Anthony Plog on Music

I ask Larry about his career as a trombonist, beginning with the marvelous teachers he had, his many years as principal trombone with the Utah Symphony, and then his current teaching position at the Eastman School of Music where he is Professor of Trombone.

Larry Zalkind has had an illustrious career as a world class trombonist. But what is even more impressive is how he fought through and survived an extreme case of dystonia (for woodwind and brass players it is called embouchure dystonia). Larry's dystonia was so extreme that for four years he was unable to play a note on the trombone, had severe problems speaking, and ultimately had three dif...

In Part 2 , we continue our discussion of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and how she got the idea to use individual stories to bring out the meaning and feeling of the orchestra and its members. I then ask Elena to talk about her career, which began at the age of 4 when she got a cello for Christmas, and later continued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music, first in pre-school and then a...

We begin the Bonus Room by asking Elena about her first job, principal cello with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, which was followed by her principal position at the Staatskapelle Berlin... but not before a year in and out of Los Angeles playing electric cello in her brother's rock band! She now plays with the Hegel String Quartet and is Professor of Cello at the Freiburg Musik Hochschule, where in...

Cellist Elena Cheah has had a marvelous and broad career. After graduating from Juilliard, she was appointed principal cello of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and later was principal of the Staatskapelle Berlin under Daniel Barenboim. She is currently a professor at the Freiburg Musik Hochschule in Germany and a member of the Hegel String Quartet. In addition, she was a member of the West-Eastern Divan...

In addition to having had a stellar career , Dan Perantoni is also regarded as one of the greatest tuba teachers in the world, with his students holding positions around the world. In Part 2 we take a deep dive into Dan's ideas about teaching, and how he works with his students at Indiana University.

A very early influence on Dan was his father , and then later on Donald Knaub at the Eastman School of Music. I ask Dan about his early experiences as a musician, and we end our conversation with Dan talking about his efforts to design and build better tubas.

Dan Perantoni, also known as “Mr. P" , is known throughout the world as one of the great tubists and in addition, one of the great teachers. I feel lucky to say he is a good friend, and as a composer I have written a number of pieces for him. So it was a real pleasure to have a conversation with him. At times we talked about specifics of playing and teaching while at other times we just had f...

In Part 2 , I ask David to talk about three songs in particular - Maria, America, and Somewhere. We not only discuss Bernstein's use of the tritone - not only for Maria but throughout the score. In addition David talks about how the movie is different from the original musical production of 1957. Also fascinating was a discussion of Steven Spielberg's use of camera movement to compliment...

Here we discuss the famous Mambo scene , and how choreography can influence changes that must be made in the music. At the end of our conversation, we talk about Stephen Sondheim's genius for writing lyrics.

David Newman has written music for over 100 films. But in addition, he is a conductor and has conducted West Side Story with major orchestras around the world 40-50 times. So it makes sense that John Williams would recommend him to Steven Spielberg to oversee the music for his recent West Side Story film (and produce the album). I already interviewed David about the aspects of writing music for fi...

In an extended Bonus Room , Pasi and Valtteri talk about their friendship through the years after which we move on to discussing the Finnish language and the influence it has on brass articulation. We end our conversation with Pasi and Valtteri talking about their experience teaching at the Sibelius Academy, and how the system differs from American universities. Oh, and you won't want to miss...

In Part 2 of our conversation , Pasi talks about the reason he and his trumpet section in the Helsinki Philharmonic perform Sibelius on German trumpets, which sheds some light on Sibelius’ background and concepts of sound. In addition, we talk about interpreting Sibelius, the Finnish tradition of phrasing, how it can be different from the American approach, and what it is like for Pasi and Valtter...

Trumpeter Pasi Pirinen and trombonist Valtteri Malmivirta have had a long and enduring friendship ever since they met as students auditioning for the Sibelius Academy. They now both teach at the Academy and, in addition to being members of the Helsinki Philharmonic, perform and teach around the world. So who better to ask about the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius than two players who have per...

I continue my conversation with Dan by asking about the job of a music supervisor, and from there Dan then talks about why he ultimately left classical music. Since Dan is now the head of Musical Theater at the Royal Academy of Music in London, we discuss some of his ideas about teaching, method acting, and end this part of our conversation talking about his book "Auditions Undressed", a...

In the Bonus Room , Dan talks about the beginning of his career, how a chance audition for Cats got him into the field of musical theater, and the difference between acting for films, musicals and plays.

As the Head of Musical Theater at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Dan Bowling has worked with such musical luminaries as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh, and Disney. He has several books to his credit and is sought after as a music supervisor, conductor and musical director. He has a vast and practical knowledge of musical theater and our conversation covers many areas of the musical...

Another aspect of being a concertmaster is the relationship with both a music director and guest conductors. Madeline talks about her beginnings as a student and her college experiences. She explains the "real struggle" of playing a pizzicato together, and we end by discussing the challenges of being a guest concertmaster.

In the Bonus Room , Madeline talks about Baroque performance practices and how she can use them in a modern-day orchestra. We end our conversation by talking about several of her impressive projects, the Haitian Orchestral Institute... and how she's rescued over 100 kittens!

What is the role of a concertmaster? Who better to ask than Madeline Adkins? Madeline is concertmaster of the Utah Symphony and the Grand Teton Music Festival and has served as guest concertmaster with the Pittsburgh and Houston symphonies, among others. In addition, she has also appeared as soloist with orchestras throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa, and is equally at home as a chamber...

Kevin and I continue our conversation by talking about several of his pieces and how they came to be written, and several other topics including why a speech impediment at a young age may have actually helped him as a composer. We end this part of our conversation with my asking him what he thinks the most difficult aspect of composing is.

In the Bonus Room, Kevin talks about how social media has been a huge help for his career, and how posting a piece can sometimes immediately create a huge following. Kevin then talks about how he plans to give back in the future as a teacher.

Composer Kevin Day is currently earning his doctorate at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. But even at this early stage in his development, he has over 200 works to his credit, and his music has been performed by such eminent groups as the Boston Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, and the Houston Symphony. He is a composer to watch in the future! In Part 1 of our conversation , I ask Kev...

We continue our conversation with Gail talking about her time with the Chicago Symphony, and what it was like to sit next to Adolph Herseth and in front of Arnold Jacobs. I ask her to name some of her favorite conductors and why, and we end this section with Gail describing some of her chamber music experiences and being a founding member of both the Chicago Chamber Musicians and the Summit Brass.

In the Bonus Room, Gail talks about how she tries to copy the way a singer would approach a phrase, and also how playing natural horn has influenced her interpretation of certain pieces. We end our conversation by talking about her concepts of teaching.