I was first introduced to Haydn's Divertimento a Tre when my teacher - Aksel Strøm - performed it on a faculty recital at the youth orchestra festival where I was a student in the mid-eighties. As I was only a teenager, I didn't know exactly how impressive this performance was. Aksel joked around afterwards about how the piece covered a full four octaves (and if I remember correctly, there wasn't even one note missed..), but as he was in the habit of demonstrating even a fu

First of all, let me state that I do not think there is an inherent conflict between being a "good" artist and an "interesting" artist. Furthermore, both descriptions are to some extent subjective. These categories are nevertheless on my mind, as I think it is possible to have wildly different ambitions as to where one wants to be on this specter. Recently – in a masterclass I was giving – I was asked by a student about the difference (experientially?) between performing a