“If you arrive at a concert ready to play your piece, that's not nearly good enough. You must have your music ready to the point where you can play it on a short rehearsal, after a long plane flight, on a strange piano, having had an unpleasant lunch, in an unfriendly atmosphere. You have to be so over-prepared that you can cope with anything.”

British and Australian classical pianist, composer and writer

Sir Stephen Andrew Gill Hough is a British and Australian classical pianist, composer, and writer. He is known for a career that spans performance, composition, and writing, with work rooted in the classical music tradition. Hough’s public reputation comes from his activity across several musical roles rather than from a single field. He performs as a pianist, composes music, and writes, making him a distinctive figure in contemporary classical culture.