"It's more enjoyable even if you lose to be friends, and to enjoy yourselves and have a good time and go out for ice cream and be people. I'm not happy with my own playing if I feel it could have been better, not because somebody else won the competition."

These attitudes are certainly at odds with the prima donna image that some people hold of young musicians, and Castelli realizes this. "I like to hope that I defy some of the negative aspects of being young and being a performer. I think trying to do a lot of different things is important in keeping perspective."

Since arriving at Harvard, Castelli has experienced a great shift in how she dedicates her life. "There's a lot more work to be done than I had there," she says, but while she misses the conservatory environment, she enjoys a new freedom in her scheduling. Because she is not studying with a teacher, she chooses how and when she will work with each piece she takes on.

What's more, the violinist has nothing but praise for her experience at Harvard. "I love it here. People here are so amazing, so diverse, it floors me, and that's what I wanted to be around."

Another difference of life at Harvard: despite the fact that the accessibility of air travel was a factor in her decision to transfer here, she has found it increasingly difficult to miss classes here, where the school is under no obligation to excuse her absence.

Later, when Castelli mentions that her next major concert appearance, with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, will occur during finals period, she says, "You can put that in there so that my teachers will sympathize. When you sign that contract, that's it. You're there, you're doing the concert, and you have to figure out something else to do with the rest of your life. The rest of your life gets moved around for it."

Although she soloed with the HRO last year, Castelli is not currently involved with any musical groups on campus. "The thing that I think about most in joining a student group here," she says "is whether I would be able to contribute my maximum to it." Because she's so committed to her classes, solo work and her new album, she says, "I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do as good of a job as I would want. I want to be there for all the rehearsals. I think it's unfair to the other players if I can't contribute fully."

Castelli's new album was recorded in Munich last year on a grant from an award that she received for playing, among other pieces, the Wieniawski Scherzo-Tarantelle that appears on the recording. The entire process took two days: one to record and one to edit the tracks.