Classical Classroom
292 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 455 ratingsThere is a rumor going around that classical music is hoity toity. At Classical Classroom, we beg to differ. Come learn with classical music newbie Dacia Clay and the music experts she invites into the Classical Classroom.
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Episodes
Classical Classroom Episode 220: Cello, Is It Me You're Looking For? with Joel Dallow
July 28, 2021 18:34 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBSome musicians slide right into a symphony orchestra position like [insert image of smiling child on slide]. Joel Dallow is not one of those musicians. It took him five years of intense work (on top of all of the work he'd already done as a student at the Peabody Conservatory and as a freelancer, etc., etc.,) to get the position he's occupied in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra cello section for 22 years. And now, he's on the other side of that audition table as part of the panel judging would...
Classical Classroom, Episode 219: Arranged and Deranged with Joe Burgstaller
May 14, 2021 20:34 - 48 minutes - 45.1 MBJoe Burgstaller may seem like a perfectly normal guy who just happens to have been playing trumpet since he emerged from the womb. But do not be fooled, dear listener. Something is clearly amiss. (See: Joe's music videos, particularly the video we talk about in this episode which took 26 trips through a car wash to get juuust right.) Perhaps it's all of the lip pursing. Or maybe there's something in the brass? Whatever it is has given him a case of hyper-creativity. In this episode, Joe teac...
Classical Classroom, Episode 218: Peter Dugan on the Magic of Collaboration
February 12, 2021 20:32 - 57 minutes - 53.5 MBWhen pianist Peter Dugan performed on NPR's From the Top at the age of 18, he had no idea that he would one day host the show. In this episode, Peter talks about how he came to be at the helm of a show that's been going for 25 years juuust before a pandemic began. He also teaches us about love, the magic the binds the molecules of music together. And he illustrates how collaborations between musicians have created that magic throughout history, and on From the Top, even in a global pandemic.
Classical Classroom, Episode 217: A Brassy, Classy, Yuletide Concert
December 25, 2020 04:35 - 43 minutes - 41 MBGinger Turner is--excuse us--a brassy broad. She was in the Army and the US Army's Field Band for 27 years. So when it came time to put on the annual Holiday Brass Concert for the International Women's Brass Conference (IWBC) during the pandemic, she did not shrink away from the challenge. She leaned right into it. And what resulted was pure, live, holiday magic. Learn about Ginger, the IWBC, and the feats of strength it took to put on a beautiful Christmas concert *safely* during COVID. And...
Classical Classroom, Episode 216: Merry Melodica Men-mas!
December 22, 2020 16:33 - 40 minutes - 38.6 MBWe hope that yule enjoy this holiday-ish show with Tristan Clarke, one half of YouTube sensation, the Melodica Men. In this episode, learn how two Juilliard- and Peabody-trained brass musicians took a detour from their traditional classical music work to play toy instruments on street corners, how they blew up the internet with an 89-second version of "The Rite of Spring," and why they are completely mesmerizing to watch. Also, learn how they distilled "The Nutcracker Suite" down to around 2...
Classical Classroom, Episode 215: Très Bien! Stéphane Denève Teaches the History of French Music
October 16, 2020 23:35 - 1 hour - 66.9 MBConductor and music director Stéphane Denève is a busy guy. He's got at least four jobs on two different continents. But thanks (?) to the pandemic, we caught him sitting still for long enough to teach us the ENTIRE HISTORY of French classical music! He starts at the very beginning with chant, and goes all the way through to contemporary composers. Learn about the pivotal moments in French music history, hear its evolution in musical examples, and learn what defines it--all from one of its b...
Classical Classroom, Episode 214: The Harp Will Go On with Yolanda Kondonassis
August 19, 2020 19:06 - 45 minutes - 43.3 MBWhen it comes to the harp, Yolanda Kondonassis is kind of a big deal. She’s literally written the book on the topic. In this episode, she teaches all about the history of the harp, describes the different kinds of harp, its mechanics, its repertoire, and about harp music being written today. She also tells the story of her personal history with the harp and how those first few plucks altered her life FOREVAH!
Classical Classroom, Episode 213: Orli Shaham Talks Piano (Man)
July 09, 2020 04:12 - 34 minutes - 32.4 MBThe piano. A seemingly normal instrument. But where did it come from, and how did it get here? Is it a percussion or a string instrument? Is it safe for young people, or will it influence your child to become interested in (gasp!) music, like it did one Orli Shaham? In this episode, Shaham describes how she was helplessly lured by the piano, as well as how this instrument wound up in peoples' homes. She also talks about its repertoire, and how your child can start playing. Listen at your own...
Classical Classroom, Episode 212: All Together Now with Lisa Bielawa
June 18, 2020 14:47 - 42 minutes - 39.7 MBComposer, producer, and vocalist Lisa Bielawa wants you for her project, Broadcast from Home! She's often incorporated community-making and experimental elements into her compositional work, but this project is next level: each week during the pandemic, Bielawa is creating a "chapter"--a piece of music--based on the written and recorded submissions she gets from people all around the globe about their current experience. In this interview, Lisa teaches about other music made in times of plag...
Classical Classroom, Episode 211: Music for (Sacred) Space with Michael Whalen
June 06, 2020 01:53 - 33 minutes - 31.7 MBHave you ever wondered what the atmosphere of a space sounds like? Well look no further! In this episode, Emmy Award winning film and TV composer Michael Whalen teaches all about the history of ambient music. He talks about its classical music roots, how circuits and tape collages and German composers had a part in its evolution, and how Brian Eno changed everything. He also talks about his own new album of music for sacred spaces.
Classical Classroom, Episode 210: Derek Bermel on Travels with Bartok
May 13, 2020 22:14 - 18 minutes - 18 MBAcademy Award-winning composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel does a lot of traveling, soaking up the musical traditions as he goes. His recent album, Migrations, received a Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category. In this episode, Bermel teaches about composer Bela Bartok who inspired one of the pieces on the album. Bartok moved from his native Hungary to New York City at the outset of World War II, and while a lot of great music came out of his journey, his ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 209: Alexander Pushkin in Opera, Pt. 2
April 02, 2020 02:23 - 37 minutes - 35.8 MBDramaturg and Seattle Opera Podcast host, Jonathan Dean has come back to the Classroom for this epic two-episode series about the bazillion operas based on the writing of the Russian author Alexander Pushkin. In part one, we talked all about who Pushkin was, painting a word picture of what a major impact his work had on...everything. In part two, learn about just some of the operas that Pushkin's work inspired! Also, please keep yourselves safe, and support your local arts organizations a...
Classical Classroom, Episode 208: Alexander Pushkin in Opera, Pt. 1
April 02, 2020 02:21 - 19 minutes - 18.7 MBWeeell, we figured that right about now would be a great time to put out some new episodes of the podcast. We hope that all of you out there in the weirdness are staying nice and safe and quarantined, and that these episodes will be a tiny ray of indoor sunshine for you all. Dramaturg and Seattle Opera Podcast host, Jonathan Dean has come back to the Classroom for this epic two-episode series about the bazillion operas based on the writing of the Russian author Alexander Pushkin. Even thou...
Classical Classroom, Episode 207: Rachel Barton Pine Gets Folksy with Dvorak and Khachaturian
January 27, 2020 21:57 - 36 minutes - 34.3 MBViolinist and Classical Classroom mascot Rachel Barton Pine is back to teach all about the violin concertos of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak and Soviet-Armenian Aram Khachaturian. Learn about their lives and music! Get lost with Dvorak in New York City! Hear about Khachaturian becoming a new father! Find out who threw shade at Dvorak and mucked up his whole concerto composing process, and how Khachaturian wrote his concerto in a blissed-out creative flurry. Also, learn about what makes "folk...
Classical Classroom, Episode 33: Cracking “The Nutcracker” with Michael Remson and Shelly Power (RERUN)
December 23, 2019 23:17 - 40 minutes - 38 MBNo tickets to see The Nutcracker this year? No problem! Experience basically almost the entire thing in this episode from the Classroom Wayback Machine with musical expert Michael Remson (San Diego Youth Symphony, formerly of AFA) and dance expert Shelly Power (Pennsylvania Ballet, formerly of Houston Ballet Academy). Hear the music and the story and learn all about the history of dance and behind the scenes tricks of the trade as you listen. It's like four levels of entertainment at once. J...
Classical Classroom, Episode 206: John Luther Adams Walks Through "Become Desert"
December 04, 2019 05:59 - 38 minutes - 36.4 MBWith Become Desert, composer John Luther Adams is done "Become"-ing (learn why in this episode). First, there was the Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning Become Ocean. Then, there was Become River. Finally, in 2019, Adams put his feet on solid ground, in a terrain he's much more comfortable with. And now there's Become Desert. Here, Adams talks about what the deceptively simple pieces of the Become trilogy are, both musically and conceptually, about Desert in particular, and about why music > polit...
Classical Classroom, Episode 205: Nicholas McGegan on Rameau and Music that Stands the Test of Time
November 01, 2019 18:41 - 17 minutes - 16.8 MBConductor Nicholas McGegan, of San Francisco Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra fame (and so much more) is an expert in conducting Baroque music. To some of us at the podcast, this sounds as obscure as being a modern day village cobbler or ironing one's hair with an actual iron. But in this episode, McGegan explains his love for this music and why it - and other kinds of music - will continue to be relevant for centuries to come. He illustrates his point by teaching about an opera by the compose...
Classical Classroom, Episode 204: A Peculiar Harry Partch Primer, with John Schneider
September 12, 2019 16:53 - 35 minutes - 34.1 MBGuitarist John Schneider is clearly obsessed. In the best, passionate-music-geek kind of way. And the thing is that the object of his obsession - Harry Partch and his work - just engenders that kind of response in people. It probably comes from the fact that Partch himself who was monomaniacally focused: he was so absorbed with the idea that music should be more than just the traditional twelve notes that he invented new musical notation, new notes, new instruments to play said notes, and ne...
Classical Classroom Special Assembly with Itzhak Perlman
July 22, 2019 19:11 - 32 minutes - 46.2 MBGoing to class is a major part of being a classical musician. But have you heard of a "master class"? One student at a time gets up and performs a piece in front of a class, and then the "master" leading the class critiques said performance. Sounds nerve-wracking (read: ...like the stuff of nightmares) to us. Gather 'round for this special assembly in which Classroom's first substitute teacher, Maggie Molloy, talks to Maestro Itzhak Perlman about the history and importance of the master clas...
Classical Classroom, Episode 203: Jason Vieaux and Jonathan Leshnoff, Musical Frontiersmen
July 01, 2019 23:58 - 23 minutes - 34 MBJason Vieaux is not just a Grammy-winning classical guitarist - he's a pioneer, taking on new works that have never been performed or recorded before, like those of composer Jonathan Leshnoff. Leshnoff is an adventurer, too, writing virtuosic material for instruments he's never played, like the guitar. Find out how these fearless frontiersman find the fortitude to forge foreign... uh...how they make and play brand new stuff. The end. Special thanks to Todd Reynolds for his music, Taskforce...
Classical Classroom, Ep 137: Summer Music – Music Academy Of The West! The Second Nature Of Matthew Aucoin (Rerun)
June 25, 2019 00:50 - 24 minutes - 46.9 MBIn our second annual Classical Classroom Summer Music Festival Series, we hit the (sound)waves at the Music Academy of the West in sunny Santa Barbara, California! The third installment of our MAW series features composer, conductor, and pianist, Matthew Aucoin. Aucoin is a resident at that Music Academy of the West, and a sort of serial residentialist elsewhere (like the Peabody Essex Museum and soon, the Los Angeles Opera). He talks about what a “residency” is, and how it informs a compo...
Classical Classroom, Episode 202: It Was All New Music Once, with Richard Scerbo and David Alan Miller
June 17, 2019 22:33 - 40 minutes - 56.7 MBThere's a reason that great works in classical music have stuck around for so long. Once upon a time, it was all music composed by groundbreaking artists, churning out new sounds and ideas never heard before. But at some point, it's like someone somewhere decided that the canon was complete. Why? In this episode, National Orchestral Institute director Richard Scerbo and recent GRAMMY nominee/past winner David Alan Miller (Albany Symphony Music Director) talk about the groundbreaking compose...
Classical Classroom, Episode 75: The Democracy of Chamber Music with Cantus (Rerun)
June 11, 2019 03:48 - 31 minutes - 59.2 MBOne of the distinguishing characteristics of chamber music is its inherent “democracy” – each part is of equal importance. Aaron Humble and Paul Rudoi of the Cantus Vocal Ensemble explain how it works when everyone involved in making the music is a special snowflake. Audio production by Todd “Sir Toddsalot” Hulslander with unflagging devotion to somethingerother by Dacia Clay. Music in this episode, all by Cantus: From A Harvest Home – “My Journey Yours” “How Can I Keep from Singing...
Classical Classroom, Episode 201: Practicing Rachmaninoff in Public with Tiffany Poon
June 03, 2019 15:02 - 37 minutes - 52 MBThere's a good chance that you've heard of Yale School of Music grad student and rising classical pianist, Tiffany Poon. Her YouTube vlogs have over 11 million views. In them, she talks casually with fans as she travels to gigs and invites them into the practice room. Her openness about her musical life and process has tapped into something for which fans are hungry. In this episode, Tiffany talks about Rachmaninoff 3 and about the community she created by prepping publicly for a performance...
Classical Classroom, Episode 84: JoAnn Falletta Shares Scheherazade (Rerun)
May 20, 2019 03:01 - 35 minutes - 66.3 MBJoAnn Falletta is celebrating her 20th anniversary as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, so we've gotta give her a shout out with this old gold from the Classroom vault! By the way, did you know that a 2014 survey found that in a list of the 150 top conductors in the world, only five were women? New episode topic? --------- Who was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and why does he have two last names? And why would a 19th century Russian composer write a symphonic poem based on ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 200: Top 10 Countdown!
May 13, 2019 17:50 - 34 minutes - 64.9 MBIt's been nearly six years since we started the Classical Classroom podcast in a small shed that also housed producer Todd's lawn mower. Since then, a lot has happened. We've learned so much from our amazing guests, traveled to music festivals, had parties and game show quizzes, talked to the dead, had trumpet lessons, and we moved into a storage unit behind KING FM in Seattle. Todd also got a new lawn mower. In this episode, we'll revisit some of our favorite moments from the last 200 ep...
Field Trip to the Opera: Carmen in 3D
May 06, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 94 MBWhen you think of opera, words like "grandiose," "extravagant," and "whoa" come to mind. Those words all describe Georges Bizet's Carmen. Singing, dancing, costumes, sets, orchestras, fight scenes, wigs, drama! How on Earth does something with so many moving parts even get to the stage? Much less, successfully and entertainingly?! We wanted to know. And as it happens, the Seattle Opera was staging Carmen right down the street. So, we went on a field trip to see the show and - because we're u...
Classical Classroom, Episode 16: From Schubert to Gaga, the Unfinished Symphony with Jade Simmons (Rerun)
April 27, 2019 00:37 - 32 minutes - 60.2 MBWe love celebrating our alumni here at Classical Classroom, and Jade Simmons is one of our faves. This episode is from way back in 2013 when Jade was merely a very successful woman. Now, she's the host of iTunes #1 music podcast, Decomposed. A podcast rock star. We couldn't be more stoked for her. And we're kind of riding on her coattails by posting this rerun. Just a little. -------------- Artists as entrepreneurs, Lady Gaga, horror movies, and Schubert! In this episode, concert pianis...
Classical Classroom, Episode 89: Awadagin Pratt on Brahms, Brunge, and Beards (Rerun)
April 22, 2019 12:00 - 37 minutes - 52.3 MBWe're rerunning this episode with Awadagin Pratt basically because we felt like it. But we don't think you're going to mind, as he is awesome. Let his dulcet tones wash over you as Pratt teaches you all about why Brahms is one of the Big Daddies of classical music, what it has to do with Edith Bunker, and how the beard made it all possible. All music in this episode from Awadagin Pratt and Zuill Bailey’s CD “Brahms Works For Cello And Piano”. Audio production by Todd “Are You There Todd?...
Classical Classroom, Episode 79: The Women of Classical Guitar with Valerie Hartzell (Rerun)
April 15, 2019 12:00 - 34 minutes - 48.3 MBApril is International Guitar Month! In honor of that, we're bringing back this episode with one of our fave guitarists, Valerie Hartzell, creator/director of the Classical Minds Festival and Competition. Valerie talks about the ladies of classical guitar. Who are they? Why did their numbers diminish over time? And what can we do about it?? Audio production by Todd “Not Tony Danza” Hulslander with editing by Mark DiClaudio and bossing by Dacia Clay. Music in this episode: "Valerie Loves...
Classical Classroom, Episode 199: Jack of All Emotions - the Music of Elliott Carter with the JACK Quartet
April 08, 2019 17:31 - 43 minutes - 80.7 MB"Classical music is relaxing." "I listen to classical music because it's soothing." "I turn on classical music when I want to concentrate." These are all things we're guessing very few people have said about the composer you're going to learn about in this episode. Elliott Carter's music is about something much more vast and complex than chillaxing: it's about the full range of human experience. If you've been alive for long enough to read this, you know that being a person is not always e...
Classical Classroom, Episode 198: Music Education Month - Idyllwild Arts
April 01, 2019 17:44 - 34 minutes - 63.9 MBIn the beautiful San Jacinto Mountains, southeast of Los Angeles, is a place that is basically the ultimate experience in music and arts education: Idyllwild Arts Academy. It's a residential arts high school where young people are immersed in their chosen practice every day. Here, music students learn alongside peers studying visual arts, dance, and more, and collaborate with them. One hundred per cent of Idyllwild grads go off to college. What does the dream of music education look like? Wh...
Classical Classroom, Episode 197: Music Education Month - The Village School
March 25, 2019 05:20 - 33 minutes - 62.8 MBNeither Sarah Perkins nor Michael Barber ever intended to become music and arts educators. No, they both had their sights set on the Big Time - performance and Broadway. But life presented each with opportunities to teach music to young people, and before they knew it, they Sarah and Michael were hooked. Now they're both staffers at a unique school in Houston, Texas called the Village School. In this episode, learn about what makes teaching music and the arts so rewarding, and about a school...
Classical Classroom, Episode 40: Simone Dinnerstein Goes Bachpacking (Rerun)
March 18, 2019 01:43 - 32 minutes - 59.8 MBMarch is Music Education Month on the Classical Classroom, but it's also Bach's birthday month. So, it's obviously the perfect time to revisit this episode with Simone Dinnerstein in which we discuss a music education program she started about the music of Bach. (Bam. Venn diagram intersection = achieved!) Learn about the music of Bach, and perhaps, take some cues from Simone on bringing music ed to your own community. Special thanks to Todd Reynolds for his music, Taskforce: Farmlab from ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 196: Joyce DiDonato - When Musical Worlds Collide
March 11, 2019 05:24 - 23 minutes - 43.9 MBPeople are pretty much never just one thing. Each person is made of the stuff in their individual history, including the music. That includes Grammy-winning opera singers. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato recently completed a project that brought the disparate parts of her own musical history together. And because she's Joyce DiDonato, this meant bringing top notch performers from across the musical spectrum into the studio to work together. In this episode, she talks about the fascinating proce...
Classical Classroom, Episode 195: Music Education Month - Washington Performing Arts
March 04, 2019 18:14 - 24 minutes - 46.7 MBMarch is Music Education Month! This month, we'll look at a range of people and institutions throughout the music education world in search of the real scoop: Is music ed, along with the rest of arts education, being eaten alive by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), thereby creating robotic, soulless drone humans instead of people? Or is music ed experiencing a renaissance, reaching populations who've never had it before and providing an essential dimension to the educational...
Classical Classroom, Episode 194: Mason Bates on the Opera-fication of Steve Jobs
February 22, 2019 22:44 - 33 minutes - 62.7 MBGrammy-nominated composer Mason Bates is also a bona fide DJ. As DJ Masonic, he brings classical music and electronica together on the dance floor. As a composer, he brings the sounds of electronica to classical music in places like the Kennedy Center. So it's fitting that Bates' first opera is about tech guru Steve Jobs. But can it really work to tell a decidedly 21st century story using a 400-year-old medium? Turns out, yes. In this Seattle Opera Podcast crossover episode, Bates explains w...
Classical Classroom, Episode 193: Bach in the Underground with Cellist Dale Henderson
February 18, 2019 04:50 - 28 minutes - 54 MBTo get ready for Bach's March birthday, we bring you the fascinating story of a man on a mission to bring Bach to the people. Bach's music changed cellist Dale Henderson's life. Though the concert hall was a fab venue for sharing this music, Dale wasn't satisfied to stop there. Bach's music, he felt, was for everyone - not just classical music fans. So he schlepped his cello down into a New York City subway, and started playing "pop-up" concerts (for free). And thus, Bach in the Subways was...
Classical Classroom, Episode 192: The Hilarious History of Classical Music with Igudesman and Joo
February 11, 2019 03:12 - 39 minutes - 74.2 MBAleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo make up the classical music comedy duo, Igudesman and Joo. And though they will crack you up with their performances (which you can watch on their YouTube channel along with millions of other viewers), when they talk about why they do what they do, the two musicians become surprisingly serious. They firmly believe that classical music was always meant to be fun. In this episode, they talk about the history of humor in classical music (even Beethoven was fun...
Classical Classroom, Episode 191: Talkin' About the Blues (Dialogues) with Rachel Barton Pine
February 04, 2019 08:21 - 28 minutes - 53.1 MBViolinist (and veteran Classical Classroom guest) Rachel Barton Pine talks all about her Music by Black Composers initiative, a project that's been in the works for 15 years, and the companion album she recently released called Blues Dialogues, Vol. 1. She discusses why projects like this are important, especially in the classical music world, advocacy vs. cultural appropriation, and talks about the great music on the album. Music in this episode: Special thanks to Todd Reynolds for his m...
Classical Classroom, Episode 191: Talkin' About the Blues (Dialogues) with Rachel Barton Pine
February 04, 2019 08:21 - 28 minutes - 53.1 MBViolinist (and veteran Classical Classroom guest) Rachel Barton Pine talks all about her Music by Black Composers initiative, a project that's been in the works for 15 years, and the companion album she recently released called Blues Dialogues, Vol. 1. She discusses why projects like this are important, especially in the classical music world, advocacy vs. cultural appropriation, and talks about the great music on the album. Music in this episode: Special thanks to Todd Reynolds for his m...
Classical Classroom, Episode 190: Piazzolla Party! with the Neave Trio
January 28, 2019 17:19 - 20 minutes - 39.4 MBAstor Piazzolla was a bandoneon player and a composer in Argentina who lived during the 20th century. He changed both classical music and tango music by bringing the two together. The Neave Trio, who recently came out with an album of Piazzolla's work, teaches all about who he was and how his genre-hopping changed music. Music list: Special thanks to Todd Reynolds for his music, Taskforce: Farmlab from Outerbourough.
Classical Classroom, Episode 76: MusicWorks - How Sonya Got Her Opera On (Rerun)
January 21, 2019 13:00 - 30 minutes - 57.3 MBWe love it when Classroom alums get recognized for their awesomeness. Such is the case for soprano Sonya Yoncheva. In addition to receiving the Opera Award by the Chilean Art Critics Circle, Sonya is on the cover of the Metropolitan Opera's wall calendar this year. We thought this was a great occasion to rerun her episode of Classical Classroom and to say, "You go, gworl." -------------------- In our first MusicWorks episode (that's our storytelling-centered subseries), soprano Sonya Yon...
Classical Classroom, Episode 189: Once More with Healing feat. Brooklyn Rider
January 14, 2019 19:23 - 34 minutes - 64 MBString quartet Brooklyn Rider has a new project called Healing Modes which they're currently touring. While they were in Seattle, we coaxed them into the KING FM studio with the promise of snacks. Just kidding! They came in willingly like most of our guests. In this episode, they talk about Beethoven's Opus 132, the piece at the center of this project, and about the 5 new pieces they commissioned to play alongside it. They also talk about why music is healing, and why we need it to do its ma...
Classical Classroom, Episode 188: Paddling to the Sea with Third Coast Percussion
January 05, 2019 01:33 - 34 minutes - 64 MBThird Coast Percussion makes amazing music by hitting stuff. Okay - it's a little more complicated than that. But the Grammy-winning ensemble does spend a lot of time, both at Home Depot and with percussion mentors from other countries, searching for things to hit, bash, tap and so on. Their latest project, Paddle to the Sea, is a beautiful and moving distillation of all of that searching and bashing - one that has a rich history, dating back to a children's book of the same name from 1941. ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 187: Rachel Barton Pine Talks Bruch and Elgar
December 31, 2018 14:00 - 32 minutes - 61.6 MBWhat do Max Bruch and Edward Elgar have in common? Violinist Rachel Barton Pine! In this episode, RBP talks about the two composers and their very different violin concertos. Discussed herein: Did Edward Elgar invent Post It Notes? How is Max Bruch like Milli Vanilli and Iron Maiden? And, who was the mystery woman to whom Elgar dedicated his violin concerto (hint: it wasn’t his wife!)? And so much more. Music in this episode: Special thanks to Todd Reynolds for his music, Taskforc...
Classical Classroom, Episode 112: The Ugly Christmas Sweaters Of Classical Music, With Alecia Lawyer (RERUN)
December 24, 2018 14:00 - 34 minutes - 64.1 MBIt's Christmas Eve. Chances are, you've heard a lot of beautiful music. If you're looking for more of that, you've come to the wrong place. Welcome to Jingle Hell, where bad songs are born, and good songs come to die. Alecia Lawyer, founder, artistic director, and principal oboist of River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO) talks about the worst musical offerings of the season, and what makes them so bad. Songs that include entire scales? Check. Songs with completely bizarre lyrics that we sing a...
Classical Classroom, Episode 186: Kim Kashkashian on the Persistence of Bach
December 17, 2018 13:00 - 24 minutes - 45.3 MBWe know what you're thinking: Another episode about Bach?! That's what we said! In fact, in this episode we ask Grammy-winning violist Kim Kashkashian to explain why classical musicians play and record the same music repeatedly, and specifically, why it's often the music of Bach. Her answer is totally fascinating! We also address the elephant in the room, i.e., whether or not it would have been okay with Bach that she played his Cello Suites on viola on her new album. Music in this episode...
Classical Classroom, Episode 185: On Discovering Hidden Classical Gems with Marc-André Hamelin
December 10, 2018 16:28 - 29 minutes - 54.7 MBMarc-André Hamelin is many things: a renowned pianist, a composer, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a record collector of major proportions. The hands-on, no robots or algorithms, no safety net, digging in dusty bins in record shops variety. In fact, hunting for classical music diamonds in the rough is part of his creative process, and he loves bringing lesser-known works that he finds out into the light before audiences. In this episode, Hamelin talks about how (and why) he finds musi...
Classical Classroom, Episode 184: Working Hard with Hilary Hahn
December 03, 2018 03:24 - 23 minutes - 43.3 MBViolinist Hilary Hahn has achieved more at just 39 years old than most of us will in a couple of lifetimes: multiple Grammy awards, 1594 concerts (so far), 20+ albums, 2 episodes of the Classical Classroom podcast, 2 kids, and a talking violin case. In this episode, Hahn talks about how much practice it actually takes to be her, her #100daysofpractice challenge on Instagram, and about how much work went in to her latest album, Hilary Hahn Plays Bach: Sonatas 1 and 2 Partita 1. Music in th...