“Robert Siegel is retiring from NPR after 40 years,” writes Tom Huizenga on Friday (1/5) at National Public Radio. “Over his 30-year tenure as host of All Things Considered, Robert has also chased one of his lifelong passions—classical music…. Robert says his love of classical music began as a kid, when he fell in love with Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto…. With an impressive spreadsheet of his classical music interviews in front of him, dating back some three decades, I asked Robert to pick a few favorites. A few of those—with some unforgettable quotes—follow … Hélène Grimaud (2006): ‘You’ve disappeared into the piano?’ Mahan Esfahani (2015): ‘Two skeletons copulating on a tin roof.’ Simone Dinnerstein (2011): ‘Is this what Bach had in mind?’ Stuart Canin (2015): ‘The rifleman who fiddled for Truman and Churchill.’ Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis (2006): ‘With Mozart, it’s crafting jewels.’ Andras Schiff (2009): ‘Beethoven is very much one of us, and the best of us.’ Oscar Paz Suaznabar (2015): ‘When you’re playing it, do you think about the bunny?’ JoAnn Falletta (2013): ‘The mythical title of The Great American Symphony.’ ”
Posted January 9, 2018
