Exploring John Ogdon, tonight

This evening at the Richmond-upon-Thames Literature Festival I'm interviewing John Ogdon's biographer, Charles Beauclerk, about his tour-de-force book Piano Man. You may remember we did a similar event a couple of months ago at the Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival - it went so well that we're reuniting. The event is TONIGHT at York House, Twickenham. Starts 7pm, lasts about an hour, and Charles will be doing a book signing afterwards.

Here is a taster of Ogdon's utter genius. This is rare film of him playing part of Liszt's Dante Sonata. (The opening announcements, by the way, are the kind of thing that one senses many critics of BBC Radio 3 would like to hear restored to today's airwaves.)

Jonas Kaufmann, Lang Lang, Bambi and a beard

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This was the performance by Jonas Kaufmann & Lang Lang at the BAMBI awards in Berlin yesterday. JK sings 'Dein ist mein ganzes Herz' with LL at the piano; first time they've worked together. The latter gives a very fast, but rather invigorating, Mozart Turkish Rondo first. Jonas is sporting a beard, over which the jury is currently out, but he's in astonishing voice. Happy Friday, everyone.

Some very special visitors...

The BBC has given a prime TV slot - 8pm on Sunday evening, BBC4 - to a new documentary about an actual orchestra. This isn't any old orchestra, though: it is the Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra from Congo, or rather the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste. The film follows its formation, development and journey to London to perform at the Royal Festival Hall in spring 2014 and is narrated by its own players. Do tune in. And if you can't, you'll be able to find it on the iPlayer for 30 days afterwards, here.

Here is a taster to brighten up your day on this very rainy Friday...
(Apologies - this video is only available in the UK. Hopefully that also applies to today's weather.)

Ricki & Cosi meet Gilbert & Sullivan

Can't resist it. If you're not into cute kitten videos, look away now.

Remembrance: Jelly d'Arányi plays FS Kelly

The young violinist Jelly d'Arányi - sometime muse to Ravel, Bartók and even the ageing Elgar - was much in love with the gifted Australian musician FS Kelly, some 12 years her senior. Born in Sydney, educated at Eton and Oxford, he was also an Olympic gold medallist in 1908 for his supreme skill at rowing. Jelly met him through one of his teachers, who was also her oldest and dearest friend in Britain, Donald Francis Tovey; thereafter she often played duos with him. During WWI Kelly survived Gallipoli, where he composed a violin sonata for her. A short period of leave brought him back to Britain for r&r; then in 1916 he was sent to the Somme and never returned. Jelly kept John Singer Sargent's drawing of him on her piano for the rest of her life.

For today, Remembrance Day in the WW1 centenary year, here is a rare recording of Jelly playing his Serenade Op.7, with Ethel Hobday at the piano. Listening to it today in memory of all those caught up in the horrors of those years - and the generation of their loved ones who were left behind, as Jelly was, to live with their memories alone.