Media Room Podcast

Today, David Leisner and I talked about being a composer, a guitarist, and his recent album Dedications (below), released January 16. You can buy it here . Below is the video mentioned during the interview. David performs “Farewell, R.W.” by David Del Tredici, one of the compositions on Dedications , at Plaza Blanca in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Thanks again to everyone to tuned in live. Next Week At Me...

Thank you to everyone who tuned in to the live video. Michael Stephen Brown and I talked about being a composer and pianist, the state of contemporary classical music, and the upcoming release of TWELVE BLOCKS (below). Media Room Live! is now a weekly feature. Join us every Thursday at 11:00AM EST when I interview an artist doing some of today’s most interesting work. * On February 12 I will talk...

Thank you to everyone who tuned into the live video. The video above is the continuation of a discontinued live stream that had to be abandoned due to technical issues. For those of you that were with us for that, we traced it to a bluetooth issue. I apologize for any inconvenience the technical issues may have caused and I hope you enjoy our discussion. Join us for another Media Room Live! event...

I hope you enjoy this reading of Media Room’s review “The Search For Squarepants,” published today. You can read the review, including images and links, by clicking here . Paid subscribers receive audio posts for all movie reviews. This review has been made available to all subscribers. In 2026, audio and video posts will only be available to paid subscribers. If you are a free subscriber check yo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mediaroom.substack.com Thank you to everyone who tuned in! Click here to read more about the two compositions on the recording, including my reviews of the BPO performances. Click here to read Atlanta music critic William Ford’s recent article, mentioned in the interview. Buffalo Philharmonic coverage is for paid subscribers only. Take...

I hope you enjoy this reading of Media Room’s review of “Pluribus,” published today. It is currently streaming at Apple TV. Following the review is a six minute performance of Renaissance composer Johannes Ockeghem’s “Dei Gratias” performed by the Huelgas Ensemble conducted by Paul Van Nevel. “Dei Gratias” plays over one of the most beautiful scenes in Plurbius, as the Others silently conduct an e...

I hope you enjoy this reading of Media Room’s review of “Tapawingo,” published today. It began streaming at Amazon Video and Apple TV December 2. You can read the review, including images and links, by clicking here . Paid subscribers receive audio posts for all movie reviews. This review has been made available to all subscribers. If you like what you hear please consider becoming a paid subscrib...

I hope you enjoy this reading of Media Room’s review of “Wake Up Dead Man,” published today. The movie is in theaters now and begins streaming December 12 at Netflix. You can read the review, including images and links, by clicking here . Paid subscribers receive audio posts for all movie reviews. This review has been made available to all subscribers. If you like what you hear please consider bec...

Today, Amaury Faye joined me from Paris to discuss Rust , his recently released album featuring music inspired by jazz’s source, the great city of New Orleans. Rust was recorded at Maringy Studios in the Crescent City and features New Orleans musicians Julian Lee (tenor sax), Amina Scott (bass), and Herlin Riley (drums). The album was released digitally November 14 with physical media scheduled fo...

Amaury Faye is French jazz composer and pianist who, after a visit to New Orleans, recorded “ Rust ” with some of that great city’s jazz artists. It was released digitally November 14 with physical media to follow in December. Watch the album’s trailer (above), first released here at Media Room . Faye and I will discuss “Rust” during our live event tomorrow Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 11:00AM ES...

Guest Conductor Eric Jacobsen will be leading the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra this weekend in its “ Grieg & Schumann: Romantic Impressions ” program. Paid subscribers received the interview Wednesday. I hope you enjoy our discussion. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

I hope you enjoy this reading of Media Room’s review of “Nouvelle Vague,” published today. The movie begins streaming tomorrow at Netflix. You can read the review, including images and links, by clicking here . Paid subscribers receive audio posts for all movie reviews. This review has been made available to all subscribers. Media Room paid subscribers receive special audio and video posts, access...

Alma Mahler married Gustav Mahler in 1902 when he was 41 and she was 22. Both were accomplished composers. In a famous letter, Gustav famously insisted that Alma cease composing as a condition of their marriage. Watch Cate Blanchett read that letter in the video below. ‘You Must Surrender Yourself To Me’ #AlmaToo In her essay #AlmaToo: The Art of Being Believed , published in 2022 by the Journal o...

The Ariel Quartet formed in Jerusalem two decades ago and is currently in residence at The University of Cincinnati. It is one of the finest musical ensembles performing today, noted for its sophisticated, passionate sound. Ariel has recorded all of Beethoven’s sixteen quartets in three recordings on the Orchard Classics label. Volume I was released April 4, 2025 and Volume II comes out November 7...

Thank you for being a paid subscriber. I hope you enjoy this reading of Media Room’s review of “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues," published today. You can read the review, including images and links, by clicking here . Below is the lyric video for “Cups And Cakes,” a verse of which was quoted at the end of my review. You mark my words. This “Paul McCartney” will be a big star one day. This is a p...

The Miro Quartet is approaching its thirtieth anniversary. Violist John Largess and I met in Buffalo in 2023 when the Miro was in town performing the Beethoven Quartet Cycle and we caught up in a live event this morning. John and I talked Beethoven, the workaday life of a string quartet, and the Miro’s new album of Alberto Ginastera’s three string quartets . I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. A...

I hope you enjoy my reading of Media Room’s review of “Becoming Led Zeppelin," published yesterday. You can read the review, including images and links, by clicking here . Audio posts are a paid subscriber benefit, but this post is being made available to all subscribers. Please consider supporting Media Room with a paid subscription. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra season begins September 20 a...

I hope you enjoy my reading of Media Room’s review of “My Mother’s Wedding," published Tuesday. You can read the review, including images and links, by clicking here . Thank you for being a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mediaroom.substack.com/subscribe

Today I spoke with Mason Winfield, author of Buffalo’s Occult Architecture: The Spiritual, the Supernatural, and the Niagara's Great Builders . While I am skeptical of the paranormal and occult, the people who built Buffalo were not. Mason and I discussed how the Queen City’s built environment was based on cosmological symbolism and sacred geometry, including Buffalo City Hall, H.H. Richardson’s B...

Thanks to Zach Woolfe for making Media Room’s first live event a success! I should note that our interview was conducted under a shadow. New York woke up after last night’s devastating loss by its resurgent New York Knicks, who led by 14 points with 2:51 to go in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks haven’t been in the Finals since 1999 and they haven’...