The Classical Minds Festival and Competition just took place here in Houston, and though the festival is all about classical guitar, Dr. Tamara McCoy was there on piano. She stopped by the Geary Studio at Houston Public Media to record and teach about Franz Liszt's Totentanz. As it turns out, the only thing harder than playing the piece was writing it — it took Liszt almost 20 years. Learn all about the piece, the inspiration behind it, and… Steve Holt ! Download Tamara McCoy's performance of th...
Jun 20, 2016•38 min•Ep. 131
If you've never lived through one, David Hanlon's chamber opera After the Storm is a good place to begin to understand what "hurricane" really means. The opera premiered with Houston Grand Opera 's HGOco via their Song of Houston initiative this May. In this episode, composer Hanlon talks about conducting research for the opera, which included investigating Galveston's 1900 Storm , about capturing the awesomeness of a massive hurricane in a chamber opera, and about living through a monster storm...
Jun 13, 2016•31 min•Ep. 130
"All I have is a voice." ― W.H. Auden "I was never particularly fond of my voice." — David Bowie Countertenor John Holiday says that he's never wanted to emulate anyone else's voice, and that instead, he's tried to find and be true to his own. And the unique sound that he belts out will make you believe that he alone can produce anything like it. But as it turns out, there's a whole history behind voices like his. Learn all about the countertenor voice, as well as it's historical relationship to...
Jun 06, 2016•35 min•Ep. 129
Allegedly, as of this posting, there are still about three weeks of spring to go. But in Houston, spring has already died of heat exhaustion. That's why we decided to bring back this episode about Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring . The episode was originally recording in the fall of 2013. This all totally makes sense. We think. Then again, it's really hot, so this could be faulty logic. In any case, this is a great episode from the Wayback Machine about an iconic piece of music. Enjoy! Igor Stra...
May 30, 2016•35 min•Ep. 30
British-style brass bands are of the people, for the people, and by the people. They're made up of unpaid citizens who get together to play classical music just because they love to. They have this crazy working class history that dates back almost 200 years to British industrialization. At competitions, fans express allegiance to their local brass bands with the same passion that they do sports teams. And many of the musicians are one life choice away from being professional players. Robert Wal...
May 23, 2016•28 min•Ep. 128
Ottorino Respighi wasn't a native of Rome, but he got there as quickly as he could. And then he set to writing lots of music about the place. Conductor Franz Anton Krager and Houston Symphony Principal Trumpet Mark Hughes teach all about Respighi, some of his Roman tone poems, and why he was a master of orchestration. Krager and Hughes will be performing Respighi together at the Texas Music Festival on June 11. It's going to be fantastico! Music in this episode (all by Ottorino Respighi): "Circe...
May 16, 2016•38 min•Ep. 127
We've retrieved an episode from the Classical Classroom Wayback Machine for Chamber Music Month ! Please, by all means, enjoy. ——————————————- The Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet puts the "class" in this episode of Classical Classroom . We discuss where string quartets come from, why the instruments in a quartet go together so well, what sets Enso apart from other string quartets, and what it's like to play live (which apparently sometimes includes hitting yourself in the face and dancing t...
May 09, 2016•29 min•Ep. 38
We are endorsing this Classical Classroom guest — Rodney Waters — to replace the Most Interesting Man in the World , and not just because of his amazing beard. He's a musician , a humanitarian , a photographer , and he's currently training to become a Jungian analyst . In this Choose Your Own Adventure episode (listen for details), Rodney first explains Jungian theory, archetypes, myths, and fairy tales, and then walks us through pieces of classical music that exemplify those things. You'll conf...
May 02, 2016•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 126
We could just as easily have called this episode, Growing Up Beethoven , or Build-A-Beethoven , or Beethoven: From Boy to Boss , but "actualization" is more accurate. As violist Simone Gramaglia of Quartetto di Cremona explains, like any artist we study in hindsight, Beethoven's creative development has distinct, identifiable periods. Unlike other artists, as he evolved, Beethoven moved increasingly away from rules and conventions, and into something transcendent: a full expression of his own un...
Apr 25, 2016•22 min•Ep. 125
Today – that is April 18th 2016 – much of our fair city of Houston is underwater . There was a big scary flood, the power's out, the roads are lakes, and we, the Classical Classroom team, literally can't get to the station to access the files we need to post our new episode. We tried to cobble together an ark, but it turns out that's a whole thing. However! Through sheer grit, determination and the power of the human spirit to use computers, we have unearthed this episode with Todd Reynolds, whi...
Apr 19, 2016•32 min•Ep. 46
Hélène Grimaud 's recent release on Deutsche Grammophon , is a true "concept album." Flowing with water themed music from the classical repertoire it also bathes us with new musical bridges and transitions from composer and producer, Nitin Sawhney . "What inspired the idea to record this album is really the fascination that so many composers of the 19th and 20th centuries seem to have had with the element of water," Grimaud states. In this episode, Hélène and Dacia surf through the music selecti...
Apr 11, 2016•21 min•Ep. 124
While we are cooking up new episodes for your enjoyment, please enjoy this delicious dish from our archives. Don't miss Avi's recent in-studio performances at WQXR , btw! According to Deutsche Grammophon recording artist Avi Avital, while the bass is not bad, it's more about that mandolin. Which is also what this whole episode is about! Avi tells all: Where did the mandolin come from? Who composes for it? Why does he advocate for such a strange instrument? And how much did he play that one REM s...
Apr 04, 2016•20 min•Ep. 85
Louis Andriessen is one of the most important contemporary composers you've (probably) never heard of. His work isn't widely played because he's written many pieces for varieties of ensembles that don't exist. In fact, specially created ensembles have sprung up because of Andriessen's pieces, including the famous British ensemble, Icebreaker. Guitarist, composer, and co-founder of Liminal Space Contemporary Music Ensemble , George Heathco, teaches us all about Andriessen and his contributions to...
Mar 28, 2016•38 min•Ep. 37
Happy Bach's 331st birthday! To celebrate, we had a partita party with violinist Rachel Barton Pine . (What's a "partita," you ask? Listen and learn, my friends.) Rachel explains Bach's sonatas and partitas and what makes them unique, and walks us through several examples from her new album Testament , which she released on March 21st to coincide with Bach's bday. Also discussed: What Bach means to her personally, and whether one needs to wear a beret when playing French music (spoiler alert: ou...
Mar 21, 2016•23 min•Ep. 123
Nadia Sirota is a busy lady. She's a violist and recording artist , she's a member of yMusic , Alarm Will Sound , and ACME (the American Contemporary Music Ensemble ), she commissions work from new composers, she collaborates with classical and rock music makers (Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Jónsi, and Arcade Fire to name a few) and she's the host and co-producer of Q2 Music's contemporary classical music podcast, Meet the Composer . In this episode of Classical Classroom , Sirota talks about new ...
Mar 14, 2016•35 min•Ep. 122
Masterpiece's Downton Abbey came to an end last night after six seasons. In this tell-all exposé, Scottish composer John Lunn talks about his years with the Crawley family, what Lord Grantham really thought of Branson, and his thoughts on Thomas Barrow's perpetual bad attitude. Okay, okay — not exactly. But Lunn does talk about how he got into writing for TV, how it's different than writing operas and violin concertos, and about being part of the Downton team for six seasons. Past (and future!) ...
Mar 07, 2016•31 min•Ep. 121
Classical music renaissance man, Hugh Sung Hugh Sung is a modern classical music renaissance man: He's a podcaster, a techie , a pianist who's collaborated with people like Jennifer Higdon and Hillary Hahn, an author , an inventor , a former Curtis Institute Professor who now teaches online . Sung has crafted a life — and a career — that keeps him close to his passion and that constantly engages his busy mind. In this MusicWorks episode, learn how and why Hugh does it, and be inspired to create ...
Feb 29, 2016•35 min•Ep. 120
Beyond Pluck is a harp duo, comprised of Paula Bressman and Rachel Miller. In addition to the classical repertoire, they also like arranging pop songs for the harp, working with scientists and artists, touring clubs as well as concert halls, and long walks on the beach. In this episode, Paula and Rachel talk about the history of the harp and how it works, its repertoire, conjuring fairies, and why anyone would want to play something so ginormous. They also perform, illustrating the range of the ...
Feb 22, 2016•33 min•Ep. 119
In honor of Presidents Day, we are rerunning not one, but TWO very presidential episodes of Classical Classroom . Originally, our discussion with AFA's executive and artistic director Michael Remson was so epic — spanning John Adams' entire Nixon in China opera — that we divided it into two episodes. For your listening pleasure, we've merged the two episodes into one here. So, go get some apple pie, your whittling tools, and a glass of whiskey ( this is how we imagine you listen to all Classica...
Feb 15, 2016•47 min•Ep. 19
Start your Valentine's Day week with cellist Alisa Weilerstein's 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's Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano . Plus, she talks about her musical relationship with performing partner, pianist Inon Barnatan , and what it's like to be part of a long-term creative duo. \ Music in this episode is all from Weilerstein...
Feb 08, 2016•24 min•Ep. 118
This week, Dacia Clay has the Dover String Quartet ; violinists, Joel Link, Bryan Lee; violist, Milena Pajaro-Van De Stadt; and cellist, Camden Shaw into the studio. They listen to a recording of their own concert from the night before when they played Alban Berg 's String Quartet Opus 3 for the Chamber Music Houston series. They introduce Dacia to the twelve-tone system of music composition, and she lives to talk about it. They also discuss serialism, Schoenberg , over-protective fathers, motif...
Feb 01, 2016•31 min•Ep. 117
In December of 2015, pop singer Taylor Swift donated $50,000 to the Seattle Symphony because she loved their recording of John Luther Adams' 42-minute work, Become Ocean . In this episode, Adams reveals his own pop culture roots, and credits Frank Zappa for getting him into classical music. He talks about his work as an environmentalist, what led him to write Ocean , and swims us through a piece so awesome that critic Alex Ross called it, " the loveliest apocalypse in musical history ." Music in...
Jan 25, 2016•31 min•Ep. 116
This episode is full of spoilers – not just spoilers about The Force Awakens , but about future Star Wars episodes. Okay – they could be future spoilers. Right now, they're just our attempts at trying to find the Easter eggs hidden in John Williams' new score. This may be the nerdiest and most epic episode of Classical Classroom to date. Brett Mitchell , Associate Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra , is your guide through the music ...
Jan 18, 2016•58 min•Ep. 115
When oboist, journalist, and author Blair Tindall wrote her memoir, Mozart in the Jungle , she tells us, she didn't necessarily not think it would become a TV show. But she did stop to marvel at the fact that playing the oboe could lead to buying a dress for the Golden Globes. Last night, the Amazon series based on her book won two Golden Globes : One for Best TV Comedy or Musical, and one Best Actor in a TV Comedy or Musical for Gael García Bernal's performance as conductor Rodrigo de Souza. (T...
Jan 11, 2016•35 min•Ep. 114
Happy New Year, everybody! Get ready for an astonishing onslaught of awesome, a veritable juggernaut of wow, from Classical Classroom in 2016 (John Luther Adams! The Force Awakens ! Alisa Weilerstein!), starting with this episode featuring Rufus Wainwright . You may know Rufus Wainwright as a singer-songwriter, a piano man, a dude who hangs out with Elton John and Joni Mitchell. But as it turns out, he also writes classical music and opera. In this episode, he talks about his new opera, Prima Do...
Jan 04, 2016•16 min•Ep. 113
Team Classroom is taking a little holiday break this week, so we present one of our favorite episodes from the wayback machine. Hope your holiday season is full of the good stuff. We'll be back next week with new episodes! ——————— In this episode, independent producer, author, documentary filmmaker, Peabody Award-winner (et cetera, et cetera…), Wesley Horner chats with Dacia about Bach's B Minor Mass and bringing classical music to people who hate wearing tuxedos. Audio production by Todd Hulsla...
Dec 28, 2015•25 min•Ep. 8
It's four days until Christmas. 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 w...
Dec 21, 2015•32 min•Ep. 112
2013 was – I think we can all agree – a magical year. It was the year of the arthouse film Sharknado , the year of the Harlem Shake , and the year that Justin Bieber was separated from his pet monkey . But more important than any of those moments? Thanksgivukkah happened. Learn all about this phenomenon, about the history of Hanukkah, and about the music of the holiday in this Classical Classroom episode from the vault. Happy Thanksgivukkah everyone! That's right: the Julian and the Hebrew calen...
Dec 14, 2015•32 min•Ep. 31
Auguste Franchomme. 19th centuryChances are, unless you happen to be a cellist, you've probably never heard of Auguste Franchomme. But back in the day, he was one of the most celebrated musicians in Paris, he was besties with Chopin, and he hung out with people like Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, and the Rothschilds. He was a teenager when he won the Premier Prix at the Paris Conservatoire, and he was solo cellist in King Louis-Philippe's Musique du Roi. So, why is it that most of his work hasn...
Dec 07, 2015•38 min•Ep. 111
Hope all of you in the States enjoyed your Thanksgiving. We took some time off to enjoy ours, so this week, we're giving you old gold. Øystein was recently in Houston, and because our stars didn't align, we weren't able to record a new episode with him. (Øystein, come back anytime, buddy!) To make up for that, we give you this rerun. Learn 100% more about the tuba in this episode than you've ever known! Norwegian tuba soloist and chamber musician Øystein Baadsvik is the only tuba virtuoso in the...
Nov 30, 2015•38 min•Ep. 47
