The Classical Music Minute – Details, episodes & analysis

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Royal Harmonies: The Musical Splendor of France's Grand Court in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Jean-Baptiste Lully, the master of French Baroque, is best known for his opera Armide and the grand ballet Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. His work defined the court of Louis XIV, with the king himself often dancing in his productions. Lully's music, characterized by its rhythmic precision and grandeur, set the standard for French opera and ballet, making his compositions central to the opulent cultural life of the Sun King’s Versailles.
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About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
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Please Buy Me A Coffee 🤓☕️
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Got a topic? Pop me an email at: [email protected] 🤔

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Description
Maestro's Magic Wand: The Art of the Baton Dance in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
One of the most difficult pieces to conduct is "Le Sacre du printemps" (The Rite of Spring) by Igor Stravinsky. Its complex, irregular rhythms, sudden tempo changes, and layered dissonances demand extraordinary precision and deep understanding. The piece's primal energy and unpredictable structure make it a formidable challenge for any conductor.
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About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
__________________________________________________________________

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

Please Buy Me A Coffee 🤓☕️
__________________________________________________________________

Got a topic? Pop me an email at: [email protected] 🤔

Support the show

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The Birth of the Modern Timpani in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Handel incorporated the timpani in several of his compositions, notably enhancing the grandeur and dramatic impact. Key pieces featuring timpani include the "Music for the Royal Fireworks" and the "Messiah." In the "Water Music," timpani are used sparingly for festive occasions. The instrument's powerful sound added a majestic and ceremonial quality, underlining important moments and contributing to the overall dynamic range of his orchestral works.
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About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
__________________________________________________________________

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

Please Buy Me A Coffee 🤓☕️
__________________________________________________________________

Got a topic? Pop me an email at: [email protected] 🤔

Support the show

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Description
Recently I came across a fabulous Spanish Concert Pianist on YouTube, by the name of Juan Pérez Floristán. He was playing the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1—one of my favourites. Watching him play had me literally jumping out of my seat. So, I decided that I’ve really got to chat with him. And I did, from his home in Spain.

Juan’s website

Juan’s YouTube Channel
Tócala otra vez Juan (Play it again, Juan)
My Note: I checked it out and watched (with subs) his analysis of Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto. It was fun and informative. 🤓

Juan P. Floristán plays Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major ℅ YouTube

Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Floristán) ℅ YouTube

Here’s a little more about Juan, in his own words:

“I was born in 1993, in Seville, a city in the south of Spain, which in itself is in the south of Europe. My father, Juan Luis Pérez, is an orchestra director, and I learned how to conduct from him. My mother, María Floristán, is a pianist and pedagogue, and I learned to play the piano from her.

My orchestral activity also began when I was very young, playing Mozart's Concerto 12 with my father Juan Luis Pérez at the baton. Since then, I have played with ensembles such as the RTVE Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Spain, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Camerata, the Monterey Symphony Orchestra (USA), the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, the Seville Royal Symphony Orchestra, & the Barcelona Orchestra.

I have also conducted Beethoven and Mozart concerts from the piano.

As for the venues I have had the privilege of playing in, I cannot forget the Royal Albert Hall (together with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the Proms), the Wigmore Hall, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Tonhalle in Zürich , the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the Béla Bartók Hall in Budapest, & the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

Probably the greatest milestones of my professional life have been winning in 2015 the International Piano Competition "Paloma O'Shea" in Santander and in 2021 the International Piano Competition "Arthur Rubinstein" in Tel Aviv. In both I also won the public award, and to all this we must add the Gold Medal of the City of Seville and the First Prize in the Berlin Steinway Competition in 2015. But I never forget the saying that "Winning a prize does not depend on you. Deserve it, yes."

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About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
__________________________________________________________________

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any qu

Support the show

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Description
John Williams is of course known for his Hollywood blockbuster orchestral music. But has also composed many incredible works, including his cello concerto for famed cellist, Yo-Yo Ma. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Cello Concerto: I. Theme & Cadenza ℅ YouTube

Fun Fact
Williams has composed for a staggering number of critically acclaimed and popular movies, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the first two Home Alone films, the Indiana Jones films, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Seven Years In Tibet, and the first three Harry Potter films.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
__________________________________________________________________

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

Got a topic? Pop me an email at: [email protected]

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Support the show

Send us a text

Description
One of my favorite pieces of all time is Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major. This episode is dedicated to this breathtaking composition. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Listen to Juan P. Floristán play  Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major ℅ YouTube—Juan will also be a guest of mine coming soon!!!

Fun Fact
One day during the summer of 1911, Sergei Taneyev, the revered composer, asked the young Prokofiev a question that undoubtedly puzzled many musicians of his generation: “Where, Sergei Sergeyevich, do you think your predilection for dissonances comes from?”

Prokofiev responded: “Well, you know, Sergei Ivanovich, when I was eleven years old and I brought you my first symphony [an unpublished student work], you listened to it and said with a smile, ‘Very good, very good; except the harmony is painfully primitive…’ Those words burned themselves into my brain, I became ashamed of my primitive harmony, and tried in every possible way to make it more interesting.

This ambition has never left me, and as my musical powers developed I was always aiming at ever more complex harmony […]” Laughing, Taneyev replied, “Well, imagine that! I never knew it was I who had set you off on that path…!”

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
__________________________________________________________________

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

Got a topic? Pop me an email at: [email protected]

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Support the show

Send us a text

Description
John Gay wrote The Beggar's Opera as an anti-opera rather than an opera, lampooning the Italian opera style and the English public's fascination with it.  Take a minute to get the scoop!

Listen to: The Beggar's Opera ℅ YouTube

Fun Facts
Fact 1
Lavinia Fenton, the first Polly Peachum, became an overnight success. Her pictures were in great demand, verses were written to her and books published about her. After appearing in several comedies, and then in numerous repetitions of The Beggar's Opera, she ran away with her married lover, Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton.

Fact 2
Bertolt Brecht adapted the work into Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) in 1928, sticking closely to the original plot and characters but with a new libretto, and mostly new music by Kurt Weill.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
__________________________________________________________________

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

Got a topic? Pop me an email at: [email protected]

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Support the show

Send us a text

Description
Igor Stravinsky was a huge proponent of Neoclassicism in music—much to the shock and dismay of some listeners and critics. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Listen to: Igor Stravinsky - Octet for Wind Instruments [With score] ℅ YouTube

Fun Fact
A pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov in his native St. Petersburg, Stravinsky had inherited the style of the Russian nationalist group, the so-called kuchka or Mighty Handful, and the ballets he wrote for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes before and during the First World War – The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, and Les Noces – are post-kuchka works, based on folk tales or rituals, using folk music or poetry, and largely ignoring the orthodox procedures of traditional classical music.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
__________________________________________________________________

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

Got a topic? Pop me an email at: [email protected]

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Support the show

Send us a text

Description
What was Neoclassicism in music? And which composers utilized this aesthetic form? Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 (1917) is sometimes cited as a precursor of Neoclassicism. Prokofiev himself thought that his composition was a "passing phase" whereas Stravinsky's neoclassicism was by the 1920s "becoming the basic line of his music".

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
__________________________________________________________________

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

Got a topic? Pop me an email at: [email protected]

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Support the show

Send us a text

Description
The tale of Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 45 in F♯ minor, known as the "Farewell" Symphony was told in Haydn’s later life to his biographers Albert Christoph Dies and Georg August Griesinger. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Listen to: Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 45, The "Farewell" Symphony ℅ YouTube

Fun Fact
The symphony could not be performed without the purchase of some special equipment. Haydn signed an order for two special half-step slides for use by the horn players. These slightly lengthened the horn's tubing, permitting the instrument to be used to play in keys a semitone lower than usual. The horn of the time was the valveless natural horn, which needed to be adjusted with inserted crooks to play in different keys.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show