Shostakovich had never had it worse: his latest opera, Lady Macbeth, had been panned. And not just by an ordinary critic: Joseph Stalin himself had paid a visit to the opera house. The official Soviet opinion of the work? “Muddle instead of music.” Shostakovich therefore pulled his Symphony No. 4 out of rehearsals and regrouped. …
Have you ever “discovered” a major piece, live, in the concert hall? Nathan remembers sitting right next to a big star performing Prokofiev’s second Piano Concerto, with its massive and breathtaking first-movement cadenza. Then he and Akiko talk about sitting right next to another big star this week for the same piece. They also reminisce …
This week’s landmark episode marks the return of Akiko, plus a pair of fellow stand partners for life: violists Kate Reddish and Eric Lea! We discuss the slings and arrows of a career in music, what you can and can’t get from music school, what it’s like to be part of a string-playing pair, and …
I’m joined in the backyard this week by Violympian and VMC participant Travis Maril, as well as his fellow USC alum and my Director of Operations, Kate Reddish. Our wide-ranging conversation includes no small measure of pedagogical geekery, as well as such diverse topics as Tae Kwon Do bribery and Michael Jordan’s private Space Jam …
Travis Maril, Violympics Champion and so much more! Read More »
Today I’m talking with Kerstin Tenney, VMC violinist par excellence, as well as my Director of Operations, violist (and VMC alumna par equally excellence) Kate Reddish. We talk about Kerstin’s musical education, her experience in the Virtuoso Master Course, and the new album she’s recorded with Simon Kiln and the English Symphony Orchestra! Violinist Kerstin …
It’s tour time! While you’re listening, we’ll be flying, driving, and playing our way through Boston, New York, Mexico City, and Guanajuato. So to kick off the trip, let’s talk tour repertoire and hand out some awards. Tour rep includes Copland’s Third Symphony and Mahler 1 as the “big pieces”, plus violin concertos from Arturo …