The Maestro’s Blog

Are you Listening?

Classical Music Is So Relaxing!

Or is it? One of the things frequently said about classical music is: “I love classical music because it’s so relaxing!” When I encounter this observation I can only think…

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Laugh and Cry Sign

Whether to Laugh or Cry

Two recent items published on-line by the League of American Orchestras reminded me of the importance of allowing music to speak for itself – to deliver its own message. The…

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Musician Humor

A few blog posts ago I let some of you in on ‘conductor humor.’ I say ‘some of you’ because there are undoubtedly ‘others of you’ who may have already…

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The Bernstein Legacy

If you were born before 1975 in the United States, chances are you may have seen one or, hopefully, many more of Leonard Bernstein’s televised Young People’s Concerts. For those…

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Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Yo-Yo Ma

Art for Life’s Sake

On the evening of Monday, April 8, 2013 cellist Yo-Yo Ma delivered the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He called…

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You Can Go Home Again!

Members of the Paterson Music Project rehearsing for their April 20 performance. They say: “You can never go home again!” And this may be true. “Things change” and “you change.”…

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This has been an incredible series. I could take in SO much more than I could at the beginning ones. You have really trained my ears!!! I have been enjoying classical music for more than 60 years (as a child my parents played classical music at dinner and we guessed the composer) but I NEVER knew how to listen before!

— Attendee of NJPAC Classical Conversations with Maestro Maull