We seem to have set up some very arcane rules as to when it is actually OK to applaud.

All of us love applause, and so we should - it means that the listener likes us!

When one plays a Steinway, there is a warmth and nobility in the sound that is unequalled by any other instrument.

Applause should be an emotional response to the music, rather than a regulated social duty.

Pianists don't argue too much generally because we have a hard enough time just getting things right. Arguing is for string players.

Everyone is different. Sometimes it's very exciting; sometimes very scary.

Sometimes I wish that applause would come just a bit later, when it is so beautifully hushed that I feel like holding my breath in the silence of the end.