Rachmaninoff’s music in general has occupied a special place in my musical heart for quite a while; it speaks to me on a deeper level than most other composers’ is able to. Similarly, I have for a long time enjoyed Russian literature...These moments are present in much of both the Russian musical and traditional literature, and the duality represented in the calm and conflict reflect the delicate balance we all feel between these areas in some way or another in our lives. 

If someone had asked me three weeks ago how I thought the end of my summer would go, I might have given a few good guesses – studying and performing in the world's classical music capital... However, unbeknownst even to me at the time, it was destined to take a much more tumultuous turn...

Ravel once said, “The music of a concerto should be…lighthearted and brilliant”. The first and third movements of his concerto in G Major embody this down to the beat...