Living the Classical Life
Living the Classical Life is an award-winning series of one-of-a-kind conversations with musicians from around the world, hosted by pianist Zsolt Bognár. This is the forum where guests open up and really talk.
"In music you can feel so much and just let go - and you do" - Martina Arroyo
"To me a performance is not an exhibition-- it's an offering.” - Marc-André Hamelin
"You start something, and it gets a life of its own." - Jörg Widmann
“So many of us musicians play with pain" -- Brian Thornton
"Something always leads to something; nothing always leads to nothing." - Kate Sheeran
"I don't want my audience to see me. I want them to see themselves." - Golda Schultz
"As a mother of three now, the stage is more relaxing than life." - Melissa Errico
"I feel a lot less shy on stage." - Oliver Herbert
"The biggest part of the work is at home and alone." - Gianandrea Noseda
"You do get better at even the things you're terrible at, if you practice." - Lisette Oropesa
"Working with Bill Murray taught me that classical music doesn’t need an explanation." - Jan Vogler
"I did what I had to do: I challenged myself." - Joshua Roman
"I spent my whole life trying to make the harp sound like a piano." - Yolanda Kondonassis
"Surround children with musical role models and they will become that role model" - Francisco Núñez
"I feel everything in life is just an improvisation." - violinist Filip Pogády
"Let’s not forget: life is more important than a concert." - Anne-Sophie Mutter
"Mozart is hard." - Ilya Itin
"Sublimity can be terrifying." - Paul Jacobs
"I don’t want to sing out of fear." - Ailyn Pérez
“The loudest sound in the world cannot top the energy of a silence.” - Manfred Honeck
“Music criticism will never return to what it used to be.” - Donald Rosenberg
"Our radio broadcasts sell a lot of orchestra tickets." - Robert Conrad
"When we started Apollo’s Fire, I was living on Ramen noodles." - Grammy-winner Jeannette Sorrell
“If you go for fame, you have a problem.” - Vladimir Ashkenazy
“It’s dangerous if you become famous overnight.” - Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Bridge of Names - feature film
“I can only feel free if I forget about myself.” - Susanna Mälkki
“You have to have inner confidence, and a team that is listening to you... " - Brian Zeger
“Composing is a battle for me.” - John Corigliano
“I never let anybody put me down.” - Robert White