Classical Classroom

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, motifs, and that Berg is pronounced like “bare-g”, not burg.       Music in this episode: Alban Berg String Quartet Op. 3  from a live performance recorded at Stude Concert Hall, Rice University, Shepherd School of Music for Chamber Music Houston  Audio production by Todd “One Todd to rule them all” Hulslander, editing by Mark DiClaudio and mind expansion by Dacia Clay.

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 this episode: Dark Waves. John Luther Adams Ecuatorial. Edgard Varèse. Songbirds: Woodthrush. John Luther Adams. Become Ocean. John Luther Adams. Performed by the Seattle Symphony.   Audio production by Todd “Swifty” Hulslander with “Blank Space” by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. 

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 of the latest Star Wars episode. He teaches about John Williams as a composer and about important tools of the compositional trade, and reveals how this new music is tied to Williams’ scores for the original films. Mitchell takes no prisoners, and does not care for Ewoks. Prepare for hyperdrive.   Music for the episode: “Ride of the Valkyries.” From The Ring Cycle, by Richard Wagner. Music from the original motion picture scores for  Star Wars: Episode 1, The Phantom Menace Star Wars: Episode 4, A New Hope  Star Wars: E

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. (The lesson here being that becoming a classical musician will surely lead to fame and fortune.)   In this Classical Classroom, MusicWorks episode, Tindall talks about life as a classical musician, what led her to write Mozart in the Jungle, and the importance of debunking classical music stereotypes and myths. We also discuss Jason Schwartzman’s impressive facial hair, hanging out with Coppolas, and how an oboe rolls when you drop it on the floor.  Music in this episode: Symphony No. 1 “Low” (aka, the “Low” Symphony).

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 Donna, and writing a traditional romantic opera today. Audio production by Todd “Toddwright” Hulslander with polite claps from Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. All music in this episode from the opera Prima Donna, available on Deutsche Grammophon.

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 Hulslander with occasional grunts of approval from Dacia Clay.

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 we sing along with anyway? Check. Wookiees? Yeah. This episode has all of that and oh so much more. Listen if you dare! And, uh, merry Christmas. You’re welcome.   Audio production by Todd “Good King Wencelastodd” Hulslander with two eyes made out of coal by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. Music in this episode: “Dominick the Donkey.” Ray Allen, Sam Saltzberg and Wandra Merrell. “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas.” John Rox. Performed by Gayla Peevey. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Randy Brooks. Perf

  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 calendars have aligned this year to create a day even more amazing than Hanukkah and more delicious than Thanksgiving. There won’t be another until the year 79811! To honor this rare occasion, Cantor Benjamin Matis of the Shelter Rock Jewish Center in Roslyn, New York in Long Island schools us on the history and music of Hanukkah. Audio production by Todd “Toddfurky” Hulslander with a side of help and gravy from Dacia Clay. Music in this episode includes: John Williams’ Star Wars (Main Theme) Ma’oz Tzur (Ashkenazi and Seph

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’t been recorded and is, in fact, out of print? Why do we remember the name “Chopin” and not “Franchomme”? Cellist and Franchomme scholar Louise Dubin, who just put out a CD called The Franchomme Project, discusses this and much more in this episode. All music in this episode from Louise Dubin’s The Franchomme Project. Audio production by Todd “Terr-ee-bleh” Hulslander with eating of palmiere by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. For more about Louise Dubin: www.louise-dubin.com 

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 world to make a career exclusively as a soloist. He is also the only tuba player in the world to have a great story about touring with a punk band. He joins us all the way from Norway to tell us about this shadowy instrument: its size, its repertoire, and its fnugg. Audio production by Todd “Tall Texan” Hulslander with slings and arrows by Dacia Clay. Music in this episode: Bass Tuba Concerto in F Minor, 1st movement, by Ralph Vaughn Williams. Performed by Øystein Baadsvik. Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra 1st move

Knowing how a piece of classical music came to be is often a bit of a guessing game. What inspired Bach to write the Goldberg Variations, or Beethoven to write his 9th Symphony? Context clues, letters, composers’ notes help us put the story together; we fill in the rest with our imaginations and mythology. But no more! In this episode of Classical Classroom, you’ll hear the entire story of a piece of modern classical music, Music for Wood and Strings, from commission to performance. Even the instruments on which the piece is played didn’t exist before this story began. You’ll meet composer Bryce Dessner (The National), instrument maker Aron Sanchez (Buke and Gase), and the members of So Percussion. You’ll hear a lot of awesome music. You’ll laugh! You’ll cry. Your life will be affirmed. But seriously, it’s a compelling (and thoroughly American) story about ingenuity, modernist music, and most importantly, joy.          Music in this episode: Music for Wood and Strings. Bryce Dessner. Played by So Per

How do you tell a story without words? Why, with music of course! Richard Scerbo, founder and artistic director of DC-based Inscape Chamber Orchestra, explains how – and why – composers use music to tell tales. Walk through two very different kinds of musical “stories” in this episode. Watch out for dancing puppets and swamp ghosts. Richard Scerbo. Image courtesy of his website. All music in this episode performed by Inscape Chamber Orchestra: – Excerpts from their new album, Petrushka, by Igor Stravinsky. – “Black Bend” by Dan Visconti from the album American Aggregate. Audio production by Todd “Tiny T-Rex Arms” Hulslander with fleeing by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. For more Inscape: www.inscape.org For more Richard Scerbo: www.richardscerbo.com

This episode contains pretty much everything: Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, Plato’s Symposium, music by living composers, the Great American Songbook, and most importantly, love, baby. Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. Photo by VANESSA BRICEÑO-SCHERZER / CHRISTIE STOCKSTILL. All music in this episode from Anne Akiko Meyers’ new album, Serenade: The Love Album. Audio production by Todd “Tickle Me Elmo” Hulslander with high-pitched cackles by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. For more about Anne Akiko Meyers: www.anneakikomeyers.com

  It’s a Menotti two-fer! Lynda McKnight from Houston’s Opera in the Heights teaches all about the composer Gian Carlo Menotti and two of his short operas, The Medium(not the Patricia Arquette kind), and The Telephone (not the Lady Gaga kind). Learn about this versatile 20th century composer and these two drastically different operas. Also, zombies.   By the way, Opera in the Heights is staging a Medium and Telephone double-header through November 7th!  Music in this episode: – Gian Carlo Menotti, The Medium. Chicago Opera Theater recording. – Gian Carlo Menotti, The Telephone. BBC Radio Broadcast on YouTube. Audio by Todd “My, My Telephone” Hulslander with psychic readings by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. Thumbnail image: Paul Hume and Marie Handy performing Gian Carlo Menotti’s comic opera The Telephone, or L’Amour à trois at Catholic University, Washington DC, 1952. Public domain.

  What?? Two episodes in one week? That’s right. We made you a treat: Go with us on a field trip to the Moores School of Music Organ Recital Hall at the University of Houston where we meet up with Keith “Creepy” Weber and the colossal, two-story Beckerath Organ that lurks in the hall. Learn all about Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and why it’s the soundtrack for all things macabre in this episode, the final installment of our Bachtoberfest series. Music in this episode played by Keith Weber, except for “Toccata Remix” by VioDance. Audio production by Todd “All A-Twitter” Hulslander with snargling by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. Thanks to Matthew Dirst and Melissa Sanson for the information they provided for this episode. Check out these photos from our recording session! Taken from the floor of the recital hall. Because why not. Photo by Dacia Clay Keith Weber and Dacia Clay. Regular-sized people, giant Beckerath organ. Photo by Mark DiClaudio. Keith Weber (L) and Dacia Clay (with zombie

Cover of cellist (and – we suspect – part-time lumberjack), Matt Haimovitz’s new CD. Courtesy of Oxingale/Pentatone.   Cellist Matt Haimovitz has grappled with Bach’s Cello Suites for decades. He first recorded them in 2000. He’s dedicated his new second recording of the Suites to Anna Magdalena, Bach’s second wife, who copied Bach’s manuscripts. Haimovitz talks about how Anna Magdalena’s transcriptions became his spirit guide on a quest to gain a greater understanding of the Gospel of Bach. Music in this episode: Excerpts from J.S. Bach, The Cello Suites According to Anna Magdalena. Matt Haimovitz. Excerpts from J.S. Bach, 6 Suites for Cello Solo. Matt Haimovitz. J.S. Bach, Suite 1. Pablo Casals. That one sound effect from Law and Order, created by Mike Post. Philip Glass, Orbit. Matt Haimovitz.Audio production by Todd “Toddtober” Hulslander with smashing of pumpkins by Dacia Clay, and editing by Mark DiClaudio. For more Matt Haimovitz: www.matthaimovitz.com Thumbnail photo by Stephanie Mackinnon. Courtes

 Bachtoberfest continues! Catalyst Quartet members Karla Donehew-Perez and Karlos Rodriguez talk about famously eccentric (eccentrically famous?) performer and composer, Glenn Gould, his recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and Catalyst’s Gould-inspired arrangement of the Variations. Discussed: breakfast, order out of chaos, and who this “Goldberg” person was.   Music in this episode:  “Aria da capo” from Gould’s 1955 and 1981 recordings, and from the Catalyst Quartet’s debut album, Bach/Gould Project. Goldberg Variations from Catalyst’s CD Audio production by Todd “Triffid” Hulslander with ingenious biological meddlings by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. For more Catalyst Quartet: www.catalystquartet.com More

Continuing with our Bachtober celebration, we revisit this oldie but goody with Kurt Stallmann.  Bach’s Invention No. 1 contains an entire universe of music as we learn in this episode with Kurt Stallmann, Associate Professor of Music at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. It gets metaphysical up in here, you guys. Audio production by Todd “Birthday Boy” Hulslander, with happy claps of approval by Dacia Clay. Music in this episode includes: Johann Sebastian Bach, Invention No. 1 in C Major (from his Inventions and Sinfonias BWV 772–801, aka the Two- and Three-Part Inventions), played by Kurt Stallmann.

    This Classroom teacher needs only one name: Madonna! JK! But he’s also a world-famous musician: Pianist Yundi teaches about Chopin’s preludes, all of which he recently recorded on his new album, aptly entitled Frédéric Chopin: Complete Preludes. Where did these preludes come from? Why are they each so different? Yundi teaches all of this and more in this episode. All music in this episode from Yundi’s new album. Audio production by Todd “A Confederacy of Todds” Hulslander with cries of “Opa!” from Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. For more about Yundi: www.yundimusic.com

  The first woman who ran for the U.S. presidency did so in 1872. Never heard this story? Thankfully, composer and conductor Victoria Bond has written an opera about this woman’s life. Hear the incredible, true, titillating tale and learn about opera AT THE SAME TIME! Sex, scandal, alliteration! All in this episode. All music in this episode is from Victoria Bond’s opera, Mrs. President. Audio production by Todd “Trusty Sidekick” Hulslander with quick draws by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. For more about Victoria Bond: www.victoriabond.com