Season 3, ep 29: Fang and Yun, catch up edition
In which we talk about our summers at various music festivals, being at Garth Newel, and give belated thanks and replies to our listeners. Special thanks to Shi-An Costello, who left us our very first review! Thanks for listening!
S3, Episode 28: Aisslinn the Rockstar, part 2
We continue our conversation with the fascinating Aisslinn Nosky with part 2 of our interview, romping through tuningland, conductor-less orchestras, how to talk to your keyboardist, and of course, stupid questions!
Season 3 – episode 27: Aisslinn the Rockstar, part 1
Franny and I interview the brilliant Aisslinn Nosky, the baroque violinist extraordinaire whose electrifying performances get everyone buzzing. She has coming to Garth Newel Music Center for the past three summers to lead our Emerging Artist Fellows in a baroque … Continued
Confessions of a Recovering Listening Addict
I used to listen to music. My dad had a big cd collection, mostly classical, and I remember listening to any of those cds any chance I had. At a certain point, my family bought an LP player and I … Continued
S2, episode 26: Richard Egarr
Francis sits down to talk with harpsichordist/conductor Richard Egarr! They talk about the harpsichord sound, creating dynamics on the instrument, and thoughts on continuo playing. And he only says f*ck once…(maybe it’s twice) To find out more about Richard Egarr, … Continued
S2, ep. 25: Being Asian in music
Ok, so we’ve been REALLY wanting to do an episode about BEING ASIAN in music. But every time we recorded something about this topic, we hated how tiresome and preachy we got. This is actually an episode we did awhile … Continued
S2, episode 24: Harry Doss
Our piano tech series continues with Harry Doss, piano technician at Virginia Tech, and also the guy who also makes the 2 hour trek to Garth Newel Music Center before every concert weekend to make our pianos sound concert worthy. … Continued
S2, episode 23: Garrett Schumann
Jeannette sits down with composer, teacher, and music observer Garrett Schumann. Garrett is someone who’s constantly thinking about music and its place in society and culture, and conversation with him is always interesting and thought provoking as a result. They … Continued
S2, episode 22: Shi An, part 2
Here’s the second part of the interview Francis did with musician, writer, actor, and activist Shi An! They talk about the intricacies of the composer/performer relationship. Remember to check out Shi An’s album, Rounded Binary!
S2, episode 21: Shi An, part 1
Francis interviews fabulous pianist, composer, writer, and activist Shi An! We talk about the importance of names, how we feel about the canon, and performance. You’ll find out much more about Shi An in the second part of our interview … Continued
S2, episode 20: piano technician “Boomer” Harold
This episode is the first part of a series of episodes we’ll be doing on the unsung heroes of the piano world: piano technicians. William “Boomer” Harold is the piano technician at Yale School of Music, and we have a … Continued
S2, episode 19: The future! Francis interviews two rising talents
Last year, I sat down with two talented high school students who I met while working at Friends Music Camp. They’re two of the most musical kids I’ve met and was happy that they were both attending performing arts high … Continued
Scheduling update
Due to being the sleep-deprived types of musicians who have no lives and a (happily) very busy year, Franny and I have decided to move our weekly episodes to a biweekly release schedule. We thought this was the best thing … Continued
S2, episode 18: Joe Gascho-part 2
My conversation with Joseph Gascho was so interesting that we couldn’t fit it into just one episode. For the 2nd part of our interview that started with episode 7, Joe talks about the instinct to go above and beyond as a teacher, … Continued
S2, episode 17: Holiday Question Time!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! And what better way to deal with the festivities than with a slew of stupid questions. We talk about everything from Christmas traditions, Mr. Hanky’s Christmas Classics, best gifts, Haley Joel Osment, favorite carols, … Continued
S2, episode 16: Joe Gascho-part 1
Harpsichord phenom Joe Gascho may be uncomfortable with me introducing him as an awesome person, but he’s just going have to be ok with it, because if anyone is deserving of the title, it’s him. Find out why in this … Continued
S2, Episode 15: practice practice practice
We talk about practicing anxiety, our fears behind procrastination, how we learned, effective practicing and planning techniques, how we got our theme song, and a bunch of other stuff. listen on iTunes and subscribe to get upcoming episodes!
S2, Ep.14: The stupid questions episode
The stupid questions episode. What do Rachmaninoff and pancakes have in common? What does “singing like a pianist” mean? Find out on our first episode devoted purely to stupid questions. Let us know what you thought of this episode! Mostly … Continued
S2, Ep.13: Brian Hsu, part 2
For part 2 of my interview with pianist Brian Hsu, we get into repertoire pet peeves, talk about his past and future recording projects, about how becoming a professor has made him see how they might have gotten some stuff … Continued
S2, Ep.12: Brian Hsu, part 1
This week we have for you the first part of my interview with Brian Hsu, one of my closest and oldest friends. I have mad respect for this guy, not in small part because you can always count on him … Continued
Inviolable Day of Rest
I feel slightly ashamed to admit this, but I spent most of the day in bed. Well, I should be more honest and say that I’m still in bed at this very moment with no real plans to get out … Continued
S2, Ep.11: Composers David Biedenbender and Matthew Browne
Jeannette talks to composers David Biedenbender and Matthew Browne about their experiences with working with performers, their compositional processes, their relationship to writing for the piano, and their thoughts on music today.
S2, Ep.10: You’ve got some nerve!
We’re back! For episode 1 of season 2, we catch up on our summers, get into the business of performance anxiety, talk about how nerves are actually not the enemy, and also about more important things like naming your spiders … Continued
Season 2 promo
A little taste of some of the interesting and incredible guests we have in store for you this coming season. New episodes coming soon!
Stress Junkie
Everyone has their drug of choice. Mine is stress. Nothing gets me going more than having a lot to do, lots of projects on my plate, running around from place to place, trying to do anything and everything, always saying … Continued
Literally, so many wrong notes.
I struggle with the lameness of my blog posts this summer. Every lazy conclusion I hurriedly tack on deepens the shame of contributing to the wormhole of stupidity that is the internet. I know I’ve been phoning it in. The summer … Continued
Piano, My Clunky, Clumsy, Brash Inelegant Cousin
A funny thing happened to me this summer. When I made the switch to harpsichord, I was positive that I would never play piano seriously again. I had fallen head over heels in love with the harpsichord. It was more … Continued
4 pianists walk into a bar
Every summer at Garth Newel’s there’s a keyboard weekend. It’s a tradition that started before my hire, and it involves 3 pianists descending onto Garth Newel to join me and give the term “piano quartet” a whole new meaning. You … Continued
Nice Piece 2: Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody no.2
For a long time I dismissed Franz Liszt as pianistic masturbation. For me his music was too bombastic, too over the top, too virtuosic for the sake of virtuosity. He was the Jerry Bruckheimer of piano music: gratuitous special effects, … Continued
Baby pianists
If you’re my age, (32), you start becoming surrounded by babies. Not only are all your friends pregnant, you can’t log onto your Facebook feed without getting buffeted by so many chubby pink things to like that they all start … Continued
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach
Could there be any stupider expression in the English language? It’s something I never understood; after all, everything I value most I only care about because I had great teachers who introduced me to them. I cannot understand why so … Continued
String Envy
When I started college my closest friends were a cellist and a violinist. Come to think of it, they were my only friends…but whatever, they were GOOD friends. The type of friends that you walk 120 blocks with because you’re … Continued
The Weird Pianos Club
If you’re a pianist that likes to work, you’ve probably played on some weird pianos. Which is a nice way of saying that you’ve probably played on some teeerrrrible pianos. And if you’ve been doing this for awhile now, you’ve … Continued
Interview on NPR podcast “Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer”
It’s always thrilling to be interviewed by people who really know what they’re doing, and even more of a treat when they’re as kindred and hilarious as Tom Wilmer. I had the chance to chat with Tom Wilmer as part of the … Continued
On Vulnerability
“A musician cannot move others unless he too is moved. He must of necessity feel all of the affects that he hopes to arouse in his audience, for the revealing of his own humor will stimulate a like humor … Continued
Episode 9: Jonathan Tsay-the pianist who doesn’t care how you pronounce pianist (Part 2)
For Part 2, Jonathan bares all: how a glitch in paperwork nearly cost him a musical career, how he chose freelancing over tenure track, what he has learned from his musical mentors, and how he is thankful even for lessons that … Continued
Go Slow, Stupid
Go slow. Take it one step at a time. Speed will come quicker than you think. I said these things so often in my music theory classes this past semester that it almost became a mantra. My students probably … Continued
Episode 8: Jonathan Tsay: the pianist you always want to hang out with (Part 1)
It was so good to catch up with Jonathan that we had to split this interview into 2 episodes. In Part 1, we talk about what he’s learned from being the director of his own chamber music series, what it … Continued
The spotlight
I’ve been noticing more and more pianists saying that they don’t enjoy the spotlight. I don’t know if this is becoming a trend or not, it’s just something I’ve been paying greater attention to the more I’ve been thinking about what performing means to … Continued
Episode 7: Martin Bakari – not your mom’s Prince Tamino
In our second Awesome Person Interview series, Franny interviews a fantastic tenor, Martin Bakari. This week Martin and Franny talk about working with singers: the qualities that make a great collaborative pianist, building trust during the rehearsal process, and what … Continued
The Harpsichord is Beautiful, Damnit!
The harpsichord is a beautiful instrument. When I say this, I’m not talking about its exterior appearance. Yes, there are many harpsichords with extravagant lid paintings or elegant decorations that are beautiful to look at, but when I say … Continued
Episode 6: Genevieve Feiwen Lee, pianist-harpsichordist-toy pianist
For the inaugural episode of our “Awesome Person Series”, we bring you an interview with Pomona College’s Everett S. Olive Professor Genevieve Feiwen Lee, a pianist whose wisdom, empathy, and creativity makes her a favorite of anyone who gets to know … Continued
In Praise of Mozart’s 4 Hand Music
Last week, I got to see Jeannette face to face. It’s a rarity for us to actually see each other with me in New York and her in Virginia, but through some miracle, my travel schedule and her work schedule … Continued
Gettin’ weepy: performances that have opened the floodgates
(This week’s blog post is coming to you a day late because a very special house guest appeared on my doorstep early yesterday. Franny himself came by my place on the way to his performances at the Musical Minds Chamber … Continued
Episode 5: Playing from memory…do I have to?
In which we discuss the often loathed tradition of playing entire recitals by memory.
Nice piece #1
This is the inaugural blog post of an occasional series that will highlight a piece that we’re obsessed with. Hopefully it will introduce pieces that are new to you, reaffirm your own love for the piece, or make you see … Continued
Episode 4 – Plays well with Others: Composer Collaboration Edition
In which Franny and Jeannette talk about why they love to collaborate with composers!
Loud Pianists Anonymous
This is for all of you who struggle to keep a 9-foot concert grand in the same dynamic plane as instruments 1/10th of its size. For those of you for whom the left pedal is their best friend, and for … Continued
The lizard part of our brain
Why is it so hard to begin? I’ve delayed writing this blog post since last week, breaking every promise to myself that I would bang this one out early. Instead, I found every excuse to not write. I did everything … Continued
Finger This Blog
Confessions of a Recovering Listening Addict
I used to listen to music. My dad had a big cd collection, mostly classical, and I remember listening to any of those cds any chance I had. At a certain point, my... READ MORE
Scheduling update
Due to being the sleep-deprived types of musicians who have no lives and a (happily) very busy year, Franny and I have decided to move our weekly episodes to a biweekly release schedule.... READ MORE
Inviolable Day of Rest
I feel slightly ashamed to admit this, but I spent most of the day in bed. Well, I should be more honest and say that I’m still in bed at this very moment... READ MORE
Stress Junkie
Everyone has their drug of choice. Mine is stress. Nothing gets me going more than having a lot to do, lots of projects on my plate, running around from place to place, trying... READ MORE