --> 00:29:51.769 I do a lot of cooking if I'm here and, you know, 00:29:51.769 --> 00:29:53.470 I have lots of dinner parties and things like 00:29:53.470 --> 00:29:56.349 that. So I'd probably be a chef. But knowing 00:29:56.349 --> 00:29:58.230 me, I'd want to be a TV chef, Erica. So, you 00:29:58.230 --> 00:29:59.670 know, I'd be doing something like that, you know, 00:29:59.710 --> 00:30:02.490 on your morning programme, cooking, you know, 00:30:02.589 --> 00:30:03.990 whatever. So, yeah, probably something like that. 00:30:03.990 --> 00:30:05.930 I think you should try that. I think you should 00:30:05.930 --> 00:30:09.589 try that. This could be your third... My third 00:30:09.589 --> 00:30:13.750 string to my bow. Exactly. I think you could 00:30:13.750 --> 00:30:18.569 do it, really. How to scramble eggs. Yeah, how 00:30:18.569 --> 00:30:24.069 to boil an egg with Nicholas McCarthy. Oh, Nicholas, 00:30:24.250 --> 00:30:26.390 listen, it's been an absolute delight speaking 00:30:26.390 --> 00:30:29.170 to you today. Oh, likewise. Thank you so much. 00:30:29.210 --> 00:30:30.529 It's been a pleasure to talk to you as always. 00:30:30.569 --> 00:30:32.630 But yeah, thank you for having me on. Time has 00:30:32.630 --> 00:30:35.130 flown, but I really wish you well for the rest 00:30:35.130 --> 00:30:37.410 of the year ahead. And I'll see you at the BBC 00:30:37.410 --> 00:30:39.769 Music Magazine Awards. I know. See you there. 00:30:39.869 --> 00:30:41.569 Look forward to it. You take care. Thank you. 00:30:41.630 --> 00:31:18.519 You too. Thanks, Nicholas. Bye. Bye. Bye. That 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:21.160 was Felix Blumenfeld's Etude for the Left Hand, 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:24.119 Op. 36, and it was performed by Nicholas McCarthy. 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:27.180 Pianist podcasts are free, and a really good 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:30.099 way to support what we do is by subscribing to 00:31:30.099 --> 00:31:33.000 Pianist. Visit our website at pianistmagazine 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:35.779 .com and listen to us on YouTube by searching 00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:38.680 Pianist Magazine. And don't forget to sign up 00:31:38.680 --> 00:31:41.059 to our newsletter, which is full of extra playing 00:31:41.059 --> 00:31:44.299 tips and useful information. Go to pianistmagazine 00:31:44.299 --> 00:31:46.640 .com to find out how to sign up.