The best website for pianos is Pianoworld with its famous Piano Forum. Every piano enthusiast in the world is on there: players, listeners, repairers...whatever. Ask any question, find the answer to any question, share your views. An excellent place, not to be missed.

Everyone loves Beethoven.

Including the artist Fiona Thomson who has made an mp3 dock called 'Ode to Beethoven'. It's a concept right now rather than a working piece:

After talking about Liberace's ghost in the the last post here's looking at his 2 mirrored Baldwin pianos: his favourites!

Many of his pianos can be viewed at the Liberace Museum, Las Vegas (their website isn't that specific about which ones, but I do like the museum's outside - see right)

Well, as it's Halloween week it's time for a post on the Ghost of Liberace. If you believe what you read it seems his ghost keeps popping up everywhere. The 70's group 'Sparks' has even written a song 'The Ghost of Liberace'

One place he's said to haunt is the restaurant he once owned: Carluccio's Tivoli Gardens in Vegas. There are shadows, moving wine bottles and ladies toilet doors that lock and unlock themselves.

Michael Jackson is said to be in contact with Liberace's spirit...Hazel's note: when they are communing you can tell which is which by their complexion - Liberace's is darker.

When alive Liberace claimed to have healing powers himself and was saved from death by a mysterious nun who appeared at his bedside and said St Anthony was helping him.

This house is in China. The violin is an elevator (of course!). Whoever designed this is even nuttier than me...

Having the humour sensitivity of a 6 year old (on a good day) it has amused me you can get chocolates called Mozart Balls. Now the same company has gone a step too far and issued a new confectionary still based on Mozart and packaged in a piano shaped box:

Little Amadeus?!?!

Whether Mozart is spinning in his grave with anger or laughter - who knows?

Following on from the last post featuring the' Innes Book of Records' TV show here's his version of how Elton John was in those far off days as performed on Eric Idle's 'Rutland Weekend Television'. Personally I'd love to sing with model pianos hanging down around me! The song's called "Godfrey Daniel" (He ain't done nothing wrong...) and he has a good chuckle at a lot of the imagery Elton used then. I used to stroll around the house singing this not realising that the line: "It isn't only doorknobs that come off in your hand." was rude!  Oops!!

Here's one of the theme clips from the olde BBC series 'The Innes Book of Records' written by and starring Neil Innes (aka 'the Seventh Python' or 'The First Rutle'). Purely original songs with sometimes surreal filmic accompaniments there's never been a series like it before or since. Some more Innes clips to come...