March 12, 2025

In the early sixties as a fledgling folk singer I learned about Huddie Ledbetter (aka Lead Belly). I liked his music and the way he played guitar. He and his music are known to us because of the Folklorist John Lomax and his son Allen. However most of the stuff I learned was either false or seriously exaggerated. In a new book by Sheila Curran Bernard the record is finally set straight. I had the privilege of interviewing her today and will be posting our conversation in a couple of weeks. Watch this space…

In case you missed it…

My guest last week was Jennifer Leshnower the long time violinist with the award winning Cassatt String Quartet. We talked about performing, balancing contemporary music with standard repertoire, and the forty year evolution of the group. If you missed it please check it out.

Coming up…

…and speaking of the Cassatt Quartet, I had a delightful conversation with the newest member violist Emily Brandenburg. We talk about her audition process, her perspective of this award winning group, her love of contemporary music, and much more.

In other news…

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society will present the Jerusalem String Quartet in concert on April 21-30. They will be presenting all 15 quartets by Dimitri Shostakovich over the five days. This sounds amazing. For more information please click here.