The Classical Music Minute

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 chora...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 over...

Send us Fan Mail 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 r...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 twe...

Send us Fan Mail 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 hav...

Send us Fan Mail 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 wo...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 Tor...

Send us Fan Mail 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 comm...

Send us Fan Mail 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 Ne...

Send us Fan Mail 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 Rive...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 a...

Send us Fan Mail 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 earlies...

Send us Fan Mail 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. Ev...

Send us Fan Mail 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 us...

Send us Fan Mail Description Here’s another one of my favourite pieces, L'Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) by Igor Stravinsky. Take a minute to get the scoop! L`Histoire du Soldat/ Suite de Concert , Pierre Boulez ℅ YouTube Fun Fact L'Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) was premiered in Lausanne on 28 September 1918, conducted by Ernest Ansermet. The British conducto...

Send us Fan Mail Description Recently I came across a fabulous Spanish Concert Pianist on YouTube, by the name of Juan Pérez Floristán. He was playing the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1—one of my favourites. Watching him play had me literally jumping out of my seat. So, I decided that I’ve really got to chat with him. And I did, from his home in Spain. Juan’s website Juan’s YouTube Channel Tócala...

Send us Fan Mail Description John Williams is of course known for his Hollywood blockbuster orchestral music. But has also composed many incredible works, including his cello concerto for famed cellist, Yo-Yo Ma. Take a minute to get the scoop! Cello Concerto: I. Theme & Cadenza ℅ YouTube Fun Fact Williams has composed for a staggering number of critically acclaimed and popular movies, includi...

Send us Fan Mail Description One of my favorite pieces of all time is Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major. This episode is dedicated to this breathtaking composition. Take a minute to get the scoop! Listen to Juan P. Floristán play  Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major ℅ YouTube—Juan will also be a guest of mine coming soon!!! Fun Fact One day during the summer of 1911, Serg...

Send us Fan Mail Description John Gay wrote The Beggar's Opera as an anti-opera rather than an opera, lampooning the Italian opera style and the English public's fascination with it.  Take a minute to get the scoop! Listen to: The Beggar's Opera ℅ YouTube Fun Facts Fact 1 Lavinia Fenton, the first Polly Peachum, became an overnight success. Her pictures were in great demand, verses...