Music

Musical Escape

Here’s a wonderful article on the latest project of El Sistema, as a follow-up on my previous post. The project is now being taken into Venezuela’s prisons, where perpetrators of crime (often also its victims) get a chance to transcend their situation, and maybe get a chance thereby to change their lives, by playing in …

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A Legend at Lunchtime

The other day, I was privileged to meet Katinka Scipiades Daniel, an eminent piano teacher and almost solely responsible for introducing the Kodály Method of music education to America back in the 1960’s. Katinka, now in her 90’s, joyful, sprightly and alert, welcomed members of the Kodály Association of Southern California for a potluck lunch, …

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Miraculous Music-Making

OK, I guess I blew it. I was in London during the Proms a couple of weeks ago and I missed Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra from Venezuela. There has been such a buzz around this orchestra and “El Sistema”, the miraculous music organization that has literally saved so many poverty-stricken children …

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A Key to Great Musicianship

I’ll be taking on a new enterprise this fall besides my coaching clients– teaching the Kodály Method to 5-8 year olds in a local school. I’m being employed to train teachers alongside kids in the method, and I’m really looking forward to it. Two of my best years of musicianship training took place in London …

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Plunging in with enthusiasm

Placido Domingo has invited Woody Allen to direct his first opera in ’08– Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” for Los Angeles Opera. Yesterday, Allen was quoted on NPR as saying: ” I have no idea what I’m doing, but incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm.” N.B. Don’t try this in your next audition/interview.

The courage to grow

I’ve been finding Michelle Bennett’s recent posts on her blog very thought-provoking. She’s been extremely courageous in revealing her inner challenges as a student and a professional singer, and how these have led her to psychotherapy and inner work alongside her musical life. So often musicians, like any professionals, are extremely hesitant to reveal anything …

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Rostropovich's death marks the end of an era.

I heard this morning that Mstislav Rostropovich, one of the greatest cellists in history, has died. I was immediately reminded of time spent in his London home back in the 90’s, when I played piano for one of Vishnevskaya‘s students.