A unique flute teacher in Richmond, Virginia

We were recently introduced to a unique teacher of flute and piano residing in the Fan district of Richmond, Virginia. Svetlana came to the U.S. just a year ago to reunite with her daughter Maria, also a musician. Rich music traditions run deep in this wonderful family.

Svetlana Yefimova graduated from Saratov Conservatory, one of the oldest in Russia. Built in 1912, it's an institution with a long standing history of world-class music instruction. As a teacher of flute and piano with more than 40 years of experience, Svetlana nurtured a number of world famous flute players, winners of international music awards.

Russia is well known for its strong music traditions and unique teaching techniques. A number of world famous musicians were reared in the Russian musical system. Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Spivakov, Dmitri Hvorostovsky all graduated from famous music institutions of Russia (ex-USSR).

Thanks to Svetlana we discovered a wonderful world of flute. It's a beautiful instrument that can help develop not only a taste for music but excellent breathing techniques extremely useful in our everyday life.

A book about Michael Haneke by Oliver Speck

I first learned about Michael Haneke, an Austrian filmmaker and writer after watching his movie The Piano Teacher a few years ago. It's a very powerful and emotional movie with an excellent performance by a leading European cast.
It turns out one of my German friends who is an assistant professor of German and film studies at VCU has recently wrote a book about Michael Haneke that is now available at Amazon.
It's amazing how everything is interconnected in our modern world and in our lives.