Nikolai Lugansky

The Jordanian-Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer enchants his audiences with the singing quality of his playing. Murray McLachlan is captivated by the charm and enthusiasm of this young artist on the brink of a brilliant international career

Jeremy Nicholas explores the success of a new competition which features three juries in a bid to guarantee objectivity

Is Alfred Brendel above criticism? Or anyone else, for that matter. Charivari weighs into the recent furore

From his early childhood, there was little doubt that Nikolai Lugansky was destined for a great career on the concert platform. First, though, he had to persuade his father that perfect pitch really does exist. The Russian pianist discusses his career with Jonathon Brown.

Clara Schumann was a towering figure of the German Romantic movement, her gifts as a pianist and composer no less important than as her role as a muse and teacher who inspired other musical greats. Jessica Duchen celebrates the achievements of this all-round superwoman in the year of her birth bicentenary

British pianist Alexander Soares combines a busy and varied performance schedule with research into the memorisation of music, with a particular focus on contemporary repertoire. He introduces his debut album, featuring solo works by Boulez, Dutilleux and Messiaen

IP surveys this summer’s crop of international festivals, from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the tidal flats of Northern Germany.

James Lisney introduces his new summer course for pianists in the Garonne region of southwest France

The deeply private yet passionate intensity of Schumann’s Fantasy calls for a subtle interpreter, capable of capturing the music’s extreme mood swings from sweeping bravura to peaceful intimacy. Robert Turnbull explores the history of this Romantic masterpiece and picks out the best versions available on record

Romania’s Enescu Competition has a chequered history, but is making a bid to re-establish itself at the forefront of European piano competitions. Its latest instalment was won by a gifted young Russian woman who wowed the jury with her interpretative insights. Simon Mundy reports from Bucharest.

Pianist Clare Hammond tells Jessica Duchen why it is high time the keyboard music of Josef Mysliveček is rediscovered

A relentlessly self-critical musician, Brad Mehldau takes an open- minded approach to developing jazz, drawing on diverse influences ranging from Bach to Oasis. For Andy Hamilton he is a front-runner for the title of greatest living jazz pianist

American pianist Frederic Chiu recalls his early musical development, trying to copy Horowitz in Schumann and listening to Gerald Moore on Schubert.