Practice Room Breaks is a new podcast from IMSLP, the largest online resource for public domain music scores. On each episode, host and classical pianist Natalie Vargas-Nedvetsky invites internationally acclaimed musicians to share stories, philosophies, and insights into the world of classical music through their eyes.
Rufus Wainwright and Chris Walden on Classical DNA in the Pop World and Re-Imagining Kurt Weill
Singer-songwriter and opera composer Rufus Wainwright and Grammy-nominated arranger and conductor Chris Walden join us for a wide-ranging conversation about inhabiting Kurt Weill, the architecture of song, and their collaborative album, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, recorded with the Pacific Jazz Orchestra. We explore how Weill’s deceptively simple melodies demand rigorous vocal precision, what his original Berlin manuscripts reveal about his orchestration choices, and how Walden re-imagined th...
23 Jun 2026
Jon Lampley On Artistic Identity, Genre Blending And 11 Years On Colbert's 'Great Big Joy Machine'
This year is a landmark year for jazz at IMSLP. With classics like "Georgia on My Mind" entering the public domain, we're celebrating the deep, undeniable connection between classical music and jazz, and kicking it off by welcoming our first jazz musician to the podcast. Jon Lampley is a trumpeter, sousaphonist, singer-songwriter, and one of the most versatile and sought after brass players on the jazz scene today. For 11 years he was a core member of Louis Cato and the Great Big...
19 Jan 2026
Conrad Tao on Musical Archaeology and the Living Score
Pianist and composer Conrad Tao joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about the creative process, autograph manuscripts, and inhabiting multiple musical identities. We explore how Debussy's notation reveals compositional logic, what Beethoven's crossed-out passages tell us about artistic decision-making, and where the line between composer authorship and performer interpretation really lies. Tao shares insights from examining holographic manuscripts, discusses his favorite piece (Mozart's ...
26 Nov 2025
Inside IMSLP: The Untold Story of the World’s Largest Classical Music Library
How does a tiny student side project become the largest classical music library in the world? In this episode, IMSLP Founder & CEO Edward Guo joins Natalie Nedvetsky for an honest, funny, and surprisingly intimate look at the story behind IMSLP — from its beginnings at NEC to the moment it suddenly exploded across the global classical community. Edward shares his journey from growing up in China to studying in the U.S., how conservatory culture shaped his thinking, and the exact moment th...
4 Nov 2025
Zlatomir Fung on the Process and Purpose of the Modern Cellist
Zlatomir Fung — one of the leading cellists of his generation — joins IMSLP to trace his path from prodigious beginnings to becoming the youngest-ever International Tchaikovsky Competition winner, unpacking the mindset of competition playing and the balance between intensity, restraint, and interpretation under pressure. He delves into the intersection of analysis and expression — transcribing for the cello, Popper etudes, chess-like pattern recognition, and the balance between composer inten...
1 Oct 2025
Simone Porter on Attention as Prayer
Internationally renown violinist Simone Porter joins us to talk about her journey from early debuts with the Seattle Symphony and Royal Philharmonic to playing with the nation’s top orchestras. She answers listener questions on stage confidence and managing performance anxiety, and reflects on moments when live music completely transported her — or taught her something through the unexpected. We also dive into her debut album ad tendo, inspired by Simone Weil’s idea that “absolute attention i...
4 Aug 2025
Alessio Bax On The Art Of Transcription, The Magic Of Collaboration And Sincerity On Stage.
On this episode of Practice Room Breaks, Host Natalie Vargas Nedvetsky sits down with pianist extraordinaire, Alessio Bax. Diving into is musical upbringing, deep artistic philosophies, and how winning top prizes at the Hamamatsu and Leeds International Piano Competitions at such a young age shaped the course of his career, Alessio shares his meaningful approach to programming, the mindset behind competition preparation, and the art of transcribing some of his favorite works. From his surpris...
10 Jul 2025
Steven Spooner on the Piece Liszt Refused to Teach, the Birth of the Recital, and Recording One of the Largest Liszt Albums Ever Made
What did Liszt refuse to teach - and why? In the debut episode of Practice Room Breaks - the podcast, host and classical pianist Natalie Vargas Nedvetsky sits down with internationally acclaimed pianist, pedagogue and scholar Steven Spooner to uncover the surprising origins of the recital and masterclass, share untold stories from Liszt’s life and the era in which he lived, and hear excerpts from Spooner’s monumental 10-volume Liszt album — consisting of over 300 works and 35 hours of music. ...
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 12 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
11
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
Contact Practice Room Breaks
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Practice Room Breaks?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
