Interplay: Conversations in Music with Michael Shapiro

On this month's INTERPLAY, my talk is with the remarkable violinist and composer COLIN JACOBSEN. Co-founder of Brooklyn Rider and The Knights, Colin is a pathbreaking artist always seeking a vibrant path of expression in whatever he does. This Conversation in Music explores his many views on repertoire, chamber music, solo and orchestral playing. Every note he plays is magical, organic, and deeply felt. And all this comes through in our thrilling and touching...

On this month's Interplay, a most wonderful Conversation in Music with the uniquely gifted conductor Alexander Soddy. We met whilst he was in New York to conduct at The Met in the remarkable Anthony Minghella production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Soddy is a rarity - a musician who can bend a phrase in a dramatic setting with total musicality. Comparisons have been made in the press to Carlos Kleiber, and they are warranted, but Alexander Soddy is surely one of those special artists who...

On this month's Interplay, Conversations In Music, I met with conductor and author John Mauceri about his important and crucial new book, THE WAR ON MUSIC: Reclaiming the Twentieth Century. This social history by a brilliant and consequential conductor is a must read and parallels Maestro Mauceri's work these past 30 years. A must watch and a must read as the issues presented are significant for all of us. www.michaelshapiro.com

I had the most enjoyable INTERPLAY Conversation In Music recently with the remarkable conductor CARLOS KALMAR. Longtime music director of the Oregon Symphony and Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, Maestro Kalmar is now director of orchestral music at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He reveals his approach to the score, his background, and what he wishes to impart to his students. Endlessly fascinating! www.michaelshapiro.com

On this month's INTERPLAY, I had a wonderfully engaging Conversation In Music with the musician I believe is the foremost cellist of his generation, STEVEN ISSERLIS. The conversation ranges over many topics, from his approach to learning new music to writing about composers with whom he has a special relationship, and the voice and range of the cello. Our talk went by too quickly. We could have spoken for hours. Watch and you will see why his vibrant personality is simply remarkable and...

On this month's Interplay, I had a truly wonderful Conversation In Music with Wayne Marshall, pianist, organist, conductor. Internationally famous and recognized as an OBE in the U.K., Maestro Marshall recently conducted the Berlin Philharmonic and many other well known ensembles. His discography is varied and compelling as a keyboardist and director with a humane and fascinating approach to music making. A not-to-be missed discussion about his approach to style and keyboard playing and his...

On this month's INTERPLAY, please tune into a thought provoking conversation with violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley, composer of a brilliant new Klezmer (!) violin concerto, and the First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Noah relates how he approaches different styles of music, applying the laser focus and total musicality that has brought him to the pinnacle of string playing into a compelling and revealing discussion. www.michaelshapiro.com

On this month's INTERPLAY, a Conversation In Music with the remarkable Natasha Paremski, quite simply one of the greatest pianists on our stages. This discussion delves into how her background in Russian pianism and schooling informs her playing. We discuss the position of the hands, how the fingers touch and release, and how relaxed the arm must be to accomplish unrivaled ease with the most difficult music. Ms. Paremski even makes Rachmaninoff concerti look easy. A dynamic conversation in...

This week's INTERPLAY features a Conversation In Music with a miracle of a musician, ANDREW LITTON. Conductor and pianist of undeniable gifts, Maestro Litton is a perfectly natural musician with organic attention to phrasing, style, and projection. We recall our many similar paths over the years, his conducting symphonic works versus ballet, building orchestras and audience across the globe, and how an attention to humanity informs everything he does. Please enjoy this sparkling...

This week's INTERPLAY is a Conversation In Music with the remarkable conductor and American in Paris, David Stern. At home in creating operatic gems in Europe with his Opera Fuoco and in the US at the Palm Beach Opera, Maestro David Stern, the scion of a legendary family, brings to his performances a unique perspective, passionate and organic. A lively and informative discussion! www.michaelshapiro.com

On this week's INTERPLAY, the great pianist Anton Nel discusses the master teacher's life during the Pandemic and his hopes for the future as a performing artist. His insights into piano literature, approaches to study, and his favorite works are illuminating. A wonderful talk with a wondrous intelligence and wit. www.michaelshapiro.com www.antonnel.com

Jennifer Roig-Francoli is my guest on this week’s Interplay, Conversations in Music. Jennifer is that rare combination of a wonderful musician (in her case a remarkable violinist) and a coach. Who else can one talk to about vibrato in Baroque practice at the same time investigating the beauty of Alexander Technique? Please listen in and observe a wondrous intelligence at play. www.michaelshapiro.com www.artoffreedom.me

On this edition of INTERPLAY, Michael Shapiro speaks with his longtime friend, composer Alex Shapiro, about her newest creations and the past, present and future of electroacoustic writing. A conversation between the Shapiros is always scintillating! www.michaelshapiro.com www.alexshapiro.org

On this week’s INTERPLAY, the remarkably gifted stage director JAMES ROBINSON joins us to talk about his work directing opera and theater throughout the world. I have long been taken with James’ natural way of directing, and this Conversation is no different for its clarity of purpose and beauty of expression. He is truly an American treasure. Come join us for an insider’s look at what makes theater of all kinds work – from the director’s...

On this week’s INTERPLAY, conductor Arthur Fagen is featured in a vibrant talk. Music Director of the Atlanta Opera and professor of orchestral conducting at Indiana University, Maestro Fagen has conducted throughout the world and is highly regarded as one of the great conductors of his era. This Conversation in Music reveals his unique perspectives on the art of conducting combined with his wit and unique storytelling. A total joy for this musician to talk to this brilliant...

Alessio Baxand Lucille Chung are remarkable musicians and a wonderful couple to talk to about music. Each a great pianist, they often join forces to play four-hand and two piano works. Those joint performances are magical as two unique players join forces to create something quite special. Their joint and solo repertoire is vast and thrilling to encounter. Their new festival in Siena is only one of the highlights of their international career. Please join us for a moving Conversation in...

This week’s Interplay is a Conversation in Music with a miraculous musician, Eric Jacobsen. Founder with his brother Colin of The Knights, music director of symphonies in Bridgeport and Orlando, and a superb cellist, everything Eric touches sounds fresh and new. I first heard Eric conduct a Brahms orchestral work, and it sounded as if it was the premiere. Eric’s musicianship is exemplary and totally natural, like the man. I know you will enjoy our talk as much as I did. Cannot wait to attend...

Tim Fain is the most remarkable musician I have ever worked with as a composer and conductor. There Is simply no one like him in my experience. Tim has performed all over the world as a soloist with orchestra, chamber musician with Simone Dinnerstein, in a duet with Philip Glass, been our Artist-in-Residence in Chappaqua, recorded my Peace Variations and Second Sonata for violin and piano with the equally incredible pianist Steven Beck, and played in three Oscar-winning films (The Black...

This week’s Interplay is a Conversation in Music with conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, music director of Chicago Opera Theater, and a remarkable force in the production and presentation of music theater. A fiercely committed advocate for Russian masterpieces, operatic rarities, and new works, Lidiya is that rare person, warm, highly skilled and insightful, with a personal commitment to truth and free expression. It was inspiring talking to Maestra Lidiya...

This week’s INTERPLAY is a Conversation in Music with our remarkable leader in American music, Marin Alsop, in which we share insights from our longtime friendship and her unique passion for justice and the expansion of the repertoire. A thrilling experience from Marin’s new home in Vienna! www.michaelshapiro.com www.marinalsop.com