Politics in Classical Music

Politics in Classical Music

Classical music and politics have never been easy bedfellows. Composers and performers throughout history have relied on patronage and support from wealthy sources in order to keep their dreams afloat, and so unlike many other forms of music, classical music often has the reputation of being a politics-free zone. But the truth is that there is a whole repertoire of classical music that is infused with politics, and not just music from the 20th and 21st centuries. Today, with the American election looming just around the corner, we'll explore a series of pieces that all had political messages, the stories behind them, the motivations of the composers who wrote these pieces, and of course, the music itself. We'll be covering music by Haydn, Smyth, Shostakovich, Verdi, Adams, and much more today - join us!

Episoder(282)

Beethoven Piano Sonata in B Flat Major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier" - Part 2

Beethoven Piano Sonata in B Flat Major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier" - Part 2

There is a special category when it comes to Beethoven; a catalogue that doesn't include complete symphonies, sonatas, concerti, string quartets, etc., but just single movements. This is the catalogue...

24 Jul 202553min

Beethoven Piano Sonata in B♭ major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier" - Part 1

Beethoven Piano Sonata in B♭ major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier" - Part 1

Beethoven once wrote to his publisher: "What is difficult, is also beautiful, good, great, and so forth. Hence everyone will realize that this is the most lavish praise that can be bestowed, since wha...

10 Jul 202544min

Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins

Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins

The collaboration between Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht is rightly legendary. The two men could not have been more different from each other, and like the Brahms/Joachim relationship I mentioned in my...

26 Jun 20251h

The Ravel Sound with Norbert Müllemann and Stefan Knüpfer

The Ravel Sound with Norbert Müllemann and Stefan Knüpfer

I so enjoyed making this latest episode in my collaboration with G Henle Publishers. I talked with two absolute experts in their fields, Norbert Mülleman and Stefan Knüpfer, all about how to edit Rave...

12 Jun 202545min

Dvorak Violin Concerto

Dvorak Violin Concerto

Admit it: if you're a fan of classical music—or even just a regular concertgoer—you might have glanced at the title of this episode and done a double take. The Dvořák Violin Concerto? Not the Cello Co...

29 Mai 202549min

Brahms Double Concerto

Brahms Double Concerto

It's entirely possible that we would not know the name of Johannes Brahms very well if Brahms hadn't met Joseph Joachim as a very young man. Joachim, who was one of the greatest violinists of all time...

15 Mai 202558min

Copland Clarinet Concerto

Copland Clarinet Concerto

The commission for a new Clarinet Concerto from the great American composer Aaron Copland came from a rather unlikely source: Benny Goodman, the man known as the King of Swing. Goodman was one of the ...

1 Mai 202548min

Steve Reich: Different Trains

Steve Reich: Different Trains

Steve Reich, the great American contemporary composer, provided this program note about his work Different Trains: "The idea for the piece came from my childhood. When I was one year old my parents se...

17 Apr 202552min

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