Too many times, I have heard music enthusiasts express their dismay at their own progress after two years of piano lessons, as their hopes of making a career in music dwindle to nothing. Then they contemplate quitting altogether.

One of the topics I have discussed in previous posts is the significance of family members supporting young musicians as they take their first steps in the world of music. Last week, specifically on January 27th, was the remembrance day for my mother’s passing.  Coincidentally, the prominent composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on that date in 1756. I want to reflect on my life and my mother today, and honor her memory, as she played a significant role in my musical journey as I grew up.

I have been thinking recently about the word 'courage' and how it applies to music-making, and in which context the theme of bravery has appeared, perhaps in different pieces or compositions.

A Happy New Year to all my readers, visitors, family, friends, and all people around the world. It is a beautiful day with the snow falling outside my window as I write this. My lovely daughters returned this week from their musical tour in China, safe and sound. They had many stories to tell, some amusing, some interesting, some inspiring, and some thought-provoking. This week was also Armenian Christmas, to be exact, January 6th. On that day, I played a concert with some wonderful people. I also had my own personal retreat this holiday season, as my daughters were in China and my husband went to Croatia on a business trip. I spent some me time for four days. Time well spent being productive, as I accomplished a great deal, practicing, writing, and evaluating my goals for 2026.

As I continue to evaluate 2025 as it comes to a close, I would like to thank my readers for visiting my website. I also wish a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. This will be the last post of the year, as I spend much of my time reflecting, rethinking, and realigning my goals for the year ahead, as I do every December.

Today at dusk, my daughter and I went for a long walk in the fields. And as night fell, we both realized how silent we had been as opposed to other days when we alternated between endless chatter and laughter. So, I shared my thoughts about a particular piece I had come across years ago while looking through the recordings in my teacher's collection—a performance of the Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly's Sonata, a solo work for cello marked opus 8.

I have reflected on this question before, but more specifically, what can be done about a passage or passages you have been working on, and your efforts have not yielded the results you had been hoping for. That is to say that day after day, you came back to the exact phrase, and the same difficulties and challenges persisted in haunting your practice sessions. You were unable to achieve consistency in the intonation, bowing, phrasing, sound quality, or all of the above. And should you have put in a great deal of time and effort into something, and it is still not happening to your liking, then it is time for a change of pace and style in the way you work.

The weather was merciful for the past two days, and I managed to sit under the pine trees in the garden at dusk under candlelight by myself. As night fell today, the huge protective and healing branches of the silver pine trees towered over me, and my thoughts shifted to both my cello and violin maker.

The recent cold front reminds me that I might not be able to spend my time in the garden in my favorite spot, contemplating the pine trees, much longer. My chair will remain empty until next spring. Not that I got to do too much of that this summer due to my travels to viola da gamba workshops and musical events. However, even the cold weather I don't favor has its charm, as it brings pumpkins to our tables and later on snow to our gardens. Still, I am hopeful for a wonderful Autumn and Winter season, during which I will share more blog posts with you on music and education.

Music enthusiasts sometimes wonder if it is easier to learn a second instrument if one is already proficient in playing one. To answer this question, I'd like to share my experience learning an instrument similar to the cello, but distinct from it. For over a year now, I have been learning how to play the viola da gamba. I have had the opportunity to play both the bass and the tenor so far.

Whenever we want to learn something new, it is natural to think about where to begin and ask many questions about the resources we need to bring our idea to fruition.

At the age of nine, I recall taking a test in a classroom at the Music Conservatory to determine if I had a musical ear. The professor played some musical tones and asked me to sing the tones he played on the piano to see if I could match the sounds. Then, he played some varied pitches in both the low and high registers. He asked me to determine which ones were lower and which were higher.