The azure waves beat lazily on the coral sand.

In the distance you hear the approaching sound of a carnival procession - the easy, relaxed sound of people in costume celebrating their ancient traditions.

Time for a ciggie.

Well, perhaps not.

It's a truly inspiring piece of musical grandeur.

As I don't have an organ with pedals, I had to cheat with the feet.

It's a homage to the boogie style - dance music in an era when they were too poor to afford a band (or a decent piano).

A whole genre of music flourished with great players like Meade Lux Lewis and is now almost forgotten.

OK, there's a little Pink Floyd thrown in as well. Come to think of it, I did pinch a lot of musical styles in this one. Heigh ho.

It's about light, its refractions and reflections, dappled pathways, picnics in the forest - definitely for romantics!

Trompe L'Oeil was improvised at the piano in a single take, but I had to edit out one note that jarred. There's a section from a piece by Poulenc in there in case anyone else out there likes him as much as I do!

It is a series of little themes which vary in tempo and time signature to represent an imaginary procession of dancers. The last one trips as she leaves the stage.

The image is from a painting by Edgar Degas.

Studies are often unpleasant to practice, like scales and arpeggios. This is my attempt to capture that warm inner feeling that comes when you finally get it right!

The picture is by Renoir.

This recording was made a few years ago and I hope that it shows some of Bartok's passion and brilliance as a composer.

This piece of music was arranged by Keith Emerson and used as the opening track in the first Emerson, Lake and Palmer album. Emerson's arrangement was stunning but the original piano piece still has a lot to offer.

No pianos were harmed in the making of this track.

It is dedicated to anyone who promotes peace and tranquillity.

The story of this tune goes like this: A little girl sits on a merry-go-round in anticipation. As it begins to spin her world goes round and round at an ever-more dizzying pace. Just as she is beginning to make sense of the confusion, it seems to spin faster again ...

A bit like life I suppose.

The victim would be dressed up in womens' clothing and made to sit facing backwards on a horse. Often, antlers or other virility symbols were placed on his head, the idea being that anyone who could not dominate his own wife could not expect sexual fidelity from her either.

The man would then be paraded around the village and pelted with filth.

This composition contains allusions to both the rough music that accompanied the ritual and to its sexual overtones.

How times have changed!