music
Unfinished Symphony
The baton came down and everyone was off. I tried to catch a few notes but was immediately flailing and thoroughly lost. It went downhill from there, for a solid hour, an experience that could comfortably be compared to extended root canal, although dentists generally provide anesthesia. More
Covid Duets
Given the death and destruction all around us during the Covid pandemic, it felt unseemly to complain about coming home to a strange cello every night. But playing someone else’s cello is like sleeping on someone else’s mattress: everything feels wrong. More
Danielle Ofri in conversation with Oliver Sacks–Video
Danielle Ofri in conversation Oliver Sacks. Hear the full conversation, ranging from the ethics of using patients’ stories, to the ins and outs of hallucinations, to the relative merits of Bach versus Beethoven. More
Music Teachers for Doctors?
What if every doctor learned from a music teacher? Could a “coach” bring back the intellectual vibrancy from medical-school days for one doctor, the way a music teacher inspires constant growth? More
Music and Medicine
The moment has finally arrived. After 3 years of sweating through etudes, scales, and Suzuki practice books, my teacher utters the words that every cello student yearns to hear: “It’s time to start the first Bach suite.” Studying cello as an adult hasn’t been the easiest task. But neither is medicine. More
