The Classical Music Minute

Send us Fan Mail Description Ever wondered what is Neoclassicism in music? And how did Igor Stravinsky play his part? Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact From 1948 to 1951, Stravinsky worked on his only full-length opera, The Rake’s Progress, a Neoclassical work based on a series of moralistic engravings by the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth. The Rake’s Progress fl...

Send us Fan Mail Description Why was Verdi so revered by the Italian people? Was it just his catchy tunes, or something deeper and more complex? Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact Italian unification is also known as the Risorgimento meaning "Resurgence", was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the...

Send us Fan Mail Description Ever wondered who invented the printing press and how this affected music way back when? Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact It wasn’t until the 19th century that the hand-operated Gutenberg-style press was replaced by steam-powered rotary presses. This allowed printing on an industrial scale, becoming practically the sole medium for modern bulk pri...

Send us Fan Mail Description Martin Luther is best known for having brought about the Protestant Reformation. But Luther was also an avid composer, whose works are still celebrated today. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact The Protestant Reformation was a religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. Its greatest leaders were Martin Luther and...

Send us Fan Mail Description Ever heard of the “pants role” aka “trouser roles” or “breeches parts” in opera? Well, this goes back centuries, with quite the backstory. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact Why did Baroque audiences buy into women playing masculine heroic parts in opera? The most conceivable theory is that Baroque opera was not concerned with realism. Further, the...

Send us Fan Mail Description In order to understand where music stands today, it’s great to consider some of the origins and uses of music. Archaeology has uncovered numerous indications of the importance of music in Ancient Greece, especially as it relates to their athletic Games. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact The earliest games at Delphi were held in the eighth century...

Send us Fan Mail Description Ever heard of the twelve-tone technique aka dodecaphony aka twelve-tone serialism aka twelve-note composition? I know, it’s a little mind-bending, but worth noting if you love music that breaks the boundaries of tonality. It’s even used in modern broadway shows! Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact Schoenberg believed that his 12-tone technique would...

Send us Fan Mail Description Ever wonder what inspired Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz? This “program” symphony is fueled by Hector’s obsession with actress Harriet Smithson. It is a shocking ride of epic psychological dimensions. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact In the fall of 1827, at age 24, Hector Berlioz attended the opening night of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, performed in Paris by...

Send us Fan Mail Description One of my favourite operas by Giuseppe Verdi is Macbeth—maybe because I am such a Shakespeare fan. Verdi himself was also an avid reader of Shakespeare and sought to produce an operatic work unlike any that had gone before. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact When Verdi’s Macbeth first premiered in Florence in 1847, it was dubbed “L’opera senza amore!” The opera w...

Send us Fan Mail Description Ever wondered where the term Bel canto came from? Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact Did you know that Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the Bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s? One of the most remarkable female opera singers of the 20th century, sh...

Send us Fan Mail Description Although not a superstar like Handel, J.S. Bach was prolific in his writing. Yet, after his death, his music remained relatively dormant for some time. So, was Felix Mendelssohn responsible for kickstarting Bach back into the limelight? Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact At the time Mendelssohn was promoting Bach, there was already a Bach revival underway; in fac...

Send us Fan Mail Description Maybe you’ve heard of the famed violins by Stradivarius. But why are these violins so coveted? Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact What about the best-preserved Stradivarius? Tellingly nicknamed “the Messiah,” it sits in a climate-controlled case in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, receiving the kind of curatorial attention and care reserved for precious w...

Send us Fan Mail Description Ever wondered who were the Medieval Troubadours? Back in the day, nothing was written down but passed from performer to performer as they travelled the countryside. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact One of the epic poems performed by troubadours was Beowulf. Beowulf was spoken by some and sung by others. Beowulf is the story of a hero who fights and defeats a hu...

Send us Fan Mail Description Ever wondered how the Operatic Overture came into existence? Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact The roots of the opera Overture begin with the first surviving opera, Peri’s L’Euridice in the year 1600. Peri included an instrumental “ritornello” at the beginning of the opera. This planted the seeds for what would eventually become the full-blown overture. About St...

Send us Fan Mail Description Carlo Gesualdo was both a vicious murderer and brilliant composer—the two going hand in hand. Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact There have been no fewer than eleven operatic works on the subject of Gesualdo’s life, with Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) premiering his Gesualdo in 1993. About Steven Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range o...

Send us Fan Mail Description Need a quick refresher on the plot of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte aka The Magic Flute? Take a minute to get the scoop! Fun Fact Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and librettist Emanuel Schikaneder decided to write The Magic Flute aka Die Zauberflöte in the style of Singspiel —a German-language comic opera with singing and dialogue—though it should be noted that Mozart never actuall...

Send us Fan Mail Description In this minute of classical music history, I’ll showcase Mozart’s partner in crime, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who was librettist to many in the operatic world at the time, including writing for three of Mozart’s greatest works. Fun Fact At the age of 79, Da Ponte became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Five years later, he founded America's first opera house, the New York Oper...

Send us Fan Mail Description In this minute of classical music history, I’ll delve into the life of Hildegard of Bingen who was, among other things, one of the first identifiable composers—dating back over 800 years to the early medieval period. Fun Fact A character of the same name, Hildegard, was created for the Netflix series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”. Although Hildegard is mentioned in...

Send us Fan Mail From the grand gestures of gods and ancient heroes in Opera Seria to the comical meanderings of Opera Buffa. These two genres occurred at a time of great change both in music and European society as a whole. Take one minute to Get the Scoop! Fun Fact Opera Buffa was inspired by intermezzi, which were comic intermissions appearing in between acts of Opera Seria, in order to break u...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I explore the history and impact that Castrati made on the musical scene of the time. They were indeed a powerful force, both literally and figuratively in shaping musical dexterity, virtuosity, and prowess. Fun Fact Alessandro Moreschi was the last castrato to sing in the Sistine Chapel choir. He would retire in 1913, thus ending the Castrati legacy. About Steven...

Send us Fan Mail In this minute of classical music history, I’ll delve into the make-up and influences of the Florentine Camerata. They had a big impact on the arts in the latter part of the 16th century, more specifically the development of a new kind of music. Fun Fact: Did you know that Jacopo Peri’s Dafne (1598) is said to be the first opera ever written? Apparently, Jacopo might have popped i...

Send us Fan Mail Today, most orchestral performances begin with the grand entrance of the maestro, as he/she takes their place on the podium and then emphatically points their baton at the musicians to indicate everyone (including the audience) should pay attention. But the use of the baton wasn’t always this elegant and didn't always convey the musical subtleties of conductor to musician. In...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered how some wind players circular breath? What is circular breathing anyway?  Check out my first episode of The Classical Music Minute podcast for the answer to this burning question.  If you’re interested to hear the oboe piece I mentioned in the podcast check out the recording .  See if you can spot this circular effect in action! Featured Soundtrack for this episode,...