Keeping Score

Music is visibly at the heart of the Ukrainian people, as can easily be seen during the ongoing Russian invasion of the country. Piano duo Anna and Dmitri Shelest have taken to heart the encouragement to use their talents for their fellow Ukrainian people and re-released their 2018 album Ukrainian Rhapsody. Hear from Anna and Dmitri why the cultural front in this war is so important, as well as the joys of putting four hands together on one keyboard.

This is the re-release of an episode from 2019. When you've been playing in a rock band for your whole career the way Ben Folds has, getting in front of a huge symphony orchestra feels completely different. In writing his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Folds was composing a piece for the dancers of Nashville Ballet, while at the same time telling hThe concerto was released as part of Folds's album So There, which also includes his collaboration with classical ensemble YMusic. In this video from a CBS broadcast in 2015 you can see the partnership in action. is own story: that of a rock pianist composing a concerto. In this Classically Speaking interview, he compares composition to songwriting, and concerto playing to rock. The concerto was released as part of Folds's album So There, which also includes his collaboration with classical ensemble YMusic. In this video from a CBS broadcast in 2015 you can see the partnership in action.

While thoughts of love, sex and power dominate Nashville Ballet's Lucy Negro Redux, for Rhiannon Giddens the work is about uncovering a hidden part of history.

For Nashville Symphony Principal Oboist Titus Underwood, the pandemic has been a fairly prolific time. It’s also been a successful year - with a regional Emmy Award and the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, as well as a viral sensation on YouTube. And while he looks forward to a return to the Schermerhorn stage, he also has a lot of goals for the future of orchestral music - including equity in auditions, and a new broader focus in musicians’ training.

Nashville’s chamber orchestra Intersection has commissioned new works from 25 female-identifying composers for a project titled “Listen.” So, we did just that - assembling a panel of the composing participants. Their diverse life experiences are reflected in their music, and also in the misconceptions they face on a daily basis.

There's nothing more wild yet utterly predictable than a child's tantrum. But in Maurice Ravel's opera L’enfant et les sortilèges, the consequences take the child completely by surprise. Vanderbilt Opera Theater's production of the piece is Nashville's latest example of how performing arts have pivoted to create new and interesting projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode of Classically Speaking hear from director Gayle Shay and music director Jennifer McGuire about how Vanderbilt students learned a whole new set of skills to put on this production.

The newest “Call of Duty” game hit the market in late 2020. In” Black Ops - Cold War” it’s composer Jack Wall’s job to transport you to the turbulence of the 1980s. From green computer screens to hidden messages in Russian lyrics, Wall’s scores are epic thanks to their use of a full orchestra – recorded right here in Nashville. Hear all about building the game’s story scene by scene.

While this episode of Classically Speaking was prepared in a tumultuous time, we never could have predicted how many more shocking things would happen before its release. That being said, Leila Adu's Mahakala Oratorio is still the right piece of music for this exact moment. The piece itself is well-timed invocation to a deity whose charge is to protect the good in all of us. Adu describes how meditation informs her music making, how she comes to her minimalism honestly, and how the project of premiering this oratorio took on new life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the archive: Perennial holiday favorite The Nutcracker has a special local treatment from Nashville Ballet. This year, as the work makes its local television debut, get behind the scenes with Artistic Director Paul Vasterling.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, singing in large groups has been an off-limits activity. But, King’s College Cambridge has gone to extraordinary lengths to continue its Christmas services safely. Hear from Director of Music Daniel Hyde on how King’s is carrying on through this challenging time. Woven with the choral music that for many of us, has heralded the beginning of Christmas for nearly a century.

As composer Ludwig van Beethoven approaches his semiquincentennial birthday, we’re taking you through all nine of his symphonies. Nashville Symphony conductor Giancarlo Guerrero joins host Colleen Phelps for a quick look at each one, focused on the history and the music itself.

Birthday or not, Beethoven has come up quite often in Classically Speaking. So, in this episode we featured clips from previous conversations. In what turned out to be one of composer Christopher Rouse's last interviews before he died in 2019, Rouse connected the opening of his 5th symphony to Beethoven's 5th. That same short-short-short-long also started Mahler's 5th, a parallel drawn by Nashville Symphony conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. Pianists Yefim Bronfman, Stephen Hough, and Lara Downes also illuminate the influence that Beethoven has had on their work, and the canon of piano literature.

Since they were composed in 1741 JS Bach’s set of pieces known as the Goldberg Variations have been a favored musical puzzle for keyboardists of all varieties. Now musician Parker Ramsay has taken them on as a harpist on his debut album. From rising above the skepticism behind historically informed performance, to his hopes for the future of the instrument itself, and what we can bring from the past into today’s musical experience. 

If you’ve been riding a wave of insomnia for the last few months, you’re not alone. That’s why pianist Lara Downes put together The Bedtime Sessions, an album of lullabies. This collection of soothing music includes Downes’s signature expansion of the pianistic canon. Including music by Florence Price, William Grant Still, and Leonard Bernstein, all performed by Downes herself, as well as a piece by Margaret Bonds performed by Downes along with Rhiannon Giddens.

With a post-coronavirus return to music-making on the horizon for American orchestras, these institutions are bringing a renewed commitment to a healthier and more representative environment. We assembled three of the orchestra world’s superheroes to show us how it’s done. Jeri Lynne Johnson, JoAnn Falletta, and Mei-Ann Chen discussed their hopes and their priorities as their ensembles face the rest of 2020.

Composer Jennifer Higdon has music for just about any ensemble – orchestra, band, opera, choir… you name it. And her catalog of concerti is just as varied. Including her Concerto for Low Brass and Orchestra, the origin of which she describes in this episode of Classically Speaking. She also tells the story behind “Blue Cathedral,” and how she now feels that particular piece “belongs to the world.” Plus, why she’s helped many young band students remember to have a pencil on their music stand.

“Romeo and Juliet” is a tale of woe. And actually, so is “La Valse.” Conductor Joann Falletta paired these pieces together for a program of music by Sergei Prokofiev and Maurice Ravel. Two pieces with fascinating history and devastating stories are the subject of this Classically Speaking. Musical performances are by the Buffalo Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, and the Nashville Symphony. 

  The biblical Seven Last Words of Christ are vulnerable and humanizing. That’s the same effect the seven last words of unarmed Black men who were killed in the last decade had on composer Joel Thompson. So, he set them to music. And performances of the piece have been starting conversations ever since. Hear from the Thompson and a panel of musicians, administrators, and clergy, on Classically Speaking. Find it wherever you get your podcasts, or on 91Classical.org        

While protests overnight in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd, Garrett McQueen and Scott Blankenship had the task of getting to work and hosting overnight classical music on the radio in nearby St. Paul. The story of that night, plus music for the historic time where we find ourselves, and a look at Trilloquy – the podcast where Garrett and Scott challenge the definition of classical music. Featuring: “Five O’Clock Waltz” by Cristina Spinei, “The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” by Joel Thompson, Symphony No. 9 by Antonin Dvorak, “Grover’s Corners” from “Our Town” by Aaron Copland, Hip-Hop’s Love Ballad by Thee Phantom and Phoenix, “Confessions” by Sudanese Archives, “Scheherazade” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” arranged by Titus Underwood. Find Trilloquy at Trilloquy.org.

Doors are locked, auditoriums are empty, and no tickets have been sold. In the middle of an unprecedented concert hall closure, virtual music making is the only path forward for a while. Virtual choirs are putting forth the image of what they would do in person, while some of Nashville’s youngest musicians are making digital connections to senior citizens. Meanwhile, protests continue across the country. Classically Speaking is not going to ignore this moment, but first we wanted to spotlight the voices of two podcasts that feature Black creators. “Overture” to “Trilloquy” Season 2 includes a look at Joel Thompson’s “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” plus host Garrett McQueen’s description of working just blocks away from Minneapolis protests. Also, “We Can’t Breathe…Again” is an episode of Delanie Harris and Katie Brown’s podcast “Classically Black.” 

One year ago how many of us would have predicted that our spring would be filled with meetings and social calls over video-conference? Even happy hour, the perennial post-work get-together has been transferred, in many cases to Zoom and Google Hangouts. As Classically Speaking continues to document these unprecedented times, it felt like the right moment to consult an expert in happy hours. Harpist Kirsten Agresta Copley is experienced with these situations, and gave her advice for transferring them to the digital world. She, like so many musicians, is looking forward to being with a live audience once again. But she's also been working to translate as much of her work as possible to an online format.

A dispatch from social isolation with musician Matthew Phelps. 

While the English horn and the French horn couldn’t be much more different as instruments, the Nashville Symphony has given both their time to shine, thanks to the talents of Roger Wiesmeyer and Leslie Norton. Norton answers the audience’s most burning questions about the French horn. And Wiesmeyer describes making peace with the oboe and English horn’s inherent quirks. Both players do so through the lens of stunning pieces of solo playing from recent seasons.

Hear something new in this mixtape of performances from Live in Studio C. Classical meets jazz in four very different ways, as local artists bring the crossover. Performances by guitarist Richard Todd, Duo Versal, Avila Joy Strings, and the Tachoir Duo. Music by Frederic Hand, Paulo Olivera, Melanie Alvey, and the Tachoir Duo.

To celebrate the bicentennial of one of the most important musicians of the Romantic era, 91Classical held a two-week festival of concerts, broadcasts, and storytelling in her honor. Join Vanderbilt history professor Jim Lovensheimer to learn all about the remarkable life of Clara Schumann in a special two-part episode.

To celebrate the bicentennial of one of the most important musicians of the Romantic era, 91Classical held a two-week festival of concerts, broadcasts, and storytelling in her honor. Join Vanderbilt history professor Jim Lovensheimer to learn all about the remarkable life of Clara Schumann in a special two-part episode. 

On the eve of a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Piano Concerto No.1” pianist Stephen Hough finds the fire in the piece – implied by the seven times the composer indicates it should be played “con fuoco” (“with fire”). Hough even describes how the pianist chooses which instrument to play on a givenweekend, anddescribes playing it on Queen Victoria’s piano at Royal Albert Hall.

When Rhiannon Giddens returned to Nashville to accept the Legacy Award from the Americana Association in thefall of 2019she once again spoke with Classically Speaking. This time she gave exclusive insight into her recent album with FrancescoTurrisi“There is no Other,” as well as a sneak peek at her upcoming opera about Quran scholar Omar Ibn Said.

Looped and layered rhythmic lines give Cristina Spinei’s music an amazing amount of motion. This is what has put her work in demand with choreographers. For Nashville Public Radio’s Podcast Party, Spinei wrote a brand new piece of music, which was choreographed by Nashville Ballet company member Gerald Watson. Hear the full piece, and what drew Cristina to Nashville in the first place. Edited by Anita Bugg. Engineered by Carl Pedersen and Cameron Adkins. Recorded live at Nashville’s Children’s Theatre. Includes the world premiere of “In Between” by Cristina Spinei, performed by Alicia Enstrom and Sari Reist. Other music includes “Bootleg Sugar Lips” and “Relics” by Cristina Spinei. 

Since being used to commemorate the funerals of the likes of FDR, JFK and Albert Einstein, Samuel Barber's famous, lush tearjerker Adagio for Strings has become an unnoficial anthem of communal mourning. But the work has also elicited some very different emotions by appearing in some unexpected places, like an episode of Seinfeld or the floors of a dance club. Take a deep dive into the piece itself.

For every piece of music that's ever been notated there's a moment, however brief, where the composer has the inspiration, but nothing is yet written down. That's where the conversation begins with TJ Cole. She visited Nashville in 2018 to get to know Intersection and Nashville in Harmony. The two groups had co-commissioned a piece of music on the theme of gender identity. Cole discussed her ideas, and agreed to meet us again when the piece was set to premiere. When she came back? She had something completely different than what she had planned. Mostly due to how inspired she was by individual testimonials from members of Nashville in Harmony.

As a musicologist, Dr. Robin Wallace has devoted much of his career to studying Beethoven.  Then his wife, Barbara, went deaf.  In this episode of Classically Speaking, Wallace discusses how Barbara's adjustments to deafness lead him to new insights and inspired his latest book, Hearing Beethoven: A Story of Musical Loss and Discovery. In it, Wallace busts some major Beethoven myths and challenges some of the conventional ways the hearing world thinks about the composer's deafness. 

Hannibal Lokumbe is not caught up in what classical music "should" be. On his visit to Nashville this past winter for a residency with local chamber ensemble Intersection, the main event was a performance of his massive piece Crucifixion/Resurrection: 9 Souls A Traveling. The work is massive and emotional - a large scale choral/orchestral requiem for the Charleston Nine. But Lokumbe also made time for public speaking on the topics of mass incarceration, the spiritual existence of people of color, and the life of Fannie Lou Hamer. When he spent time with 91Classical he spoke a little bit about all of these topics, as well as his history on his family's farm, and how he finds artistic inspiration from his ancestors.

Four friends got together and started a band? That's so Nashville. The friends are a violinist, cellist, lute player, and countertenor? Yep. Still very Nashville.  When Classically Speaking was invited to produce a live episode recording at national podcasting conference PodX, we wanted to showcase an ensemble that's worked hand in hand with 91Classical since the beginning. Cheap Trills made their debut on Live in Studio C, and even let our audience "name the band" in the fall of 2018.  In this episode you'll hear three full pieces of music performed live by the ensemble, including an aria by J.S. Bach, a spiritual, and a tune by Stevie Wonder. All arranged in collaboration among the members of the group. This kind of team work is a great introduction to Nashville's classical music scene.

When you've been playing in a rock band for your whole career the way Ben Folds has, getting in front of a huge symphony orchestra feels completely different.  In writing his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Folds was composing a piece for the dancers of Nashville Ballet, while at the same time telling hThe concerto was released as part of Folds's album So There, which also includes his collaboration with classical ensemble YMusic. In this video from a CBS broadcast in 2015 you can see the partnership in action. is own story: that of a rock pianist composing a concerto. In this Classically Speaking interview, he compares composition to songwriting, and concerto playing to rock.  The concerto was released as part of Folds's album So There, which also includes his collaboration with classical ensemble YMusic. In this video from a CBS broadcast in 2015 you can see the partnership in action. 

For Wu Fei, playing by heart doesn't mean playing from memory. It means improvisation.

We're not changing our tune, but we are changing our name.

This Classically Speaking mixtape walks across the fine line between classical music and American folk music.

Robert Schumann was just 20 years old when he started composing his Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 in 1830. It took him eight years to complete it, and over the course of that time Schumann experienced both major setbacks and tremendous joy – emotions you can feel in the contours of the sonata.

While thoughts of love, sex and power dominate Nashville Ballet's Lucy Negro Redux, for Rhiannon Giddens the work is about uncovering a hidden part of history.

Wilma Jensen, soon to turn age 90, has come a long way since the first mention of her playing in print, calling her "the youngest organist in Methodism." Although, given that she was 11 years old at the time, the author was probably correct.

Not every instrument you hear on 91Classical can be found in the orchestra.

Nashville Ballet Artistic Director Paul Vasterling says that Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker is all about magic.

The Violins of Hope took residence in Nashville in early 2018. For months, they were displayed, discussed, and even played.

There's an unspoken rule in classical music that 5th symphonies are not to be taken lightly.

There is a section of the orchestra that is not always in the same place. Sometimes they are up, sometimes down. Sometimes they sit on stage for a half hour before they play a single note. But when it's their turn, you definitely hear them: it's the percussion section.

In 1795 composer Franz Josef Haydn was handed a libretto — something for which a symphonist would have no need. The title was "The Creation of the World." Nashville Symphony Chorus director Tucker Biddlecombe describes the piece it became, Haydn's Creation , as a gateway piece of orchestral music for choral singers.

When asked to estimate how many times he has performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C min, Op. 37 , Yefim Bronfman leaned back, sighed, and guessed, "Oh... surely at least 100 times."

"Short, short, short, long" is not so exciting when you read it out in words. But for composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Christopher Rouse, it was fate set to music.

Classically Speaking is a classical music podcast that brings you in close to the people behind classical music in Nashville — from the Nashville Symphony to the city's most experimental ensembles. Listen in as musician and host Colleen Phelps talks one-on-one with composers, conductors and instrumentalists to give you an in-depth look at life in the orchestra.