I never cease to amaze myself that I can be listening to Beethoven's quartet op 127 in E flat tonight and Summer In Siam sung by a very drunk-sounding Shane the next morning, and shedding a silent tear in both cases. In the words, ill-remembered admittedly, of that great pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, music is a complete mystery to me...

I love the Beatles, but I Am The Walrus is a terrible song and Here Comes The Sun is wonderful, eternal and will live for ever. So life-affirming. Just like that Beethoven quartet. And Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante and the finale of the Jupiter...