Scms: Classical Conversation Podcast

Part 2 of our conversation with violinist Tessa Lark, she speaks about the similarities between styles of music she loves, including baroque, bluegrass, and contemporary classical. We experience the versatility of the violin and of her playing in particular, hearing some of her bluegrass recordings.

Part 2 of our conversation with violinist Scott St. John focuses on his family, performing music by Bohuslav Martinu, and his role performing as part of the St. Lawrence String Quartet from 2006-2013. Scott also speaks about the influence of his teacher and Guarneri String Quartet founder Arnold Steinhardt.

Part 1 of our conversation with violinist Tessa Lark focuses on her bluegrass roots and her early musical studies, and how that made her interested in the relationship between folk music and classical. We hear an excerpt from Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances.

In Part 1 of our conversation with violinist Scott St. John, he discusses SCMS Founder Toby Saks and how he got involved in the Festival. He also talks about his recordings of Dvorak and Mozart and his musical relationship with his sister, violinist Lara St. John, and his wife, violist Sharon Wei.

This second half of a 2-part Festival Preview episode features SCMS Artistic Director James Ehnes talking about some of the musicians making their SCMS debut during the Winter Festival and the works that will be heard in Free Pre-Concert Recitals prior to every concert of the Festival.

SCMS Artistic Director and violinist James Ehnes gives a preview of the 2019 Winter Festival of chamber music. This first half of a 2-part Festival Preview contains discussion of the Ehnes String Quartet, how he programs a festival of chamber music with a variety of musicians and repertoire. He talks about why the Festival contains a 20th-Century piece almost every evening, including the rarely-performed "Gemini Variations" by Benjamin Britten.

The final part of our conversation with pianist Jeewon Park talks about playing Chopin on a historic 1880s era Steinway grand piano at the Clark Art Institute in Western Massachusetts. She also talks about her daughter Lilly taking cello lessons and the family dog “Sancho Panza,” who has a special story.

The final part of our conversation with violinist Nurit Bar-Josef talks about learning the demanding and cinematic chamber music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. She also talks about discovering the joys of playing in an orchestra while performing Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” as a student at the Curtis Institute. That initial experience led Nurit to leadership positions in St. Louis, Boston, and now as concertmaster at the National Symphony Orchestra.

The final part of our conversation with pianist Inon Barnatan includes the excitement and challenges of his new role as artistic director of the La Jolla Music Society in San Diego; he speaks about how ideas from literature, painting, and the collections of great international museums shape the way he thinks about presenting and programming music. Inon also reflects on the music of Thomas Ades from his recording “Darknesse Visible.”

Part 3 of our conversation with pianist Jeewon Park begins with the story of how she met her husband, SCMS Festival Artist Edward Arron. She reflects on their musical chemistry and their recent recording of all Beethoven's works for cello and piano. We hear the recording of couple playing Beethoven’s 3rd Cello Sonata in A Major.

In Part 3 of our conversation with violinist Nurit Bar-Josef, she talks about mentors who shaped her career: Russian violinist Rostislav Dubinsky of the Borodin Trio, and (during her time at the Julliard School) the violinist Robert Mann, who passed away early in 2018 at the age of 97. Nurit speaks about the impact of her studies - how she was encouraged her to become a deeply analytical and thoughtful player.

Part 3 of our conversation with pianist Inon Barnatan speaks about the excitement and the challenges of becoming an Artistic Director for a music festival. We hear a recording of Thomas Ades work "Darkness Visible," and discuss the intricacies of choosing pieces for concert programs.

In Part 2 of our conversation with pianist Jeewon Park, she talks about her holiday tradition of playing J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” we hear the playing of pianist Glenn Gould whose famous recording of it sparked her original interest in the music, and Jeewon explains why this extraordinary set of theme and variations by Bach has so captured the human imagination.

In Part 2 of our conversation with violinist Nurit-Bar-Josef, she talks about her experiences performing with the Dryden String Quartet - telling the 2002 origin story of the ensemble. She believes that chamber music is the single most important activity for classical musicians.

In Part 2 of our conversation with pianist Inon Barnatan, hear musical selections by Ravel and Chopin and a discussion of his excitement and vision for programming next summer as the newly appointed artistic director for La Jolla California Chamber Music Society.

In Part 1 of our conversation with pianist Jeewon Park, she speaks about her deep attraction to the music of Robert Schumann. She finds a rich mix of joy and melancholy in his music. Jeewon played Schumann at the 2013 SCMS Summer Festival, and she shares excerpts from that recording and talks about how meaningful that summer was for her on many levels.

In Part 1 of our conversation with violinist Nurit-Bar-Josef, listen to a fascinating discussion about playing the violin of one of your mentors, as Nurit's current instrument was previously owned by Joseph Silverstein. He was the concertmaster of the Boston Symphony until 1984, as well as a conductor and teacher. Nurit's connection to him began prior to her taking the concertmaster job at Washington DC/National Symphony.

In Part 1 of our conversation with pianist Inon Barnatan, hear about the adrenaline rush of being called on to perform at the last minute---which happened recently when Inon performed with the Seattle Symphony on 24 hours notice. Learn about his early introduction to piano in Israel, and about his love of Schubert, including hearing him play a Schubert Impromptu.

SCMS Artistic Director and violinist James Ehnes gives a preview of the 2018 Summer Festival of chamber music. This second half of a 2-part Festival Teaser episode features James Ehnes talking about his excitement around programming pieces that he has always wanted to perform, like the Enescu Octet, and the importance of revisiting old favorites like Brahms, Beethoven, and Bach who are heavily featured this year. Also discussed: James Newton Howard's newly commissioned work.

SCMS Artistic Director and violinist James Ehnes gives a preview of the 2018 Summer Festival of chamber music. This first half of a 2-part Festival Teaser episode is about solving puzzles – the puzzles of programming a major festival with many different artists and repertoire, as well as the musical puzzles that Bach solves in “The Musical Offering” which will be the grand finale of the SCMS Summer Festival this year.