When I arrived to take a place as a judge for the Walter Naumburg International Violin Competition I was welcomed by several violinists who were judging the competition. My friend Jorja Fleezanis was there. Sylvia Rosenberg was very cordial, so was Anahid Ajemian, and later Kyung-Wha Chung (who joined the committee for the competition's final round). On my arrival, another venerable jury member, something of a violin guru, asked: "Who are … [Read more...]
I don’t do Rachmaninoff
In preparation for one of our spring masterclasses, I received a memo from one masterclass-giver's management. Along with requests about using a smallish theater and making two pianos available on stage, there were stipulations about the music to be played in the masterclass by potential student performers: no music by Rachmaninoff, no music by Liszt. Certain pieces by J. S. Bach might be ok, with approval. Certain works by Schubert, Beethoven of … [Read more...]