Conductors
“I started with classical music and then got disillusioned nice and early, which is good because you get it out of the way and go back to having illusions afterwards.”
Hailed by the New York Times as “Opera’s Great 25-Year-Old Hope,” Matthew Aucoin shares his passion for opera with a heartfelt traversal of Mozart’s “Figaro,” and discusses unusual pathways to classical music via an early rock band ensemble.
Recent and upcoming performances of Aucoin’s orchestral and chamber works include performances by the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the SOLI Chamber Ensemble, and the Gramercy Trio. (Episode 21)
“The loudest sound in the world cannot top the energy of a silence.”
Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck, renowned for his distinctive interpretations, is the International Classical Music Awards “Artist of the Year” 2018. With the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra he recorded symphonies by Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvořák, Mahler, and Tchaikovsky, winning the 2018 Grammy Award for Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Mr. Honeck is passionate and personal in this exclusive conversation, which ranges from the role of both silence and dissonance in music — and in our lives — to the echo of Alpine folk music in Late Romanticism, and how art reflects and transcends life in Shostakovich’s symphonies. (Episode 67)
“I can only feel free if I forget about myself.”
Susanna Mälkki is making waves in the world of conducting and joins us for a delightful conversation about her journey from being a cellist to being bitten by the conducting bug. She discusses the tradition of conducting from her native Finland, and discusses the conductor's world and responsibilities — and what it means to be a leader. She also discusses performance day routines, dealing with disappointments, and what is required to create magic on stage. (Episode 61)
“Play in such a way as to make everybody around you better.”
Conductor Roger Nierenberg discusses his Music Paradigm, in which he seats business executives within orchestras to demonstrate engaging and humorous lessons in leadership through a love of music. Full of anecdotes about Leonard Bernstein and Carlos Kleiber and the complex character of conductors, this episode is surprising in its highlight of the transformative power of music. (Episode 47)
“The biggest part of the work is at home and alone.”
Conductor Gianandrea Noseda joins Living the Classical Life for a discussion that traces his early training as a pianist, the way he regards music from the conductor's point of view, and the search for meaning. He explains how a conductor influences the sound of the orchestra, develops a community audience by taking the music to them, and recounts the "shocking virtuosity" of Carlos Kleiber. This revealing conversation ultimately culminates in a search for honesty in life through music. (Episode 78)
“Surround children with musical role models and they will become that role model.”
Musical America’s 2018 Educator of the Year and MacArthur “genius” Francisco J. Núñez jump-started his career with a piano from the Salvation Army. In this riveting conversation he talks about how he uses music-making, the “great equalizer,” to transform lives. Since 1988 The Young People’s Chorus of New York City has created not only a vibrant new choral sound, but also an avenue to success for thousands of children. (Episode 73)
“It’s a paradoxical, Buddhist concept: the way to really influence an orchestra is let their sound go through you, with your ears open.”
Winner of the Solti Foundation Conductor’s Prize, Case Scaglione went from trombone player in a Texas high school band to Associate Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, a position revived specially for him by Music Director Alan Gilbert. He discusses his life, the complex relationship between conductor and players, and how to make a modern orchestra sound as Bach intended. (Episode 15)
“If you go for fame, you have a problem.”
In our 62nd release, we feature Vladimir Ashkenazy, a living legend in the musical world as a pianist, conductor, and prolific recording artist. He shares stories from his life, including playing for Sviatoslav Richter, and he recounts why not winning first prize in the 1955 Chopin Competition was actually helpful to him. He then discusses how he was forced by Soviet authorities to enter the Tchaikovsky Competition, and shares how he deals with pressures and expectations of career. In sharing his attitude towards his life, he reveals his love of European football, and delivers a concluding humanitarian message on the subject of soul. (Episode 62)