Classical 101 Podcasts

His genius secured his immortality despite his untimely death. His Requiem - ironically unfinished at his death - he believed he was composing for his own funeral.

Water tripping in endless currents. Passion, love and anguish glowing red. East joining West in an exotic fusion of motion and color.

By the time Mozart turned 30, his success as a composer was undeniable. But that didn't stop him from hitting up his friends for cash.

More than 200 years after its premiere, Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro remains one of the best-loved comic operas in the repertoire. And if you think people like Figaro today, you should have seen - and heard - the audiences in Mozart's day.

Picture it: Mozart at a masquerade ball gussied up as an ancient Middle Eastern prophet and spouting a made-up philosophy of riddles and off-color aphorisms.

In a month full to bursting with concerts, Mozart's waistband might also have stretched a bit during February 1785 from all the fabulous food he enjoyed.

Classical 101's Jennifer Hambrick talks with composer Maria Schneider about her work, which blurs the line between classical music and jazz, and her Grammy Award-winning "Winter Morning Walks."

As spring springs and nature emerges fresh and fragrant, even Mozart can't resist a posy - or, in this case, two.

What does every betrothed woman want from her little brother on the eve of her wedding? A naughty poem, of course.

It’s like a scene from one of Mozart’s operas – the master of the house snoops on his wayward maid and is shocked by what he learns.