Steven Isserlis

I have rarely seen such grieving as I’m seeing/hearing now at the loss of Rita Wagner/Rados. ‘How can it be possible?’ is the question on everyone’s lips. She WAS life! So full of joy, of celebration, of music, full – above all – of love, with her infectious giggle never far from the surface, her whole body radiating whatever emotion was possessing her at that moment. Read more…

Of course this news – conveyed in brief, shocked messages from old Oberlin friends – brought back a flood of memories. I started to ask myself when and how I first met Mikey (as we used to call him); but the answer is – I don’t know. I spent only two years at Oberlin, all […] Read more…

It is so sad that I’ve been compelled to write so many farewells within the last 12 months –mostly unrelated to the virus. And now another one – to the loveable, warm-hearted, indomitable Wolfgang Boettcher, for many years principal cellist in the Berlin Philharmonic and the Brandis Quartet, an important teacher as well as solo and chamber performer. Read more…

I should start this rant by admitting that I know that I’m very lucky. I’m not lying awake worrying about how to fund the next meal, or how to cope with horrible domestic circumstances; Read more…

You know the sort of day: when you get up in a bad mood already after a sleepless night, turn on your computer, and find urgent messages from musicians preparing to travel from afar, asking with understandable urgency whether the concert we’re all supposed to give in a few days’ time is actually going to happen in the new lockdown. Read more…

Hearing the very sad news of Fou Tsong’s death brought back recollections of the one time I met him. What a wonderfully charming man he was! And so warm. Read more…

So Ivry Gitlis is gone, at the age of 98. To say that he was a ‘character’, who will be greatly missed, would be a ridiculous under-statement… Read more…

A couple of nights ago, someone asked me how students should react to advice from their teachers. I had to think a bit before replying; but my rather basic answer was that they should listen respectfully, ask questions if necessary – and then go and think about it, and decide whether or not to accept that advice, either in whole or in part. Read more…

Since I’m stuck at home in quarantine (having travelled to Madrid for concerts), my didactic side seems to be working overtime; therefore I thought I might as well offer some thoughts on how (in my view) to play a melody – in this case, something almost everyone knows, Saint-Saëns’ The Swan. Read more…

Now, I know that I’ve ranted about this before; but – listening to the radio these days more than I used to during civilian life – I hear the clichés bouncing off the airwaves alive and well, untouched by the virus. Read more…