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
Jun 17
Episode #230- Why President McKinley? (Part I)
The 25th President of the United States, William McKinley, has recently been in the news. In the 2025 inaugural address it was announced that Alaska's highest peak would once again be known as Mt. McKinley to honour the former President, who was apparently a "great businessman" w ... Show More
1h 27m
Jun 10
Bonus Episode- Selkies, Spectacles, and Satire
In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about his recent exploration of mermaid mythology. He gets into the difference between Selkies and Mermaids, and wades into the murky waters of Scottish oral tradition. There is also some discussion of the 2012 hoax documentary Merm ... Show More
34m 40s
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
Apr 2023
Mendelssohn Octet in E Flat Major, Op. 20
From 1825-1827, Mendelssohn wrote 3 of his most beloved and most played works: his Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, his String Quartet, Op. 13, and the piece were going to talk about today, his Octet. What is truly astonishing about these three pieces is that they were all writt ... Show More
1h 3m