Podcasts about his italian

Today on Flavors Unknown, I'm joined by Chef Matt Abdoo, co-founder of the wildly popular Pig Beach BBQ. Known for its award-winning approach to regional American barbecue, Pig Beach blends the soul of Southern smoke with chef-driven technique—and Matt is the creative fire behind it all.But before the smoke, there were stars—Michelin stars. Matt's culinary path began at Del Posto, where he worked as Chef de Cuisine, mastering the art of fine dining. In this episode, we explore his journey from cream and cannoli to brisket and smoke rings, and how his Italian-Lebanese roots shaped his passion for inclusive, community-driven cuisine.We get into the misconceptions of barbecue, the emotional storytelling behind his cookbook, and how barbecue—like love—is meant to be shared. Plus, you'll get his take on the best BBQ side dishes, guilty pleasures, and his favorite eats in West Palm Beach.If you've ever wondered what happens when high technique meets humble tradition, this episode is for you. What you'll learn from Chef Matt Abdoo The multicultural flavors of his childhood2:51 – Matt Abdoo's Italian-Lebanese upbringing4:17 – Friday night dinners with his Lebanese grandma5:02 – His Italian grandmother's legendary raguBecoming a chef8:09 – Realizing he wanted to cook for a living10:35 – His first restaurant job11:01 – Dreams of cream and cannoli from the dishpit13:33 – Culinary school and a hands-on externshipFrom fine dining to flame-kissed BBQ15:08 – Why he left fine dining for barbecue17:18 – Doubts about launching a new concept18:53 – What sets Pig Beach BBQ apart21:14 – Sauce or no sauce?22:25 – When the BBQ haters come out23:44 – How menus differ by locationThe craft and culture of BBQ25:38 – Writing The Pig Beach BBQ Cookbook27:58 – The biggest BBQ crime you can commit28:30 – The right way to manage smoke29:54 – Using regional wood for flavorBeyond the pit31:25 – Where to eat in West Palm Beach32:41 – Matt Abdoo's guilty pleasure foods33:19 – His eating habits at home34:10 – Dream collaborators34:46 – The best BBQ side dishes36:34 – His ultimate life lesson I'd like to share a potential educational resource, "Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door", my new book that features dialogues with accomplished culinary leaders from various backgrounds and cultures. It delves into the future of culinary creativity and the hospitality industry, drawing from insights of a restaurant-industry-focused podcast, ‘flavors unknown”. It includes perspectives from renowned chefs and local professionals, making it a valuable resource for those interested in building a career in the culinary industry.Get the book here! Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode) Chef Sheldon Simeon Chef Andy Doubrava Chef Chris Kajioka Chef Suzanne Goin Social media Chef Matt Abdoo Instagram Facebook Social media Pig Beach BBQ Instagram Facebook Links mentioned in this episode Pig Beach BBQ

If You Don't Know About Eugene Ruffolo I'm Hoping You Willl Now.  He's not just any talent.  Eugene is a prolific and deeply personal songwriter.  The world could use more of him. His music calms people down. A mutual friend who went to school with him in NY back when, had no clue about his talent until a zoom decades later during Covid. He then became addicted to his music and kept insisting I needed to listen. So, I did. I swear I could feel his music in my veins. I was taken aback by the beauty of his vocal gift and the genius of his songwriting. As good as any famous musical artist I've ever enjoyed. I honestly was shocked I had not heard about him. Apparently even Kenny Loggins was shocked he didn't know about him after both collaborated on a segment of someone else's record.   In addition to his own songwriting, Eugene has shared studios and stages with many famous artists, drawn to his unique vocal talents. People like Garth Brooks and Tony Bennett and Kenny Loggins, Run-DMC, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Livingston Taylor, Spyro Gyra, just to name a few.  He covers themes like forgiveness, the precious bonds of friendship, the search for existential truth. Among his many worldwide accolades his music has been referred to as “the jewel of folk pop' .You'll hear for yourself if you take a few minutes to listen to this podcast of our live in-studio bonding session. Eugene even took a little musical departure recently to write and record a collection of Italian songs celebrating his Italian heritage and his love of Mediterranean and pop music, folk music. And he wrote a classy little book to along with it, on food, music, and Italian culture, which I thought was very cool.  Eugene Ruffolo also has a great sense of humor as evidenced by how he handled my ridiculous opening of my live show. En route to the studio, I reached in blindly to my purse while driving and accidentally sprayed ‘Band Aid Antiseptic Cleansing to Go Spray' in my mouth instead of the ‘Listerine Cool Mint' which comes in the exact same pump packaging. Needless to say I was an idiot.  Panicking that I might have poisoned myself but knowing that Eugene was coming into the radio studio, I decided to risk not going to the emergency room and instead spent a few hyper minutes on the phone minutes before the show started with the nurse from Band Aids 800 # who sweetly read off the chemical ingredients I sprayed on my tongue and suggested I contact poison control. Had no time for that. Instead I played a few of Eugene's songs to calm myself down LOL and give my audience a taste of his extraordinary talent including new songs he's just released. In order we sampled: Late Bloomer (My personal favorite as the words were just so good!) Bella Maria   Closer To You   Poor Lonesome Me     Like many who were just about to launch 'something' right when the pandemic hit, Eugene's best laid plans got put on hold. “Embarrassed to say it was actually because that little pandemic that pesky little pandemic got in the way because I finished the record in 2019 and I was just about to go on a tour to Europe, literally in April 1st of 2020, and then you know what happened there. So yeah, and I was about to release the record and then that happened and then I sort of just sat down." "It felt like a strange time to do it and I couldn't figure out what the right time was and all this time went by and then I thought, well, I need to get this, I need to get this record out. I have more music to make.” As far as Eugene Ruffalo's Italian songs go…his are quite beautiful. His Italian album is called ‘Canto per Mangiare'.  “I've always embraced my Italian heritage, and I always had a sort of love of Italian music, because I started going to Italy when I was a child, and I went a lot during my twenties. I spent a lot of time there during my 20s. I had all these friends, and I didn't speak any Italian when I first started going. One of the ways that I learned how to speak Italian was through the music. I listened to a lot of music, and I would ask my friends, what does this mean and what does that mean.” Eugene wanted to get to the roots of real Italian music not the stereotypical Italian songs. “That's one of the impetuses behind this record was the fact that I think in America, people only know Italian music in two ways. They know it as classical, right? Let's just use Pavarotti. Bocelli is more of a pop guy, but he has sort of a classical, he has a classical aesthetic right? Or the Italian American Dean Martin singing Volare and that kind of thing. So, I wanted to get to more because there are a lot of other aspects of Italian music. So, my record really has a few elements to it. One of them is traditional Neapolitan folk music, which is really beautiful. And then the other is just singer-songwriters from the 70s, like the equivalents of the James Taylor, Cat Stevens that we have here, but that existed in the 70s in Italy. So, I covered some of their songs, and then I wrote a bunch of tunes myself.” Eugene's about to take his first trip in 4 years to perform. He's going overseas to Ireland. He's never been there. Then on to the Netherlands. But I told him he had to come do my show first because I needed to know more about him and wanted more people to hear him so they wouldn't have to say… How come I don't know you? You'll thank me for introducing you to Eugene Ruffolo on this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

STRIKINGLY INVENTIVE STORYTELLER. Edward Carey is an English playwright and illustrator who settled in Austin in 2006 and teaches at the University of Texas. His Italian publisher Elisabetta Sgarbi recently made a short film based on his story “Gatto e la casa dei fantasmi” (“The Cat and the House of Ghosts”) which she showed at the 41st Torino Film Festival.

This episode of the Wine Crush Podcast features two boutique wineries making fantastic wine! Olea Vineyards, owned by Tom and Melinda Melilo, is perched at the top of beautiful Parrett Mountain with view is the Chehalem Valley. Tom discusses his love for wine and why he decided to get into the wine business. His Italian heritage inspired him to not only name his wine label but also the music production company he owned after a significant item to Italians the world over. The word Olea means olive in Italian and is just as much part of daily life as wine it. Reservations are required for private tastings at the estate Next up is Chris Thomas of Celestial Hills Vineyard. Nestled into the Coastal Range outside of McMinnville you will find the beautiful Celestial Hill vineyard filled with Pinot and Chardonnay. Chris and wife Melissa have really embraced farm life with adding several furry farm animals for guests to enjoy while at the farm. Private tastings can be arranged at the estate or visit their tasting room in downtown Carlton.

This episode of the Wine Crush Podcast features two boutique wineries making fantastic wine! Olea Vineyards, owned by Tom and Melinda Melilo, is perched at the top of beautiful Parrett Mountain with view is the Chehalem Valley. Tom discusses his love for wine and why he decided to get into the wine business. His Italian heritage inspired him to not only name his wine label but also the music production company he owned after a significant item to Italians the world over. The word Olea means olive in Italian and is just as much part of daily life as wine it. Reservations are required for private tastings at the estate Next up is Chris Thomas of Celestial Hills Vineyard. Nestled into the Coastal Range outside of McMinnville you will find the beautiful Celestial Hill vineyard filled with Pinot and Chardonnay. Chris and wife Melissa have really embraced farm life with adding several furry farm animals for guests to enjoy while at the farm. Private tastings can be arranged at the estate or visit their tasting room in downtown Carlton.

Imagine purchasing a vineyard in Mendocino County in 1955. Charlie Barra, did just that. His Italian heritage gave him the love of the land and agriculture at a time when Mendocino was very different. Charlie and his wife Martha worked side by side to grow Barra of Mendocino into high quality fine wine. Sadly, Charlie [...]

Dan Saladino is one of those rare gems you meet who really change your outlook on life. The journalist and broadcaster, best known for fronting BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme knows everything there is to know about food.He has a new book out “Eating to Extinction: The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them”, which details unbelievably interesting stories about some of the most endangered foods around the globe, such as a wheat found in Turkey, a particular honey found in Tanzania, and something we all know about – wild Atlantic salmon.His Italian heritage played a huge part in his youth, and Dan speaks so eloquently about his childhood summers in Italy. This led us onto the all-important topic of pizza and what should and shouldn't be on a pizza!I could have spent hours with Dan, but this episode perfectly encapsulates him and his wonderful world of food!@dan.saladino@crazysexyfood@hannahharleywww.crazysexyfood.comMusic by @casnova____This season is sponsored by Gorillas, the sexy grocery delivery app revolutionising online shopping. Fresh food delivered to your door in 10 minutes, catering to all your food-loving needs! Sign. Me. Up.Operating in major cities in the UK and globally, Gorillas supports small businesses as well as local producers to bring your favourite brands to your door. And just to get your juices flowing, they are offering all listeners £10 off your first order when you spend £20. Download the Gorillas app and use the code SEXY10 at checkout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

OUTER DIMENSION PREMIERE 220 Track Title: JLTZ - Const Coax (Samsara Remix) Album Title: Raid Label: Ucker Catalogue Number: UCKER003 Format: Digital Release Date: June 28th, 2021 About the release: Rising from the shadows, JLTZ crafted a unique path into the murk. Reuniting cosmic energy, Jacopo's composition is based on straight forward 4x4 pieces, with a very fat low end and quivering percussion. His detailed layering, in every single pattern he created, converts this amazing release into a functional tool for mixing. His Italian roots can be appreciated in the way the tracks swing. The remixing task force by Jörg Rodriguez, give the EP a groovy Latin vibe and the feeling of confusion that we search to get lost in the dance floor, taking the EP to the next level. His quality is unique and will sure resonate among those who think about techno every single day of their life. On the other hand, Samsara's version is there to represent the concept that UCKER wants to share with the audience. We are truly proud to release this powerful and stomping piece of art! Follow JLTZ here: www.instagram.com/jltz_techno www.soundcloud.com/jltz www.facebook.com/jltztechno Follow Samsara here: www.instagram.com/samsara.ucker www.facebook.com/Samsara.Ucker www.soundcloud.com/samsara_ucker Follow Ucker here: www.soundcloud.com/ucker_records www.instagram.com/ucker.arg www.facebook.com/Ucker.Records www.ucker.com.ar OUTER DIMENSION www.soundcloud.com/outerdimension www.instagram.com/outerdimension www.facebook.com/OUTERDIMENSION www.formaviva.com/outer-dimension Premiere Requests, Infos & Promos outerdimension.au@gmail.com

This week I chatted to David Soncin. We chatted about all things acting, getting into Bell Shakespeare and touring with Shakespeare, mindset and some fun rapid fire questions! So, grab a coffee and enjoy! :) BIO: David is an Australian actor based in Sydney. Growing up in Far North Queensland, he graduated at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Acting in 2013. David immediately broke into the Sydney theatre scene with Bell Shakespeare’s Players, including a production of Macbeth at the Sydney Opera House. His Italian background has allowed him to explore a number of versatile ethnic roles in productions like The House of Ramon Iglesia, The Judas Kiss, The Shifting Heart, and The House at Boundary Road Liverpool. His most notable performance was Marco in Red Line Productions’ and Ensemble Theatre’s A View From The Bridge; winner of four Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Independent Production, and five Glugs Awards in 2017 including “Most Outstanding Independent Production”; David also received a Glugs nomination for “Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.” Shakespeare has been a big influence on David’s career, recently performing in Sport for Jove’s Twelfth Night, and Romeo & Juliet (dir. Damien Ryan) as Tybalt, a PTSD soldier in post-WWII Italy. This year will be his first credit with Queensland Theatre playing Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew. David’s film and television credits include Love Child (Season 4), On The Move, and River (Toronto Film Festival Official Selection) Instagram: @davidsoncin

Bob talks to Paul Nauta about the wide array of free tools available from FamilySearch.orgPaul Nauta is a blatantly proud second generation Italian-American who still speaks “la lingua” and has wonderful Italian family history stories for an amateur. His paternal grandfather immigrated to Ellis Island just before WWI and maternal grandparents in the 1890s. His Italian roots originate in Cagnano Varano (Foggia), Sassano (Salerno), and Alia (Palermo). He is the Senior Marketing Communications and PR Manager for FamilySearch International where he manages the FamilySearch Blog and Newsroom. He loves family, the great outdoors, everything Italian, and a good story. He’s a pretty good Italian cook too. His claim to Italian genealogical infamy was being able to personally reconnect with his living family in Italy and introduce the next generation of his family. He is married, has 4 children, and 3 grandchildren. Direct surnames in his Italian family tree are DiNauta, Benvenga, DiCataldo, Pelusi, Volpe, Garone, Bessolano, Polito, Miceli (Michelli), Pizzillo, D’Ippolito, Todaro, Taravella, Sedita, Lotuso, Chimento.Family History Library Consultations (Reservation Page)Italy Guided Research Explore ImagesFamilySearch Blog Italian HeritageItaly Country PageFamilySearch Wiki: Italy GenealogyFamilySearch Community FS/FB/MiscItaly | Italy, Austro-Hungarian Empire (for parts of Italy) | Southern Europe Genealogy Research Community | Southern Italian Genealogy Network,Sicilian Genealogy, Genealogy in Acerra, France and Mediterranean GenealogyNews Release: FS Unlocking Centuries of Italian Ancestry RecordsDGA (National archives of Italy). Portale AntenatiItalian Marketplace LLC Online tee shirts, hoodies and more for ItaliansSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=30519446)

Mario Steriti is a restaurateur, born in Italy. He's owned and operated "10th and Willow" a restaurant in Hoboken, New Jersey for more than two decades. In 2017, he opened a second restaurant, "10th Street Pizza and Pasta" right across the street. He leverages his relationships with his staff and the community to help keep his businesses running long-term. His Italian mother, is also a big contributor to the recipes her serves today. His pizza at "10th Street Pizza and Pasta" was rated an 8.6 by Barstool Sports, leading to an endless surge in new customers. Steriti also is a Private Equity investor putting money towards software companies, business services, and apparel companies. He resides in Hoboken and Watchung, NJ.

Mike Fuline carved out a path that few travel: 9th grade coach, Varsity assistant, Rootstown head coach, Jackson state championship head coach, and then a move to become a college head coach. His Mount Union team made a historic tourney run this year and had the momentum to finish strong. Experts predicted that their run could have culminated in a Final Four appearance or even a National Championship. But Covid-19 and circumstances none could have imagined put a halt to it all. Fuline reflects on his experiences in making the transition to college from high school and focuses on what makes him tick as a coach. His focus on relationships, recruiting and belief make him one of the top NCAA Div. 3 coaches in the nation. Raised at St. Francis de Sales parish school in the Portage Lakes, Fuline's small town values certainly remain a huge part of who he is today. His Italian roots and "la familia" still permeate every part of his life.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/teachercoach)

Zinfandel Advocates and Producers host ZinEX, aka the Zinfandel Experience, each year in San Francisco. The past few years I've interviewed zinfandel winemakers and growers to help promote the event. This podcast will be the first of two featuring this year's guests. Napa Valley's Robert "Bob" Biale filled the full hour of my radio show, so he'll be the only guest on this podcast. His Italian immigrant family has a rich history in Napa. As you'll hear, early challenges inspired Bob's father to get creative, selling wine clandestinely...without a permit. That audacious move led to their  successful flagship wine. It's one of many colorful tales offered by those in the wine industry. Hit Play to hear this gracious man share his story and his love of zinfandel. 

Tell us what you like or dislike about this episode!! Be honest, we don't bite!Aldo Zilli is a celebrity chef specialising in Italian cuisine, based since 1976 in the United Kingdom. One of nine children, he was born in the small seaside town of Alba Adriatica in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, and moved to England at the age of 20.Before he was famous, between 1985 and 1989, Aldo worked at Highburton infant school in West Yorkshire, England. He became well known in the local community serving pasta and pizza to school children.He was the founder and chef-patron of some of London's most exciting and innovative restaurants, Signor Zilli, Zilli Green, Zilli Café and Zilli Bar. His Italian seafood restaurant, Zilli Fish, was a Soho institution and had been open for over 15 years until March 2012 when Aldo decided to hang up his chef's whites and embark on other ventures.Aldo has written 10 books including two autobiographies, Being Zilli and My Italian Country Childhood, as well as various cookery books. Fresh & Green: over 100 new exciting vegetarian recipes was featured in the Telegraph's Top Ten Cookery Books 2012. He has also written for many publications including The Sun, and currently writes a weekly column for the Daily Express Saturday magazine and presents a bi-weekly show on Soho Radio.Great food and Aldo's exuberant personality means he appears regularly on television and radio both as presenter and chef. His extensive credits include being a judge on Celebrity Masterchef in 2014 and 2015, Who's Doing The Dishes?, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, This Morning, Lorraine, and Daybreak for ITV, Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is, and Country Show Cook Off for BBC2, The One Show, BBC3's The Real Hustle, and his own primetime ITV documentary Home Is Where The Heart Is.—Thanks for watching!SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR MORE TIPS—WebsiteInstagramTik TokFacebookTwitterLinkedIn—LISTEN TO THE PODCAST!SpotifyApple—Who Is Matt Haycox? - Click for BADASS TrailerAs an entrepreneur, investor, funding expert and mentor who has been building and growing businesses for both myself and my clients for more than 20 years, my fundamental principles are suitable for all industries and businesses of all stages and size.I'm constantly involved in funding and advising multiple business ventures and successful entrepreneurs.My goal is to help YOU achieve YOUR financial success! I know how to spot and nurture great business opportunities and as someone who has ‘been there and got the t-shirt' many times, overall strategies and advice are honest, tangible and grounded in reality.

This week we are joined by Long Island comedy power couple, the hilarious, Mike Keegan (@mckeegs75) and Carla Oakerson (@CarlaOakerson). Mike tells us All about getting banned from Theatre Three for making a comment on Twitter, Being a "Happy Fat Guy", His Italian family including his Uncle Tuna and more. Plus, we find out how he and Carla met and the innovative way he closed out their first date. Also, Jonny and Keg talk about hitting a deer on the highway on the way to a pro wrestling show. We argue about who does and does not belong in this years Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductions. We talk about Mike and Carla's own podcast "Domestic Disturbance" (@domestic_disturbance...). We find out half way through that this isn't the first time that Jonny has met Carla. Carla tells us that she hates IPAs until we find one she likes. Also Political arguments, Cannonballs of Iced Chocolate. Our Mt Rushmore's of Italian dishes and more. All while trying beers from Evil Twin Brewing (@eviltwinbrewingnyc),Thimble Island Brewing (@thimbleislandbrewing) and Shebeen Brewing Co.(@shebeenbrewing). Fun, Hilarious Episode. Enjoy with a frosty mug of brew. SOLID || NOT SOLID: Evil Twin Brewing NYC || Apricot Compote Sour || 6% abv || SOLIDThimble Island Brewing Co. || The Blackfish American Black Ale || 6% abv || SOLIDShebeen Brewing Co. || Smoothie Shop Lemondrop Milkshake IPA || 6.4% abv || SOLID Cannonball || ICED Chocolate Liqueur Snacks || The Drunk Alpaca (@thedrunkalpaca) MUSIC COMETA @ Cometamusic.com EMAIL beermanbeerpod@gmail.com INSTAGRAM Beer Man Beer || @beermanbeerpodcast_Jonny Benson || @therealjonnybensonKeg Kettles || @jaykets_bmb  

Joe comes from a background of food.  His Italian family revolved around meals; the grocery shopping, the preparation, and the family gathering around the table.  His very large extended family regularly engorged themselves at Sunday dinners.  He remembers the adults in his life praising his huge appetite which made him think that eating would earn him praise and love.  But the reverse became true for Joe as he grew into his teens, when classmates would reject him due to his obesity.

Our Guest Miguel Aliaga, the Executive Chef at Los Balcones in Hollywood, fell in love with food at a young age. Growing up in a small town in Peru, his grandfather cooked for the entire family as a way of showing his love and gratitude. After graduating high school and his continued passion for food, he attended culinary school in Barcelona. His teacher offered him a position in his trattoria in Florence, and thus began his career in the restaurant industry. After working many hard years at that trattoria, he took other jobs to further his career and finally ended up with Los Balcones Hollywood. His Italian training brings a whole new perspective to Peruvian food, by using special techniques and ingredients. In this episode, Miguel explains how his training in Italian cooking has developed and elevated his passion for cooking. Miguel’s Favorite Dishes (Peruvian food made by grandfather) -Sopa a la Minuta (Beef noodle soup) -Chicharrones  (Fried Pork Skin and Fat) -Cuy ( Guinea Pig dish) Must Try Dishes at Los Balcones Hollywood-Ceviche (Striped bass or mixed seafood, lime juice, onions, chock and rocoto pepper -Oveja A La Norteña Con Chochoa (Braised lamb shank, norteño sauce, Peruvian polenta) -Porchetta Con Carapulcra (Aromatic baked pork belly, sun dried potato stew) -Pollada (Marinated chicken, baby potato, chimichurri, huancaina, and rocoto sauce) Instagram: losbalconeshollywood Share your thoughts with us! We’d like to hear from you about places you might want to learn more about or even stories about your adventures. Message us through our website OurFoodAdventures.com. Share the show on your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Let us know how much you liked the episode with a 5-star rating and what your favorite part was. Thanks for listening! -Chris and Tiarra

Hi everyone! This is Connie Sokol, and you're listening to Balance Redefined Radio. I've spent over 20 years teaching people how to redefine what balance really is, meaning a more purposeful and joyful life.   They’ve paid off credit cards, lost weight, organize their homes, and created a meaningful life plan and they've managed their time, changed habits and experience greater success both at work and at home.   So now I decided to take the plunge and help about 100,000 new people who want to redefine balance in their lives. People ask me all the time, “How do I go from an overwhelming and chaotic life to more purpose and organization and joy?”   That's the reason why I'm doing this podcast, to give you trusted answers and create a space where you could find balance. My name is Connie Sokol and welcome to Balance Redefined Radio…   [00:00] Welcome back to Balance Redefined and I am Connie Sokol and I am here to share with you some wonderful insights on Handel's Messiah.   [00:09] This is from George Handel and we know him as a very famous composer and I'm going to jump right in because I don't want to talk about all the historical part of this. I really want to talk about him being at this place, this crossroads because it's so fabulous to liken these famous people who we revere for some of the things that they have done.   [00:30] For example, with George Handel creating the Messiah and that every Christmas season, this and Easter, it's played and it is profound and even though we can enjoy it year round, it is just a profound experience if you've ever listened to it.   [00:46] If you've ever attended a messiah singing, there is something that happens when you listen to this music and especially when you partake of or participate in singing that music.   [00:57] For example, with that messiah singing, it's incredible. You all are in an auditorium and everyone is split into their parts of Soprano, alto, tenor, bass, and then you get the Libretto and you just sing.   [01:11] It doesn't matter if you know what you're doing or you don't know, you just all sing out and it's easier to kind of follow along because everybody's singing so beautifully. So here is this incredible experience and we we get to have it year after year, season after season.   [01:29] How did this happen and what was the background that was going on in order for this to be created? And that's the story that's interesting to me.   [01:39] So let me take you very quickly back where George Handel, he was well known as a composer, but he was also a businessman and he really put his time and energy into the producing and writing of his work and he would spend his time and energy doing the business deals as well as the composing and to kind of mixed results.   [02:00] So he enjoyed some great success. He did a lot of compositions that were religiously inspired: Esther Saw Deborah, all of these different oratorios, and things like that...   [02:11] But what happened is what I want to focus on.   [02:15] He was going through rough patches and he was doing his operas and they were, some were good and some were Max with, you know, met with mixed results and then it got to where whereby the 17 forties, it was getting really rough.   [02:28] He was performing them in Haymarket, in London, but it was to like small houses and kind of listless audiences.   [02:35] And that did not bode well. So then he moved to Lincoln's inn fields theater. But then that ended up, he ended up closing there because it was financially hemorrhaging the place because it was not having success.   [02:48] He actually wrote about 40 operas and the last one especially, I mean he had several, many that that ended up not doing well.   [02:55] The last one that he ended on failed miserably. It closed early. Like it only had a few runs I believe. So here's this man who has written something that is, I would consider one of the all time most incredible, most famous, most profound pieces on Jesus Christ. And yet he was at this failing point.   [03:18] And so what happened, and I'm putting this in very short paraphrasing things, he was at this kind of destitute place. He had closed his season at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theater. It was truly, it was disastrous...   [03:33] Then he had talked about returning to Germany. That's where he was from. He was 55 years old.   [03:39] He had lost the royal patronage because King George the second did not come and attend his musical productions because Handel from what I understand, he had kind of lifted a piece that had been used in the funeral for Queen Caroline and actually put it in another opera will this so offended the king that he just stayed away.   [04:01] So now he lost the royal patronage and his principal libel, which was the Italian opera. And then he would have this ache in his arm. He had tendinitis and that returned and he was saying, you know, maybe I'm played out, maybe I should just quit music altogether.   [04:16] So he's in this really dark, dark time. And that for an artist, for a business person, for anybody who's involved in anything that matters to them with passion or desire or drive as a parent, you, we get to those places of just I is there any more left in here, I don't know that there is.   [04:37] And so we leave him at this really difficult place. So then we come back to him a little while later. He finds the Libretto from Charles Jenkins and they have collaborated a little bit.   [04:52] Things like that, but Jenine's it is understood that he did not even know that handle had put music to his libretto until after it was done and it was being played.   [05:02] So there wasn't any collaboration on that in that sense. So handle gets a libretto and loves it and does very little alterations.   [05:11] My understanding, very little alteration, but goes to town on writing this musical accompaniment to it and it only takes him 24 days to write this.   [05:22] He basically does part one and part two in another week and part three and a third week, 24 days for this incredible composition.   [05:31] And so he gets that done and he has been attributed with saying a couple of things and these have been made as far as research and those kinds of making sure they're validated, they've been validated that he really did say these things, but first and foremost, he said about the experience I did think I did see all heaven before me and the Great God himself.   [05:57] Now that's what he's been attributed to saying as his experience.   [06:01] While he was writing this messiah composition and he was not the type to consider himself or ever claim to be a visionary man, but it's sacred source material and the intense concentration during that composition, who knows what he might have experienced.   [06:20] The other thing that he says that is also possibly plausible is whether I was in my body or out of my body as I wrote it. I know not God knows, so he knows that he had whatever experience it was.   [06:34] There was a spiritual experience attending this that was significant and was different than anything that he had experienced before in his other works.   [06:44] So you can imagine when this is done and he is preparing to perform this at covent garden this is significant, he has to be successful with this and this is what he spent his time, his energy on.   [06:58] He is so nervous about this that he actually does not put the title out on the playbills on the things that are being advertised.   [07:06] He puts a new sacred oratorio so that nobody even knows what it is and nobody even understands. In fact, some people ominously had taken them down and rip them down. So he is really at a crossroads.   [07:18] He has to be successful. His Italian opera days, they are gone. They are done.   [07:23] There's no going back and he needs to have some kind of new success. And of course if there is success with this, then people would be ready to follow him again. They would be ready to embrace him again as this composer that they could love and and have maybe even be consistently as one of those highly considered and favored composers if the king shows his interest in favor as well.   [07:50] So we get to that night and the music is playing and it is so different than what they had been used to and the actual reception of it was profound.   [08:03] The king actually attends and in fact this is one of my most favorite moments of knowing about Handel's Messiah. It says, in fact, I'm going to read this from James Beatty, who was there and wrote of the moment.   [08:15] He said, "When Handel's Messiah was first performed, the audience was exceedingly struck and affected by the music in general."   [08:24] And then he adds, "and I ask you, have you ever wondered why we always stand at a certain place in the Messiah, wherever you are," we stand right? And so I love that.   [08:35] This answers this question.   [08:36] James Beatty continues, "When the chord struck up for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, the audience was so transported that they all together with the king stood up and remained standing until the course ended and hence it became the fashion in England for the audience to stand. While that part of the music is performing."   [08:58] Isn't that incredible? And the king stood. Everyone was so moved by this incredible work in this incredible music set to actual scripture.   [09:10] They were so moved that they stood and you can imagine in effect standing to acknowledge that they are talking about the king of kings, the Lord of Lords, and this entire audience is on their feet showing the respect and showing the profound worship of a being higher than they are.   [09:31] It's so profound to me that we have this person who had, you know, in essence been prepared to write this...   [09:40] It seems to me with all the other religious librettos and Oratorios and things like that he had been involved in, that he had done all of these other Sol and Debra and and all of these other ones that he had actually been preparing to write this most majestic piece that is now timeless.   [10:00] That is something so profound that we get to experience. So I hope that you have gotten something interesting out of this. It actually was successful.   [10:08] He was able to continue doing that at Christmas time and Easter. Then the garden became his permanent home and he usually performed the messiah usually before, shortly before Easter, and he would actually go ahead and perform that.   [10:23] The last performance was given in April 6, 1759, and he died eight days later, so profound April 6, 1759.   [10:33] So hopefully you found something interesting that when you listen to Handel's, Messiah and all that, maybe you'll keep those things in mind that remember that there was a point in which the sweet composer who was writing this was really at his lowest, his wit's end, and this actually saved him figuratively and financially from this ruin and this artistic despair and his his life's work of where he was saying, "What's my purpose?"   [11:01] And he was actually able to find that purpose in this redemptive piece, which is so symbolic of the redemption that we experienced.   [11:10] So I know this is a little bit more on that I'm-religious-influence side, but I hope that you've received or learned something of value and that you will never listen to Handel's Messiah the same way again.   [11:22] Enjoy and stay tuned for more balance, redefined.   You got it. Thanks for listening and remember to rate and subscribe. And if you are feeling the need for real balance in your life, get your free 3-Step Life Plan, and get started today! Just go to conniesokol.com/download.

Stevie Guttman is a writer and actor known for films such as “First We Take Brooklyn.” He candidly shares with us the struggles that led him to his path and how he followed his dreams against the odds. His Italian sensibility reminds us of “The Godfather" and his message is so simple yet profound…”Go for your dreams and never look back.”

Kirsty Young's castaway is Jed Mercurio. Creator of Line of Duty, and an award-winning TV writer, producer, director and novelist, he is one of the few British script-writers to work as an American-style show-runner. A former hospital doctor and RAF officer, he has been ranked among UK television's leading writers by TV industry magazine Broadcast. His Italian parents moved to the UK after the Second World War and he was brought up in Cannock in the Midlands. Keen on science as a child, with dreams of becoming an astronaut, he studied medicine at Birmingham University. While there, he applied for the RAF medical doctor programme and learned to fly. While he was working as a hospital doctor, he answered an advertisement in the British Medical Journal seeking advisors for a medical TV drama. Despite negligible writing experience, he went on to script the BBC medical drama Cardiac Arrest. Its continuing success led him to leave medicine and embark on a successful career as a scriptwriter. His chief works for TV are the series Line of Duty, Bodies, The Grimleys and Cardiac Arrest. He's also written books: Bodies; Ascent; American Adulterer, and for children, The Penguin Expedition. Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young's castaway is Jed Mercurio. Creator of Line of Duty, and an award-winning TV writer, producer, director and novelist, he is one of the few British script-writers to work as an American-style show-runner. A former hospital doctor and RAF officer, he has been ranked among UK television's leading writers by TV industry magazine Broadcast. His Italian parents moved to the UK after the Second World War and he was brought up in Cannock in the Midlands. Keen on science as a child, with dreams of becoming an astronaut, he studied medicine at Birmingham University. While there, he applied for the RAF medical doctor programme and learned to fly. While he was working as a hospital doctor, he answered an advertisement in the British Medical Journal seeking advisors for a medical TV drama. Despite negligible writing experience, he went on to script the BBC medical drama Cardiac Arrest. Its continuing success led him to leave medicine and embark on a successful career as a scriptwriter. His chief works for TV are the series Line of Duty, Bodies, The Grimleys and Cardiac Arrest. He's also written books: Bodies; Ascent; American Adulterer, and for children, The Penguin Expedition. Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

This week on StoryWeb: Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway. “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” Has there ever been a more graceful first line of a novel than that? Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs. Dalloway, is graceful and poised, like her title character, ever one to have things “just so.” Her dinner party – toward which the whole novel rushes – is sumptuous, elegant, and in every possible way, “just so.” But of course, there’s much more here than meets the eye. Old bonds as well as old rifts and hurts swirl through the party as Clarissa Dalloway confronts Sally Seton (with whom she’d had a flirtation in her youth) and Peter Walsh (whose marriage proposal she had rejected in that same youth). In this modernist novel, all time is present at once, and as Clarissa, Sally, and Peter meet at the dinner party, they’re each – individually – transported three decades into the past, reliving the scintillating and very nearly risqué time at the country estate of Bourton when Clarissa kissed Sally, broke Peter’s heart, and met her future husband, Richard Dalloway. And yet there is even more seething underneath the surface of these upper-middle-class concerns. For this is London, 1923, post-World War I, a devastated London trying to pick up its bombed-out shards and rebuild itself. Running parallel to Clarissa, Sally, Peter, and Richard’s story is the plotline belonging to Septimus Warren Smith, a shell-shocked veteran. His Italian wife, Lucrezia, takes him on quiet walks in London parks and tries to soothe him. But Septimus won’t be soothed – just as Woolf seems to be saying that London, Europe, indeed the entire world won’t be soothed. As Septimus’s story makes abundantly clear, Septimus and his fellow veterans are not the walking wounded. They are very nearly the hobbling dead, passing time in a twilight evening. Woolf’s ability to pull Clarissa Dalloway together with Septimus Warren Smith is nothing short of miraculous. These two worlds – that of the privileged, moneyed class and that of the barely surviving veterans, the fodder for the aristocracy’s war – weave in and out of each other’s lives. Mrs. Dalloway is definitely worth reading – both on its own merits and as a way into American novelist Michael Cunningham’s 1998 retelling of it in The Hours. Clarissa Dalloway is a character you will not soon forget, whether you meet her as she was first conceived in the pages of Woolf’s novel or on the screen in Vanessa Redgrave’s portrayal of her or whether you meet permutations of Clarissa in Cunningham’s The Hours or watch Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman present their own takes on shades of Mrs. Dalloway and Virginia Woolf herself. If this is your first time reading Virginia Woolf, be gently forewarned. She is every bit the stream-of-consciousness modernist, playing, as she did, a central role in dismantling the traditional novel and then completely reinventing it. As Woolf said, “[It is] precisely the task of the writer to go beyond the ‘formal railway line of sentence' and to show how people ‘feel or think or dream . . . all over the place.’” British novelist E.M. Forster, a contemporary of Woolf’s, agreed with her description of what she was trying to do in Mrs. Dalloway. He said, “It is easy for a novelist to describe what a character thinks of. . . . But to convey the actual process of thinking is a creative feat, and I know of no one except Virginia Woolf who has accomplished it.” Given Woolf’s startling, groundbreaking, narrative-shattering approach to fiction, how does one actually set about reading Mrs. Dalloway? My advice is much the same as the advice I offered for reading William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury: simply let Woolf’s prose wash over you. Little by little, you’ll begin to grasp the story. And if you’re wondering what Woolf had in mind as she wrote Mrs. Dalloway, read excerpts from her diary! Much of the novel focuses on London walks taken by various characters. The Mrs. Dalloway Mapping Project is an excellent website, as is Clarissa Dalloway’s London. And if you ever find yourself in London and wish to retrace Mrs. Dalloway’s steps on her famous walk, you can download a written walking tour guide as well as an audio walking tour. You’ll also want to have with you Jean Moorcroft Wilson’s indispensable volume, Virginia Woolf's London: A Guide to Bloomsbury and Beyond. Numerous other resources tracing Woolf’s relationship to London and its outskirts can be found at the Blogging Woolf website. Learn more about Virginia Woolf by visiting the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain’s website. The Virginia Woolf Blog features an interactive timeline of Woolf’s life, complete with links to information about important people and events in her life. The New York Times also has a treasure trove of archived articles about Woolf. Of course, Woolf was a central figure in the Bloomsbury Group, which also had a country home in Charleston. A key part of Bloomsbury was Hogarth Press, which Woolf and her husband, Leonard, established as a vehicle for publishing modernist literature, including the poetry of T.S. Eliot. Learn more about the press at Yale University’s Modernism Lab website. In addition to her outstanding collection of writing, Virginia Woolf is also well known for her profound struggles with mental illness, which led her to commit suicide in 1941. An excellent multimedia website – Woolf, Creativity, and Madness – provides deep insight into this aspect of Woolf’s life. Ready to read Mrs. Dalloway? You’ll definitely want a hard copy of this complex novel (and besides, since the novel is still under copyright in the United States, there are no legal, free online versions). You might also find it interesting to read more of Woolf’s work. I recommend The Virginia Woolf Reader, edited by Mitchell A. Leaska. Whether you read the novel or not, you’ll definitely want to watch the outstanding film based on it. Vanessa Redgrave plays Mrs. Dalloway, and screenplay writer Eileen Atkins is known for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in British theatrical productions. She has played Woolf in the one-woman show, A Room of One's Own, and she also played Woolf in Vita and Virginia, a play which Atkins herself wrote. In the New York production of Vita and Virginia, Redgrave played Vita Sackville-West opposite Atkins's Woolf. Visit thestoryweb.com/woolf for links to all these resources and to watch an excerpt from the film. The video clip features Clarissa and Peter at Bourton and moves ahead thirty years as Clarissa, Peter, and Sally reflect on that summer during Clarissa’s dinner party. You can then listen to the only known recording of Virginia Woolf’s voice. Recorded in 1937 as part of a BBC radio broadcast, the clip features Woolf’s thoughts on craftsmanship and language. Tune in next week, when StoryWeb will feature Michael Cunningham’s novel The Hours and the film based on it. The Hours will shift and deepen your understanding of Virginia Woolf and Mrs. Dalloway.

Eugene - Who's full french title was Francois-Eugene, prince de Savoie-Carignan was born in Paris in 1663. His Italian mother, Olympia Mancini, was niece to Cardinal Mazarin the Chief Minister of the French King (or in his case Kings as he served both Bourbon monarchs Louis XIII and Louis XIV). His father was the Italian-French nobleman Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons. Dur: 21mins  File: .mp3�

In Italy working on a book about a serial killer known as "the Monster of Florence," New Yorker writer Doug Preston was arrested and charged as an accessory to murder. His Italian co-author, meanwhile, is being charged by a rogue Italian judge of something worse. The writers' phones have been tapped, their offices broken into, accusations of murder and satanism are flying — we talk to Preston about the bizarre and dangerous situation that has developed in the attempt to suppress his book.

In Italy working on a book about a serial killer known as "the Monster of Florence," New Yorker writer Doug Preston was arrested and charged as an accessory to murder. His Italian co-author, meanwhile, is being charged by a rogue Italian judge of something worse. The writers' phones have been tapped, their offices broken into, accusations of murder and satanism are flying — we talk to Preston about the bizarre and dangerous situation that has developed in the attempt to suppress his book.