Speaking Soundly

Grammy Award winner Kayhan Kalhor is a world-renowned virtuoso of the kamancheh, the ancient Persian predecessor to the violin, as well as other instruments. He sits down with David to talk about the origins of the instrument, falling in love with it at age 10, and joining the Iranian National Radio and Television Orchestra at 13-years-old performing alongside musicians 4-times his age. Kayhan recalls how music took him to Europe—2,500 miles by foot with the kamancheh on his back—escaping the turmoil of the Iranian Revolution and ultimately landing at the New York Philharmonic with Yo-Yo Ma, and later Silkroad. To close it out, Kayhan reflects on how music is his anchor, refuge, and response to strife.We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Kayhan Kalhor on Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, or the web.To learn more about Silkroad visit them on the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2025 Artful Narratives Media.

Alexa Tarantino is a dynamic saxophone performer, composer, and educator, who recently made history as the first female full-time member to join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. She chats with David about role models, the importance of being fearless, her relationship to practice, and a chance encounter with Philip Bailey that led to her performing with Earth, Wind, and Fire while at the Eastman School of Music. To close out the episode, Alexa discusses her new album, which features a track with Cécile McLorin Salvant, how walking on stage with Wynton is like hitting the football field as the lights go on, and the value of a musical education.We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Alexa Tarantino on Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Spotify, or the web.To learn more about Jazz at Lincoln Center visit them on the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Alexa Tarantino by Anna Yatskevich.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2025 Artful Narratives Media.

Grammy Award-winning Scottish-Italian violinist Nicola Benedetti captivates audiences with her passionate and virtuosic performances. The soloist and David kick off the conversation with a debate about the superiority of the trumpet vs. the violin and how Nicola has expanded her instrument's repertoire championing new works, including Wynton Marsalis's violin concerto. Nicola reflects on her childhood listening to classical music with her mom and sister, attending the Yehudi Menuhin school, and how she was badly advised early in her career. She goes on to share what she thought when she was asked to be the Director of the Edinburgh International Festival and how she juggles this role, her performance schedule, and her work as the Founder and Artistic Director Benedetti Foundation. To close it out, Nicola settles an outstanding question about her daughter.We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Nicola Benedetti on Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, or the web. To learn more about the Benedetti Foundation visit them on the web. For more info about the Edinburgh International Festival check out their site. Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Nicola Benedetti by Andy Gotts.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2025 Artful Narratives Media.

Acclaimed piano soloist, member of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Artistic Director of the Bravo! Vail Music Festival Anne-Marie McDermott credits playing with others for shaping her own career. She joins David to discuss her childhood with her musical sisters, why a healthy sense of competition is helpful, and how the piano allowed her to come out of her shell. Anne-Marie recalls performing at Carnegie Hall unaware of the importance, when she quit the piano, and how fearlessness has propelled her. To close it out, David asks about when she was "booted" from Manhattan School for Music, what it's like to judge The Cliburn, and the difference of being a soloist vs. a chamber musician. We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Anne-Marie McDermott on Instagram, Facebook, Apple Music, Spotify, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Anne-Marie McDermott courtesy by Anne-Marie McDermott/Bravo! Vail.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2025 Artful Narratives Media.

Multiple Grammy Award winner and MacArthur Fellow Cécile McLorin Salvant is a fearless singer, composer, and visual artist who is one of the most highly regarded jazz vocalists of her generation. To kick the conversation off, David describes bonding with his daughter over Cécile's music at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club. Our guest shares how the vibe of an audience affects a performance, the feeling of being in the spotlight, and her love of opera. Surrounded by music as a child, Cécile reflects on the times she tried to quit the piano, her long hatred for practice, how a small fender bender once saved her musical life, and an important lesson she learned from Wynton Marsalis. To close it out, David asks how the vocalist's visual art influences her music, why she plans to turn Carnegie Hall into a jazz club, and Cécile shares her recurring Met Opera nightmare.We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Cécile McLorin Salvant on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Cécile McLorin Salvant by Mite Kuzevski.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2025 Artful Narratives Media.

Violinist and composer Colin Jacobsen is “one of the most interesting figures on the classical music scene” (The Washington Post). The Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient joins David to describe his many musical families including the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, The Knights, an innovative orchestra for which he is the Co-Artistic Director with his brother, Eric, and the Santa Fe Pro Musica. Colin discusses childhood memories backstage at The Metropolitan Opera, the importance of playing with others, and what he loves about multi-generational musical experiences. Colin also reflects about the evolution of The Knights, which will perform at Carnegie Hall this season and his on-going collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad since its founding in 2000.We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!For more information on Colin's musical families check out The Knights, Brooklyn Rider, Silkroad, and Santa Fe Pro Musica.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Colin Jacobsen by Marco Giannavola.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

Grammy-nominated Mexican composer and this season's Carnegie Hall Debs Composer Chair Gabriela Ortiz is renowned for her vibrant compositions that celebrate and transcend musical traditions. To kick things off David shares his excitement about performing Gabriela's work with the Met Opera Orchestra this season and our guest describes what it's like to be paired with musical greats including Wagner and Beethoven, why she wishes she was at the premiere of Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," and where she finds inspiration as an artist. Gabriela reflects on the importance of intuition, falling in love with the work of Bartók, and the rich musical environment her parents provided for her as a child. On the back end the composer discusses how she nearly pursued a profession as a flamenco dancer, career challenges, what she did to get the attention of the Mexico City Philharmonic, and why she likes to sit among the audience when her music is performed. We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Gabriela Ortiz on Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Gabriela Ortiz by Marta Arteaga.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

To close out the year, we're revisiting our interview with MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow and American classical cellist Alisa Weilerstein. The internationally celebrated artist discusses her first instruments (made by her grandmother!), her solo debut at age thirteen with the Cleveland Orchestra, and why she chose not to go directly to conservatory after high school. Alisa reminisces about performing at the White House and chuckles about receiving an apology from President Obama, as well as discusses her groundbreaking new solo concert series Fragments.We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Alisa Weilerstein on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Alisa by Evelyn Freja.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

Grammy Award-winning violinist and conductor extraordinaire Maxim Vengerov is acclaimed for his concerts, recordings, and humanitarian work. The Siberian-born star discusses his discipline as a young musician, why he wanted to be a conductor by age 3, and how he knew at age 5 he had a natural gift for the violin. He reminisces about learning to play while wearing warm gloves, how music became his ticket to the world, and sets the record straight about why he punched his beloved teacher. To close out the conversation Maxim talks about a memorable experience as UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador, David shares his excitement about performing with Maxim and The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra next month at Carnegie Hall, and our guest recalls "freaking out" on Carnegie's stage many years ago. We need your help to amplify artistic voices. Please consider supporting this show by making a 100% tax-deductible donation here.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Maxim Vengerov on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Maxim Vengerov by Davide Cerati.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.