Imagine compressing a 3 or 4 hour opera into 8 minutes of music. You’ve just imagined an overture! Overtures are an integral and beloved part of the opera and concert experience, and the best overtures live on as separate pieces from the work they are attached to. These overtures feature music so wonderful that they become immortal miniature masterpieces. So today I'll take you through 10 of my favorite overtures, from William Tell, to Don Giovanni, to Candide, to Romeo and Juliet, and many more. Enjoy!

Bach's Cello Suites are now an indispensable part of the cello repertoire, but this wasn't always the case. After Bach's death, they were forgotten. But starting in the 1890s, a cellist named Pablo Casals began playing the Suites, and the rest is history. Bach left very few clues on how to play these suites, and so many cellists interpret the Suites extraordinarily differently. Today we're going to take a look at 6 cellists and talk about how they interpret these enigmatic, sacred, and inspiring pieces.

Have you ever wondered how music gets from the manuscript to the printed page? Today we’re talking about Haydn, and a project by Henle Publishers to reissue all 55 of Haydn’s piano sonatas with fingerings from 55 different pianists! I talked with the editor in chief at Henle, Norbert Müllemann, and also the brilliant pianist Stephen Hough, one of the 55 pianists chosen for this project. We talked about editing, putting fingerings in, and how interpretation is affected by these decisions. This is a fun one!

Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell, Monteverdi. These are some of the biggest names in the history of Western Classical Music, and they were all writing in one of the most innovative periods in musical history - the Baroque Era. Spanning from ca.1600 to ca. 1750, Baroque music is truly the bedrock of the Western Classical Music tradition all the way through the Romantic Era. We'll discuss the earth-shattering impact of this, along with all of the composers who led the way to a new way of thinking about music.

Acts III and IV of the Marriage of Figaro are complicated in many ways. They are difficult for the singers, for the conductor, and especially for the director. So in honour of the many experiments that have been made with the second half of this opera, I’m going to try an experiment as well. I’m going to take a performance of the opera, and play you the entire 3rd and 4th acts while doing live, unscripted commentary on it. Think of it as opera meets ESPN. Make sure to check out Part 1 first and enjoy!

Frederica Von Stade needs no introduction. She is one of the legends of our time, and one of the most beloved singers in the world. She has made over 60 recordings and has appeared with all of the world's great opera companies. She is also spearheading a new project called The People's Choir of Oakland, focusing specifically on the homeless population. We talked about the People's Choir, and also touched on her career, including her experiences with Bernstein, Karajan, Abbado, and more. This was a blast.

In the late 16th century, a new art form emerged, borne out of a desire to re-engage with Greek dramas of the past. This art form was incredibly ambitious; it would involve music, words, and dance, all written to entertain court patrons and their subjects. Soon, this new idea had a name: Opera. Today, we’ll do a brief overview of how opera developed all the way up until Mozart’s time. Then, I’m going to take you through Acts I and II of Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro, my desert island piece. Enjoy!

There are indelible images associated with the musical Renaissance period. This 200 year era saw an astonishing growth in productivity, an expansion of education, both musical and otherwise, and repeated religious upheavals. The music of this period existed both as a catalyst and as a reaction to all of these momentous events in history. We’ll talk all about this fascinating 200 years of musical history in the 2nd of this ongoing series of each of the periods of Western Classical Music in 60 Minutes.

William Dawson is not a household name to classical music lovers. But for one week in 1934, he was the talk of the classical music world. The legendary Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra had chosen to program a new symphony by Dawson entitled "Negro Folk Symphony." It was broadcast nationwide and the audience reaction was ecstatic. But the piece soon disappeared and it is only in the past few years that it is performed more often. Today, I'll take you through this absolutely amazing symphony.

Clayton Haslop might not be a name that is familiar to all of you, but I bet you anything that you've heard his playing. He has appeared as concertmaster on over 1000 TV Shows and Movies, such as Titanic, A Beautiful Mind, The Matrix, Ratatouille, Star Trek, The incredibles, UP, and others. His story took on an extra resonance when he began suffering from Focal Dystonia. Taking a cue from the guitarist Django Reinhardt, Haslop relearned the violin with just two fingers. In this conversation, we talk about studying with Nathan Milstein, Neville Marriner, and Haslop's journey back to playing.