A strong musical theme plays through Elizabeth Smither's new short story collection, The Piano Girls. In the title story,three sisters hold a recital each year in memory of their late mother, though it has also become a competition between them. Other stories in the collection include an agonising breakup, efforts to capture an elusive cat called Min, and a woman who procrastinates by baking - another of Elizabeth's passions as it happens. She's no procrastinator though, with 18 poetry collections and half a dozen short story collections to her name. Lynn Freeman talks with Elizabeth Smither about unexpected themes linking these stories. Piano Girls by Elizabeth Smither is published by Quentin Wilson.