sideNotes: Is it worth crossing continents for a single concert?
That is a question certain orchestras might ask as they shuffle bleary-eyed off a plane, tune for the overture and fly home the next day. … Read more
sideNotes: Flying Strads and CBBGs
Will the EU finally let the music on board? It must have been about 20 years ago. Dresden Airport, Lufthansa. A small Canadair jet to … Read more
sideNotes:
During the recent Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, a rather well-known cellist expressed a strong opinion against music competitions in a Facebook post that was … Read more
sideNotes: Doyen of the string quartet
Remembering Günter Pichler The death of violinist Günter Pichler marks the end of an era in chamber music. For more than four decades, he stood … Read more
sideNotes: The problem with policing joy
It was Friday, 11 April 1958, the final round of the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto was the final work … Read more
sideNotes: Mariah Carey in the blue
The song Italy lent to the world. It is 7 February 2026, and the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics is under way … Read more
sideNotes: Returning home
Returning home – the last journey of Isang Yun This past November marked the 30th anniversary of the death of German–Korean composer Isang Yun. A … Read more
sideNotes: October 2025
The Blue Danube:A study in persistent inappropriateness It is 6:30 a.m. The gate for flight OS 370 to Vienna crackles to life. In the pallid … Read more
Embracing the legacy of Ferruccio Busoni
sideNotes: Gestures of Freedom: Embracing the legacy of Ferruccio Busoni Sunday morning at 10 a.m. is an unconventional time for the Grand Final of a … Read more
sideNotes: Jessye Norman
One Diva, no Pool: managing the impossible in Tokyo Tokyo, as the largest city in the world, has no shortage of hotels. From tiny capsule … Read more