Excerpts from the violinist Jennifer Koh's Interview with Bruce Duffie

Jennifer Koh: ...One of the most amazing concerts that I did was a couple days after September 11th, 2001. The National Symphony in Washington D.C. decided to still present a concert. I think it was on a Friday, and September 11th was on a Tuesday. I went there, and part of the reason that I felt that I could do this was because it was an all-Beethoven concert ... It was the kind of music that I felt was, in a way, the most appropriate for this time. So we had rehearsals and it was still very chaotic at that time.... They'd see a paper bag and they'd think it's a bomb, so the Kennedy Center would lock down, rehearsal would stop and everybody would vacate the building. So it wasn't the most ideal rehearsal situation. When the concert came, it was amazing. It was completely sold out, and after I finished playing, people were just weeping! Music is about communicating when you can’t find the words. It’s about spirituality, in a sense. It’s about the human soul. It’s about ... being able to take all the sides of humanity and turn it into something amazingly beautiful and profound...