Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

This week we're going to take a look at 7 pieces that represent perfect starting points for those interested in beginning their journey with classical music. If you are a regular listener, don't worry - these 7 pieces are all fascinating and enjoyable to learn about for experienced listeners as well! In addition, 5 out of the 7 pieces have never been discussed on the show. We'll cover music from 6 different countries, 300 years of history, and some of the greatest art that humanity has ever produced.

This week we take a look at a symphony that has been called both "sunny and bucolic" and "tragic and full of shadow." What accounts for these differences of opinions about such a beloved symphony? We'll explore all of the emotional ambiguity that runs throughout this symphony, as well as Brahms' remarkable thematic cohesion and creativity. How does a composer take 3 notes and create an entire symphony out of them? This week, you'll find out how. Recording recommendation: Carlos Kleiber w/ Vienna Phil.

This week we're focusing on the 1950s and the musical cold war between composers of the total serialist school like Boulez, Babbitt, and Carter, and the tonalists like Copland and Bernstein. Caught in the middle of pitched battles over the future were Stravinsky and Messiaen. Every composer had a different way of dealing with the post-war order and of expressing the anger, rage, and nihilism of the art of the time. This is music that has never been popular with audiences, so let's try to demystify it today.

Schumann's Symphony No. 2 expresses a journey of redemption like perhaps no other symphony. It begins in the depths of Schumann's physical and mental breakdown of 1842, and ends in grateful thanks for his recovery. Whatever tragedies Schumann experienced later, this piece is a marker of a happier time, though it reminded Schumann of "dark days." We'll talk all about it this week on Sticky Notes! Recommended recordings: Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, George Szell, Cleveland Orchestra

From the ruins of the Holyrood Chapel in Scotland, Mendelssohn found his inspiration for an epic symphony. This week, we'll explore this beautiful piece, discussing its genesis, Mendelssohn's journey through Scotland, and the unusual structure of the work. We'll also spend a lot of time discussing interpretation, comparing two recordings of the symphony which often portray two diametrically opposed characters. In case you ever thought interpretation doesn't matter, this is the episode to change your mind!

This week we explore one of the most popular, and most misunderstood, pieces of the 20th century. Barber's Adagio has been called "The Saddest Music Ever Written," and yet portraying sadness was never Barber's intention in writing the piece. It also might surprise you to find out that the Barber Adagio was originally a part of a 3 movement string quartet. We'll talk about all of these contradictions while trying to understand just what makes this piece so moving, powerful, and profound.

Since its first appearances in the early 1900s, atonal music has been one of the most polarizing topics in the classical music world. Some people believed that atonal music was the only way forward, while some thought that it would ruin music for good. Today, we're going to explore the roots of atonal music and then look at the 12 tone period and the brilliant music of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. If you're not a fan of atonal music, give it a chance this week. Let's open our ears and dive in together!

In 1857, Brahms wrote to his friend Joseph Joachim about his first Piano Concerto, saying, “ “I have no judgment about this piece anymore, nor any control over it.” The piece is one that probably has more emotional backstory than any other of Brahms' works. It emerged out of Brahms' complicated friendship with Robert and Clara Schumann, and out of the massive expectations that had been placed upon him. We'll talk all about this massive work, Brahms' youth, and much, much more! Thanks for listening

On this week's Patreon-sponsored episode, we explore the 7th symphony of Anton Bruckner, who has not come up at all in over 100 episodes of the show! We'll talk all about how Bruckner's devotion to his faith and to Wagner pervades this beautiful symphony, and Bruckner's singular style of orchestration. Very few composers would have their lives changed by hearing an opera and then decide to write 9 epic symphonies, but Bruckner was certainly one of those composers! Come explore this masterpiece with us!

At long last, it's the Sticky Notes mailbag!  I'm joined by a special guest to answer around 20 questions such as, "What is the best way to learn how to compose?" or "Is there a simple explanation in classical music itself for this love that I feel which makes me miss a beat when I listen to it and that can reduce me to tears?" I'll also be answering questions about conducting, programming, musical theory, and much more. I had such a great time doing this, and I hope you enjoy it!

This week we're diving into one of the great movements ever written in Western Music with the slow movement of Beethoven's Op. 132 quartet. This is a movement that explores Beethoven's contradictory religious beliefs, his core optimism despite all that happened to him during his life, and his fascination with religious music. We'll then look at how Beethoven concludes this epic piece, using sketches of music that started out as being part of his 9th symphony, but not in the way you might expect. Enjoy!

I’ve long hesitated to write about any of Beethoven’s late string quartets. These are pieces that every quartet grapples with. They explore not only every conceivable emotion, but they dig down into the core of those emotions and dare to ask and THEN ANSWER the fundamental questions of life. This week I’m taking the opportunity of getting a Patreon sponsor request from Maria for a piece of chamber music to take the leap myself into Late Beethoven. Part 1 covers the first two movements of the quartet.

This week on Sticky Notes, we're going back on a musical archeological expedition and discovering 10 more under-appreciated, underrated, and under-played works of the past and present. We'll look at composers like Janacek, Martinu, Kapralova, Beach, and Bonds among others, and explore both why these pieces disappeared from the stage, and why we need to bring them back. These are some of my favorite shows to research, write, and record, so please join me on this expedition of rediscovery.

Why explore two Mozart symphonies in the span of one month? Well, both the Prague and Jupiter symphonies show us different sides of Mozart's genius, and so this week we'll look at the Jupiter symphony in the context of Mozart's obsession with thematic cohesion and his borrowing from the music of other composers. In fact, the Haydn family might have a case for royalties after you explore the last movement of the symphony! This piece is one of the pinnacles of Western Classical Music, so don't miss it!

This week we explore one of the great string quartets of the 20th century. It is a piece that was written in the wake of World War II, and reflects the turmoil and uncertainty of a composer asking the deepest questions about war, life and death, and the future. We'll talk about the titles Shostakovich added to each movement of the quartet and whether they help or hinder the listener in understanding the music, and we'll also compare the quartet to its orchestral arrangement by Rudolf Barshai.