Living the Classical Life

“Are you feeling emotion, or are you just showing it?”

A renowned composer whose music is performed throughout the world, Bruce Adolphe isn't just the author of several books on music, an innovative educator, and a versatile performer. He's also resident lecturer and director of family concerts for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; composer-in-residence at the Brain and Creativity Institute; founding creative director of The Learning Maestros; artistic director of Off the Hook Arts; and host of The Piano Puzzler on NPR's Performance Today. (Episode 48)

“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)

“Entering a competition is like going to a 7-11 and buying a lottery ticket.”

Distinguished pianist Emanuel Ax won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition, the Avery Fisher Prize, and several Grammy awards, and has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987. He has had works written for him by John Adams, Christopher Rouse, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bright Sheng, and Melinda Wagner, and as teacher, performer, and recording artist receives uniform praise throughout the world. During a visit to Zsolt's Cleveland home, the irresistibly charming maestro chats about competitions, practicing, and finding a zone for balanced living. (Episode 56)

“For me, life is beginning at ninety.”

Coaxed into public life again by actor Ethan Hawke after a 37-year hiatus, maestro Bernstein plays, in his own words, "better than I ever did." At age 90, Seymour is full of humor, charm, enthusiasm, and fascinating observations about music, psychology, and creativity. (Episode 52)

“Perfection is deeply boring.”

Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and praised by the New York Times for his “utterly riveting performances,” Anthony Roth Costanzo is quickly rising to international stature as he performs with the world’s great orchestras and opera houses. In a surprisingly lighthearted conversation about the world of countertenors, Anthony describes how he stumbled into singing and acting, what is unusual and powerful about falsetto singing, and what it feels like to be naked on stage, literally and figuratively. (Episode 43)

“Composing is a battle for me.”

Winner of four Grammy Awards, an Oscar, and the Pulitzer Prize, American composer John Corigliano has one of the most diverse and prolific musical outputs of his generation. In an exclusive and emotionally revealing feature, John Corigliano opens up about his influences and inspirations, his difficult relationship with his father who was concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, the loss of over 100 friends to the AIDS epidemic and its influence on his works, and the tortured nature of his compositional process. He discusses whether composers endure a specific type of stage fright, and if student composers can be taught an individual voice. (Episode 60)

“My career was mostly motivated by fear.”

Susan Graham joins us for a candid look at her life and storied career, and shares her insights into the world of the singer. She describes her "Leave it to Beaver" upbringing in Texas and how she made the shift from Broadway tunes to the world of opera. With humorous anecdotes, she gives insights into her relationship with her audiences, the music she sings, and how she could have never foreseen the success she later found. (Episode 46)

“Mozart is hard.”

Winner of the 1996 Leeds Competition, pianist and teacher Ilya Itin is a respected presence throughout the musical world. He shares with us his recollections of a life on stage in one of the most involved and thoughtful conversations about stage psychology that our show has presented — how to find focus, combat distraction, and discover the nature of inspiration. In discussing a musician's role in the larger world, Ilya explains his take on social media presence and ends with a beautiful tribute to the great Russian teacher Lev Naumov. (Episode 70)

“Sublimity can be terrifying.”

Paul Jacobs is known for his unusual “firsts”: He landed an official church appointment at the age of 15, won a Grammy for organ, and played the complete works of Bach in an 18-hour marathon concert. In this thoughtful and thought-provoking conversation, Paul Jacobs discusses a wide range of topics. Why do miracles happen only when you’re alone with yourself and the music? Why play organ music in today's existential vacuum? How do you find an individual voice on the most complex and variable of instruments? And what does it take to memorize an invisible matrix of pistons, stop pulling etc. and all the notes of six-part counterpoint Bach? (Episode 69)

“I truly believe that art gives us the gift of empathy.”

Jennifer Koh made her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 11, and has since been heard with leading orchestras around the world. She is Musical America’s 2016 Instrumentalist of the Year, a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition, and a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Ms. Koh is also the Artistic Director of arco collaborative, an artist-driven nonprofit that fosters a better understanding of our world through a musical dialogue inspired by ideas and the communities around us. (Episode 44)

“I knew a teacher who for the last 20 years watched TV while teaching lessons.”

Dmitri Levkovich, who won top prizes in nearly 20 competitions around the world, discusses creative processes and daily practice, the benefits of competitions, the self-teaching artists do in solitude, recollections of his teacher Sergei Babayan and the development of technique, and how he overcame four years of tendinitis. (Episode 45)

“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)

“Someone was sitting in the first row holding a mobile phone up right into my face.”

Four-time Grammy® Award winner Anne-Sophie Mutter discusses a recent incident with an audience member, along with many other aspects of her fascinating life as one of the world's most talented and successful violinists. (Episode 71)

“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)

“Performing is like a drug.”

As an International Steinway Artist, Fulbright Scholar, and recipient of the Stipendium der deutschen Wirtschaft, Caroline Oltmanns is Professor of Piano at Youngstown State University and holds degrees from the Staatliche Musikhochschule Freiburg and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Caroline Oltmanns has recorded six solo albums on the Filia Mundi label. Her playing has been broadcast globally on radio and television. This season, Oltmanns released her new concept album, Ghosts. Past seasons have included concert tours to Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, and China where she performed for sold-out houses. (Episode 42)

“I don't want my audience to see me. I want them to see themselves.”

Praised internationally for her passionate and technically brilliant performances, South African soprano Golda Schultz has a “clear, pure tone and… a sparkling personality, with a ready sense of humor” (The New York Times). Equally at home in leading operatic roles and as featured soloist with the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors, Ms. Schultz is making waves as one of the most exciting new voices on the classical music scene today. She discusses, among other things, her namesake Golda Meir, honesty in social media, and how to process pain and joy in life. She concludes with a jaw-dropping incident that cured her crippling stage fright. (Episode 81)

“I try to not wait until I am too comfortable.”

Cellist Astrid Schween is the newest member of the Juilliard Quartet and a new member of the Juilliard School faculty. An active juror and panelist, she was recently featured in Strings and Strad magazines and on NPR, and was an invited speaker at the Library of Congress on the role of women in music. In our exclusive interview, she discusses the learning she experienced after she left school, cultivating an individual voice, finding joy and ease on stage, recollections of Mstislav Rostropovich and Jacqueline du Pré, and many other fascinating topics. (Episode 41)

“Something always leads to something; nothing always leads to nothing.”

As a professional horn player, Kate Sheeran has performed with a wide range of ensembles and recorded for a variety of labels, and for television and film. In 2018, she became Executive Director of the Kaufman Music Center, home to New York City's largest community arts school. In this conversation we discuss the fostering of dynamic thinkers and leaders in an academic setting, and address the question, "Are we in a music bubble?" (Episode 82)

“We are showcasing the beauty of imperfection.”

Nadine Sierra is the youngest winner of both the Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In 2010 she took home first prizes at the George London Competition, Gerda Lissner Foundation International Competition, and Loren L. Zachary Society Vocal Competition. On the concert stage, she has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Opéra national de Paris, La Fenice, the Ravinia Festival, Chorégies d'Orange, and Tanglewood among others. In this episode, Nadine and Zsolt chat about not being overwhelmed by past heroes, accepting the possibility of failure, and the importance of belonging.

“So many of us musicians play with pain-- even if it's the pain of not being able to express ourselves.”

Brian Thornton, longtime cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra, teacher, and founder of the Lev Aaronson Legacy Project festival in Texas, joins Living the Classical Life for a discussion about balance in life and music, emotional and physical wellness, and social activism. Filmed in Cleveland, he discusses his influential teacher, and how he leads a uniquely passionate life. (Episode 58)

“It's impossible to be loved by everybody.”

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein shares personal stories from her childhood, when her first cello was a cereal box with a chopstick for a bow. She discusses the pressures of the music industry, and how to cope psychologically with the stage, sharing that most of her pressures are self-imposed. She discusses the nature of criticism, whether from one's self or others, her strategies in the recording studio and the practice room, and how to set limits in a musical world of high demands. (Episode 49)

“I never let anybody put me down.”

The 50th episode of LTCL follows the life, career, and art of tenor Robert White, who was a child star on NBC radio during the medium’s golden age. With archival audio and photos throughout, this special episode is a very personal look at a unique musician. In his lifelong singing career, White has sung for five U.S. Presidents, Britain’s Queen Mother and Prince Charles, Monaco’s Royal Family, and Pope John Paul II. He has recorded extensively for RCA, EMI, Virgin, Sony, Arabesque and Hyperion with such colleagues as Yo-Yo Ma, Placido Domingo, and Stephen Hough, in music ranging from Beethoven to Richard Rodgers and Edouard Lalo. His classical career began in earnest in 1959 when he was soloist at Carnegie Hall with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, and he maintains a highly successful singing and teaching career. (Episode 50)

“You have to have inner confidence, and a team that is listening to you with compassion, insight, and imagination.”

Brian Zeger, one of the leading collaborative pianists in the musical world and director of the vocal arts program at the Juilliard School, shares his insights into how a young artist finds a unique artistic vision and growth musically and humanly. In his dynamic style, Brian highlights the struggles he overcame in his twenties, through self-awareness and realization of his strengths, that led to authentic confidence. (Episode 59)