Classical Classroom

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... Read More

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 himself. Hunker down and gather... Read More

“All I have is a voice.” ― W.H. Auden"I was never particularly fond of my voice." — David BowieCountertenor 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... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

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.... Read More

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 unique creative vision. What I'm trying... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

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 the alt classical movement.... Read More

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... Read More

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 classical music,... Read More