Ask Alice - Classical Music's Agony Aunt

Ask Alice

Ask Alice - A student feels unappreciated, but Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh is there to help!!!!!!

Ask Alice - Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh wrestles with 1984 and the mind police

Ask Alice - Of telephones and concerts, plus a recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons - Music and Sonnets, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Of mice and men, Chislehurst and Orpington, America and China, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - A visit to Covent Garden for 'Die Meistersinger', with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On hitting music students with string bows, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On trusting in the force of the cello, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On visiting the O2, and choosing between dentistry and music, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On unruly behaviour on orchestral weekends and in concerts, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Troubles and traumas at specialist music schools, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - A tale of six mottos, any number of mice, three cats, two vets, a conductor, a composer and a press release, from Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On modern cello recital repertoire, with Classical Music agony aunt, Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On drowning out Katherine Jenkins, and a 77,000 person Mexican wave, with Classical Music agony aunt, Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On cellists playing violin, and a story about Cortot and Enescu, from Classical Music agony aunt, Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On solos and orchestra politics, with Classical Music agony aunt, Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Tricky orchestra questions for the world's most vibrant Classical Music agony aunt, Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On desperation in singers and orchestral players, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the cut-throat world of piano teaching, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On Nicola Benedetti, losing the 'Max' in Max Bruch and the National Children's Orchestra of Great Britain, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On stopping performances due to illicit recordings, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On downloading Brahms Sextets and coping with Greek rodents, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh is accused of ignoring the BBC Proms

Ask Alice - On becoming a 'musicians are smarter' sceptic, and swimming to France across the English Channel, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On pain caused by too much practicing, with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On complaining about music exam results, with Classical Music Agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On temporary disability and bias in music competitions, with Classical Music Agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On intonation in cello sections, with Classical Music Agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Irate choral singers, grade exams and tendonitis, with Classical Music Agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Agony aunt Alice McVeigh goes for zero classical music content in her latest rantings on social networking, sport and mice, guaranteed to annoy the editor (her only remaining reader)

Ask Alice - A possible threat to the punctuation supremacy of classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the rising cost of music hire, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On 'Swinging Samson' and musicians' brains, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh says farewell to her musician aunt

Ask Alice - On Royal-Wedding-itis, cello rosin and a thumbs up for Obama, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Stupid questions and idiotic social networking, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Trendy in Bromley, and bluesy music with a twist, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Technology and music, plus Elgar in Lowestoft, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - A brief encounter with field-mice, by classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Correspondence between film maker Phil Grabsky and classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - In search of Beethoven and stress-free jobs, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On grooming violin superstars and oriental domination, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - An overdose of Mozart and crazy fitness machines, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On strengthening fingers and selling cellos, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On pensions, money, burglars, bankers and teeth, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - The trouble with banks, by classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On schools and academies, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On various kinds of happy Christmasses, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On sons and computers, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On cello machines and thoughts of murder, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On 'Hamlet' and lacking advancement, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On Christmas and the Huddersfield Philharmonic, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On Kindles, rehairs and resin, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On listening or playing, musicians' creativity and Sue Frankel's Caractacus Pots, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh raves about Barclaycard and the Absolute Zero Viola Quartet, and comments on pillow fighting in Eastbourne

Ask Alice - On the gooey bits of pigeons and Bach's B minor Mass, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On rodents, requiems and bow restorers, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On bands, exhaustion and headaches, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - A tale of rain, ashes and horses, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On helping cellist Christine Jackson, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Strapped down and having her toes nibbled by mice, classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh meets the Wicked Witch of the West

Ask Alice - Classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh is shocked and appalled ...

Ask DGriffs - Bombshell facts ... On drum kits in lofts and 'diabolus in scordatura', with deputy classical music agony 'aunt' DGriffs

Ask DGriffs - Desperate platitudes ... a rather surprising concerto at the BBC Proms, and an urgent plea for new correspondence, from deputy classical music agony 'aunt' DGriffs

Ask Alice - A new plan for world peace, from classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On, like, gift shop blues (or reds and browns?), like, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the three weaknesses of Charles Mackerras, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Relationship advice for music teachers, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - How less practice can be more, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Notching up the practice hours, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Some harsh but sporting advice from classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - A clear case of power play, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On second careers and sensitivity, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On songwriters and gamba sonatas, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Christian Aid, Alice-style, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Problems with a violinist who's 'too good', with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - 'The Marriage of Figaro' in Washington DC, reviewed by classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - The matinée performance on 24 April 2010 of Folger Theater's 'Hamlet', recommended by classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the pros and cons of Facebook, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the guilty secrets of classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Wildlife on the highway, rescued by classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On oboe jobs, waxworks and knee surgery, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On violins and bows, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the appointment of a masterchef for musicians, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On talent and texts, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the benefits of singing, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On personnel problems in orchestras, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On thin ankles and recordings, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - A cello, a mechanic and a funeral, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Elegy and Celebration, by classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the craziness of worldwide auditions, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh is touched strangely by tales of woe

Ask Alice - On ageism in the music business, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - A special Christmas message from classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh deals with a trumpeter with an emotional problem

Ask Alice - The most beautiful sound in the world, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On delusions, fruitcakes and the Elgar Cello Concerto, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On the perils of programming, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - Judges, sheep and a Rite to complain, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ask Alice - On full-size cellos and musicians' reputations, with classical music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Welcome to the home page for Ask Alice, Classical Music's Agony Aunt.

Alice McVeigh. Photo © John Carmichael

Weekly since April 2003, American freelance cellist, author and playwright Alice McVeigh has been answering questions on a surprising variety of subjects from musicians, students, music lovers and other readers. You can read her most recent columns by clicking on the links at the top of the left-hand column on this page.

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