I’m…. back?

by | Sep 14, 2010 | Nuts and bolts

Actually, the title should read: “I am my back.” If it’s the knees that limit the careers of most football players, the chops that give out on many brass players and the wrists that often become a problem for pianists, it is the back that remains the most likely...

Al is not the problem

by | Sep 7, 2010 | A view from the podium

I have to confess that the annual orgy of complaints about the BBC Proms always strikes this American transplant as absurd and hard to comprehend. Say what you will, it is an extraordinary international feast of great music played by the world’s greatest orchestras,...

The old cello switcheroo

by | Sep 6, 2010 | A view from the podium

I am in Philadelphia this week for some work with my string trio, Ensemble Epomeo. I have to say, Philadelphia has become one of my favorite cities- I love the neighborhood feel in the part of town where I’m staying, with some lovely shops and restaurants as well as...

Don’t Beat

by | Aug 27, 2010 | Music and Media

I don’t know if I can say this definitively, but as far as I know, Vftp is the oldest conductor’s blog still going, and when I first started I couldn’t find any examples of other substantial blogging projects by any other conductors. While it’s nice to be first, we...

Rock ‘n’ Rozsa

by | Aug 3, 2010 | A view from the podium

Many years ago, I first played a pops show in Columbus that was made up entirely of us playing extended excerpts of classic films scores from the golden age of film music while the originally films were shown on a giant screen behind the orchestra. It’s a great show,...

Why Walton?

by | Aug 2, 2010 | A view from the podium

As a musician who likes to explore the rare and odd byways of the repertoire as well as play the hits, I’m often asked what has drawn me to program and perform this or that unusual piece. Depending on the venue and the listener, threshold at which “a piece”...