I could suggest any number of excuses to sit and watch this wonderful interview with the great Arthur Rubinstein, filmed at his home in Paris when he was 90, for Friday historical...or...no, you just have to see it. Subtitles are in Chinese.
One excuse would be that today I get a bit older... speaking of which, it was very nice of Radu Lupu to agree to perform the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 with Tom and his orchestra tonight at the Royal Festival Hall, especially for the occasion ({joke}). Seriously, I can't imagine a better way to celebrate than to listen to such a great, true artist play my favourite piano concerto.
Meanwhile, here is Rubinstein, in two parts.
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Jessica Duchen is a music journalist and the author of four novels, two biographies and several stage works. She writes regularly for The Independent and BBC Music Magazine. Her latest novel, Songs of Triumphant Love, is published by Hodder.
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