Kings of the Keyboard
Kings of the Keyboard was a showcase for piano music, broadcast in the late fifties. The writer recalls getting out of school football on Friday afternoons to visit the Concert Hall, Broadcasting House to attend the recordings of this series, transmitted on Sundays.

The idea of the programme, which had been entitled 'Concert Grand' several years previously, was to present contrasting styles of piano music performed by a number of well-known pianists. A typical programme from August 1959 featured Valerie Tryon (concert pianist), Reub Silver and Marion Day (two pianos), Bill McGuffie (latin-american music) and the Ian Stewart Quartet (rhythmic piano music).

The fact that female pianists took part may explain why, when the series was revived in the early seventies, it reverted to its original title 'Concert Grand'.

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Text by Brian Reynolds : e-mail brian@mastersofmelody.co.uk