Musicians have long known that playing or singing in an ensemble can be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable musical experiences. The process of making music with friends or like-minded musicians provides the unique opportunity to discuss interpretative opinions,

When I mention that I play the cello, people say, “The cello is my favorite instrument.” Hollywood has picked up on that sentiment. No longer merely the provider of soulful background music, although it is not yet an Oscar category,

Russian pianist Grigory Ginzburg (1904-1961) and his older brother were the first musicians in their family. His older brother had been studying piano and the young Grigory started by imitating him. At age six, his talent was recognized and in

As amateur orchestral musicians, we deal with a lot: constant self-doubt – the gnawing knowledge that we’ll never sound as good as the big boys – balancing learning our music with our full-time day jobs – extremely tiny paychecks (if

Russian pianist Emil Gilels (1916-1985) was famous for his perfect pitch. He started his piano lessons at age 5 and a half, soon graduating to Clementi and Mozart sonatinas. He was matched by his sister Elizabeth Gilels (1919-2008), who made

Austrian pianist Artur Schnabel (1882-1951) became so famous for his recording of the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas that critic Harold C. Schonberg always referred to him as ‘the man who invented Beethoven.’ His performances of both Beethoven and Schubert had

Norman Lebrecht Writer, broadcaster and blogger Norman Lebrecht draws an impressive 1.5 million monthly readers to his blog Slipped Disc, well-known throughout the classical music world for being the first to report on the most recent goings on.

A quick glance at a list of string quartet ensembles active during the 20th century will give you a serious headache! The sheer number and extraordinary quality of a seemingly endless variety of ensembles, repertoires and styles speaks to the