Autobiographical book by pianist/polymath Stephen Hough, with short chapters each describing some aspect of his childhood and upbringing from early years through to the start of his career in his early 20s after attending the RNCM and then the Julliard School in New York. Brutally honest about his (and his parents!) failings, it is amazing that his talent managed to be nurtured and fulfilled in the way that it has, and for that I think that his parents were possibly rather more understanding and admirable than he occasionally suggests in this book. The heroes are (as he describes) the various music teachers who recognised and developed his abilities. For me the biggest revelation was just how awful the specialist music school Chethams in Manchester was in the 1970s, with abuse, bullying, poor buildings, and frequently inadequate teaching. A lot of the book concerns very personal stuff around relationships, people's morals, and the sort of day to day arguments and differences that occur in all families. I am not sure who is served by describing a lot of this in such detail, although it is of course very well written. I found some of it a little uncomfortable to be honest.

Read on Kindle. Published January 2023.