What a fine line we classical musicians have to tread! Most everyone already has heard most of the pieces we play; some listeners even know every single note. We are suppoused to be faithful to the score, yet not sound pedantic. Not an easy task! I recall that a young colleague of mine at the Vienna Conservatory played once a Mozart Sonata in what seemed an overly calculated and pompous way, as if trying to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. When she finished, the profess

Fear not! The future of opera seems virtually secured. There is no shortage of people who want to sing today. Besides, many parents insist that their children have singing lessons- even If they show no musical gift whatsoever or could not care less about singing. Yet, parents will spare no effort. Unrealistic expectations abound: “Just hire a teacher, and a few lessons later, in no time, the world will be at your child’s feet”- or so they think. Yet, how are parents to choose

"Así el espejo averiguó callado, así Narciso en pleamar fugó sin alas". from Muerte de Narciso, by José Lezama Lima In our so-called first world of emptiness, consumerism and exacerbated narcissism, the real estate industry offers new and more sophisticated versions of paradise at every turn - depending on one's pocketbook: from suburban developments with perversely identical houses (I wonder if the families will also not be identical and therefore interchangeable their membe