Gosh, a whole month has passed. Arthur in Rockhampton to examine and then me in Adelaide for a medical conference then two lessons, one of which was so badly attempted on my part that it doesn't deserve mentioning. (Work induced sleep deprivation and pianism don't mix well).

The ballade no4 is a largish work so we've decided to break it into sections so that I won't be tempted to always practice it from the beginning. Noone is more guilty of trying to polish shiny objects.

I made a start on the Brahms (at last). It has a lot of chords so for me is difficult to sight read. Arthur suggested reading from the left hand to the right hand.

I listened to Rach 2 played by Scherbatov and the Russian State Symphony. The Graffman still has more colour and the Lang Lang is more lyrical.

Stephen Hough returned to Brisbane - fabulous.