Classical Classroom

Our summer music festival series is over, and we are frankly a little sleepy now. So this week, while we nap, we are bringing you some old gold from the vault. It's one of our faves, featuring Branford Marsalis. If you don't love it, too, we will be both shocked and appalled.

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Branford Marsalis' stark 2014 solo album In My Solitude includes jazz standards like "Stardust" next to C.P.E. Bach's Sonata in A Minor for Oboe, Wq. 132. His jazz discography is peppered with classical releases. What's that all about?! Where do jazz and classical intersect? How is playing one different from the other – or is it? Find out in this episode!

Audio production by Todd "The Twister" Hulslander with a firm handshake from Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio.

Music in this episode:

• Lee Dorsey: "Working In The Coal Mine" (1966)
• Murray Perahia & Radu Lupu: Mozart – Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos
• Andrew Litton, Branford Marsalis & English Chamber Orchestra: "L'Isle Joyeuse" from Romances for Saxophone
• Ferenc Erkel Chamber Orchestra & Jozsef Kiss: CPE Bach – Sonata in A Minor for Oboe Solo, Wq. 132: 1. Poco adgio
• …and from Branford Marsalis' In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral:

• CPE Bach – Sonata in A Minor for Oboe Solo, Wq. 132: 1. Poco adgio
• Hoagy Carmichael/ Mitchell Parish – "Stardust"
• Ryo Noda – MAI, Op 7
• Improvisation No.1

In our second annual Classical Classroom Summer Music Festival Series, we hit the (sound)waves at the Music Academy of the West in sunny Santa Barbara, California!

All good things must come to an end, and...here we are. The final installment of our summer music mini-series features New York Philharmonic concertmaster (who used to be Houston Symphony concertmaster), Frank Huang. He talks about the job of a concertmaster, and about his own story of a life in two cities with two orchestras. Frank also discusses first being a student and then being a teacher and visiting artist at the Music Academy of the West, and he talks about what he's been doing at the MAW festival this summer. At the end of the interview, we kidnap him and bring him back to Houston. It's an action-packed thrill-ride! JK. There's no kidnapping. That's illegal! But we think you'll enjoy the conversation anyway.

Music in this episode: - "We're Going to Be Friends," by the White Stripes. From White Blood Cells. - String Sextet in D minor "Souvenir de Florence", Op. 70 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Audio production by Todd "Triple Double" Hulslander with editing by Mark DiClaudio and three-wheel motion by Dacia Clay. Copious thanks to the Music Academy of the West for all of their help with this mini-series and for letting us crash their summer music festival, with special thanks to Kate Oberjat (oh-bur-yacht) who has not missed a spot and who's done an awful lot, and to Emma Levine, Barbara Hirsch and Anthony Paggett. Thanks to Scott Reed, Richie Hawley, Matthew Sinno, Jeremy Denk, Bill Williams, Matthew Aucoin, Cynthia Phelps, Thomas Hampson, and Frank Huang without whom these interviews would have been monologues. Thanks to KCRW in Santa Barbara and to engineer Kathryn Barnes.

May the Force be with you on your way back to school!

In our second annual Classical Classroom Summer Music Festival Series, we hit the (sound)waves at the Music Academy of the West in sunny Santa Barbara, California!

Library of Congress "Living Legend" and Grammy Award-winning baritone Thomas Hampson has reached a point in his life and career at which one might use the term "venerable" to describe him. "Wise" is another word that music journalists probably throw down when talking about him. And they would not be wrong. But even Thomas Hampson got his start somewhere. In this interview, he talks about his classical music beginnings at the Music Academy of the West, and about conveying the grand meaning of music as a teacher to young people in master classes there now.

Music in this episode (all performed by Thomas Hampson):

• Three Songs Op. 10: No. 1, Rain Has Fallen by Samuel Barber
• Sechs Lieder aus "Lotosblatter," Op. 19, 6 Mein Herz ist stumm, mein Herz ist kalt by Richard Strauss
• Vier Lieder, Op. 27: 3. Heimliche Aufforderung by Richard Strauss.

Audio production by Todd "Toddsong" Hulslander with editing by Mark DiClaudio and lipsyncing by Dacia Clay. Thanks to the Music Academy of the West for their help with these interviews, especially to Emma Levine and Kate Oberjat, who's quite frankly, done a lot.

In our second annual Classical Classroom Summer Music Festival Series, we hit the (sound)waves at the Music Academy of the West in sunny Santa Barbara, California!

Laugh all you want at the viola – Cynthia Phelps, the New York Philharmonic's Principal Viola, ignores the haters. She doesn't even bother to hold up a hand and tell them to talk to it. She just produces beautiful music on the viola and lets it speak for itself. In the fourth installment of our MAW series, learn all about the viola, why people make fun of it, and why they are wrong, so wrong. Phelps introduces us to the instrument's repertoire, and talks about what she's been doing to spread the gospel of the viola at the Music Academy of the West this summer.

Music in this episode:

• Duo for Violin and Viola in G, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Performed by the Grumiaux Trio. Philips.
• String Quintet Op. 39 in A minor, Alexander Glazunov. Performed by Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble. Chandos.
• Harold in Italy, Hector Berlioz. New York Philharmonic (Cynthia Phelps, viola), Lorin Maazel conducting. Deutsche Grammophon.
• Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, Ralph Vaughan Williams. Performed by New Zealand Symphony Orchestral, James Judd conducting. Naxos.
• Concert Piece for Viola and Piano, George Enescu. Cynthia Phelps, viola; Judith Gordon, piano. Cala Records.

Audio production by Todd "Two-Bit" Hulslander with staying gold by Dacia Clay and assistance from Mark DiClaudio. Thanks to the Music Academy for their help with this series, and special thanks to Kate Oberjat (oh-bur-yacht) who we appreciate a lot. Thanks also to Cynthia Phelps' manager, Elizabeth Dworkin, and to Pamela Walsh at the New York Philharmonic for their help.

In our second annual Classical Classroom Summer Music Festival Series, we hit the (sound)waves at the Music Academy of the West in sunny Santa Barbara, California!

The third installment of our MAW series features composer, conductor, and pianist, Matthew Aucoin. Aucoin is a resident at that Music Academy of the West, and a sort of serial residentialist elsewhere (like the Peabody Essex Museum and soon, the Los Angeles Opera). He talks about what a "residency" is, and how it informs a composer's creative process; plus, he gives us a sample of what he's been busy creating while at the Music Academy.

Music in this episode:

• Selections from Matthew Aucoin's Second Nature, performed at the Music Academy of the West

Audio production by Todd "The Bartered Todd" Hulslander with pirouettes by Dacia Clay and assistance from Mark DiClaudio. Thanks to the Music Academy for their help with this series, and special thanks to Kate Oberjat (oh-bur-yacht) without whom this series simply would not.

In our second annual Classical Classroom Summer Music Festival Series, we hit the (sound)waves at the Music Academy of the West in sunny Santa Barbara, California!

The second installment of our MAW series features trumpet player, performance coach, and educator, Bill Williams. Williams initially spent his career as principal trumpet for orchestras like San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Barcelona. But when performances began to induce anxieties and other distractions, he started seeking ways to regain focus. As it turns out, Bill wasn't alone: many musicians perform in spite of the fear of doing so. Williams' research led him to meet sport psychologist Dr. Don Greene. Eventually, Williams honed a series of techniques to help improve musicians' focus, and with it, their performance. In this episode, Williams talks all about common mental blocks that come up for classical musicians and how he now spends much of his time helping people overcome them, one psychological bear at a time.

Music in this episode:

• "Pipeline" as recorded by the Ventures
• Glen Gould: Bach Goldberg Variations
• San Francisco Symphony Mahler Symphony No. 5

Audio production by Todd "Triple Lutz" Hulslander with perfect landing by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio. Many thanks to the Music Academy for their help with this series – especially to Kate Oberjat, whose name rhymes with "clover yacht," and who has helped us an awful lot.

It's time for the second annual Classical Classroom Summer Music Festival Series! This year, we hit the (sound)waves at the Music Academy of the West in sunny Santa Barbara, California.

In the first installment of our MAW series, pianist Jeremy Denk talks about teaching the enormousness of Beethoven to young artists, ragging classical music, whether or not classical music today exists outside the bounds of style, and about what makes the Music Academy of the West unique to him. Throughout the MAW Summer Series, we'll also hear from the Academy's president and CEO Scott Reed, faculty clarinet Richie Hawley, and viola fellow Matthew Sinno about the festival experience from their perspectives. It's going to be rad.

Check out this slideshow of the ridiculously gorgeous campus upon which the Music Academy of the West lives.

Music in this episode:

• "Pipeline" as recorded by the Ventures
• "Pilgrims Chorus," Tannhäuser, Wagner. (from Youtube)
• From Jeremy Denk's recital:
  • Stravinsky, Piano-Rag-Music
  • Byrd, The Passinge Mesures: the Nynthe Pavian
• From My Ladye Nevells Booke of Virginal Music
  • Lambert, "Pilgrim's Chorus" from Tannhäuser (after Wagner)
  • Bach, English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808, Gigue
• Mozart Gigue In G Major, K 574
• Tea For Two by Art Tatum

Audio production by Todd "Two-Shirts" Hulslander with overlording by Dacia Clay.

Thanks to the Music Academy of the West for their help with this series, especially to Kate Oberjat, the coolest coordinator in the West, for her assistance with basically everything.

How strange (and awesome) it is to be Jherek Bischoff at all. This composer, arranger, performer, and producer began his musical journey playing prog rock on bass guitar. After spending years of his youth on a boat, which his family sailed around the world playing music with locals as they went, he toured and recorded with indie rock and experimental bands. Then one day, he heard a piece of classical music that changed his life forever. Suddenly, he found himself composing for chamber groups and orchestras, learning a whole new musical and cultural language. Hear all about his journey into classical music, his interview with Terry Gross, and his new album (which was born inside of a cistern), in this episode.

Music in this episode from Bischoff's upcoming album Cistern (release: July 15, 2016). For more about his new album, visit www.jherekbischoff.com

Audio production by Todd "Tiramisu" Hulslander with doggy paddling by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio.

Thanks to George Heathco for the MusicWorks theme music. For more about his music: www.soundcloud.com/george-heathco

Video games have come a long way since Pong, and so has their music. The electronic bleeps and blorps of ye olden days have evolved into composed musical scores that have their own fans and are performed by major symphony orchestras nationwide. Final Fantasy, one such game with a musical score that – as illustrated in this episode – draws on the classical music tradition, will soon be performed (again) by the Houston Symphony. Lesley Sabol, Director of Popular Programming at the Houston Symphony, and Joshua Zinn, content producer and host at Houston Public Media, talk about the relevance of video game programs for symphony orchestras and their audiences, and the evolution of video game music; plus, hear examples of Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu's classical music knowledge and influences.

The Houston Symphony will perform Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasyon July 23, 2016. To find out more, check out their website.

Audio production for this episode by Todd "Toddo" Hulslander with kansatsu by Dacia Clay.

Music in this episode:

• "Final Fantasy Prelude" and "Dancing Mad," from Distant Worlds II: More Music from Final Fantasy)
• Bach Preludes (No. 1 and 3), performed by Tzvi Erez
• Bombing Mission and The Gold Saucer, from the original soundtrack for Final Fantasy VII, by Nobuo Uematsu
• "Chocobo" theme from Final Fantasy XII from the original soundtrack composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto
• Bach Trio Super, from Bach in the Back Bay, performed by Bálint Karosi
• The Place I'll Return to Someday, from original soundtrack for Final Fantasy IX, by Nobuo Uematsu
• Fantasia by Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi, from YouTube video posted by Ernst Stolz
• Live opera music from Final Fantasy VI: Grand Finale performed by Milan Symphony Orchestra; aria performed by Svetla Krasteva
• "Casta Diva" performed by Maria Callas and the Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, led by Tulio Serafin
• Sleeping Beauty Waltz performed by CSR Symphony Orchestra (now known as the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra)
• Duel from Eugene Onegin performed by the Orchestre de Paris with conductor Semyon Bychkov
• Bacchanale by Jacques Ibert, performed by L'Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux with conductor Yutaka Sado
• Orchestral version of "One-Winged Angel" from Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy

Note: In the opening of this episode, I promised to post a certain photo, but my dad is still searching for it! It's coming soon to our social media. Pinky swear. – Dacia

When you hear the music of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, pretty much the last thing that comes to mind is self-doubt (Hello?! The man wrote actual cannons into his music!). But as conductor Mei-Ann Chenexplains, the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture took him years to write because he was deeply self-critical. And his opinionated mentor, Mily Balakirev, didn't help the situation. Learn all about Tchaikovsky's creative process and about one of the most romantic pieces of music ever written in this episode.

Music in this episode:

• Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Claudio Abbado conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Audio production by Todd "Toddkovsky" Hulslander with very bad ballet dancing by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio.

Mei-Ann Chen was in Houston for the Texas Music Festival, which continues through July 2nd. For more information, visit their website.