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

The sheer prospect of my first orchestra rehearsal terrified me. To calm myself down, I asked a violinist friend for advice. I thought she’d share something about how to play. Instead she said: Pretend you know what you’re doing. You’ll

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) set a distinctive poem by Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) in 1895, but it didn’t appear in print until 1953, some 16 years after his death. Un grand sommeil noir from Verlaine’s collection Sagesse, is a remarkably morbid poem

I don’t perform that frequently – maybe four or five times a year (excluding informal performances and “house concerts” at home) – but I understand the “process” of performing and the necessary and special preparation which goes into a public

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, was raised and educated in the classical tradition. “He was particularly impressed with the idea of what it meant to be a true Olympian, someone who was not only athletic,