The Wellspring

'A rare duet, in which father and son rediscover a whole world through the redeeming power of art.' - Declan Kiberd

In The Wellspring acclaimed novelist and dramatist Barney Norris conducts a conversation with father, the pianist and composer David Owen Norris - 'quite possibly the most interesting pianist in the world' (Toronto Globe and Mail) and 'a famous thinker/philosopher of the keyboard' (Seattle Times). Norris senior is also a television and radio broadcaster who has worked with a huge range of musicians, conductors and composers in the concert hall and the studio.

Divided into three parts - 'Listening', 'Playing' and 'Writing' -The Wellspring is the first book to explore Norris's fifty-year career and discover how his background (non-metropolitan, C of E, literary) influenced his choices and his music. The book becomes a study of the relationship between his Englishness and his work, of his inheritance and how it is projected forward into new compositions and new performance. In the process the reader encounters a fascinating world of concerts, prizes, collaborations, and inspirations, in which Norris, always open to the different, has lived. This variety includes Norris's devotion to Parry and Elgar, his musical discoveries made playing the square piano of the nineteenth century, and the opportunities resulting from the pressurized world of competitions.