27 West 67th Street

For decades, 27 West 67th Street, the first door on your right, was a haven for classical musicians. An invitation to Albert Fuller's apartment was a special thing, it meant that you had arrived or at least were about to. I remember my first visit, while still in my first year at Juilliard. It changed me life. Now almost 20 years later, I find myself in the process of selling that apartment, as co-executor of Albert's estate. This space was home to Helicon for 21 years, the site for so many chamber music rehearsals and performances, vocal auditions, Juilliard coachings, movie shoots, weddings, dinners, and parties. (Oh, the parties!) And of course, it was Albert Fuller's home, and as such embodied, and in many ways continues to embody, the enthusiasm, energy, and promise he brought to generations of musicians and music lovers.

Last week a showing of the apartment coincided with a Helicon rehearsal for our Biber symposium. A bit of serendipity as it turns out. I was worried it might be a disruption, but our real estate brokers, the divine Sharon Baum and her brother David Enloe of the Corcoran Group, found it both charming and meaningful. The experience blossomed into an article in today's Real Estate section of the New York Times. (Click here for the article.) Thank you to Josh Barbanel for being pitch-perfect. (I imagine the article's opening sequence, which, in one sentence, goes from dirty laundry to hot milled cider to Heinrich von Biber has to be a journalistic first.)