By Janelle Gelfand
Enquirer staff writer

IF YOU GO

What: Grandin Festival When: Saturday through Aug. 27 Where: University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Information: It's free. 556-4183 or visit www.ccm.uc.edu for a schedule of recitals.

She's an opera singer; he's a pianist and award-winning composer. Soprano Amy Burton and her husband, John Musto, present a recital (7:30 p.m. Sunday, Werner Recital Hall) for the Grandin Festival at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Each will also give a master class during the two-week festival, which features small instrumental ensemble with voice and runs Saturday through Aug. 27

What makes this music special? It depends on who you ask.

Burton: Chamber music is one of greatest pleasures in music making. It's one of the few times that singers work without a conductor. It's a group experience, and it just raises everybody's level of musicianship.

You've been married 19 years. When you perform together, do you take each other's criticism well?

Burton: Oh boy, I feel like I should consult an attorney before I answer that!(laughs). From my point of view, John has the ears that I trust more than anybody else. We respect each other's opinion. Early on, it was hard for me to take criticism, but now we can laugh about stuff.

Musto: We just know exactly what our rhythms are, both on and off stage. You have this sense that you're always building on something. It's not like you do this gig with one person, and then another person. You don't have to learn the other person's style or musical personality from scratch every time you go onstage. It's a given.

What's the most important point you'll try to make to students in your master classes?

Burton: Just learn to listen to each other. For instrumentalists, I've heard violin teachers say "Sing! Sing!" And I talk about bowings to my students all the time. I think we have a lot to learn from each other.

Musto: When it's my piece, the most important thing is that once they're onstage, it's their piece and they own it and they have to sell it. They should just use their instincts. When a piece is well written, it should lend itself to some elasticity of interpretation.

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com