Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

Author: Joshua Weilerstein Language: English Episodes: 100
There’s a particular kind of curiosity that draws people to classical music, but the sheer scale of the repertoire can feel overwhelming. Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast, hosted by conductor Joshua Weilerstein, meets that curiosity right where it is. Think of it as a series of open conversations about the music itself, designed to be equally engaging for someone hearing a symphony for the first time and for a lifelong devotee. Episodes might feature a thoughtful interview with a performing artist, offering a glimpse behind the curtain, or they could focus entirely on a single piece, peeling back its layers to explore why it resonates. Weilerstein guides these explorations with clarity and enthusiasm, moving seamlessly from foundational concepts to more nuanced details about different musical eras. The entire premise of this podcast is built on a genuine belief that this music belongs to all of us. It’s about replacing any sense of intimidation with connection and understanding. While past seasons are gradually being re-released, each episode stands as its own invitation to listen more deeply.
Episodes
Zemlinsky: The Mermaid [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:32
The story of Alexander von Zemlinsky's The Mermaid begins with a passionate love affair and ends in heartbreak of the most unabashedly big-R Romantic kind. In 1900, the young, fabulously talented, and famously beautiful…
Pergolesi Stabat Mater [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:02
Many aspects of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's life seem relatively normal when it comes to composers of the Baroque era. He was prolific, died young, and his music became very famous only after his death. However, all th…
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:41
We humans seem to love comeback stories, and there is no comeback quite as compelling in the classical music world as Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. It was written three years after the disastrous premiere of his…
Handel Messiah w/ Aram Demirjian [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:11
A piece that I have been asked to cover probably a dozen times is Handel's Messiah. It's a piece I love, but a piece that I've never conducted or played, and so therefore I don't know it incredibly well. There are plenty…
Gustav Holst: The Planets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:09
Mr. Holst, wherever you are, I apologize in advance for what I'm about to say. From my research, I know you resented this fact, but unfortunately, I think it's true. Here it is: despite the large catalogue of music Gusta…
Franck Symphony in D Minor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:57
In the 1960s, Leonard Bernstein famously helped to popularize the music of a then relatively obscure composer, Gustav Mahler. His work, as well as the work of other conductors, made Mahler into a classical-music househol…
Ravel and Falla: Echoes of Spain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:49
Nowadays it's hard to imagine Maurice Ravel as a "bad-boy" revolutionary, a member of a group whose name can be loosely translated as The Hooligans. To most listeners today, Ravel's music is the very picture of sumptuous…
Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 LIVE w/ The Aalborg Symphony [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:38
Longtime listeners of Sticky Notes know that Shostakovich's 10 symphony was the inaugural piece covered on the show. It's been 8 years(!) since that show, so I've totally re-written the episode and had the privilege of p…
Barber Violin Concerto [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:26
There are so many great apocryphal stories in the long history of classical music, from the reason Tchaikovsky wrote his Sixth Symphony to what famous composers supposedly said on their deathbeds, to my favorite story: h…
100 Years of Beethoven's Eroica (recordings) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:53
One of my favorite things about having Patreon sponsors is that they often suggest the most fascinating pieces and topics for shows. Adrian, who sponsored a show last year, gave me one of my favorite prompts when he sugg…