Interviews by Bruce Duffie
To read an interview, just click the icon at the left of line.
NOTE: All of the interviews presented on this website have been transcribed,
and are only posted in text form. There are NO audio files (yet).
The most recent postings are placed at the end of each section,
except for ones which have appeared in printed magazines, in which
case they are inserted into their correct chronological sequence.
Most photos included have been found on various sites;
if any should not be displayed on these webpages,
let me know and they will be removed immediately.
If any need credits, tell me and they will be added.
These interviews have been published in
New Music Connoisseur
The hard-copy issues of the magazine (which are snail-mailed to subscribers) contain a portion of each interview.
This website presents the complete interviews with photographs.
[You are invited to visit the NMC website]
Composer Joan Tower (Spring, 2001) [Pulitzer Finalist, 1993]
Composer Easley Blackwood (Summer, 2001)
Composer Brian Fennelly (Fall, 2001)
Composer Karel Husa (Winter, 2001) [Pulitzer Prize, 1969]
Composer Robert Carl (Spring, 2002)
Composer/Critic Virgil Thomson (Summer, 2002) [Pulitzer Prize, 1949]
Composer Elizabeth Austin (Fall, 2002)
Pianist David Holzman (Summer, 2003)
Composer Ruth Schonthal (Fall/Winter, 2003)
Composer George Walker (Spring, 2004) [Pulitzer Prize, 1996]
Composer Alan Hovhaness (Spring/Summer, 2005)
Composer William Mayer (Summer/Fall, 2006)
Soprano Elsa Charlston (Fall/Winter, 2006)
Composer Leo Kraft (Spring/Summer, 2008)
Composer Elliott Carter (Winter/Spring, 2008-09) [Pulitzer Prize, 1960 & 1973] [Pulitzer Finalist, 1996 & 2005]
These interviews have been posted on the
Classical Connect Website.
That site has been given permission to publish selected interviews in part or in full.
This website presents the complete interviews with photographs.
[You are invited to visit the Classical Connect website]
Composer George Flynn
Violinist Jennifer Koh
Composer Aaron Jay Kernis [Pulitzer Prize, 1998] [Pulitzer Finalist, 1994]
Pianist Jorge Federico Osorio
Composer Lowell Liebermann
Oboist Alex Klein
Conductor Carlos Kalmar
Pianist Ursula Oppens
These interviews have been posted exclusively on this website
Group One - COMPOSERS (American)
Composer Pozzi Escot
Composer/Author Paul Bowles
Composer Arnold Rosner
Composer/Pianist John La Montaine [Pulitzer Prize, 1959]
Composer Eric Ewazen
Composer Lou Harrison
Composer/Conductor/Pianist/Administrator Morton Gould [Pulitzer Prize, 1995]
Composer/Pianist Robert Helps
Composer/Pianist/Technician David Tudor
Composer Chou Wen-Chung
Composer/Conductor Carlos Surinach
Composer Johan Franco
Composer Conlon Nancarrow
Composer Romeo Cascarino
Composer Hayden Wayne
Composer Gian Carlo Menotti [Pulitzer Prize, 1950 & 1955]
Composer Elie Siegmeister
Composer David Raksin
Composer/Conductor Alfred Reed
Composer Irwin Bazelon
Composer Morten Lauridsen
Composer Marga Richter
Composer Otto Luening
Composer George Crumb [Pulitzer Prize, 1968]
Composer Andrew Imbrie [Pulitzer Finalist, 1995]
Composer Stephen Albert [Pulitzer Prize, 1985] [Pulitzer Finalist, 1987]
Composer Miriam Gideon
Composer Richard Wernick [Pulitzer Prize, 1977]
Composer Ursula Mamlok
Composer Vincent Persichetti
Composer Libby Larsen
Composer Robert Starer
Composer Ulysses Kay
Composer/Administrator Francis Thorne
Composer Leslie Bassett [Pulitzer Prize, 1966]
Composer John Lessard
Composer Donald Martino [Pulitzer Prize, 1974] [Pulitzer Finalist, 2000]
Composer Christopher Rouse [Pulitzer Prize, 1993]
Composer Louise Talma
Composer Alexei Haieff
Composer/Percussionist William Kraft
Composer Gardner Read
Group Two - COMPOSERS (Other Countries)
Composer/Conductor Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
Composer Isang Yun
Composer/Radio Producer Robert Simpson
Composer Henryk-Mikolaj Górecki
Composer Karlheinz Essl
Composer Krzystof Penderecki
Composer Malcolm Williamson
Composer Arne Nordheim
Composer/Pianist Frederic Rzewski
Composer Rodion Shchedrin
Composer William Mathias
Composer Sir Malcolm Arnold
Composer Giya Kancheli
Composer Iain Hamilton
Composer/Conductor Leif Segerstam
Composer Betsy Jolas
Composer Antanas Rekašius
Composer Iannis Xenakis
Composer Geoffrey Bush
Group Three - CONDUCTORS
Conductor James DePreist
Conductor Charles Dutoit
Conductor Antal Doráti
Conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli
Conductor Leonard Slatkin
Conductor Raymond Leppard
Conductor Christopher Keene
Conductor Riccardo Chailly
Conductor Frederick Fennell
Conductor Jane Glover
Conductor Bernard Haitink
Conductor Jorge Mester
Conductor Erich Leinsdorf
Conductor Capt. William J. Phillips [Leader of the Navy Band]
Conductor JoAnn Falletta
Conductor Robert Spano
Conductor John Nelson
Conductor Nicholas McGegan
Conductor Neeme Järvi
Conductor Margaret Hillis [Founder of the Chicago Symphony Chorus]
Group Four - KEYBOARDISTS
Pianist Maurizio Pollini
Pianist John Browning
Pianist/Composer Noël Lee
Pianist/Conductor Mikhail Pletnev
Pianist Alfred Brendel
Pianist Rudolf Firkušný
Pianist Gilbert Kalish
Pianist Paul Badura-Skoda
Organist Peter Hurford
Piano Technician Franz Mohr [Chief Concert Technician, Steinway & Sons, 1968-1992]
Group Five - OTHER INSTRUMENTALISTS (Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, Etc.)
Violinist Isaac Stern
Violinist/Conductor Yehudi Menuhin
Violinists Irvine Arditti and David Alberman [Arditti Quartet]
Violist/Conductor Yuri Bashmet
Cellist Janos Starker
Contrabassist Bertram Turetzky
Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis
Guitarist Angel Romero
Lutenist Paul O'Dette
Flutist Samuel Baron
Flutist Carol Wincenc
Recorder Player Michala Petri
Oboist Ingo Goritzki
Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman
Saxophonist David Pituch
Bassoonist Milan Turkovic
Contrabassoonist Susan Nigro
Trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins
Trumpeter Timofei Dokshizer
Trombonist Christian Lindberg
Tubist Harvey Phillips
Percussionist Evelyn Glennie
Accordionist Robert Davine
Group Six - SINGERS
Note: Many more singers and other operatic personnel
can be found in various publications listed below
Soprano June Anderson
Soprano Pierrette Alarie and Tenor Léopold Simoneau
Tenor Rockwell Blake
Group Seven - WRITERS, TECHNICIANS, PATRONS, Etc.
Critic/Professor Thomas Willis [Chicago Tribune]
Radio Host Karl Haas [Adventures in Good Music]
Musicologist Stanley Sadie [Editor of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]
Recording Producer Wilma Cozart Fine [Mercury Records]
Replica Builder J. Paul Barnett [Cannons and mechanism used in the 1812 Overture]
Patron Paul Fromm [Fromm Music Foundation]
These articles have been linked to other websites
or given to various musical organizations
(All have interview material)
CSO Brass Buddies Concert
(Linked to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Website in March, 2001)
COT Good Soldier Schweik
(Linked to the Chicago Opera Theater Website in March, 2001)
Interview with Conductor Nicholas Cleobury
(Linked to the Chicago Opera Theater Website in June, 2001)
Woodstock Mozart Festival
(Given to the Woodstock Festival in July, 2001)
Interview with Violinist Maxim Vengerov
(Given to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in September, 2001)
Interview with Pianist Alexander Toradze
(Given to the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra in January, 2002)
Interview with Mezzo-Soprano Vesselina Kasarova
(Given to the Opera Orchestra of New York in October, 2006)
Interview with Tenor Ramón Vargas
(Given to the Opera Orchestra of New York in October, 2006)
These are some of the interviews which
have been published in The Opera Journal,
the quarterly magazine of the
National Opera Association.
My interviews have appeared regularly since September, 1985. (LIST)
Those posted here are as submitted, except for a few as published* .
Most of these now include photographs 
Mezzo-Soprano Teresa Berganza [September, 1985]
Soprano Marilyn Zschau [March, 1986]
Director Nathaniel Merrill [June, 1986]*
Quizmaster Edward Downes [September, 1986]
Conductor Max Rudolf [June, 1987]*
Prompter Jane Klaviter [December, 1987]*
The Earl of Harewood [March, 1988]
Producer Boris Goldovsky [June, 1988]
Manager Marc Belfort [June, 1989]
Manager Ardis Krainik [September, 1989]
Bass William Warfield [March, 1990]
Manager Martin Feinstein [March, 1991]
Conductor Emerson Buckley [June, 1991]
Director Robert Wilson [December, 1991]
Conductor/Director Sarah Caldwell [March, 1994]
Librettist Harvey Hess [June, 1994]*
Bass Jerome Hines [September, 1994]
Captain of Supers Ken Recu [December, 1994]
Soprano Gianna Rolandi [June, 1995]
Counter-Tenor Jeffrey Gall [September, 1995]
Bass Eric Halfvorson [September, 1996]
Tenor Paul Groves [June/September, 1998]
Lighting Designer Duane Schuler [December, 1998]
Soprano Laura Aikin [March, 1999]
Bass Mark S. Doss [June, 1999]
Tenor Thomas Moser [September, 2000]
Composer Robert Ward [December, 2000] [Pulitzer Prize, 1962]
Soprano Patricia Racette [March, 2001]
Mezzo-Soprano Susan Graham [June, 2001]
Chorus Master Donald Palumbo [September, 2001]
Baritone Alexandru Agache [December, 2001]
Tenor George Shirley [March, 2002]
Conductor Yakov Kreizberg [June, 2002]
Soprano Leontina Vaduva [September, 2002]
Baritone Rodney Gilfry [June, 2003]
Tenor David Cangelosi [September/December, 2003]
Soprano Sheryl Woods [March, 2004]
Mezzo-Soprano Gillian Knight [June, 2004]
Bass-Baritone John Del Carlo [December, 2005]
Tenor Robin Leggate [June, 2006]
Ballet Master Maria Tallchief [September, 2006]
Soprano Andrea Gruber
Conductor Emmanuel Villaume
Designer John Conklin
Soprano Margaret Harshaw
Bass Franz Hawlata
These articles have been published in CityTalk Magazine.
The originals, as submitted to the editor, are posted here.
(Most have interview material)
All Mozart, All the Time (January 26, 2001)
The Heifetz Centennial (February 2, 2001)
The Trojans at Orchestra Hall (February 9, 2001)
Love & Music (February 16, 2001)
(Considered by the editor, but not used)
Schubert Celebration on WFMT (February 23, 2001)
(Requested by the editor, but not used)
Presenting Lawrence Rapchak (March 2, 2001)
(Considered by the editor, but not used)
The Death of WNIB (March 9, 2001)
Alfred Brendel at Orchestra Hall (April 13, 2001)
(Scheduled to run, but dropped for space)
Verdi Requiem at Orchestra Hall (April 20, 2001)
Boulez and Uchida at Orchestra Hall (April 27, 2001)
Bach Week in Evanston (May 4, 2001)
Nothing further of mine will be given to this publication
From 1980 until 1992, 45 of my interviews (plus five articles)
were published in Wagner News, the newsletter of the
Wagner Society of America. (LIST) Eventually, more will be posted
on this website, but for now, here are the most-requested ones . . .
Tenor Hermann Winkler [September, 1981]
"The First Digital Tristan; A Talk with the Maestro, the Hero and the Boss" [February, 1982]
(Conductor Sir Reginald Goodall, Tenor John Mitchinson, and
Brian McMaster, General Administrator of the Welsh National Opera)
Conductor Erich Leinsdorf [June, 1984]
Bass Don Garrard [March, 1986]
"Seattle and the New Ring" [Summer, 1986]
(Conductor Armin Jordan, Director François Rochaix, and Designer Robert Israel)
Tenor Jon Vickers [October, 1986]
Soprano Anna Tomowa-Sintow [December, 1987]
Conductor Christopher Keene [September, 1988]
Director August Everding [October, 1988]
Soprano Birgit Nilsson [Summer, 1989]
Bass-Baritone Archie Drake [April, 1990]
From 1982 until 1993, 32 of my interviews (plus one article)
were published in The Massenet Newsletter, the semi-annual journal
of The Massenet Society. (LIST) Eventually, more will be posted
on this website, but for now, here are a few from that series . . .
Conductor/Composer Manuel Rosenthal [January, 1987]
Soprano Joan Sutherland and Conductor Richard Bonynge [July, 1990]
Soprano Renata Scotto [July, 1991]
Soprano Jarmila Novotna [June, 1992]
Soprano Faith Esham [July, 1993]
From 1984 until 1987, 9 of my interviews were published
in Nit & Wit, a bi-monthly literary arts magazine.
(LIST) Eventually, more will be posted on this website,
but for now, here is one from that series . . .
Baritone Benjamin Luxon [January, 1986]
In 1993, The Instrumentalist Magazine requested my interviews with
Sir Georg Solti, to be used as the cover article in their October issue.
Conductor Sir Georg Solti [October, 1993]
In June of 1990, I was asked by Northwestern University
to deliver the Address to the Graduates at the
School of Music Commencement Convocation.
To read that address and see pictures of the event,
click HERE
To see the full list of my interview guests
click HERE
[This list is being kept up to date]
To see the list of my published interviews
click HERE
