Sticky Notes Mailbag!

In the early 1930s, at the height of the atonal and twelve tone movement in music, the American violinist Louis Krasner commissioned a concerto from the Viennese Composer Alban Berg. Berg declined at ...

23 Jan 202548min

There is nothing like hearing a Late Beethoven String Quartet for the first time. Beethoven's late string quartets, Op. 127, Op. 130, Op. 131, Op. 132, and Op. 135, are among the 5 greatest pieces of ...

9 Jan 202557min

I'm so happy to share this live episode of Sticky Notes that I did with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra in Denmark back in October! This episode covered Berlioz's remarkable Symphonie Fantastique - the...

27 Dec 20241h 12min

Here are two statements by Dmitri Shostakovich about the same piece, the 8th symphony that we are talking about today: Statement No. 1, Shostakovich's published comments about the symphony when it was...

12 Dec 20241h 8min

My Patreon sponsor for this episode, Adrian, set me a challenge: The influence of literary works on classical compositions, exploring pieces inspired by poetry, novels, or plays. He also asked me to d...

27 Nov 202446min

The muses were Ancient Greek goddesses of inspiration. Throughout history, the term muse has been used to describe any number of people, all of whom inspired works of great art and/or literature. In t...

14 Nov 202451min

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...

31 Okt 202457min

The original production of Westside Story ran for 732 performances, spawned a movie that won 11 Academy Awards, and is still a go to on every list of the greatest Broadway Musicals ever written. The ...

24 Okt 202442min