Trust yourself

All this, my friend, will time provide,
And of itself, itself will give;
Soon as you in yourself confide,
You know the way to live!

— Mephistopheles to Faust

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust: A Tragedy, translated by Lewis Filmore, (London: William Smith, 1847), p. 79. First published in the German as Faust: eine Tragödie, (Tübingen, Germany: J. G. Cotta’schen Buchhandlung, 1808).

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Start from scratch every time
Benjamin Appl on working with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: When people ask me about what I learned from Fischer-Dieskau, that’s what I always come back to: of course I could say a hundred things about technique and his reputation, but what I found most inspiring was how he created everything afresh. Whenever he was teaching he’d prepare […]
Bernstein on composing
“There is something very satisfying about composing…you are letting yourself go, you write in a kind of trance, feeling you are doing very well. The next day you are quite capable of seeing that it wasn’t all that good, but that doesn’t matter so much.” Leonard Bernstein, 1971 Cited at: Leonard Bernstein (@LennyBernstein) “There’s something […]
It’s my apartment and I’ll play if I want to
Prokofiev and his family moved into a small top floor-apartments in Paris.  Prokofiev spent much time practicing a revised version of his second piano concerto (which was to be premiered 8 May 1924).  The apartment manager demanded that Prokofiev cease playing.  His wife Lina recalled Prokofiev’s response: All right then, you don’t want to hear […]
Encouraging talent
“What greater pleasure is there is life than giving young and beautiful talent a little lift in the direction of the stars though they will never reach them.” Sir Clifford Curzon – English pianist Pianist, No. 59, April-May 2011, Warner Group publications, p.10.
Mack the Knife
Bobby Darin’s 1959 recording of “Mack the Knife” from The Threepenny Opera (Lyrics: Bertolt Brecht; Music: Kurt Weill) not only hit number one on the charts, but was also the first non-R&B pop hit for Atlantic Records and helped establish the label’s future. Source: Creswell, Toby (2005) 1001 Songs: The Great Songs Of All Times. […]
Stokowski and his audience
The conductor Leopold Stokowski had a love hate relationship with his audience: He wooed them and cajoled them, flattered them and then gently reproved them.  When they grew fidgety, he shamed them into attentiveness and concentration.  “Please don’t do that,” he once admonished an audience of program shufflers.  “We work hard all week to give […]
Submit file for audio to text transcription
Notes: If you have multiple files to upload, either compress them to a single .zip file or submit a form for each file). If you get an error message during upload, your file size may be too large. Trying compressing the file as a .zip file. Alternatively, get a free Dropbox account, upload the file, […]
Intermezzo, op. 118, no. 2 (Brahms)
Title: Intermezzo, op. 118, no. 2Composer: Johannes BrahmsArranger: Greg SmithInstrumentation: Cello and pianoProduct medium: PDF score and part  
Franz Schubert: Six Moments Musicaux (Musical Moments), op.94
(i) Moderato (C major) (ii) Andantino (A-flat major) (iii) Allegro moderato (f minor) (iv) Moderato (c-sharp minor)/ (v) Allegro vivace (f minor) (vi) Allegretto (A-flat major) In 1929, Oscar Bie reflected on Schubert: That face! . . . It is the face of a teacher, but not of a strict one. The hair curls about […]
Hilary Hahn on technique, practise mentality, and performance
Violinist Hilary Hahn on practice and technique: I’ve always worked hard at my technique … But I’ve worked hard at my musicality as well. When I was doing my etudes my teachers always made sure I didn’t go onto the next until I had the first really good. But it wasn’t good unless it was […]