When I was four years old, my grandmother used to pick me up from preschool and take me to her house for a few hours before dropping me back at my parents' house around the corner. Following my postprandial nap, she would give me one of her records (that's LP's for you Millennials and post-Millennials) that I would take home and add to my "collection". I would then listen to and unleash these "contained worlds" of sound on my Fisher Price portable record player. I was hooked. Every record opened up a new adventure that I found absolutely fascinating. 

I loved the warm sounds that would come out of this "music box" when listening to Chopin, Brahms "Hungarian Dances", Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances" from the Opera Prince Igor, or music to accompany the Ballet Moiseyev. 

Later on, as I entered a very personal journey through years of violin and piano study, I would become enraptured with Jacqueline du Pré and Daniel Barenboim's haunting recording of the Franck Sonata, the Schubert Cello Quintet, Brahms Symphony Number 3, and my all-time favorite, David Oistrakh's recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.

Something about these works of art opens up the soul and the spirit to communicate in ways that are beyond our complete understanding. It is my hope that the magic in this music that continues to inspire so many people will do the same for you. 

-- Daniel Broniatowski, D.M.A.