Composers

A Day in the Life of a Pair of Violists

As some of you may know, I began my musical career as a violist. I was very fortunate to be able to begin playing professionally in a symphony orchestra before…

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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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Discovery Orchestra Chat 105 – Interpretation

The content of a piece of classical music has been fixed since it was finished by the composer who wrote it. But what about the words “Moderately Fast” or “Loud”…

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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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Discovery Orchestra Chat 103 – Another Episode of Program Music

Maestro Maull gives us a piece of program music that he has loved since he was 18. Program music is written by composers when they have a specific picture to…

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What a great idea to do this. It looks and sounds fantastic. I LOVED the music, the animated lettering and the design for Notes from Under the Piano…It takes a special gift to transform the written word into the spoken word…And the length is perfect, left me wanting more…

— ‘Notes from Under the Piano’ viewer