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 recent show about the Brahms Double concerto, the friendship between Weill and Brecht was stormy to say the least. The two collaborated on some of the most memorable works of the Weimar era in Germany, such as the Threepenny Opera, which features a pretty famous tune called Mack the Knife.

Their final collaboration was on the "sung ballet" The Seven Deadly Sins. This is a piece that was written at a point of remarkably high tension within Weimar Germany. On an artistic level, the 1920s and early 1930s had seen a veritable explosion in the world of culture, with art, dance, theater, and music all featuring artists who were pushing the boundaries with wild experimentation and a kind of ecstatic fervor that produced some of the world's greatest and most memorable cultural achievements. On a parallel track however, the rise of the Nazis cast a pall over all of this. By 1933, both Brecht and Weill(who was Jewish) knew that Germany was not a place that they could stay safely. Weill ended up in Paris and then in the US for the rest of his life, while Brecht bounced around Europe before returning to East Germany after the war, hoping to be a part of the Marxist Utopia that he believed had been founded there. The simmering combination of Weill's mastery of transforming popular forms into a unique kind of classical music along with Brecht's pointed satire and brilliantly inventive libretti resulted in the Seven Deadly Sins, a piece that that brutally satirizes extreme capitalism and the degradation of the human soul that supposedly results from it. This is a nakedly political piece, and I should make it clear that by talking about it, by choosing to feature it on the show, and by regularly performing it, I don't necessarily endorse its views. Brecht was extreme in all ways, as we'll get to today, and the power of this piece in my opinion doesn't come from its politics, but from its remarkable and devastating portrayal of a human soul and the tragedies that can befall it. This is one of my favorite pieces of the whole 20th century, and I'm so happy to share it with you today. Join us!

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A Conversation w/ Mezzo Soprano Sasha Cooke

A Conversation w/ Mezzo Soprano Sasha Cooke

Welcome to the Week of the Voice! Join conductor and host Joshua Weilerstein, back from a brief illness-inspired hiatus(!), as he welcomes in the amazing Mezzo-Soprano Sasha Cooke for a chat about Mahler, about singing opera versus recitals, preparation, text, traveling, contemporary music, and improv comedy! This is the first of TWO interviews this week, so please stay tuned for an interview with the incredible bass-baritone Eric Owens, coming out on Thursday! Thanks for listening!

17 Okt 201747min

How to Change the World w/ Yo-Yo Ma

How to Change the World w/ Yo-Yo Ma

Join conductor and host Joshua Weilerstein as he welcomes the legendary cellist and humanitarian Yo-Yo Ma for a full-length interview! In the interview, we discuss what it means to be a musical citizen, how to create change through music, why Yo-Yo went down this path, how he discovered so many different styles of music, and much much more. I really hope you enjoy this interview of such an amazing artist - thanks for listening!

20 Sep 201739min

Emanuel Ax Interview

Emanuel Ax Interview

Join conductor and host Joshua Weilerstein for a conversation with the world-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax! We cover crossword puzzles, growing up in the Soviet Union, moving to Canada, and then to New York, selling baloney sandwiches, his first big break, the value and the drawbacks of competitions, his reputation as the nicest guy in classical music, the evolution of conductors, his timpani debut(!), and a lightning round! I hope you enjoy it!

20 Juni 201755min

Eun Lee, Founder of The Dream Unfinished

Eun Lee, Founder of The Dream Unfinished

Concluding a week-long focus on Composers of Color, join host Joshua Weilerstein as he welcomes Eun Lee, the founder of The Dream Unfinished, an activist orchestra using classical music as a platform to address issues of racial and social justice. We talk about how that works, and how and why the project started. Their concert is this Sunday, June 11th at Cooper Union University, and it's an event you shouldn't miss!

8 Juni 201731min

10 things to change about classical concerts

10 things to change about classical concerts

Join your host, conductor Joshua Weilerstein, as he welcomes Aram Demirjian, the Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony, and Matt Szymanski, the Founder and Music Director of Phoenix, to discuss an article that roiled the classical music scene just a few years ago: Baldur Bronnimann's "10 things to change about classical concerts." The article caused a firestorm of criticism and comment when it was released, and we're here to discuss, mull over, turn inside out, and evaluate each idea, from whether the audience should be allowed to clap between movements, to whether you should be allowed to Tweet during performances. This was a fascinating discussion and I hope you enjoy it! Please consider going to Baldur's site to follow along as we discuss each idea: http://www.baldur.info/blog/10-things-that-we-should-change-in-classical-concerts/

23 Maj 20171h 4min

A Conversation w/ Itzhak Perlman (w/special guest Toby Perlman!)

A Conversation w/ Itzhak Perlman (w/special guest Toby Perlman!)

He needs no introduction - one of the greatest artists of our time, Itzhak Perlman joins Sticky Notes to talk about teaching, playing, conducting, keeping things fresh, vibrato, style, taste, food, childhood, and so much more. Then, at around 42:00, Toby Perlman joins us to talk about the Perlman Music Program, my introduction to the Perlmans, and an incredible place for musicians to learn and feel safe and supported. Thanks again for listening!

9 Maj 201756min

An Interview with Donald Weilerstein and Vivian Hornik Weilerstein

An Interview with Donald Weilerstein and Vivian Hornik Weilerstein

Join conductor Joshua Weilerstein and his parents(!), the esteemed performers and teachers, Donald and Vivian Weilerstein, as they discuss how they met, their first time playing music together, teaching philosophies, parenting philosophies, and much much more!

14 Mars 201740min

Shostakovich Symphony No. 10

Shostakovich Symphony No. 10

Join conductor Joshua Weilerstein as he takes a deep dive into Shostakovich's monumental 10th symphony. We'll analyze the music, the history behind the music, and much more, all in an easily digestible and accessible way. This podcast is for beginners all the way to experts.

14 Mars 201750min

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