When we got our tax return, K and I decided to invest a small amount into a piano. We considered a Steinway Concert Grand, but at close to a thousand pounds, we thought the floor might not agree. We settled for a digital, and the three of us have been playing away.

I’ve managed to pick up where I left off twenty-some years ago: the second movement to Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata.

I’ve been looking for different versions on YouTube.

Gould, in typical Gouldian fashion, turns it into something up-tempo. “Look how fast I can play this!”

The result is not adagio cantabile; it’s a march.

Daniel Barenboim gives a very thoughtful performance, but he leans a little too much on the sustain pedal.

For L’s part, she’s content just to bang. For now. We hope…