Rob Young Piano

It was a fantastic line-up as part of the BBC Proms 2026 series, as the renowned conductor Sir Simon Rattle conducted three major works by Robert Schumann with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall.

It was standing room only in the arena, as Rattle conducted a smaller than usual orchestra for the Genoveva overture, and the violin concerto in D minor, led by the violinist Isabelle Faust.

The second half was louder with more instruments present for the Symphony No. 2, including a full brass section, which ran for nearly 40 minutes.

It brought a close to a brilliant promming season, with so much to look forward to for next year!

This is such as fantastic keynote album and a must to be listened to at any point in time!

From the catchy, opening “Come Rain or Come Shine” to the bluesy “Autumn Leaves”, this is a great masterful jazz album produced by no other than Joe Tarantino and featuring an iconic trio line-up – Bill Evans on piano, Scott Lafaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums.

Playing together can have such wonderful consequences for the soul, as well as for teamworking and interacting with others. The ability to maintain a steady beat, as well as count and come in at the right time, can work wonders when playing with a group.

Relaxing after a lively jazz jam session upstairs at London’s iconic jazz venue The Vortex, I was considering the answer to the question of my chosen jazz piano composer of preference.

The session featured lively arrangements of piano songs by the jazz greats such as Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Cole Porter and Art Blakey.

It is said that Blue Monk is a great jazz solo piece with its interesting chromatic opening and rising riff. However, others may concur and argue that Horace Silver’s “All Of You” with its romantic lyrics and slow opening, is a fantastic piece with a suitable slower tempo.

“Song For My Father” is a work about Horace Silver’s father, John Tavares Silver. It was identified as one of the 17 essential “Hard Bop” recordings. It features Horace Silver playing the piano and the renowned Joe Henderson on the sax, along with other brilliant tracks on the reissue of the album, such as “Sanctimonious Sam”.

For expect guidance and tips on piano playing in a number of styles, get in touch to book your lesson with Rob Young Piano.

In Orchestra this term we are celebrating the lives of Korngold, Bernstein and Marquez. Korngold was an Austrian composer, who left Europe in the 1930s and became a conductor in America. He was active in theatre throughout Europe whilst he was in his 20s. With the end of the second world war, Korngold retired from films to concentrate on music for the concert hall. The Violin Concerto was the first such work that Korngold wrote, following some initial persuasion by a fellow violinist.

The next piece we are playing are the Bernstein Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. It has jazz, Latin rhythms and musical comedy conventions for a big production on Broadway.

The final piece we are playing, Danzon No. 2, is one of the most frequently popular and frequently performed Mexican classical orchestral compositions. It was composed by the writer Arturo Marquez, and is a popular piece for full orchestra. Informally known as the second national anthem of Mexico, it is enjoyed as an emblem of Mexican music and culture.

Come and see the concert on Saturday 20^th June!