There are few artists who are praised with the same level of hyperbole as Wolfgang Mozart. The German poet Franz Alexander von Kleist once said “Mozart's music is so beautiful as to entice angels down to earth.” The famous Russian composer Tchaikovsky declared that Mozart was no less than a "musical Christ." With praise that grandiose it can be hard ... Show More
Sep 30
Bonus Episode - Marble Thieves, Museums, and Dictators
In this bonus episode Sebastian answers questions from listeners about the recent series on the Parthenon Marbles. The host tangles with the ethics of repatriation requests from notorious dictators, the role of the Parthenon Marbles in inspiring the Greek Independence movement, a ... Show More
31m 39s
Jan 2025
527. Beethoven: Napoleon and the Music of War LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall
Ludwig Van Beethoven, like his precursor and possible acquaintance Mozart, is one of the most famous figures in Western musical history. With his wild hair and furrowed brow, his was a genius marked not by flamboyance and flare, but dark, bombastic gravity. Like Mozart, though, h ... Show More
1h 6m
Sep 2022
Louise Farrenc Symphony No. 3
In the mid 19th century, the way to make yourself famous in France as a composer was to write operas. From Cherubini, to Meyerbeer, to Bizet, to Berlioz, to Gounod, to Massenet, to Offenbach, to Saint Saens, to foreign composers who wrote specifically for the Paris Opera like Ros ... Show More
57m 31s
Jan 2022
Pourquoi Beethoven ne disait jamais non, alors qu’il avait perdu l’ouïe ?
C’est l’un sinon LE drame de Ludwig Van Beethoven, être devenu sourd. Malgré ce handicap cruel, le compositeur et pianiste Allemand, improvisateur de génie, un des plus grands musiciens de tous les temps, a continué de composer des œuvres majeures. Mention spéciale à sa dernière ... Show More
10m 32s