Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

This week we continue our series of exploring each period of Western classical music in 60 minutes with a look at Renaissance Music! We'll talk about polyphony, the Protestant Reformation, Gesualdo, the printing press, music suddenly acquiring a national identity, the development of instruments including the infamous sackbut, and much more. The Renaissance era historically gets a lot of (printing) press, but by comparison the music of the Renaissance is often passed over. Let's start changing that today.

This week we explore one of the great works of the 20th century, Copland's ballet Appalachian Spring. This is a piece that practically invented the Americana style. We'll take apart the Suite that Copland extracted from the complete ballet, looking at the differences between the 13 instrument and the orchestral version of the piece. We'll also hear amazing archival footage of Copland rehearsing the piece with a group of musicians, where we hear Copland working to achieve that elusive "American" sound.

This week we take a look at one of the most popular 20th century symphonies, Sibelius' glorious 2nd symphony. From the moment of its premiere, this piece was given a revolutionary narrative by Finnish Nationalists looking to throw off the yoke of Russian oppression. We explore how the music supports or undermines that narrative. We also take a deep dive into the incredible thematic and motivic development that dominates this piece, making it one of the most cohesive 40 minutes of music ever devised. 

This week we continue our exploration of Mozart's opera, "Cosi Fan Tutte," or "They're All Like That." We'll talk about social mores of the time,  the rapidly mounting hilarity and absurdity of the text, but more importantly perhaps, about the sublime music that Mozart writes to go along with these shenanigans. How does Mozart give us empathy for such unsympathetic characters? How does he keep us interested in the narrative? And what does the Enlightenment have to do with all of this?

For the first time, Sticky Notes tackles opera! This week, we'll take you through a brief history of the development of Opera up to the time of Mozart. Then we begin a two part exploration of one of the greatest masterpieces of the opera world, Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte. This opera pairs some of the most sublime music Mozart ever composed with a thoroughly absurd(and sometimes problematic) plot and text by Lorenzo Da Ponte. We'll go all the way up through Act I this week and stay tuned for Act II next wee

Dvorak came to the USA in December of 1892. Three years later, he returned to Bohemia. In the meantime, he wrote three of his most popular pieces and 3 of the most popular pieces in all of classical music, the American String Quartet, the Cello Concerto, and the topic for today, his New World Symphony. Season 4 begins with a look at this incredible symphony, a fusion of the work of both a fully European composer and a man who had fallen in love with music he had never heard before, but would never forget.

Only one more week until the premiere of Season 4!  In the meantime, take one more look back at a favorite episode of mine, Medieval Music in 60 Minutes.  We'll explore some of the first ever composers that we have records of, and take a deep dive into topics such as the Ethiopian Saint Yared, Gregorian Chant, Polyphony, Musical Notation, Troubadors, and more.  If you ever wondered how classical music got its start, this is the episode to listen to!  Thanks and see you next week! 

This week, we're exploring 4 of the greatest pieces of the French master, Maurice Ravel. Through the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, Tombeau de Couperin, and of course, Bolero, we dive into the incredibly unique and wonderful style of Ravel. There's no other composer that sounds like Ravel - his unmatched orchestration, charming naïveté, and deeply buried sensuality make him one of the most remarkable composers of any era to spend some time with. Thanks for listening!

This week on Sticky Notes we dive into Film Music!  For almost 100 years, filmgoers have been captivated by the music of composers like John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, Erich Korngold, Dmitri Shostakovich, Max Steiner, Charlie Chaplin, and more.  On this week's episode, we'll find out why.  We will also talk about the beginnings of film music, and the difficult question of whether film music fits into(or doesn't fit into) the classical canon.  Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy it!  

We all need some humor in our life, and even though classical music is often thought of as a very serious art form, that is not always the case! In fact, there is no shortage of jokes, witticisms, and hilarity in the music of Joseph Haydn. Haydn was not only a jokester, but he was also one of the most influential composers in history, mentoring both Mozart and Beethoven. We explore this multi-faceted composer, from his hilarious musical jokes, to his more serious, and even experimental music.

On this previously released edition of Sticky Notes, we dive into one of the most famous pieces of music ever written, Mozart's dramatic and stormy 40th symphony in G Minor.  Mozart 40 is not just a ringtone!  It's a powerful, urgent, and innovative work, but we know very little about why Mozart wrote it or what it means.  We explore all of that, and, of course, take an in-depth look at the incredible structures that Mozart creates inside of this incredible masterpiece.  Thanks for listening!

This week, a deep dive into the grand-daddy of them all, Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Simply put, the world of music was never the same after this symphony, which simultaneously shattered conventions and built new ones that have endured in music until this very day. We'll take a look at how Beethoven built this revolutionary symphony, and how he both borrowed from his predecessors and moved away from them. We'll also explore the cultural, philosophical, and political connotations of this monumental piece.

A Patreon-sponsored episode this week, looking at Brahms' 2nd Piano Concerto.  We'll be taking a look at the piece with a wide lens, finding similarities and differences between other works of Brahms, like his first Piano Concerto, and his symphonies and chamber music. Of course, we'll also go all the way through this incredible piece, which distills everything that makes Brahms BRAHMS in just 50 minutes of music, from continuous development, to gorgeous melodic lines, to Hungarian music, and much more.

This week we look at Prokofiev's epic 5th symphony, written at the height of World War II. We'll discuss Prokofiev's unique brand of traditionalism and innovation, and the deep contradictions within his music between lyricism and violence, heat and ice, and optimism and cynicism. We'll also talk about Prokofiev's difficult personality and how this may have influenced his music. Prokofiev's 5th is one of the most thrilling and exciting pieces of classical music ever written - let's explore it together!  

This week, we're going on an archeological expedition, digging up 10 rarely heard pieces which we've all been missing out on. This list covers rare pieces from popular composers like Gershwin, Shostakovich, and Ravel, but also much less known composers like Magin, Carreno, and Arensky. We'll go over each one of these wonderful pieces, putting them in context with the time in which they were written. You'll also get to hear Ethel Smyth describe her experiences meeting Brahms, something you simply can't mis