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
Nielsen Symphony No. 4, "Inextinguishable" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:36
At the top of the score for the Danish composer Carl Nielsen's 4th symphony, he wrote: "Music is life, and like it, inextinguishable." This could easily be the shortest podcast I've ever done. I could leave you with that…
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:41
The stories, legends, and myths about the trials and travails of composers lives are legion, like Beethoven's battles against fate, Mozart and Schubert's struggles with finances, Brahms' failures with women, Mahler's tro…
Elgar Cello Concerto [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:24
Elgar's Cello Concerto was composed in the shadow of World War 1. It was a piece that marked a profound shift in Elgar's outlook on life and music, and was his last major work before a long silence caused by the death of…
Romeo and Juliet in Classical Music [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:19
The "love theme" from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture is one of the most famous themes in the history of Western Classical Music. The story it accompanies might be the most famous Western play ever writte…
Mozart Symphony No. 38, "Prague" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:28
Very few cities have had a relationship with a single person, especially a foreigner, like the city of Prague and its love affair with Mozart. Here's what Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's librettist for some of his greatest op…
Jean-Louis Duport Cello Concerto No. 4 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:05
Thank you to Nicole for sponsoring today's show on Patreon! Have you ever heard of Jean-Louis Duport? I imagine that unless you are a professional cellist, or someone who studied cello as a child, you probably haven't. E…
Brahms B Major Piano Trio [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:26
When we listen to the music of Johannes Brahms, we often are reminded of the image of the portly bearded Brahms at the piano, eyes closed in a soulful pose. Brahms' works always, even in his youth, seemed to have a burni…
Sibelius Violin Concerto [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:02
There's a joke among classical musicians that the only parts of a piece that matter are the beginning, the end, and one place in the middle. I don't think its something that anyone really believes in, but the value of th…
Ravel, Bolero + La Valse [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:28
Maurice Ravel the Magician, the Swiss Watchmaker, the aloof, the elegant, the precise, the soulful, the childlike, the naive, the warm, the radical, the progressive. These are all words that were used to describe a man o…
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:50
Have you ever been to an art museum and wished that you had music to accompany your experience? Music that made the art you were looking at more vivid, more immediate, and more emotionally intense? Well, Modest Mussorgsk…