Sounding Point Podcast

Roy Malan led the San Francisco Ballet as concertmaster for over forty years; a record for a concertmaster of a major American orchestra. Roy Malan studied with Efrem Zimbalist at Curtis Institute, and later wrote his official biography. In this episode we discuss Roy's book, his career, and stories of brushing shoulders with the greatest violinists of the past century.

Eric Silberger is a top prizewinner in both the Tchaikovsky International Competition and Michael Hill International Violin Competition. He is co-founder and artistic director of Hawaii International Music Festival and Executive Director of Classical Bridge Festival. I first met Eric at Lorin Maazel's Castleton Festival back in 2012, where Eric saved the day in a particularly uncomfortable situation... We start the podcast recalling this memorable event! We go on to discuss Eric's new album, exploring the compositions of Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani. ORDER HERE: https://manamusichawaii.com/store/mana-music-quartet-album-queen-liliuokalani We went on to discuss Eric's amazing performances of all 24 Paganini Caprices in one concert from memory, a feat he has pulled off at least 5 times to date. We discuss learning of repertoire, his experiences learning from Glenn Dicterow and Ruggiero Ricci, and thoughts about career/life balance. Violinists in particular will appreciate Eric's insights, but there is wisdom here for all walks of life. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

-This episode is presented in loving memory of Philip Wang- Alyssa Wang recently graduated from New England Conservatory with master's degrees in violin performance and conducting. She is the violinist of Hub New Music, a mixed string and wind ensemble comprised of violin, cello, clarinet and flute. They recently released their newest album 'Soul House,' a new commission by composer Robert Honstein. ''Soul House' is a stunning composition with a fascinating concept: Each of the nine movements represents the composer's memories of a room in his childhood home. In the "Backyard" movement, the fleet canon represents a contentious sibling chase. "Secret place," the location of which is unnamed by the composer and, according to Alyssa, is kept secret even from Hub New Music, evokes feelings of solace, anxiety, and hope. That it made me feel nostalgic for my own childhood home speaks to the effectiveness of Honstein's emotive writing, and the superb performance delivered by Hub New Music. In this interview, Alyssa was kind and open enough to talk about her father's recent passing. I'm very grateful to Alyssa for being open enough to share her raw hurt, and complex feelings of grief and gratitude. I felt that Alyssa, in sharing her candid thoughts and feelings at this time, gave invaluable insights into what it means to grieve and to honor the memory of a loved one.

Daniel Lelchuk is assistant principal cellist of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. On his podcast Talking Beats, Lelchuk interviews world-class figures from a diverse field of disciplines. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-beats-with-daniel-lelchuk/id1515136246 Our conversation today came about because of Daniel's viral article in Quillette. https://quillette.com/2020/09/19/then-they-came-for-beethoven/?fbclid=IwAR3r6hzQP8cxZNxRMJvwX8U0xect7oCobhzPj5iv2ssYyJRMhqqn8QLu4f4 His article, in turn, responded to the recent controversial Vox article, 'How Beethoven's 5th Symphony put the classism in classical music.' https://www.vox.com/switched-on-pop/21437085/beethoven-5th-symphony-elitist-classism-switched-on-pop In our conversation we covered the main points of both articles, some historical context, and our feelings about Beethoven in the time of clickbait. Daniel received moving responses to his article from all over the world, several of which he shares in our interview. We agreed that the classical music industry faces many challenges, including the expansion of the repertoire to include more diverse composers and performers. However Beethoven's 5th Symphony, far from an elitist status symbol, is one of the most popular and adored pieces in the orchestral literature. It does more than most music to bring audiences together from varied backgrounds. It was a pleasure interviewing Daniel and I encourage you to follow the links above to find his podcast.

Annamaria is an international harpist, entrepreneur and now Billboard-charting recording artist. In this episode she shares the amazing story of persistence behind her fantastic new album, 'Tango del Cielo.' From start to finish it took more than 13 years to complete. We dove into what it takes to follow through on projects, pursuing passion, and how she discovered the world of tango. We also discussed her incredibly ambitious streaming service, which aims to tackle musicians' needs at every level in the pandemic era.

Listen to Harlan tell his incredible story of survival and the bond between survivors. Creek Fire survivor recounts his rescue by the National guard and his reflections on nature and art.

In this episode we discussed Thomas’ journey as an entrepreneur and lover of stringed instruments, as well as his thoughts on being an entrepreneurial musician in a post-pandemic world.

Michael is an old friend and and long-time brother in arms, since we attended both San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Peabody Institute together.It was a blast catching up over stories of dog bites, power outages, and the beauty of historically informed performance.“ A performer deeply fascinated by the relationship of music and history, Michael began serious study of the harpsichord while pursuing doctoral studies in piano at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory. Within a few months, he had soloed for the CCM Faculty Artist Series and was awarded the Catacoustic Consort’s 2017 Early Music Grant. He subsequently attended the University of Michigan Early Keyboard Institute and the American Bach Soloists Academy. Upcoming performances include a solo recital at the Central California Baroque Festival. He recently collaborated on a performance of JS Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the CCM Philharmonia and regularly plays continuo in recitals at CCM.Michael studies harpsichord with Michael Unger and has coached with Corey Jamason and Joseph Gascho. He has also performed in master class for Ed Parmentier and coached on fortepiano with Matthew Bengtson. Mr. Delfín earned a B.A. in history from the Johns Hopkins University where he first began to pursue research into era context and practice. “

Tim Fain breaks down his virtual reality projects, his work with Philip Glass, his brief but meaningful encounter with the Dalai Lama, and teases his amazing project EMBC.

Lidiya Yankovskaya is the music director of Chicago Opera Theatre, and the founder/artistic director of the Refugee Orchestra Project. Under her leadership, Chicago Opera theatre has established the Vanguard Initiative, an innovative residency program designed to support emerging opera composers. Lidiya is one of only two women to hold a music directorship at a major American opera company. It was extremely fun catching up with Lidiya over topics including opera emergencies, Lidiya's quarantine routine, and artists' role in influencing the culture. Lidiya's comments on how she finds new composers, and her journey as a conductor are particularly valuable insights for aspiring composers and and conductors. We also shared memories of working with the late, great Lorin Maazel. Many thanks to Lidiya for making time for this conversation!

Evan Kahn, principal cellist of both Opera San Jose and Symphony Silicon Valley, as well as associate principal of San Jose Chamber Orchestra, posted thought-provoking and heartfelt reactions to the pandemic early on in the lockdown process. In this episode we got to discuss Evan's thoughts on the artist's role in a post-pandemic world, the importance of human connection in live performance, and many world-fixing solutions were reached. Thank you Evan for joining me!

Jaymes Kirksey is a triple threat: award winning violinist, pianist and conductor. In our conversation we covered our time at conservatory, mentors, mentorship of our students, and how to be a classical musician in the 20th century. We might have also gone on some tangents.

Fantastic conversation with my friend Patrick Galvin on practicing, music school memories and making your own opportunities as a violin soloist.

Jeremy Cohen is a Grammy nominated violinist, composer, arranger, and founder of Quartet San Francisco. He operates his own label called Violinjazz Publishing, and is a founder of the online string teaching service Stringmasters.

In this episode I address current events and talk about my mentor, Botso Korisheli, who is a light in this troubled time.

The first episode, a soliloquy during which I justify this podcast’s existence, and briefly address my sartorial choices.