The Classical Music Minute

Description Ravel had long toyed with the idea of building a composition from a single theme which would grow simply through harmonic and instrumental ingenuity. And thus was born, Boléro. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact Boléro was given its first performance at the Paris Opéra on November 20, 1928. The premiere was acclaimed by a shouting, stamping, cheering audience in the midst of which a woman was heard screaming: “Au fou, au fou!” (“The madman! The madman!”). When Ravel was...

Description Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, became a standard against which many other symphonies were measured. It is best known by the ominous four-note opening motif. Take a minute to get the scoop! Just for fun you may want to check out: The Vienna boys choir, On the Beautiful Blue Danube 🎶 Fun Fact In the mid-1970s, American musician Walter Murphy released “A Fifth of Beethoven,” a popular disco recording based on the signature motif and other elements of the...

Description The Blue Danube is the most famous waltz ever written. It is considered Austria’s second national anthem. Take a minute to get the scoop! Just for fun you may want to check out: The Vienna boys choir, On the Beautiful Blue Danube 🎶 Fun Fact The Blue Danube premiered in the United States in its instrumental version on 1 July 1867 in New York, and in the UK in its choral version on 21 September 1867 in London at the promenade concerts at Covent Garden. About Steven,...

Description Eine kleine Nachtmusik or “A Little Night Music” aka Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K 525, is admired for its lively, joyful quality and memorable melodies. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact The four-movement work opens with a bright allegro in sonata form, and a slow, lyrical second movement follows. The third movement is a light minuet, and the finale is a brisk rondo. Originally, the piece contained a second minuet, but that movement has been lost. The specific...

Description Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture is considered one of his greatest masterpieces. Why then, did he not appreciate the accolades that came with its success? Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact That infamous assessment of it as “very loud and noisy and completely without artistic merit, obviously written without warmth or love,” was penned by Tchaikovsky himself. The overture’s popularity was a source of deep frustration to this sensitive, serious-minded symphonist whose...

Description Handel's Water Music was composed around 1717 and first performed after George I requested a concert on the River Thames. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact The first performance of the Water Music is recorded in The Daily Courant, the first British daily newspaper. At about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 July 1717, King George I and several aristocrats boarded a royal barge at Whitehall Palace, for an excursion up the Thames toward Chelsea. The rising tide propelled the barge...

Description It may not be to everyone’s taste, yet Pachelbel’s Canon in D is one of the most famous pieces of classical music of all time. Take a minute to get the scoop! Take a listen to: Canon and Gigue for Three Violins and Continuo in D Major: Canon · Jean-François Paillard c/o YouTube Fun Fact Pachelbel wrote more than 500 pieces over his lifetime. He was a prolific organist in his hometown of Nuremberg, and even taught the man who became Bach’s teacher. Despite the sheer volume of...

Description To celebrate the 100th episode of this podcast, I thought we could travel back in time to the dynamic public concerts of London’s Hanover Square Rooms during the early 1790s and the presentation of Joseph Haydn’s Military Symphony No 100 in G Major. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact At the time, Joseph Haydn was taking the city by storm, conducting his final twelve symphonies (Nos. 93-104) from a seat at the harpsichord. Haydn remained on the payroll of the Esterházy...

Description At first glance, Mozart’s piano music may look simple. Yet for many pianists, the music’s greatest challenge lies in that seeming simplicity. Take a minute to get the scoop! Take a listen: Mozart Piano Sonata No 16 C major K 545 Barenboim c/o YouTube Fun Fact Another challenge for the pianist is Mozart’s complete mastery of orchestration. Many of the piano sonatas have a symphonic sweep and soundworld in their opening and closing movements, while the slow movements are...

Description Though Felix Mendelssohn was one of the most beloved composers of the Romantic period, 270 of his works remained unpublished until recent years. But why? Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact Thanks to the work of The Mendelssohn Project many of his pieces are now being shared along with his story, letters and artworks. The project aims to establish itself as the world's central resource point for all matters pertaining to the prominent Mendelssohn family. About Steven,...

Description The Bach Six Solo Cello Suites are considered a staple for every budding cellist. But in Bach’s day, the cello was not considered a solo instrument and these works were shelved for decades. Not until Pablo Casals came along. Take a minute to get the scoop! Bach Cello Suite No. 2 in D min. BWV 1008 Casals c/o YouTube Fun Fact Since the earliest manuscripts copied by his wife Anna Magdalena Bach contain no markings as to the bowings, tempo, character, or articulation of the...

Description Frédéric Chopin loved his food and was afforded great opportunities to develop his rather expensive tastes. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact Chopin’s favorite restaurant was “Au Rocher de Cancale,” and that particular eatery is still located at rue Montorgueil, Paris 75002. The composer also liked to eat at the “Café de Foy” when it was actually called Café Tortoni. About Steven, Host Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he...

Description This holiday season I had the priviledge to talk with Patrick Rutikanga, Executive Director of the Gisimba Memorial Center in Rwanda. They run an after school program for children, part of which introduces music into their lives. The purpose of the program is to build strong relationships, heal families, restore dignity, and create hope in vulnerable East African communities. Take a listen. About Gisimba Using a holistic, trauma-informed approach Gisimba provides art and...

Description As we usher in the New Year, many around the world sing "Auld Lang Syne" to bid farewell to the year gone by. But where did this tune come from and how did it come to be so popular? Take a minute to get the scoop! AULD LANG SYNE ~ GUY LOMBARDO ~ 1947 Version ℅ YouTube Fun Fact Guy Lombardo’s orchestra played at the Roosevelt Grill in the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City from 1929 to 1959, and from then until 1976 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Live broadcasts (and later...

Description Beginning January 4th 2023, Classical 95.9-FM WCRI will be airing The Classical Music Minute just prior to Noon every Wednesday. Catch it live! About Classical 95.9-FM WCRI Classical 95.9-FM WCRI & Billboard Connection Providence are owned by Judson Group, Inc., a company that includes the son and grandsons of broadcasting pioneer Ted Jones, founder of Charles River Broadcasting Company and Boston’s legendary classical music station, WCRB. Judson Group acquired Classical...

Description This episode I have something special for you, I chatted with Vice-President and Co-Owner of Classical 95.9-FM WCRI situated in Rhode Island. Come January 4th 2023 they will be airing The Classical Music Minute just prior to Noon every Wednesday. But the station also has a really interesting history and approach. Take a listen. About Classical 95.9-FM WCRI Classical 95.9-FM WCRI & Billboard Connection Providence are owned by Judson Group, Inc., a company that includes the son...

Description The holiday season wouldn’t be marked without a rousing rendition of Handel’s Messiah. But was that its original intent? Take a minute to get the scoop! Enjoy BBC Proms: Handel's Messiah – 'Rejoice greatly' with Trinidadian Soprano Jeanine De Bique. Amazing! ℅ YouTube Fun Fact In the 1730s, the emotional and financial toll of producing operas, as well as changing audience tastes, contributed to Handel's growing interest in sacred oratorios—which required neither elaborate...

Description The majority of modern music we hear today would not have been possible without the development of Polyphony in the 12th and 13th centuries. Much of this was accomplished through the innovation of The Notre Dame School in Paris. Take a minute to get the scoop! Listen to a great example of Pérotin’s organum quadruplum—four-voice polyphony ℅ YouTube Fun Fact The earliest motets are the Notre-Dame motets, written by composers such as Leonin and Perotin during the 13th century....

Description Alma Mahler was an Austrian composer and socialite. First, wife to Gustav Mahler and then after his death re-marrying twice. Take a minute to get the scoop! Here’s a lovely recording of her Laue Sommernacht (mild Summer Night) for Mezzo & Piano ℅ YouTube Fun Fact In 1938, after the Anschluss, Werfel and Alma were forced to flee Austria as it was unsafe for Jews. Eventually the couple settled in Los Angeles. In later years, her salon became part of the artistic scene, first in...

Description What is the oldest known instrument to exist today? Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact The Paleolithic, also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek palaios - old, lithos - stone), is a period in prehistory, distinguished by the original development of stone tools, that covers 99% of the period of human technological prehistory. It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools by hominins c. 3.3 million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene c. 11,650 cal BP. About...