Composer, author, lecturer, and performer Bruce Adolphe is a multifaceted artist. He’s known by millions of listeners for his ingenious Piano Puzzlers on public radio's Performance Today and his concert pieces are played worldwide by Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Joshua Bell. Bruce shares how he was inspired by Leonard Bernstein to educate and compose, his love of collaborating with scientists, and the importance of letting your mind wander. He reminisces about the first piece he composed at the age of ten and how his father nearly stole the applause, recounts hearing the shot that killed John Lennon, and discusses his opera-singing parrot Polly Rhythm. David asks about Inspector Pulse, a character Bruce created for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and how the clever Piano Puzzlers came to be. At the end, we leave you with a holiday puzzle—see how many operatic melodies and classic holiday tunes you can hear. 

Listen to Santa and Isolde, A Holiday Opera Fantasy by Bruce Adolphe as performed by The Metropolitan Opera Brass on Apple Music or Spotify.

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Don't miss Bruce's latest books Visions and Decisions and The Mind's Ear.

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Photograph of Bruce by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Santa and Isolde, A Holiday Opera Fantasy used with permission from 5th Show LLC

The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.

Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. 

This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.

Episode copyright © 2023 Artful Narratives Media.

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