She said go ahead, I handled the house before while you was gone, I guess I can do it again.

First was the establishment of a curved thumb on the bow, for without the thumb being capable of flexing, the bow arm must be faulty. Second, was a good left hand setting on the fingerboard in the lower positions. Third, were the early scales, exercises, and finger independence studies.

You played very well but I would like you to take the Fourth Sonata of Beethoven and figure it out for yourself.

The other thing that Frank Miller did for me was to give me a very strict diet of scales and very difficult etudes - Popper High School - forty marvelous etudes. They are still sort of my Bible today, as far as cello is concerned. All my students have to play that material.

There was the barest minimum of religion at home. In my entire youth, until I left home at age 15, I remember going to Synagogue just a few times on Yom Kippur.

My father was a tremendous extrovert, always managing to be the center of attention and the life of the party. Mom was just the opposite - quiet, suffering, and neurotic as Hell. Quite a combination, those two. Dad was a terrific ham and Mom was very introverted, and basically sad and self-conscious.