A Visit with Saul
Last week I had the great pleasure of spending four hours with Dr. Saul Feinberg, my mentor, guru, high school piano teacher, and friend of fifty-three years. Saul is now…
Featured Ensembles
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…
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”…
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…
Discovery Orchestra Chat 97 – Noticing Tempo Change #2
In this Chat, Maestro Maull challenges you to count the number of tempo changes in Brahms’ Hungarian Dance #6 – are you up to the challenge?
Conductor Humor
After my last, long rant on texting at symphonic concerts – I think it’s time to lighten up. Conductors notoriously take themselves too seriously. I guess it goes with the…
Today I watched an episode called “Discover Beethoven’s Fifth”, and it was marvelous! Maestro Maull and his talented orchestra gave me a one-hour thrill. I’ve always loved Beethoven, especially his Fifth Symphony. I studied piano for 7 years as a young person, and came to appreciate so many of the classical composers, but Beethoven’s Fifth has always thrilled me. I so appreciated the format of the program, and the Maestro involved all of us and taught us so much. Thank you for this fine program. And many thanks and praise to the orchestra! When the program ended, I clapped loudly and shouted “Bravo!! Bravo!!!”