Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

Charles Ives was one of the most innovative, dynamic, creative, and underrated American composers. Described as half Huck Finn, half Thomas Jefferson, Ives tackled a dizzying array of styles in his music, from avant-garde music 50 years ahead of its time, to joyous explorations of American folk music, and much more. This week we'll give you a little tour of some of Ives' most representative works, from his Second Symphony, to the Concord Sonata. Take a giant leap into Ives' music - you won't regret it!

This week we explore one of Mozart's greatest symphonies, the Prague. This symphony, written possibly as a gift for the city that adored him so much, is one of Mozart's most ambitious pieces, with a massive first movement that rivals Beethoven's Eroica in length. The piece is full of exactly what makes Mozart's music so inventive, heartbreaking, and beautiful. We'll talk all about Mozart's life in Prague, the games Mozart plays with his audience, and the allusions to Prague that make this piece such a gift.

Welcome to Season 5 of Sticky Notes! This week, we look at Mendelssohn's famous overture, and his slightly less famous incidental music to Shakespeare's beloved play. We'll explore the remarkably precocious overture, written when Mendelssohn was just 17, and the incidental music written 17 years later, full of invention, creativity, and cohesion with the Overture. We'll also talk about how the music works with and around the play, and how Mendelssohn might just have written the first ever soundtrack!

One week until Season 5 of Sticky Notes! This week, we look t one of the most popular 20th century symphonies. 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.

We're two weeks away from Season 5 of Sticky Notes! This week, we look back at Mendelssohn's most popular symphony, the Italian! We discuss Mendelssohn's love of nature, the the remarkable independence and variety that Mendelssohn achieves within a tightly knit German Romantic era symphony. This symphony is like flipping through a photo album of Mendelssohn's Grand Tour of Italy, and we explore how he was able to create such a distinct picture in each movement. Thanks for listening!

This week we take a look back at a favorite episode of mine exploring the piece that practically invented the Americana style of classical music. We'll take apart this wonderful work and compare its chamber version for 13 instruments along with the full orchestral version. We'll also hear amazing archival footage of Copland himself rehearsing the piece with a small ensemble, working diligently to find that elusive "American" sound. Enjoy the Simple Gifts of Copland's Appalachian Spring!

We're taking a look back this week at Dvorak's beloved New World Symphony. This is a piece that has been popular since its very first performance, but its origins are widely debated. Is this music based on Native American, or African-American music? Or is it simply an expression of Dvorak's nostalgia for his Bohemian homeland? The answer, as you'll see, is a bit complicated. But wherever this music comes from, it remains some of the most stirring, emotionally satisfying, and beautiful pieces ever written.

Very few pieces of classical music are as iconic as George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, so this week we're taking a look back at one of my favorite episodes!  We'll talk about the amazing circumstances of the piece's premier, the difficulties of crossing the bridge between jazz and classical music, and of course, the music itself.  Is this classical music?  Or is it jazz?  Gershwin finds his own answers to that question in one of the most enjoyable pieces in all of classical music.  

It's the Season 4 Finale and we're going out with a bang with the Finale of Mahler's 9th Symphony. This is one of Mahler's most unusual and passionate creations, a 25 minute slow movement that embraces church hymns as well as some of the most barren and expressionless music he ever wrote. We'll talk about these hymns and where Mahler might have gotten them, his embrace of Eastern philosophy at the end of his life, and much more. The show will be back in a month or two with all new episodes for Season 5!

Mahler was the Artistic Director of the Vienna Court Opera from 1897-1907. During his tenure, he instituted reforms, raised playing levels, and introduced new operas to the audience. Despite grudging admiration from all corners, he was reviled for his bull in a china shop attitude. Openly anti-semitic critics attempted to force him out. The 3rd movement could be seen as Mahler's response to all of this turmoil and struggle. We'll talk all about the bitterness, sarcasm, and rage behind this short movement.

When I started writing the show this week, I realized there’s so much to get into that each movement really does deserve to have its own special show, so this week we're focusing on the second movement of Mahler 9. There are a few ways to hear this movement: as the idealization of a genuine country dance, as a pure satire of country life that Mahler was forsaking forever, or as a combination of the two. This is a remarkably sophisticated movement hiding beneath a veneer of banality. Thanks for listening

Mahler never said that his 9th symphony was a response to the death of his daughter Maria, and never hinted at the programmatic aspects behind the symphony, but the piece has become indelibly associated with saying goodbye, to Maria, to the world, to life itself. With Maria's death, and the diagnosis of his own fatal illness, he became consumed with the idea of death, the afterlife, and the two poles of acceptance and rage. Part I this week takes a look at the monumental and heartbreaking first movement.

Benjamin Zander is a Renaissance man - he is a brilliant conductor and musician and also is a highly sought after speaker, lecturer, and teacher - his TED Talk on Leadership and the power of music has been viewed over 3.5 million times. We talked about so many things on the show, from music, to life, to how leaders affect everything they do, and can both embrace their roles as leaders and smash hierarchies at the same time. I hope you find this conversation as inspiring and thought-provoking as I did!

On this week's Patreon-sponsored episode, we're looking at Dvorak's beloved cello concerto. We're remarkably lucky to even have this piece, as Dvorak was initially opposed to the idea of writing a cello concerto at all! But once he finished it, none other than Brahms claimed that if he had known that a cello concerto could be written like this, he would have written one himself. We'll talk about the sometimes tragic history behind the concerto, and of course, the music itself. Thanks for listening!

To mark the 100th episode of Sticky Notes(!), I was thrilled to be joined by Joshua Roman, cellist, composer, and curator. The core of our discussion centers on building an orchestra from the ground up. That is, not taking over an existing orchestra, but starting one completely from scratch. How would this look in 2019? Joshua has been thinking about this for years so it was fascinating to hear him discuss this and many other topics. Thanks again for all of our support and here's to another 100 episodes!