Classical Post – Details, episodes & analysis

Classical Post® is created and produced by⁠⁠ ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠⁠⁠® LLC, a leading New York marketing agency serving the performing arts industry. Explore how we can⁠⁠ ⁠grow your audience⁠⁠⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Classical Post® is created and produced by⁠ ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠⁠® LLC, a leading New York marketing agency serving the performing arts industry. Explore how we can⁠ ⁠grow your audience⁠⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

For more than a year now, I've been obsessed with TÁR, the 2022 Todd Field film starring Cate Blanchett as an orchestral conductor whose power plays lead to her devastating downfall. Yes, the story is gripping and suspenseful, but it's the music interlaced throughout the film that keeps me coming back.

Aside from the two works performed in the film — Mahler's Fifth Symphony and Elgar's Cello Concerto — which were baked into Field's script, the music you hear throughout TÁR is the result of months of work by the film's music supervisor, Lucy Bright. A specialist in the arenas of film and television scoring, Bright has worked with some of today's biggest composers — including Nico Muhly, Michael Nyman, and Volker Bertelmann — on projects ranging from Assassin's Creed to Aftersun and The Iron Claw.

But what exactly does a music supervisor do on a film of this scale? Turns out, it's a lot. 

From working with a team of on-set sound engineers who specialize in recording symphony orchestras to developing the film's Deutsche Grammophon concept album and recreating Urbie Green's 1967 recording of "Twenty-one Trombones," Bright was kept busy managing countless aspects of the film's musical atmosphere across three countries.

In this episode of the Classical Post podcast, I speak with Bright about the expert levels of coordination and collaboration vital to her work, working with the Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir to realize Lydia Tár's compositions, and what it was like seeing Cate Blanchett raise a baton to conduct Mahler. Plus, she shares her fascinating history with modern architecture, her go-to burger place in New York City, and the therapeutic benefits of swimming in the natural springs of London's Hampstead Heath.

Stream TÁR (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture) on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or wherever you stream music.

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Classical Post® is created and produced by Gold Sound Media® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can grow your audience to make a lasting impact in your community.

Poetry has long served as a point of inspiration for classical composers. Just think of Beethoven's magnificent setting of Schiller's "Ode to Joy," Schubert's cinematic take on Goethe's "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel," or Ned Rorem's soulful songs based on the words of Frank O'Hara.

And now there's a new work to add to this storied tradition from composer Brian Raphael Nabors. In Upon Daybreak, premiered by the Berkeley Symphony in late 2022, Nabors turns to a poignant poem by the late Maya Angelou, "A Brave, Startling Truth." Rather than set the poem's text to music, however, Nabors distills Angelou's visionary call for a great "day of peacemaking" into a powerful orchestral work that imagines a utopian world without hatred or malice.

"In the poem, [Angelou] talks about all the chaos, war, and dystopia that come about from us being humans and destructive," Nabors says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "But also all the beauty that comes from humanity and what we're able to offer. It talks about this day when all this war mongering ends finally and we realize that the true wonders of the world are ourselves and life itself."

Commissioned by New Music USA as part of its Amplifying Voices program, Upon Daybreak has been performed by the Detroit Symphony, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra since its Berkeley premiere, and the work will make its way to the Seattle Symphony in 2024. 

In this episode, Nabors and I talk more about composing Upon Daybreak and what it was like working with the Berkeley Symphony's music director, Joseph Young, on a host of community engagement projects leading up to the premiere. Plus, he shares the important part his spiritual life plays in maintaining the energy to compose, how video games help him overcome creative blocks, and why skin care is always a top priority in his wellness routine.

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Classical Post® is created and produced by Gold Sound Media® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can grow your audience to make a lasting impact in your community.

There's an interesting dichotomy baked into the act of composing. Although the music that composers write reflects their own thoughts, emotions, and perspectives, they need to hand that music over to other people to bring it to life.

But for Andrew Bennett, a Canadian composer of experimental electronic music who records under the moniker Factor Eight, his own voice is the driving force behind his 2022 album, II. Although that was never Bennett's plan for the album — it proved to be a creative breakthrough.

"Throughout the creation of that record, I was also trying to create a sound that was entirely my own, something that felt more authentically me," Bennett says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "I didn't really set out to create music using only my voice, but when I look back it's sort of serendipitous that these things happened in tandem. There's a parallel in the album between my artistic sound and my personal story behind the record."

By manipulating the vocals using a raft of technologies, he created a vast, mystical soundscape that's profoundly personal to Bennett. The new album became an avenue for revealing his struggles with mental illness and raising awareness of the stigma around bipolar disorder. Mental health advocacy has always been part of Bennett's mission as an artist, and he is donating proceeds from digital sales of II to the Canadian Mental Health Association Saskatoon.

In this episode, Bennett and I talk more about the creation of the album, and how the process inspired him to continue using his voice as the primary canvas for his music. Plus, he shares how the act of collaboration fuels his creativity, why a Vitamix blender is the most important gadget in his kitchen, and the importance of the visual arts in his sound-based work.

Listen to II on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you stream or download music.

— ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

When most people think of the pipe organ, they imagine its massive, majestic sound filling a large church during a wedding, funeral, or other Christian ceremonies.

But as I learned in my recent conversation with the Austrian concert organist Lukas Hasler, we can trace the instrument's roots to ancient Egypt, thousands of years before the birth of Christ. And despite their prevalence in the church, organs have also played an important role in secular life. In the 19th century, for example, people in small villages or those who couldn't afford concert tickets could only hear new music when it was transcribed and performed by a local organist. 

And for Hasler, bringing the organ back to the mainstream and helping people from all walks of life discover its beauty and expressive range has become a central component of his career.

"Everyone thinks the organ is just in churches, which of course is a truth," Hasler says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "On the other side, every time you walk into concert halls or listen to film music, the organ plays a major part. I really want to create an awareness of this instrument — and sometimes it really helps to transcribe very famous scores for the organ."

Hasler's ability to showcase the organ's remarkable versatility has made him a star on the rise. In addition to building a community of more than 80,000 fans on social media, he's performed in the opening ceremony of the Salzburg Festival, was the first touring classical musician to perform in Ukraine after the start of the Russian invasion, and his transcriptions of everything from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata to the Super Mario Brothers theme have thrilled audiences across Europe and the U.S.

In this episode, Hasler and I talk more about the organ's evolution over time and his latest digital release — an astounding reading of Franz Liszt's virtuosic Fantasy and Fugue on Bach. Plus, he shares what made him recently pack up his life in Austria and head to sunny southern California, how architecture and fashion inspire his creativity, and the importance of hearing protection when the instrument you play is very, very loud.

Listen to Hasler's recording of Liszt's Fantasy and Fugue on Bach on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you stream music.

— ⁠⁠⁠ Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Anyone who's had the pleasure of seeing violinist Rachel Barton Pine perform live knows this is a musician who gives every performance her all. What many people will likely not know is how much that mesmerizing stage presence is informed and inspired by her love of heavy metal music.

"[In heavy metal], there's this 150% commitment to feeling the music and sharing it with the person farthest away in the venue," Pine shares on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "That's something I try to do whether I'm playing things that are really bombastic or things that are perfectly calm. ... For me, sharing is what it all comes down to — knowing that I've done everything I can to share the most music with the most people."

Sharing a lot of music with a lot of people has been a throughline of Pine's career. Besides performing the standards of the violin repertoire, Pine has made it her mission for more than two decades to shine a light on music by underrepresented composers. Last year she released the 25th anniversary edition of her seminal album, Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries — a collection of works for violin and orchestra by Florence Price, Joseph Bologne, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and José White Lafitte. 

The overwhelming response to that album — produced long before classical music's concerted push for more diverse programming — inspired her to launch the Music by Black Composers initiative in 2001, which has not only collected more than 900 works by 450 composers of African descent, but also produced a variety of free educational resources so music lovers of all ages can access this incredible music.

In this episode, Pine and I talk more about the album and the impact of historical discrimination on the violin repertoire. Plus, she shares how finding a sense of purpose as a violinist fuels her energy and creativity, that time she heard authentic tango music in Uruguay, and her favorite place in New York City for vegan Italian food.

Listen to Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries on Spotify, Apple Music, Idagio, or wherever you stream music.

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Classical Post® is created and produced by Gold Sound Media® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can grow your audience to make a lasting impact in your community.

No matter what line of business you're in, building a new enterprise from the ground up isn't for the faint of heart. From defining your mission to marketing, payroll, and growth strategies, there's a lot to consider — and a lot of opportunities to give up when the challenges feel insurmountable.

Conductor Luke McEndarfer encountered many of those moments in his early days leading the National Children's Chorus, where he's served as artistic director and CEO for 20 years. As he looked to expand the choir's reach beyond a handful of participants in Los Angeles, he hit a low point: needing to borrow money from his mother to pay the venue rental fee for an upcoming concert.

But giving up on the organization — and its talented young singers — was never an option, as McEndarfer shares on a new episode of the Classical Post podcast.

"At the end of my life, in the last minute or two that I'm here on this earth looking back, I would rather know I did everything I could to make this vision come true and failed, than to think I held something back and would never know what would have happened if I really went for it. So I'd rather fail than not give it my all and then never know."

To say McEndarfer's vision for the group has come to life would be an understatement. Under his leadership, the National Children's Chorus has become one of the leading children's choirs in the world, with more than 1,200 students across eight chapter cities performing concerts at leading venues around the globe every season. The ensemble won a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance and just released its first album, Illumine, which they recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra at the iconic Abbey Road Studios.

In this episode, McEndarfer and I talk more about his 20 years with the chorus and what's on the horizon for the ensemble in 2024. Plus, he shares the ways human connection inspires him to make music, how getting up early helps him hone his creativity, and why the best investment you can make in your life is a really good bed.

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Classical Post® is created and produced by Gold Sound Media® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can grow your audience to make a lasting impact in your community.

A postmodern take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Yorgos Lanthimos's new film, Poor Things, sees the director exploring ideas of life and liberty in his uniquely surrealist way.

The movie revolves around Bella, played by Emma Stone, a woman in Victorian Britain brought back to life by Dr. Godwin Baxter, played by Willem Dafoe. Eager to learn more about the world around her, Bella sets off on a fantastical, globe-hopping adventure.

That theme of reanimation was central to composer Jerskin Fendrix while developing the film's score. Although he's primarily known as a singer, pianist, and songwriter active in South London's indie music scene, Fendrix's ability to merge his classical training with experimental approaches to music-making was a perfect fit for the world of Poor Things. 

To match the imaginative tone of Lanthimos's film, Jerskin spent time digitally processing and manipulating the voice of each instrument, ultimately transforming even the most familiar musical sounds into an unfamiliar, almost eerie listening experience.

"I was really interested in wind instruments and breath as a musical idea," Jerskin explains on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "Breath and life are inextricably tied up, so giving the impression of something which isn't sentient or alive replicating anything that is alive sets off a really primal, fear-based instinct, something which is preternaturally horrifying."

In this episode, Fendrix and I talk more about the creative process behind his Poor Things score. Plus, he shares a piece of writing advice from Kurt Vonnegut that helps him focus his work, the importance of emotional resonance in his music, and the street food scene he craves whenever he's in New York City.
Poor Things and the film's official soundtrack will be released on December 8, 2023. The first two singles, "Bella" and "Lisbon," are available wherever you stream music.

— ⁠⁠ Classical Post® is created and produced by Gold Sound Media® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can grow your audience to make a lasting impact in your community.

The architecture world lost a giant when the distinguished Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly died earlier this year at the age of 78. For four decades, Viñoly led his global architecture firm to international renown, bringing to life everything from airports to hospitals, sports stadiums, and performing arts centers — including one very close to my heart, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center.

Having lived in the Philly area for many years prior to moving to New York, I've attended countless performances at the Kimmel Center. I've always been inspired by how the sprawling public space invites people to come together for drinks, conversation, and community even if you're not there for a concert. According to Viñoly's son Román, director of Rafael Viñoly Architects, creating vibrant social spaces was always part of his father's mission.

"He looked at his work as something that invariably had a profoundly civic dimension," Román says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "He recognized that buildings are very capital intensive, so he always found ways to leverage those enormous investments into developing public amenities — grand, inspiring spaces that people want to spend time in. That ethical approach permeates his work throughout the world."

Outside of architecture, Rafael Viñoly had another passion: classical music. So it's fitting that a concert paying tribute to the architect's life and legacy is taking place next week at Carnegie Hall — where for decades Viñoly attended several concerts every week. 

On November 28, two ensembles that perform in Viñoly-designed spaces — the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Jazz at Lincoln Center's Isaiah J. Thompson Trio — will share the stage at Stern Auditorium with violinist Itzhak Perlman and pianist Jonathan Biss for an evening of music honoring Viñoly.
In this episode, Román and I talk more about his father's life, the work the Viñoly Foundation is doing to extend Rafael's legacy in architecture and the arts, and how the Carnegie concert also marks the first U.S. appearance of the Maene-Viñoly Concert Grand Piano — an innovative, ergonomically designed piano Rafael helped create.

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⁠⁠⁠⁠ Classical Post® is created and produced by Gold Sound Media® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can grow your audience to make a lasting impact in your community.