Who is popular today?

The acclaimed musician muses on life, art and faith
To be a world-renowned concert pianist and composer would be more than enough for most of us. But Stephen Hough, who will mark the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth at the Proms on Friday by playing a concerto by her favourite composer, Mendelssohn, on her own piano, is a polymath. He paints so well that prestigious galleries stage exhibitions of his work and he has recently published a well-received novel, The Final Retreat.
Perhaps, though, the two most impressive things about this renaissance man, to judge by Rough Ideas, are his modesty – the elegant jacket features not the standard “celeb” portrait, but him with his back to us, disguised in anonymous black coat and bowler hat – and a down-to-earth tone that enables him to tackle complex questions about art, faith, morals and life in an unpretentious, everyday way. So, when describing the life of a concert pianist in the series of short, thought-provoking and often amusing “jottings” that make up the book, he doesn’t bother with glamour, big names or his own “gift”, but instead answers the questions that those who have never been to the Proms might ask him. Continue reading...