Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

Klezmer music has always been very close to my heart, even as a classical violinist. During the pandemic I attempted to learn Klezmer clarinet, and soon I began collaborating with the great Klezmer(and classical!) violinist Abigale Reisman on her work for Klezmer band and orchestra called Gedanken. Abigale taught me so much about Klezmer music, including the fact that despite its reputation as a clarinet-centric genre, the violin is actually the original voice of the Klezmer sound. I've been wanting to do a show about Klezmer music for a while, and Abigale was the perfect person to talk to, as she has experience in both the classical and Klezmer worlds, and was able to talk about the differences between the two sounds, as well as all of the characteristics that make Klezmer music so instantly recognizable. We also talked about the similiarites between classical and Klezmer music, which classical violinists had the most Klezmer like sound, and how to tell the difference between a traditional Eastern European folk tune and a Jewish Klezmer folk tune. I so enjoyed this conversation and I hope you will too! You'll hear an excerpt of Abigale's band Ezekiel's Wheels at the end of the show, but check them out here: https://www.youtube.com/@ewklezmer/videos Link to the concert I mentioned at the top of the show: https://www.br-klassik.de/audio/20240308-on-demand-so-joshua-weilerstein-vilde-frang-strawinsky-schostakowitsch-100.html

In 1850, Robert Schumann accepted a position as the new Music Director in Dusseldorf. This job had a lot of responsibilities, including conducting the city orchestra. Schumann, along with his wife, the legendary pianist Clara Schumann, and their 7 children moved to Dusseldorf. The city made a huge to do about the Schumann's arrival, welcoming him with balls, speeches, and parades. This was a new adventure for the Schumann family, and Robert, at least at first, was invigorated. He loved the less reserved personality of the residents of Dusseldorf, and he was deeply inspired by the Rhine river. Very quickly, Schumann had begun composing at his usual feverish pace. He wrote his cello concerto in just two weeks, and then he began a new symphony, what would turn out to be his last symphony. It would be a celebration of the Rhineland and all of its prosperity, beauty, and charm. Soon after the symphony was written however, the euphoria turned towards catasprophe. Schumann was not a good conductor, and the musicians of the orchestra soon turned bitterly against him. His compositions were still not well understood, and his mental health began sliding towards a crisis point again. So Schumann's 3rd symphony, the Rhenish, really represents a snapshot in time - a time of euphoria, of joy, of possibility. It is this boundless energy that comes up again and again in this remarkable symphony which we are going to talk about today. We'll discuss the wonderful varieties of joy Schumann includes in the piece, its unusual structure, it's transcendent fourth movement, and the unique challenges of performing Schumann's music, which often bedevil conductors to this day. Join us!

Beethoven's Op. 59, No. 1 String Quartet, commissioned by Count Razumovsky, exemplifies his adventurous and heroic style. The podcast explores the tonal ambiguity, structure of sonata form, and surprising harmonic changes in the quartet. It highlights the floating sensation, folk gesture, and stunning slow movement of the final movement. The layers of emotion and character in Beethoven's compositions are analyzed, along with his use of climactic moments, fugue, and transitions. The podcast reflects on the significance and greatness of Beethoven's string quartets.

I've mentioned Ethel Smyth a few times in the past on this show. This is partly because of her music, and partly because she remains one of the most interesting people who ever lived. She was a composer of course, but she was also a conductor and an author, as well as a political activist. Specifically, she was a suffragette, fiercely advocating for the rights of women to vote in her home country of the UK. As a composer Smyth wrote dozens of works, all of which are starting to become better known as performers and administrators look to bring more music by female composers onto concert stages around the world. Smyth did not have it easy, constantly fighting for her place, battling conductors, other composers, and even her own father, all for the right to be a composer. Today, after I introduce you to a bit more of Smyth's amazing biography, we're going to focus on her first orchestral work, her Serenade in D Major. This is a piece that certainly doesn't sound like a first orchestral piece, and it is full of all of the qualities that make Smyth's music so enjoyable to listen to - lush warmth, humor, raucous intensity, and the quiet passion that runs through the music of so many great British composers. Smyth's Serenade in D is starting to be performed more, and I'm really proud to be using my own recording of the piece for the show today, which I made with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in 2021. It is only the second professional recording of the piece, and the recording has just been released on Claves Records. So today, we're going to go through this wonderful piece and also spend some more time in the wild and unpredictable world of Dame Ethel Smyth. Join us!

Explore the history and emotional depth behind Dvorak's Cello Concerto, from the composer's initial doubts to the intricate structure of the piece. Dive into the challenges of balancing virtuosity and musicality in concertos, comparing Dvorak's emotive essence to other renowned composers like Brahms. Unveil the unique musical structure, emotional core, and technical intricacies of this captivating concerto, highlighting the struggles faced by soloists, conductors, and orchestras in performing it.

In this podcast, the host discusses Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. They explore aspects such as the use of tritone intervals and rhythmic techniques, the influence of American music pioneers, and the incorporation of Beethoven's fifth piano concerto. They also analyze Bernstein's portrayal of danger and terror in a scene from the musical, as well as the tragic ending of the Symphonic Dances and its plea for racial justice.

I had the great joy to do my first ever live edition of Sticky Notes last month with the Aalborg Symphony in Denmark. For this concert, I chose a piece that is extremely close to my heart, Dvorak's New World Symphony. The story of the New World Symphony is a fascinating one. The symphony was the result of an extraordinary series of events, with Dvorak coming to America in 1892, meeting the great singer Harry Burleigh, and falling in love with a totally new, to him, genre of music: Black American and Native American folk music. Listening to Burleigh and other voices around America, Dvorak had discovered a new "American" sound for his music, and even though he would end up staying in the US for just three years, in that time he composed two of his most popular pieces, the American String Quartet, and the New World Symphony But of course, the New World Symphony isn't really an American piece. It is a piece written in America by a Czech composer, which means it embodies traits from both sides of the Atlantic. Moments of Black American influence elide into Czech Slavonic Dances and back again with incredible ease. All along the way, Dvorak infuses his highly traditional symphonic style with this "American" sound, a sound that enraptured the public from the very first time they heard it, and remains both incredibly popular and incredibly moving, today. Join myself and the Aalborg Symphony for this exploration of the symphony, followed by a complete performance. I'm extremely grateful to the Danish Radio for allowing me to use this performance for the show.

The podcast discusses the use of folk music in classical compositions, with a focus on Witold Lutoslawski's Concerto for Orchestra. They explore Lutoslawski's incorporation of Polish folk songs, his trademark sound, the frenetic energy in the piece, tempo changes, DSCH mode, and Bartok's influence. They also discuss Lutoslawski's rejection of the concerto and recommend other works by him.

Discover the journey of Robert Schumann in writing his Piano Concerto, inspired by his wife Clara. Learn about the challenges he faced in getting it published. Dive into the graceful and gentle middle movement and the surging and jaunty last movement. Explore the challenges of rhythm and the euphoric coda of the concerto.

Explore the complexity and beauty of Brahms' violin concerto, as well as the interpretive choices made by renowned violinists. Discusses the collaboration between Brahms and violinist Joseph Joachim, compares recordings by Heifetz, Oistrakh, and Ferras, and delves into the technical and musical aspects of the concerto.