Classical Classroom
292 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 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 183: All-Star Ashley Bathgate's Primer on New Classical Music
November 26, 2018 17:17 - 42 minutes - 78.3 MBIf you've ever wondered how playing bowls of water is related to traditional classical music, this is the episode for you. Cellist Ashley Bathgate (of Bang on a Can All-Stars fame) was classically trained at Yale University School of Music, educated in the structured musical worlds of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. But today, she moves in a tangent universe of the classical music world, filled with effects pedals, prepared instruments, living composers, and sometimes members of indie rock bands...
Classical Classroom, Episode 182: Fantastic Bell - Joshua Bell on Max Bruch's "Scottish Fantasy"
November 19, 2018 13:00 - 22 minutes - 42.8 MBSometimes composers just make stuff up. That is the lesson that Grammy-winning, super duper famous violinist Joshua Bell teaches in this episode of Classical Classroom. He also talks about how this is not just okay - it can be great, as it is in the piece "Scottish Fantasy" by composer Max Bruch. Learn about who Bruch was and where this piece came from (spoiler alert: not Scotland). Music in this episode: Special Thanks to Todd Reynolds for his music, Taskforce: Farmlab from Outerbouroug...
Classical Classroom, Episode 181: The Magicians - Daron Hagen on Orson Welles
November 12, 2018 13:00 - 44 minutes - 82.7 MBComposer, conductor, and librettist Daron Hagen recently created a new magic trick: An opera that's not an opera about the director Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) but not necessarily about Orson Welles which may be performed in a different way every time it's performed and, according the website, "may, in fact, not exist at all, except as a set of options." Hagen's opera Orson Rehearsed has a lot to teach us about the use and usefulness of operatic structure and about the creative process. W...
Classical Classroom, Episode 180: Icelandic Music History 101 with Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
November 05, 2018 12:00 - 31 minutes - 59.4 MBCellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir is from the once-isolated island country of Iceland, a land of ice and snow and geothermal power and awesome music. In this episode, Sæunn tells the unique history of Icelandic classical music (or "music," as they call it there), including how the long-term relative isolation of the country lent to its unique approach to music, and tells what Bjork's favorite food is. Just kidding! But she does talk about Iceland's important composers and musical luminaries and...
Classical Classroom, Episode 179: The Miro Quartet on Beethoven's Opus 131, an Autobiography
October 29, 2018 12:00 - 18 minutes - 35.7 MBLife isn't always puppies and kittens (she stated sagely). Sometimes, it can be downright tough - maybe your family is falling apart and you're a famous composer and you're going deaf. We've all been there, amiright? In this episode, John Largess and Joshua Gindele, members of the Miro Quartet, talk about Beethoven's Opus 131 string quartet and that it's one example of how composers use the string quartet to tell their own stories. They also talk about what was going on in Beethoven's life t...
Classical Classroom, Episode 178: Anne Akiko Meyers on Working with Superheroes
October 22, 2018 10:00 - 26 minutes - 48.8 MBArguably, Anne Akiko Meyers is darn admirable herself. The violinist has scads of fans. She's been Billboard's #1 classical artist. I mean, she's been on Morning Edition AND All Things Considered. But in this episode, Meyers is the fan rather than the star. She tells stories about getting to work with composers she idolizes, and what happened when she did - and didn't - dare to ask them to do things differently. Valuable life lessons, people. Music in this episode: Special Thanks to T...
Classical Classroom, Episode 177: Sharon Isbin on Spanish Art Song, TM, and Everything Else
October 15, 2018 12:00 - 26 minutes - 49.7 MBHold on to your hats, people: This episode with multi-Grammy Award winning classical guitarist Sharon Isbin covers a lot. Because how often do you get to talk to Sharon Isbin?? Learn about everything from the David Lynch Foundation and Transcendental Meditation, to Spanish art song, to astronauts, and how Isbin got started playing guitar at the age of 9. It's a veritable cornucopia of information. (Side note: Are any cornucopias not "veritable"? Do fake, poser cornucopias exist?) Music...
Classical Classroom, Episode 176: Composing Music for Film About Music with Jono Hill
October 08, 2018 14:15 - 26 minutes - 50 MBComposer Jono Hill was given a unique task: to compose the score for a film about a classical musician. The movie As Far as the Eye Can See (directed by David Franklin and written by Paden Fallis) follows Jack Ridge, a now 40-year-old former Van Cliburn Competition winner who is more or less hiding out on his family's land in Texas. In this episode of Classical Classroom, Hill talks about the unique process of composing for film, and about the special challenges of composing for a movie with...
Classical Classroom, Episode 175: The Unsolved Mysteries of Women Composers with Angela Draghicescu
October 01, 2018 05:11 - 46 minutes - 65.1 MBPianist Angela Draghicescu never meant to become a classical music investigator. But a simple desire to play good music led her to an unavoidable conclusion: some very important composers were grossly underrepresented in classical music repertoire. But...why?, she wondered. Authorities seemed stumped and inquiries into the whereabouts of these composers' work turned up only dead ends. And thus began Angela's emotional journey to find answers. That search resulted in the creation of her proje...
Classical Classroom, Episode 174: Critiquing Anne Midgette
September 24, 2018 05:10 - 45 minutes - 84.6 MBAnne Midgette, chief classical music critic at the Washington Post, recently wrote an article that caught our attention called, "A beginner’s guide to enjoying classical music. No snobs allowed." We figured that she must have been listening to Classical Classroom, so we invited her on to chat. In this episode, Midgette discusses the pointers in her article (gems such as, "Classical music can do things no other music can"), talks about her own circuitous path to classical music critic stardom...
Raiders of the Lost Podcast: The Classical Classroom drama
September 14, 2018 14:00 - 5 minutes - 8.57 MBThe Classical Classroom is back! But from where?? Hear host Dacia Clay recount the epic, harrowing tale behind the show's hiatus in this teaser episode. New full, real episodes will be out any day now. Dacia will be asking even more, even dumber questions about classical music. Come learn with us. Again.
New Season of Classical Classroom Starting September 2018
September 14, 2018 13:53 - 1 minute - 3.52 MBClassical Classroom is finally coming back. Dacia Clay will be asking even more, even dumber questions about classical music to really smart people like Joshua Bell, Sharon Isbin, Hillary Hahn, Miro Quartet, Jono Hill, Anne Akiko Meyers, and many, many more.
Classical Classroom, Episode 64: RERUN - Journey To The Symphony’s Center
August 21, 2017 22:54 - 42 minutes - 40 MBWe just heard that Classroom guest Peter Boyer is up to some big stuff (go Peter, it’s your birthday…): First, the National Symphony Orchestra – that’s the orchestra in residence at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. – will be playing Peter’s work Rolling River (Sketches on “Shenandoah”) on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on September 3, 2017; And also, on September 9th, in an “It’s a Small Classical Music World After All” moment, Classroom alum Brett Mitchel...
Classical Classroom, Episode 64: RERUN - Journey To The Symphony’s Center
August 21, 2017 22:54 - 42 minutes - 40 MBWe just heard that Classroom guest Peter Boyer is up to some big stuff (go Peter, it’s your birthday…): First, the National Symphony Orchestra – that’s the orchestra in residence at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. – will be playing Peter’s work Rolling River (Sketches on “Shenandoah”) on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on September 3, 2017; And also, on September 9th, in an “It’s a Small Classical Music World After All” moment, Classroom alum Brett Mitchel...
Classical Classroom, Episode 41: RERUN - Pretty Pattern Preludes With Karim Al-Zand
August 15, 2017 19:08 - 34 minutes - 56.5 MBGreetings listeners! We’re rerunning this episode of the podcast in honor of Karim Al-Zand’s recent premiere of the new work, “The Prisoner,” at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, California. The piece was inspired by the writings of a Guantanamo Bay prisoner. This episode is about something else: pattern preludes. Pattern preludes are enigmas inside of conundrums wrapped in a warm flour tortilla. No – wait. That’s not right… Pattern preludes, according to compos...
Classical Classroom, Episode 48: RERUN - The Texas Tenors Teach Tenor Types
August 07, 2017 20:51 - 33 minutes - 54.9 MBHow, exactly, does one know that he is a “light lyric tenor,” or a “Spinto tenor,” or a “dramatic tenor”? Is there like, a Tenor Task Team? Two members of the Texas Tenors – JC Fisher and John Hagen – teach the types of tenor to us. We also learn about “classical crossover” music and why it is a gateway drug, turning innocent classical music newbies into addicts by the thousands. By the way, if you like this episode, check out the Texas Tenors on Houston Public Media TV 8 Monday August 7, ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 48: RERUN - The Texas Tenors Teach Tenor Types
August 07, 2017 20:51 - 33 minutes - 54.9 MBHow, exactly, does one know that he is a “light lyric tenor,” or a “Spinto tenor,” or a “dramatic tenor”? Is there like, a Tenor Task Team? Two members of the Texas Tenors – JC Fisher and John Hagen – teach the types of tenor to us. We also learn about “classical crossover” music and why it is a gateway drug, turning innocent classical music newbies into addicts by the thousands. By the way, if you like this episode, check out the Texas Tenors on Houston Public Media TV 8 Monday August 7, ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 63: RERUN - The Trumpet Lesson
July 25, 2017 17:40 - 24 minutes - 40.1 MBThis episode does double duty: teaches you all about the trumpet and trumpet playing, while carrying out the secondary mission of Classical Classroom, i.e., the humiliation of the show’s host. Trumpet players George Chase and Jason Adams of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra teach former trumpet player Dacia a trumpet lesson. Along the way, they say all kinds of important things about the history of the instrument. Plus, there are duck calls! Music in this episode: Brandenburg Concerto No. ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 63: RERUN - The Trumpet Lesson
July 25, 2017 17:40 - 24 minutes - 40.1 MBThis episode does double duty: teaches you all about the trumpet and trumpet playing, while carrying out the secondary mission of Classical Classroom, i.e., the humiliation of the show’s host. Trumpet players George Chase and Jason Adams of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra teach former trumpet player Dacia a trumpet lesson. Along the way, they say all kinds of important things about the history of the instrument. Plus, there are duck calls! Music in this episode: Brandenburg Concerto No. ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 173: Mozart’s Death Demystified (No Really!), With Robert Greenberg
July 17, 2017 22:05 - 28 minutes - 46.9 MBThe story of Mozart’s death has, over the years, taken on an awful lot of…story. Extant theories regarding how he died number in the hundreds and are still emerging. Even yours truly did an episode of Classical Classroom to try to get to the bottom of the whole thing. In this episode, Dr. Robert Greenberg, a music historian and bestselling creator of courses for the Great Courses and the Teaching Company (and now, for Robert Greenberg Music), explains the facts that we know that we know abou...
Classical Classroom, Episode 69: RERUN - The Kids Are Alright, With Missy Mazzoli
July 10, 2017 20:17 - 35 minutes - 58 MBClassical music: the future frontier. These are the voyages of the podcast Classical Classroom. It’s mission: to explore strange new music – Sorry. I’ll stop. Where was I? Right! Composer, performer, and Mannes College of Musiccomposition faculty member, Missy Mazzoli talks to us about the future of classical music, from the future, aka, New York. Also talked about in this episode: Beth Morrison, Schoenberg, David Little, pillow fights, Lars von Trier, eighth blackbird, Richard Reed Parry, B...
Classical Classroom, Episode 69: RERUN - The Kids Are Alright, With Missy Mazzoli
July 10, 2017 20:17 - 35 minutes - 58 MBClassical music: the future frontier. These are the voyages of the podcast Classical Classroom. It’s mission: to explore strange new music – Sorry. I’ll stop. Where was I? Right! Composer, performer, and Mannes College of Musiccomposition faculty member, Missy Mazzoli talks to us about the future of classical music, from the future, aka, New York. Also talked about in this episode: Beth Morrison, Schoenberg, David Little, pillow fights, Lars von Trier, eighth blackbird, Richard Reed Parry, B...
Classical Classroom, Episode 70: RERUN - Piano Vs. Orchestra, With Jon Kimura Parker
June 27, 2017 17:59 - 35 minutes - 49.9 MBPianist, Shepherd School of Music professor, and recording artist Jon Kimura Parker – or as we like to call him, Captain Jon Solo – talks about the hidden world of the guest soloist. From the singular experience of performing with an orchestra in one ear and a concert hall in the other, to rehearsal times that will give you stage fright just hearing about them, it’s a behind-the-scenes tell-all exposé of concertic proportions. (That’s a word. We swear.) Music in this episode was recorded l...
Classical Classroom, Episode 172: Pine On Paganini
June 19, 2017 23:09 - 28 minutes - 46.5 MBViolinist Rachel Barton Pine loves playing challenging music (and apparently, being on Classical Classroom, as this is her third time on the show). So it makes sense that she would want to play the musical equivalent of running a marathon for her latest album: Bel Canto Paganini: 24 Caprices. In this episode, Rachel talks about who Paganini was. As it turns out, he was much more than just a classical music proto-goth with what some thought was a supernatural ability to play the violin. Mus...
Classical Classroom, Episode 72: RERUN - You Don’t Know Fifth! With Emily Reese
June 12, 2017 23:33 - 40 minutes - 56.2 MBThis show is from the Wayback Machine, and Emily has done a lot since this. She currently does a podcast called Level with Emily Reese for one, and she runs a company called Joon Media. (I’ll post what she was doing at the time of our interview below.) What I remember most about this interview is 1) having my mind blown about Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and 2) Emily’s laugh, which I think you’ll agree is pretty great. ———————————————————————————————- Beethoven’s Fifth. We’ve never done a...
Classical Classroom, Episode 171: Strange Loop, With Jessica Meyer
June 05, 2017 22:20 - 45 minutes - 73.7 MBViolist, composer, and educator Jessica Meyer has a unique story in the classical music world; it starts with a viola, and ends with a viola, but goes a lot of unpredictable places in between. Hear the story of her creative journey from focused specialist to Renaissance woman, and hear some of her incredible music along the way. Music in this episode (all written and performed by Jessica Meyer): “Source of Joy” “The dappled light just beyond her skin…” “But Not Until” (viola and cell...
Classical Classroom, Episode 170: Fabien On Felix (Mendelssohn, That Is)
May 30, 2017 19:30 - 31 minutes - 50.9 MBConductor Fabien Gabel came to Houston to conduct the Symphony in a program of pieces by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky. In this episode, he gives a primer on Mendelssohn, talks about what a “Fingal’s Cave” is, and gives the world’s first audible eye roll at the use of the term “Suicide Symphony” (re: Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique). Also discussed: the difference between love and obsession with regard to Mexican food. Music in this episode: Mendelssohn, The Hebrides, Op. 26 “Fingal’s Cave,” Slova...
Classical Classroom, Episode 52: RERUN - Inside A Boléro With Howard Pollack
May 22, 2017 19:16 - 42 minutes - 68.5 MBRavel’s Boléro. Next to most of the soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi, it’s possibly the most repetitive piece of music ever written, amiright (respect, Philip Glass)? As it turns out, I am wrong, so wrong. In fact, Boléro is a piece built entirely around change. Howard Pollack, professor at Moores School of Music, author, lecturer, and guest on BBC specials and NPR shows like Morning Edition and Fresh Air, is our tour guide through this amazing piece of music by a very subtle and sneaky composer....
Classical Classroom, Episode 169: MusicWorks - How Music Chased Down Gaelynn Lea
May 15, 2017 22:43 - 46 minutes - 76.1 MBViolinist/fiddle player Gaelynn Lea came to Houston fresh off of performing at South by Southwest and spent some time with the Classical Classroom(and Skyline Sessions – check out her video performances!). She talks about how music has gradually become her life. From first finding an instrument that was right for her body as a kid (she has a rare condition called Brittle Bones Disease that means she’s got different physical challenges than others), to meeting and collaborating with Alan Spar...
Classical Classroom, Episode 83: RERUN - Nico Muhly Speaks Volumes About Listening To New Classical Music
May 08, 2017 17:00 - 25 minutes - 42.7 MBNote: This episode was originally posted on April 13, 2015. This week [see above], composer Nico Muhly is premiering a brand new work, How Little You Are, in Austin. He talks about the classical (or, concert) music world’s premiering process, and about how and why listening to classical music golden oldies is different than listening to a new work, about the inspiration for his new piece, and of course, about Prince. Music in this episode: Mozart: Magic Flute. Conducted by John Eliot Ga...
Classical Classroom, Episode 40: RERUN - Simone Dinnerstein Goes Bachpacking
May 01, 2017 23:50 - 29 minutes - 48.9 MBSimone Dinnerstein just came out with a new album called Mozart in Havana. While we weren’t able to sync up our interview schedules this time around, we had to at least give her a shout out with this rerun because she is awesome. She may be coming to a city near you! ———————————————————- Pianist Simone Dinnerstein talks all about her educational initiative, Bachpacking, and her community initiative, Neighborhood Classics, Bach Inventions, and how Led Zeppelin is more like Bach than Jay Z...
Classical Classroom, Episode 26: RERUN - Ragging On Chopin With Richard Dowling
April 26, 2017 22:31 - 37 minutes - 42.9 MBConcert pianist and entrepreneur Richard Dowling illuminates some of Chopin’s pieces by “ragging” them on the piano. It’s a lesson in classical music and ragtime all rolled up in one, topped with live performances, and served with a side of fries. Music in this episode includes live performances by Richard Dowling of: Frederic Chopin, Nocturne in E-flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2 Ethan Uslan, Chopin’s Knocked Urn Frederic Chopin, “Revolutionary” Etude in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 12 Joseph Lamb, ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 168: Third Coast Percussion Plays At 1.21 Gigawatts
April 17, 2017 22:17 - 25 minutes - 41.3 MBPercussion is almost anything that we say ‘yes’ to playing.” – Sean Connors Wait. A percussion-only ensemble? Is that, like, a fancy drum circle? Sean Connors of the Grammy-winning percussion quartet Third Coast Percussionexplains that this is not too far off. But the operative word is “fancy.” As Connors describes it, percussion ensembles are the mad scientists of the music world. Any object in the world is a potential instrument. And when they’ve run out of objects, they invent more. (...
Classical Classroom, Episode 167: MusicWorks - Craig Hella Johnson, Activism In Classical Music (Part 2)
April 10, 2017 21:54 - 33 minutes - 47.5 MBCraig Johnson wrote a beautiful piece of music that commemorates a tragic event: the brutal beating of a young gay man. The piece asks listeners to consider Matt Shepard, the person who lived through the event, and to consider the life Shepard lived prior to the beating. In this episode, part 2 of our 2-part series on activism in classical music, Johnson talks about his Grammy-nominated choral work, “Considering Matthew Shepard.” He also talks about the strong and effective tool that classic...
Classical Classroom, Episode 166: A Fool For Renaissance Music Talks Period Instruments
April 02, 2017 00:16 - 17 minutes - 29.7 MBIt’s the first of April and we are welcoming a special guest (believe us: you will know him when you hear him). He introduces us to a fascinating mix of early music and Renaissance era instruments and performs examples of how each sounds. Music in this episode: Songs From The Labyrinth, by Sting Walsingham – John Dowling, composer /perf – Edin Karamazov and Sting Come Again – John Dowling, composer/ perf – Edin Karamazov and Sting The Art of the Bawdy Song, Baltimore Consort featuri...
Classical Classroom, Episode 165: MusicWorks - Amanda Gookin – Activism In Classical Music (Part 1)
March 27, 2017 23:12 - 42 minutes - 69.6 MB“When somebody shows you who they are, believe them.” That’s one of cellist Amanda Gookin’s favorite quotes. And through the Forward Music Project, she’s decided to show people who she is, and who women and girls are. Learn Amanda’s story (which includes many digressions from, and returns to, the classical music world), and learn why she decided to aim all of her disparate passions at one target. Hear the innovate pieces that she’s commissioned in what she calls a “giving project,” which s...
Classical Classroom, Episode 118: RERUN - Alisa Weilerstein On The Romance Of Rachmaninov
March 20, 2017 22:21 - 24 minutes - 34.4 MBHappy birthday, Rachmaninov! Because Rachmaninov’s birthday and our Spring Break lined up so nicely, it’s obviously the perfect opportunity to repeat this episode. Back next week with more of the usual (i.e., heavy metal car racing stories with lots of explosions). Cellist Alisa Weilerstein’s gives an introduction to the music of Sergey Rachmaninov. Who was this romantic man, and what makes him different from all the other guys – I mean, composers? Weilerstein walks us through Rachmaninov...
Classical Classroom, Episode 164: Going Out On A High Note, With Cypress String Quartet
March 13, 2017 22:59 - 24 minutes - 41.1 MBFor starters, this episode was recorded on Groundhog’s Day. Which is pretty perfect considering that this is the second time we’ve had the Cypress String Quartet on the show to talk about a “final” recording. Cypress cellist Jennifer Kloetzel swears that this really is the quartet’s final final recording and assures us that this is not just a clever publicity gimmick. (Although for the record, if it was, we would gladly play along.) Kloetzel tells us why, for their final final recording, the...
Classical Classroom, Episode 163: MusicWorks – The Starkland Story
March 06, 2017 23:36 - 40 minutes - 66.6 MBIt all started because Tom Steenlandreally dug the music of composer Tod Dockstader. He wanted the rest of the world to hear it, too. And so began the (thus far) 25-year DIY project born out of Steenland’s passion for innovative sound that is Starkland Records, a label that specializes in experimental music, alternative classical, and the avant-garde. Since the label started in 1991 (AKA, the Year Punk Broke), Steenland has almost single-handedly propelled Starkland’s motor, doing the bulk o...
Classical Classroom, Episode 162: I Got You Babe – Collaborative Piano With Madeline Slettedahl
February 27, 2017 23:13 - 38 minutes - 63.6 MBCollaborative pianist Madeline Slettedahl came to the Classical Classroom to describe the nuances of her trade. What’s it like to play one instrument that’s sometimes a stand-in for a whole orchestra? How is playing piano with a vocalist different than playing with an instrumentalist? Doesn’t she like the glory of playing solo piano better? And why can’t we call her an “accompanist” anymore? Madeline graciously answers all of our ridiculous questions and more. Also included: lots of fun and ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 161: Sweet Secret Sacred Songs, With Jason Oby
February 21, 2017 00:06 - 26 minutes - 43.7 MBAll of us have heard spirituals before – those sometimes jubilant, sometimes sorrowful songs created by African American slaves. But have you really heardthem? As it turns out, these deceptively simple songs sometimes carried hidden messages, signals, and directions. Dr. Jason Oby, artistic director of the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, teaches all about this ingenious and soulful musical invention that was born out of oppression and necessity. He also talks about the spiritual’s connection to c...
Classical Classroom, Episode 160: There Is No Spoon, With George E. Lewis
February 13, 2017 21:46 - 24 minutes - 40.3 MBSpoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth. Neo: What truth? Spoon boy: There is no spoon. Neo: There is no spoon? Spoon boy: Then you’ll see that it is not the spoon that bends; it is only yourself. – from The Matrix Dr. George E. Lewis is the Neo of the classical music Matrix. He doesn’t have a great deal of use for preconceived notions of genre and form and he doesn’t have a lot of time to worry about definitions. That’...
Classical Classroom, Episode 159: Transcending The Étude Transcendentally, With Kirill Gerstein
February 06, 2017 23:24 - 18 minutes - 30.1 MBLiszt’s Transcendental Études are such popular pieces that pianists Kirill Gerstein and Daniil Trifonov put out recordings of them within a month of each other during 2016. Which made Classical Classroom ask, “What’s with the étude, dude?” In this episode, Gerstein teaches what an étude is, and why Liszt’s are “transcendental,” using lots of skiing metaphors. Also included: a piano smackdown. All music in this episode from Kirill Gerstein’s recording, Liszt: Transcendental Études, S. 139. ...
Classical Classroom, Episode 158: Matt Haimovitz Makes Overtures To Bach
January 30, 2017 22:55 - 25 minutes - 42.3 MBIt’s entirely possible that cellist Matt Haimovitz has forgotten that composers other than Bach exist. On his last visit to Classical Classroom, he talked about Anna Magdalena’s (Bach’s second wife’s) transcriptions of Bach’s Cello Suites. On the visit before that, Matt and Christopher O’Riley talked… oh wait – that was about Beethoven. But still! The guy’s obsessed! And we’re glad he is. In this episode, Haimovitz talks about his CD Overtures to Bach, on which he commissioned 6 contemporary...
Classical Classroom, Episode 157: Music For The (Chinese) New Year With Shih-Hui Chen And Katie Chen
January 23, 2017 23:52 - 27 minutes - 44.9 MBLate last year, composer and Shepherd School of Music professor Shih-Hui Chen helped bring something called “nanguan” music to Houston. Specifically, she and Asia Society Texas brought the Lâm-hun-koh/Gang-a-Tsui Nanguan Music and Theater Troupe to perform this special kind of traditional Chinese music. We somehow squeezed all of the members of the troupe into our studio, including musician and ethnomusicologist Katie Chen, for this episode. Katie and Shih-Hui talk about nanguan music and so...
Classical Classroom, Episode 156: Words And Music, With Dale Trumbore
January 16, 2017 21:17 - 46 minutes - 74.9 MBMusic and poetry go together like inhaling and exhaling, or like gasoline and matches, or like Sherlock and Watson, or like Parker and Stone, or like a hammer and a nail. Et cetera, et cetera. In this episode, composer Dale Trumbore talks about setting poems and prose to music, and about the relationship between poetry and music. There are exercises within, so get out your paper and your pencils. Music in this episode: As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending (The King’s Singers, Royal Rh...
Classical Classroom, Episode 155: Prog Rock Bartok, With Chiara String Quartet
January 10, 2017 00:13 - 13 minutes - 22.3 MBThe celebrated classical music composer Béla Bartók was really into folk music. I mean, really into it. Not like, hitchhiking-with-beat-up-acoustic-guitar, playing-open-mic-nights folk music. More like, invented-an-analytic-study-of-folk-music-and-created-the-field-of-ethnomusicology-in-general folk music. Hyeyung Yoon, Greg Beaver, and Jonah Sirota of the Chiara String Quartet talk about how Bartók brought the collection and analysis of folk music into his work as a classical composer. They...
Classical Classroom, Episode 154: Music Of The Coen Bros. Films, With Craig Cohen (Pt. 2)
January 02, 2017 18:00 - 35 minutes - 58.6 MBWelcome to part 2 of our holiday indulgence: a walk through the music of the Coen Brothers films with Craig Cohen of Houston Matters. We pick up our where our last conversation ended (with 1994’s The Hudsucker Proxy), and move on to the sparse music of Fargo. Hear a little Mozart, a fake bluegrass band, wind used as an instrument, and even the vocal stylings of an X-Wing fighter pilot. Music in this episode: From Fargo (the movie): Music by Carter Burwell From The Big Lebowski: Featuri...
Classical Classroom, Episode 153: Music Of The Coen Bros. Films, With Craig Cohen (Pt. 1)
December 26, 2016 18:00 - 36 minutes - 59.7 MBOkay, so it’s a little bit of a departure from our typical classical music fare, but it’s the holidays so we’re indulging in some serious fun: Craig Cohen, host of our mothership’s daily public affairs program, Houston Matters, walks us through the music of the films of Joel and Ethan Coen, better known as the Coen Brothers. In part 1 of our epic conversation, you’ll learn about the musical mastermind behind the brothers’ films, Carter Burwell. You’ll also hear a little melodramatic Khachatu...
Classical Classroom, Episode 33: RERUN - Cracking “The Nutcracker” – Michael Remson and Shelly Power
December 19, 2016 22:05 - 36 minutes - 59.4 MBOkay, so we are re-gifting this year’s holiday episode from our 2013 collection. But it’s only because we thought you’d like it! Please re-enjoy learning about this gorgeous, never-gets-old classic. And from all of us at Classical Classroom HQ: peace, joy, and ALL THE PRESENTS to you this year! We all know The Nutcracker, right? Wrong! In this episode of Classical Classroom, Shelly Power (director, Houston Ballet Academy) and Michael Remson (executive director, AFA) blow your minds with the...