Classical Breakdown

Different audiences have different tastes, and you can't always serve them the same dish. If Verdi wanted his grand operas to be staged in Paris, he needed to include ballet. In this bonus episode, we'll hear two ballet sections from two different operas, sometimes composed decades later.

This composer wrote operas almost exclusively, and his 19th-century success and popularity are hard to grasp even today. John Banther and Linda Carducci explore his life, his explosive success, the tragedies, and how he provided the sound for Italy's "Risorgimento!"

This concerto is one of the most daunting in the repertoire, and almost every big soloist aims to lay down their interpretation. But what makes this work so difficult? Is it the written music or is it something else? John Banther and Evan Keely show you what to listen for, how Sibelius does things differently, a moment from a masterclass, and what went wrong in the premiere.

Enjoy a rare performance of this cello sonata featuring Grace Mockus, who researched Emilie Mayer's music at the University of Michigan.

She didn't have a typical upbringing like other composers, and forged her own way with private teachers and determination. John Banther and Evan Keely explore the wide range of repertoire she composed, from symphonies to songs, and look at events that changed the trajectory of her life and career.

This, the only orchestral output from Clara Wieck, might be one of the few 19th-century concertos written by a teenager that still occupies the concert stage today, and its popularity is only increasing. Join hosts John Banther and Linda Carducci to explore its youthful origins, characteristics of her writing, the size of her hands, and her big concert premiere.

Hailstork has been writing music and teaching for over 5 decades, and his work has documented in music major American moments, from the bicentennial, 9/11, George Floyd, and even infrastructure. John Banther and Evan Keely explore his life, studies with Boulanger, his military experience, and look at 3 works ranging from orchestral to choral that demonstrate his style.

Death has been depicted in music to console, frighten, warn, and entertain for over 400 years. In fact, the most quoted motif about death is also the oldest, and you know it intimately whether you realize it or not! John Banther and Evan Keely take you on a deathly trip over 10 works and a bonus.

I'm excited to bring you more from Xuefei Yang with these three performances taken from her YouTube channel (where you will find plenty more performances!). 

In this episode, we hear:
John Williams (guitarist/composer) - When The Birds Return
Changjun Xu - Sword Dance
Jerome Kern - Smoke gets in your eyes

She is one of today's great living guitarists, and in this episode, she tells us all about her new album Chapeu Satie. Xuefei explains how she approaches transcribing and arranging for the guitar, why she chose to include flute and voice, and performs a work from her new album at the end, too!

Beethoven pushed the symphonic form in a new direction with this heroic work that sounds larger than the sum of its parts. John Banther and Evan Keely show you what to listen for, how it pushed boundaries in 19th-century music, the famous Napoleon dedication, and more!

Think you can play the triangle? Think again! In our biggest episode yet, we explore the big world of percussion with Chris DeChiara. Using composers from Beethoven to Ozzy Osborne, he demonstrates over a dozen instruments and shares insider secrets as to what goes on in the back row.