Roy Malan led the San Francisco Ballet as concertmaster for over forty years; a record for a concertmaster of a major American orchestra. Roy Malan studied with Efrem Zimbalist at Curtis Institute, and later wrote his official biography. In this episode we discuss Roy's book, his career, and stories of brushing shoulders with the greatest violinists of the past century.

Eric Silberger is a top prizewinner in both the Tchaikovsky International Competition and Michael Hill International Violin Competition. He is co-founder and artistic director of Hawaii International Music Festival and Executive Director of Classical Bridge Festival. I first met Eric at Lorin Maazel's Castleton Festival back in 2012, where Eric saved the day in a particularly uncomfortable situation... We start the podcast recalling this memorable event! We go on to discuss Eric's new album, exploring the compositions of Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani. ORDER HERE: https://manamusichawaii.com/store/mana-music-quartet-album-queen-liliuokalani We went on to discuss Eric's amazing performances of all 24 Paganini Caprices in one concert from memory, a feat he has pulled off at least 5 times to date. We discuss learning of repertoire, his experiences learning from Glenn Dicterow and Ruggiero Ricci, and thoughts about career/life balance. Violinists in particular will appreciate Eric's insights, but there is wisdom here for all walks of life. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

-This episode is presented in loving memory of Philip Wang- Alyssa Wang recently graduated from New England Conservatory with master's degrees in violin performance and conducting. She is the violinist of Hub New Music, a mixed string and wind ensemble comprised of violin, cello, clarinet and flute. They recently released their new album 'Soul House,' a new commission by composer Robert Honstein. ''Soul House' is a stunning composition with a fascinating concept: Each of the nine movements represents the composer's memories of a room in his childhood home. In the "Backyard" movement, the fleet canon represents a contentious sibling chase. "Secret place," the location of which is unnamed by the composer and, according to Alyssa, is kept secret even from Hub New Music, evokes feelings of solace, anxiety, and hope. That it made me feel nostalgic for my own childhood home speaks to the effectiveness of Honstein's emotive writing, and the superb performance delivered by Hub New Music. In this interview, Alyssa was kind and open enough to talk about her father's recent passing. I'm very grateful to Alyssa for being open enough to share her raw hurt, and complex feelings of grief and gratitude. I felt that Alyssa, in sharing her candid thoughts and feelings at this time, gave invaluable insights into what it means to grieve and to honor the memory of a loved one.

Daniel Lelchuk is assistant principal cellist of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. On his podcast Talking Beats, Lelchuk interviews world-class figures from a diverse field of disciplines. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-beats-with-daniel-lelchuk/id1515136246 Our conversation today came about because of Daniel's viral article in Quillette. https://quillette.com/2020/09/19/then-they-came-for-beethoven/?fbclid=IwAR3r6hzQP8cxZNxRMJvwX8U0xect7oCobhzPj5iv2ssYyJRMhqqn8QLu4f4 His article, in turn, responded to the recent controversial Vox article, 'How Beethoven's 5th Symphony put the classism in classical music.' https://www.vox.com/switched-on-pop/21437085/beethoven-5th-symphony-elitist-classism-switched-on-pop In our conversation we covered the main points of both articles, some historical context, and our feelings about Beethoven in the time of clickbait. Daniel received moving responses to his article from all over the world, several of which he shares in our interview. We agreed that the classical music industry faces many challenges, including the expansion of the repertoire to include more diverse composers and performers. However Beethoven's 5th Symphony, far from an elitist status symbol, is one of the most popular and adored pieces in the orchestral literature. It does more than most music to bring audiences together from varied backgrounds. It was a pleasure interviewing Daniel and I encourage you to follow the links above to find his podcast.

Annamaria is an international harpist, entrepreneur and now Billboard-charting recording artist. In this episode she shares the amazing story of persistence behind her fantastic new album, 'Tango del Cielo.' From start to finish it took more than 13 years to complete. We dove into what it takes to follow through on projects, pursuing passion, and how she discovered the world of tango. We also discussed her incredibly ambitious streaming service, which aims to tackle musicians' needs at every level in the pandemic era.

Harlan Hays is an opera singer in the San Francisco Opera Chorus and faculty at the SF Boys' Chorus. Harlan recently survived a harrowing encounter with the Creek Fire in the Sierra Nevadas.

Thomas Yee is the founder and operator of Bay Fine Strings, a string instrument business that went from renting instruments to offering its own custom brand of high-quality instruments to even brokering the sale of fine Guarneris and Gaglianos.

Michael is an old friend and and long-time brother in arms, since we attended both San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Peabody Institute together. It was a blast catching up over stories of dog bites, power outages, and the beauty of Historically Informed Performance.   “ A performer deeply fascinated by the relationship of music and history, Michael began serious study of the harpsichord while pursuing doctoral studies in piano at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory. Within a few months, he had soloed for the CCM Faculty Artist Series and was awarded the Catacoustic Consort’s 2017 Early Music Grant. He subsequently attended the University of Michigan Early Keyboard Institute and the American Bach Soloists Academy. Upcoming performances include a solo recital at the Central California Baroque Festival. He recently collaborated on a performance of JS Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the CCM Philharmonia and regularly plays continuo in recitals at CCM.      Michael studies harpsichord with Michael Unger and has coached with Corey Jamason and Joseph Gascho. He has also performed in master class for Ed Parmentier and coached on fortepiano with Matthew Bengtson. Mr. Delfín earned a B.A. in history from the Johns Hopkins University where he first began to pursue research into era context and practice. “

(FYI There are a few connection glitches near the beginning of the episode. Hang in there, it clears up!) Tim Fain is an American violinist, composer and producer. An Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, he frequently collaborates with Philip Glass, playing recitals with the composer at the piano. He is a leader in the use of virtual reality and other technological means to advance the experience of live music events. He has achieved wide renown for his work in film, contributing to the soundtracks of acclaimed films including 'Black Swan,' 'Moonlight,' and '12 Years A Slave.' Tim was among the first people I wanted to have on this podcast, not only because I enjoy his fantastic playing, but his choice of projects is wide-ranging, and indicative of an adventurous artistic spirit. I appreciate his openness, and his intense interest in connecting with audiences in new ways. It was a treat talking with Tim about his work in VR, his takeaways from playing with Philip Glass, his brief but meaningful encounter with the Dalai Lama, his journey as a composer, and his groundbreaking EMBC project. We didn't even get to talk about his film work... Next time! Thanks Tim for the great conversation!