On this month's Interplay, Conversations in Music, I had the delightful experience of talking with mezzo soprano Devony Smith and pianist Danny Zelibor, two extraordinary musicians of peerless skills and immense interpretative range - and they are remarkable people. Please be sure to watch our enjoyable talk.

On this month's Interplay, Conversations in Music, I spoke to conductor Nic McGegan, who is the most delightful and insightful person. His visions and practice in Baroque and Classical repertoire are unmatched. His dozens of recordings bear witness to his extraordinary joy of life. I think you will agree that Maestro McGegan is unique and radiants a happiness that carries forth with a special love. Not to be missed!

On this latest Interplay, Conversations in Music, Michael Shapiro speaks to his longtime friend, composer Malcolm Singer about a lifetime spent in music, from the days of his study with Nadia Boulanger, to his work with Yehudi Menuhin as head of the Menuhin School, to his work with countless musicians, and his leadership in bringing along generations of young composers and players. A thrilling examination of a composer's life. Not to be missed!

Interplay, Conversations in Music with Sara Karloff and tales of her father Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (1931) and at home.

On this month's Interplay, Conversations in Music, I had the great pleasure of speaking with composer and conductor Teddy Abrams about his pathfinding work in Louisville and his new musical based on the life of Muhammad Ali. There is simply no one in classical music with greater depth of knowledge and with more intensity in seeking new and exciting ways of connecting with audiences. I just loved talking with him, and you will too!

We have some wonderful additions to Interplay, Conversations in Music, being posted today and soon. Please be sure to watch out for them. Our first is with conductor Delyana Lazarova, a complete musician, whose direction of orchestras around the world is astounding. Maestra Delyana Lazarova is that special leader with a wonderful sense of line and meaningful direction. Our Interplay displays her individuality and unique insights into making music. Not to be missed!

On this month's Interplay, Conversations in Music, I had the great pleasure of talking with Maestro Neal Gittleman, music director of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and a champion of progress in orchestral, operatic, and ballet music. Neal's talk with me combines incisive observations about our musical culture, the development of orchestras over long periods of time, and his view of the future of performance. An Interplay not to be missed!

Thomas Little is widely known for his incredibly articulate and popular podcast The Classical Nerd. He is a wonderfully great teacher with an enthusiastic wit that compels the viewer to keep on watching and learning. But did you know Thomas is a versatile and brilliant composer?

On this month's INTERPLAY, my talk is with the remarkable violinist and composer COLIN JACOBSEN. Co-founder of Brooklyn Rider and The Knights, Colin is a pathbreaking artist always seeking a vibrant path of expression in whatever he does. This Conversation in Music explores his many views on repertoire, chamber music, solo and orchestral playing. Every note he plays is magical, organic, and deeply felt. And all this comes through in our thrilling and touching INTERPLAY.

On this month's Interplay, a most wonderful Conversation in Music with the uniquely gifted conductor Alexander Soddy. We met whilst he was in New York to conduct at The Met in the remarkable Anthony Minghella production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Soddy is a rarity - a musician who can bend a phrase in a dramatic setting with total musicality. Comparisons have been made in the press to Carlos Kleiber, and they are warranted, but Alexander Soddy is surely one of those special artists who puts his all into everything he does. He is an original.

On this month's Interplay, Conversations In Music, I met with conductor and author John Mauceri about his important and crucial new book, THE WAR ON MUSIC: Reclaiming the Twentieth Century. This social history by a brilliant and consequential conductor is a must read and parallels Maestro Mauceri's work these past 30 years. A must watch and a must read as the issues presented are significant for all of us.

I had the most enjoyable INTERPLAY Conversation In Music recently with the remarkable conductor CARLOS KALMAR. Longtime music director of the Oregon Symphony and Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, Maestro Kalmar is now director of orchestral music at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He reveals his approach to the score, his background, and what he wishes to impart to his students. Endlessly fascinating!

On this month's INTERPLAY, I had a wonderfully engaging Conversation In Music with the musician I believe is the foremost cellist of his generation, STEVEN ISSERLIS. The conversation ranges over many topics, from his approach to learning new music to writing about composers with whom he has a special relationship, and the voice and range of the cello. Our talk went by too quickly. We could have spoken for hours. Watch and you will see why his vibrant personality is simply remarkable and compelling.

On this month's Interplay, I had a truly wonderful Conversation In Music with Wayne Marshall, pianist, organist, conductor. Internationally famous and recognized as an OBE in the U.K., Maestro Marshall recently conducted the Berlin Philharmonic and many other well known ensembles. His discography is varied and compelling as a keyboardist and director with a humane and fascinating approach to music making. A not-to-be missed discussion about his approach to style and keyboard playing and his hopes for the future.

On this month's INTERPLAY, please tune into a thought provoking conversation with violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley, composer of a brilliant new Klezmer (!) violin concerto, and the First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Noah relates how he approaches different styles of music, applying the laser focus and total musicality that has brought him to the pinnacle of string playing into a compelling and revealing discussion.

On this month's INTERPLAY, a Conversation In Music with the remarkable Natasha Paremski, quite simply one of the greatest pianists on our stages. This discussion delves into how her background in Russian pianism and schooling informs her playing. We discuss the position of the hands, how the fingers touch and release, and how relaxed the arm must be to accomplish unrivaled ease with the most difficult music. Ms. Paremski even makes Rachmaninoff concerti look easy. A dynamic conversation in music not to be missed!

This week's INTERPLAY features a Conversation In Music with a miracle of a musician, ANDREW LITTON. Conductor and pianist of undeniable gifts, Maestro Litton is a perfectly natural musician with organic attention to phrasing, style, and projection. We recall our many similar paths over the years, his conducting symphonic works versus ballet, building orchestras and audience across the globe, and how an attention to humanity informs everything he does. Please enjoy this sparkling discussion!

This week's INTERPLAY is a Conversation In Music with the remarkable conductor and American in Paris, David Stern. At home in creating operatic gems in Europe with his Opera Fuoco and in the US at the Palm Beach Opera, Maestro David Stern, the scion of a legendary family, brings to his performances a unique perspective, passionate and organic. A lively and informative discussion!

On this week's INTERPLAY, the great pianist Anton Nel discusses the master teacher's life during the Pandemic and his hopes for the future as a performing artist. His insights into piano literature, approaches to study, and his favorite works are illuminating. A wonderful talk with a wondrous intelligence and wit.

Jennifer Roig-Francoli is my guest on this week’s Interplay, Conversations in Music. Jennifer is that rare combination of a wonderful musician (in her case a remarkable violinist) and a coach. Who else can one talk to about vibrato in Baroque practice at the same time investigating the beauty of Alexander Technique? Please listen in and observe a wondrous intelligence at play.