Episode 101 - Listen widely

Welcome to show number one hundred and one! Thanks to everyone who stuck around, and a special thanks to Bill Hilton for mentioning the milestone in his newsletter. Over the next hundred episodes, I'm introducing two new sections: what I've been looking at and listening to for general musical education, and an in-depth look at something I've learned during the week. I'll still occasionally review equipment like the Yamaha Montage M8X when it arrives to pair with my MODX M6.  What's been playing Over the last few weeks, I’ve added new tracks for the upcoming choir concert. Singing in the choir has forced me to learn music I'd never normally consider, like the K-pop Demon Hunters track Golden. I've also been enjoying The Whitlams' Blow Up the Pokies, kd lang's Barefoot, Tainted Love, and Moon River.  On the piano side, I attended a brilliant concert in Newtown featuring improvised music by Mark Isaacs and performances by my piano teacher, Devi Mammak. She played her own compositions, along with Beethoven and Chopin, and finished with a wonderful interpretation of the second movement of Beethoven's Pathetique sonata played in the style of Chopin. If you're around Sydney in September, try to catch these Wednesday evening concerts in a great acoustic space: https://events.humanitix.com/host/eig... https://www.emus.space/events/2026-09... I also saw Lucas and Arthur Jussen brilliantly perform Francis Poulenc's Concerto for 2 pianos in D minor with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. We also heard selections from Poulenc's Les Animaux Modèles and Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome. Conductor Stéphane Denève even brought an original 78rpm record of a nightingale to play on an era-appropriate gramophone during the Respighi piece! (Catch the broadcast on ABC Classic FM on 18 November).  Listen widely It’s common to stick to safe, comfortable music, but being adventurous pays off. Whether through choir repertoire, SSO concert series, or podcasts like the ABRSM's Start Here and the ABC's The Music Show, there are countless ways to discover incredible new pieces and artists. For less than the cost of an album each month, you can access almost everything ever recorded, so get out there and listen widely.  Learning - What's new I've started a new online course from Thinkspace Education by Guy Michelmore called How to Write a Great Melody. I'm not planning to become a composer, but it’s a fun way to understand the process. So far, we've analyzed melodies like Baby Shark and Schindler's List.  Progress I'm working towards the November piano recital. This week, I practiced the right-hand melody for Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here on the synth and worked on the Purcell-based piano piece Trumpet Tune.  If you'd like to contact me, email me at david@pianofinally.show or visit www.pianofinally.show.  The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but that these show notes were created by Gemini. Send me a text message. (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2366139/fa...) You can contact me: • via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option • the show website, www.pianofinally.show (https://www.pianofinally.show) • Instagram and Threads @pianofinally • and on YouTube (   / @pianofinally  )   • all the podcast directories - list (https://pianofinally.buzzsprout.com/s...) • here's the RSS feed (https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2366139.rss) Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link.  All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.