Cellist Li-Wei Qin has just released a recording on Naxos, of Russian Cello Concertos including Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations, and not well-known but lovely works—Rimsky-Korsakov’s Serenade, Glazunov’s Concerto Ballata, and other short pieces. Born in Shanghai, his early music training was

“I sought only to serve my art” In 2019 we celebrate the 150th birthday of Albert Roussel (1869-1937), a French composer who turned to music only as an adult. His childhood was overshadowed by the death of both parents and

‘Music Communicates Without Words’ Taiwanese-born violinist Paul Huang is now based in New York, having moved there aged 12 to study at the Juilliard School’s pre-college programme. Now at the age of 28, having picked up awards including an Avery

The metaphor of The Hero’s Journey, a pattern of narrative identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development, can help understand the development and challenges of the musician’s life and

One of my favorite pieces to perform is Hungarian composer Béla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances. It is full of infectious rhythms, melancholy melodies, and subtle effects. János Starker performs it in the cello rendition.