The Problem with Program Notes
Movement I of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C, K.545 is used by Host George Marriner Maull to look into “the problem with program notes” – the use of technical music…
Composer M-R
Goosebumps City
Back in July Katherine Ellen Foley, a health and science reporter for Quartz wrote a wonderful article detailing the research and thoughts of Matthew Sachs, a grad student at the…
Shall We Dance? Some Homework
Maurice Ravel wrote the following words about his composition La valse, po̬me chorÌographique pour orchestre: “Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be fairly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees…
I’m as mad as Hell. . .
I’m not actually “mad as Hell” – although, who among us who saw the 1976 film Network can ever forget the incredible scene in which we are urged by fictional…
Mickey Mouse & Mozart
. . .one of my longer rants. Professional symphony orchestras in the United States face an annual challenge that we refer to in jest, belying the utter seriousness of the…
Your “listening guide” amazes me, in that it is a means of illustrating the role of various instrumental sections in communicating and “telling” a story. My background is science and technology so the 1 -1 ½ hours listening to a symphony with your presentation was an exciting learning experience I was not expecting.You are an exceptional talent and personality to be able to introduce someone like myself to the very complicated language of a symphony.