The singers Jan Kiepura and Marta Eggerth were a musical dream couple and superstars in the early days of recorded sound and music film. Their younger son, Marjan Kiepura, and his wife Jane Knox-Kiepura tell us about their careers before and after American exile, from serenading fans outside the Vienna State Opera to performing Franz Lehár’s “The Merry Widow” in Polish for audiences in Chicago.

Despite lockdown, the Vienna Philharmonic has managed to perform as a full ensemble and even travel to Asia. In this episode, chairman Daniel Froschauer and general manager Michael Bladerer discuss this season’s challenges and accomplishments.

Show Notes:

*2:41 – audience decorum in Japan

*5:09 – maintaining musical standards

*7:01 – [musical excerpt: “Im Fluge, Polka schnell,” Josef Strauss] – aerosol tests and

government collaboration

*11:15 – activities at the orchestra academy

*13:10 – [musical excerpt: “Wo die Zitronen blüh’n…,” Johann Strauss II] – coping with renewed performance restrictions

This interview was originally conducted for the International New York Times.

Excerpts from the 2020 New Year’s Concert with the Vienna Philharmonic under conductor Andris Nelsons provided courtesy of Sony Classical

Intro and outro composed and performed by Miguel Kertsman

For our first episode, we have met with Avi Avital, an Israeli mandolinist who has been a pioneer for his instrument. The 42-year-old spoke at his Berlin apartment about profiting from the time under lockdown while also reflecting on how his career has built up to his latest album on Deutsche Grammophon, the first in his catalogue to include repertoire explicitly written for the mandolin.

InsideOut is a podcast about perspectives in classical music and media. Rebecca Schmid and Andrea Kleibel-Kertsman engage in conversations with artists, managers, presenters, producers, and others.

Produced by Horizon Arts