This pianist takes her puppy everywhere

MSC says:

She’s a very talented artist with notable strength in some difficult modern repertoire. It’s a bit sad that a detail like her dog has to be used to encourage interest, but if it does I’m not against it. If I were on the road as much as some of these musicians, I would miss my dogs immensely.

David K. Nelson says:

Well to me the mention of the dog just seems like one of those “see, artists are real people too” squibs that some feel are useful in classical music PR. Like the promo articles that talk about Itzhak Perlman liking to cook, that sort of thing.

And many musicians are known for their love of pets. Fritz Kreisler canceled concerts when his dog died. I don’t think I ever saw John Browning in an audience without his little dog on his lap. And Henryk Szeryng loved to tell the story about soloing with the Milwaukee Symphony when the late Harry John Brown was music director. Brown was known for his two huge white dogs, perhaps Alsatians?, and was rarely seen in public without them. They’d be waiting in his dressing room during concerts. Szeryng decided to play with the dogs during the first part of the program before his concerto, but he accidentally let them out and they bounded out to the podium during the concert, for the predictable uproar.