Drs. Usarek & Topper String Studio

There are no answers in music, for each musician must find his or her personal path and be open to various possibilities of interpretation. One of the most important things a student can learn is how to learn, ensuring him or her continued growth through the course of life.

After a refreshing breakfast with Issac Stern in 1995, I was left with a question to answer: why does one desire to be a musician since a machine today can be rigged to execute notes and rhythms more perfectly? Talent is important, but the amount of dedicated work counts most of all. Mr. Stern suggested that the best way to develop musical style is to listen to recordings. Which brings me to the evening before our memorable breakfast, when Isaac Stern touched me profoundly with his performance of two Mozart Sonatas, Beethoven’s Spring Sonata, and Bartók’s Sonata No. 2. During this performance I had the feeling that he was personally teaching me and saying, “Try to experience the music with me and understand.” A machine cannot. I believe I did. You, dear students are the best judges of that. However, only you can trust the message and experience both the powerful language of music and its magic.