Steven Isserlis

It’s been a long time since I wrote about music for this page; so I thought I’d try to do so now – so much more enjoyable than writing yet another ‘in memoriam’… Read more…

After I’d last written a post for this page – a long time ago now – I told myself that the next article would be about music, not another ‘in memoriam’. And yet here I am, with another tragic loss of a very, very special person to whom I feel I must say farewell, on behalf of myself and of everyone associated with IMS Prussia Cove. Read more…

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…