“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)

“Every time I practice, I decide to quit. When I don't practice, everything is fine.”

Rising star David Aladashvili discusses the his early musical education, his background as an actor and how to translate method acting to music, the challenges of daily practice, his dislike of competitions, and Juilliard as a source of musical opportunities. The episode features excerpts of Chopin and Liszt in recital. (Episode 7)

“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)

A living legend, immortalized in Philip Roth's novel "The Human Stain": "He crushes it. He doesn't let that piano conceal a thing. Whatever's in there is going to come out, and come out with its hands in the air. And when it does, everything there out in the open, the last of the last pulsation, he himself gets up and goes, leaving behind him our redemption. With a jaunty wave, he is suddenly gone, and though he takes all his fire off with him like no less a force than Prometheus, our own lives now seem inextinguishable. Nobody is dying, nobody – not if Bronfman has anything to say about it." (Episode 40)

“How early do you really need to be a virtuoso pianist to succeed as a pianist in life? At one time people assumed that the world was flat—by a function of agreement.”

Filmed at his home in Philadelphia, Durso discusses misconceptions about musical promotion in the world today, the importance of balance, the role of teaching in a musician’s life, and describes his own encounters with the work and life of Dorothy Taubman as well as the controversies surrounding her work. The episode ends with a performance excerpt of Bach-Kurtág. (Episode 12)

“The thing I hate about classical music is it’s basically a selfish pursuit.”

In one of the most talked-about episodes, Tanya Gabrielian begins with a performance of Glinka's "The Lark" and then discusses elitism in music, the highly engineered nature of some musical careers, her own way to find rewards in a lack of pretense, and her involvement in mental health awareness activism. (Episode 8)

“I was totally against competitions— I didn’t allow Lang Lang or Yuja Wang to compete.”

Filmed at home in New York, Gary Graffman shares his thoughts on the musical world and anecdotes from his long and storied life as a pianist and teacher. He discusses the fostering of first-rate talent, the dangers of doing too much too soon, and nurturing the individual voice of a student. Along with vivid accounts of Horowitz and his illustrious students, Maestro Graffman describes the effect of focal dystonia on his performing career at a time when the condition was barely understood. (Episode 53)

“To me a performance is not an exhibition — it's an offering.”

Living the Classical Life presents a long-awaited exclusive conversation with distinguished pianist and composer Marc-André Hamelin. The narrative centers around the preparation and mindset for a Carnegie Hall appearance, and how Hamelin has managed to find a zone of performance completely free of the nerves that often plague others. Unique anecdotes and insights into his inner world reveal many surprises from a prolific musical life. (Episode 84)

“You get to a certain age when you don’t care so much what people think about you... and that’s one of the great things about getting older.”

Filmed in Steinway Hall in NYC, polymath pianist Stephen Hough describes his diverse creative projects, the importance of making a positive impression, the non-linear progress of learning, and how to deal with success and failure. Hough emphasizes the influence of his teacher Gordon Green, performance psychology, the artist’s role as an outsider, and his own perspective on the state of human rights in the world. (Episode 9)

“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)

“I realized, of all the places I'd played, the one that was most meaningful for me was the meat department.”

Nicholas King describes his unique path from childhood performances in a supermarket, through conservatory, to establishing his own philanthropy and performing around the world. He's won an impressive array of contests and awards, including the Congressional Medal of Recognition, and is living proof that, by helping others, you help yourself. (Episode 32)

“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)

“My mother said, ‘I never wanted you to become a pianist.’"

Distinguished pianist, recording artist, and eminent Juilliard faculty member Jerome Lowenthal discusses the changing musical world, his legendary teachers William Kapell and Alfred Cortot, the positive side of participating in competitions, and the young musician's path to success through personal and musical well-being. (Episode 26)

“I don’t think performance ever becomes comfortable — we like that risk.”

Seldom are collaborators more sympathetically aligned. Christina and Michelle Naughton have been hailed by the San Francisco Examiner for their “stellar musicianship, technical mastery, and awe-inspiring artistry.” They made their European debut at Herkulesaal in Munich, where the Süddeutsche Zeitung proclaimed them “an outstanding piano duo.” After their Asian debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Sing Tao Daily said of their performance, “Joining two hearts and four hands at two grand pianos, the Naughton sisters created an electrifying and moving musical performance.” Their second album, Visions, was named "Editor's Choice" in 2016 by Gramophone Magazine. (Episode 37)

Gottes Zeit is die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106
(Sonatina from "Actus Tragicus")
J.S. Bach/G. Kurtág

“Surround children with musical role models and they will become that role model.”

Musical America’s 2018 Educator of the Year and MacArthur “genius” Francisco J. Núñez jump-started his career with a piano from the Salvation Army. In this riveting conversation he talks about how he uses music-making, the “great equalizer,” to transform lives. Since 1988 The Young People’s Chorus of New York City has created not only a vibrant new choral sound, but also an avenue to success for thousands of children. (Episode 73)

“I want the audience not to come with preconceived notions but to decide on the evidence of their ears and their hearts what is good.”

Filmed in his home in Cleveland, Christopher O’Riley talks about his multifaceted musical life, from the practicalities of traveling with a keyboard to nurturing the next generation of musicians. He explains and demonstrates how he found his musical voice through a diversification of projects, ranging from his Radiohead arrangements to his Liszt Project. (Episode 11)

“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)

“The people who seem to have the best and most fulfilling musical careers are the ones who are warm human beings—good people—and attract people to their human qualities as well as their musical ones.”

Paul Schenly, winner of the Avery Fisher Prize, discusses the founding of Pianofest, the importance of friendships in careers, the role of competitions in musical development, the different types of stage fright, and dealing with reviews. He also shares his own personal reasons for becoming a musician. (Episode 6)

“Establishing closer connection to the music... your fingers go directly from your heart.”

Extraordinary young piano phenomenon Daniil Trifonov describes his workday and methods while demonstrating from his repertoire. He discusses the importance of isolation in musical discovery, his experiments with sound and emotional impulse in practice, and shares some unusual methods of practice to illuminate the creation of authentic musical performances. (Episode 10)

“To prepare for a competition, you train like an athlete but you perform like a poet.”

President of the prestigious Cleveland International Piano Competition, pianist Pierre van der Westhuizen shares a unique look into the world of competitions. He discusses his own musical path to being the President, what it takes to successfully prepare for and win a competition, and how a competition can produce winners with staying power. He ends with a discussion on pianists who successfully built careers without competitions, and a revealing look at how the Cleveland Competition successfully avoids scandal. (Episode 24)