Between the Barlines

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today we finally stop talk about opera and switch gears to speak strictly about what was happening in the late 19th century in Germany. Some of our most popular and renowned composers are coming from this time frame, like Brahms, Wagner, Bruckner, Wolf, and Strauss. Buy me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Music mentioned in this episode: Brahms Sy...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we’re discussing the changes happening in the late 19th century. This was the era of French lyricism , Italian verismo , and the beginnings of Russian opera . By the 1870s and 1880s, audiences wanted something new. The grandeur of earlier Romantic opera was there, but people yearned for realism and emotional immediacy. T...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! We are almost done with our episodes addressing opera in the 19th century. Today’s episode is one that I have been looking forward to the most, because as of last year, Giacomo Puccini broke into my top five favorite composers, specifically because of his operas Tosca and Madama Butterfly that we did at Pittsburgh Opera. I’m really excited to talk to you about...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! We are going to continue our chat on 19th century opera today with another innovator of opera, Giuseppe Verdi . Or as we refer to him sometimes in the opera world - Mean Joe Green!! Throughout Verdi’s lifetime, he wrote 28 operas, all of which continued the innovations that we saw at the beginning of the century with bel canto singing. Today we will see what t...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am excited again to continue our chat about 19th century opera, with today’s focus being on the works of Richard Wagner. We will learn that Wagner wasn’t just a composer; he was a dramatist, philosopher, and provocateur whose ideas reshaped what opera could be. His music is monumental and his legacy is deeply complicated. TW: discussing antisemitism, Hitler,...

Welcome Back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we are going to continue our chat about 19th century opera by taking a closer look at the Bel Canto era of singing and operatic composition. We will be diving deeper into the works of the main three bel canto composers: Gioachino Rossini , Vincenzo Bellini , and Gaetano Donizetti. Buy me a Coffee : Operas mentioned in th...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Opera became more than entertainment during this time; it became a mirror of political upheaval, national identity, and human passion. From the grandeur of Italian bel canto to the sweeping psychological landscapes of Wagner, 19th-century opera redefined what it meant to tell stories through music. Buy me a Coffee : buymeacoffe...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we’re exploring programmatic music —music that tells a story, paints a picture, or captures an emotion beyond the notes on the page. Buy me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Music used and mentioned in this episode: Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique idée fixe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTWbh4ffwGY Smetana - Má vlast : https://www.youtube...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! We have somewhat of a baseline episode today; what I mean by that is we are going to touch on a few composers and what they did for orchestral and chamber music in the 19th century. These are composers like Berlioz , Liszt , Brahms , Wagner and more. Let’s get started! Buy me a Coffee : buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Music...

Welcome Back to Between the Barlines! I am very very excited to introduce today’s episode to you because it is all about choral music! This is a genre that is very near and dear to my heart, and this repertoire coupled with renaissance choral music is some of my favorite to study AND sing! When most of us think of the Romantic period, we imagine the piano works of Chopin or the symphonies of Tchai...

Welcome Back to Between the Barlines! Today, we’re diving into the dazzling world of Franz Liszt , who was a superstar pianist, composer, and one of the most transformative figures in all of classical music. From virtuosic piano showpieces to profound symphonic poems, Liszt’s influence echoes far beyond his own century. Buy me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Music mentioned in this e...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we are going to speak about Fryderyk Chopin , a virtuoso performer, composer, and pianist. Let’s get started! Buy me a Coffee : buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Music mentioned in this podcast: Piano Concerto in e minor : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV_x_QY1P5c Piano Concerto in f minor : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3r4EgwLqMM Nocturne in c-...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am very excited about today’s episode, because we will be learning about two of my favorite 19th century German composers! These two people are Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. Buy me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Music mentioned in this episode: C. Schumann - Piano Concerto : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xol1DKul984 C. Schuman...

Welcome to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we are going to talk about piano music in the 19th century. I will also mention some important composers, but we have some time this season to talk more in depth about these composers, so I will only be mentioning key points in this episode. Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Music mentioned in this episode:...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! As promised really for the last 2 episodes, I would be extremely remiss if I didn’t speak about poetry, and specifically German poetry, from the 19th century. Many of the texts of famous German lieder from this time are due to the very important figures, of which we are about to chat about. The great poets of the German Romanti...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we are going to discover all that Franz Schubert has to offer! From songs to larger works like symphonies and masses, it really all does start from his innate ability to compose song-like melodies. Buy me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Music mentioned in this podcast: Schwanengesang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym2O4hixvLE Symphony No...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! In today’s episode, we are going to dive into one of the most intimate, expressive, and beloved genres of the 19th century: German Lieder . We will address how important the relationship of the voice and piano will become as well as that relationship to poetry. Support this podcast more: buymeacoffee.com/betweenthebarlines Musi...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we’re diving into a fascinating period of change: the Industrial Revolution , and how it transformed music, instruments, and the very sound of the concert hall. The Industrial Revolution, spanning roughly from the mid-18th to the 19th century, was a time of dramatic change. Factories replaced workshops, trains shrank distances, and cities swelled with w...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am so excited that you’re joining me today, as this is the beginning of the 5th season of this podcast! Thanks for listening along; if you are new to the podcast, I highly suggest that you take a trip back to Season 1 - this podcast has been broadcast chronologically, and its best to start the review of music history all the way from there! Today, we’re divi...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we have somewhat of a special episode, based solely on opinions that are backed up by facts. As I mentioned in our last 3 episodes about Beethoven, he sits right on that historical fence between the Classical and Romantic periods, and musicologists love to argue about where he really belongs. So, today’s big question is: Is Ludwig van Beethoven a Classi...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! We have reached the final episode about Ludwig van Beethoven today. We’ve learned thus far that Beethoven’s career is often divided into three creative phases: the Early Period , inspired by Haydn and Mozart; the Middle Period , defined by heroic, bold works such as the Eroica Symphony ; and finally, the Late Period , which is our focus today. Music mentioned...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we continue our chat about Beethoven with a discussion on his middle period. This period, often called the “Heroic” period , stretches from about 1803 to 1814. It marks the time when Beethoven transformed from a Classical composer into a revolutionary artist who redefined what music could do. Music mentioned in this episode: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat maj...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we are going to start talking about a new composer, and it’ll be our final composer of the classical era. This composer is very interesting; I mentioned earlier in the season how up until I started studying for my DMA comprehensive exams last summer, I always thought of Beethoven as a classical composer. However, it seems that he is more likely to be gr...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. Today we are wrapping up our conversation talking about Mozart! We have already learned about the many keyboard works, chamber works, and symphonies that he has written. Today, we’ll explore Mozart’s deep connection to the human voice—through his operas, songs, and sacred music . Music mentioned in this episode: Mitridate, re d...

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! This is our second episode on Mozart’s compositional output and impact on the classical period. If you didn’t take a listen to the first episode, I highly suggest it to learn more about Mozart’s background. Today, we’ll look at his symphonies and his chamber music . Music mentioned in this episode: Symphony No. 1 in E-flat majo...