An except from Marion's letter of September 13:
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[Micha is her ex-husband who studied conducting and who
himself hoped to become a conductor, to whom she gave a CD
of Nathaniel's performance of Dvorak's Cello Concerto and
8th Symphony.]

Nathaniel's German essay #1 was lovely.  After listening to the Belmont
Summer Music Festival recording, Micha opined that it definitely showed
talent, but he was very focused on professional analysis of the
orchestral sound and found many imperfections for which to hold the
conductor responsible.  He thought it important to choose repertoire
that the orchestra can play, and that this orchestra was too small for
the Dvorak Symphony, with the strings overwhelmed by the brass.  He also
thought the symphony was too difficult for this orchestra.  He
complained of the intonation, of the players frequently neglecting
to fully complete a musical phrase.  He believes it is important for a
conductor to notice and deal with all these elements.  In this sense,
Nathaniel's reluctance to upload these performances to You-Tube is
probably wise.