About Janet

Janet Horvath, the Minnesota Orchestra’s associate principal cello from 1980 to 2012, is a lifelong performing classical musician, soloist, author, and speaker. She appeared as soloist with orchestra, in recital with piano, and in chamber music ensembles throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. “Ms. Horvath’s outgoing musical personality and passionate intensity flavors every aspect of her musicianship, and draws from her instrument a tone, which has the texture and feeling of rich golden honey…”

Janet earned her master’s degree in music performance from Indiana University and she now focuses on her writing and speaking. In November of 2017, she completed her MFA in creative writing from Hamline University, Saint Paul, MN.

Horvath is the author of the award-winning narrative nonfiction book The Cello Still Sings—A Generational Story of the Holocaust and of the Transformational Power of Music published by Amsterdam Publications. The book has been widely praised. As a result Janet has been in demand as a guest speaker hosting heartening conversations with audiences large and small throughout the country and for book clubs and on podcasts.

A child of Holocaust survivors, Janet was haunted by the eerie hush surrounding her parents’ experiences. Music, a constant mollifying presence, offset the disquiet of her childhood. After decades of secrets, Janet was able to unearth the mysteries of her parents’ deeply hidden traumas, and since then, the burdens and responsibilities of her heritage have shaped her life.

Through her writing and her musical performances, she creates restorative conversations, offers spiritual sustenance, and explores music’s life-bringing and healing power like her father did before her. In the age of fast-moving news, despite our best efforts, uncertainty and divisiveness prevail. Janet hopes to counteract the consequences of intolerance.

Active on social media with over 14,000 Twitter followers, Janet continues to work with children of Holocaust survivors and those who may not be familiar with this history and the effects on subsequent generations.

Her poignant presentations in which she tells her parents’ story, accompanied by personal and archival photos, are designed with the hope that the power of art will stimulate courageous conversations between her readers and attendees.

A contributing writer for the online classical music e-magazine Interlude.HK, she has penned over 430 feature articles about music and musicians. [click here to read some of them] Janet’s other writing includes a Tiny Love Story that appeared in the New York Times, May 2021 and she was an audio-documentary runner-up for the 2021 Miller Audio Contest hosted by the Missouri Review. Recent essays include A Musician Afraid of Sound published in The Atlantic, October 2015, and in national and international music publications—Musical America, Chamber Music America, Strings Magazine, The Brass Herald, and Strad Magazine among others.

Ms. Horvath’s first book Playing (less) Hurt—An Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians published by Amadeus Press (Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group), initially self-published, won a gold medal at the 2009 IPPY awards and is still in print.

Considered a pioneer and authority in the area of the medical problems of performing artists, her injury prevention work is well-known among both amateur and professional musicians, teachers and students, and healthcare providers. Her seminars have been well received by orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, Utah Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and Boston Symphony Orchestra, and at colleges, conservatories, and conferences from coast to coast. She has appeared on national radio and television including Terry Gross’ Fresh Air on NPR, The Woman’s Connection and Athletes and the Arts [click here to watch this and more videos].