Classical Post

For conductor and baritone Malcolm J. Merriweather, artistic inspiration has largely sprung from asking questions related to his identity. What role does his work as a Black musician play within the larger tapestry of music history? Who are the artists of the past who contributed to the legacy he's inherited today?

As director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus and music director of the Dessoff Choirs, Merriweather spends his days bringing to life great choral works from the Renaissance through the 21st century. But two composers — who happened to live 400 years apart — have proved his primary focus over the past several years: Margaret Bonds, a contributor to the Harlem Renaissance; and Vicente Lusitano, an Afro-Portuguese musician who's considered the first published Black composer.

Merriweather has led the Dessoff Choirs in performances of both composers' music, oftentimes programming their work alongside that of their contemporaries. Which, in the case of Lusitano, includes Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, and Giovanni Palestrina — who also happens to be an important figure in the ensemble's early history.

"It's part of the Dessoff Choirs' mission to bring underperformed and underrepresented music and composers to the concert stage," Merriweather says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "That's been part of our mission since our founding in 1924 by Margarete Dessoff, a German Jewish immigrant. At that time, she was bringing the music of Palestrina to this country, which had never been heard here."

In this episode, Merriweather and I talk more about his relationship to Margaret Bonds's music, and how his critically acclaimed recordings of her songs led him to London to hear Lusitano's works for the first time. Plus, he shares how the act of baking nourishes his mind and body, why he has to make his bed first thing in the morning, and his favorite restaurant in Harlem for American-Senagalese fusion cuisine.

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As busy as composer Anna Clyne is this season — fulfilling commissions for new works and serving as a resident artist with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, and the Symphony Orchestra of Castilla y León — music accounts for a fraction of her artistic inspiration.

That's because the Grammy-nominated British composer thrives on incorporating many creative disciplines outside of music into her work. Reviewing a roster of her recent engagements, you'll find critically acclaimed collaborations with visual artist Josh Dorman, filmmaker Jyll Bradley, and choreographers from London's Royal Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet.

Clyne's immersive approach to music-making offers audiences new entry points for experiencing new music and understanding classical music's relationship to other branches of the arts. "Success for me is about reaching audiences," she says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "My role as a composer is to create something as beautiful as I can and to share that. When people come back with a piece that's been very moving for them, I feel I've been successful in sharing something with the world. That's a very humbling feeling."

In this conversation, we discuss her ongoing partnership with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, how a Mark Rothko painting inspired her orchestral work Color Field, and the ways a lifelong love of literature is helping her to write an opera on the life of Emily Dickinson. Plus, Clyne discusses her wellness practices — from drawing and Japanese calligraphy to long walks with her adopted pup Penny — the joy of ending a long day with a Negroni, and her favorite place for classic steak frites in New York City.

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When most orchestras commission a new work, they usually ask the composer to produce music that fits on a standard concert program, like a 10-minute overture or a 45-minute symphony.

But when BBC Earth approached composers Adam Lukas and James Everingham — along with the two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer — to compose the score for its latest nature documentary series, Frozen Planet II, the show's producers needed six hours of music. Even for this trio of seasoned composers, that's a tall order to fill.

Besides creating a sonic universe to accompany Frozen Planet II's icy, snow-capped visuals, these composers had to help fulfill the show's core mission: introducing viewers not only to the daily lives of polar bears, penguins, and snow monkeys — but also the ways climate change is compounding the difficulties they face surviving in the coldest regions of the world.

"The series is tackling the issue of the climate crisis," Lukas says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "We knew we wanted to tell the stories of the animals in their habitats in a way that helps people connect with them and care about them in a genuine way. That's something Hans has spent his career being the best at."

In this episode, I sit down with Lukas and Everingham to discuss the process of creating the series's score — which involved more than 100 people working for three years while navigating lockdown restrictions. They also share stories about collaborating with the legendary Zimmer, the magical time they spent in the studio with the Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora, and how they define success.

Frozen Planet II is available to stream in the U.S. on Prime Video, Vudu, and Apple TV.

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Composer Steven Mackey has come a long way since his teenage years studying physics at the University of California, Davis, and learning blues-rock riffs on his guitar.

Today Mackey stands as a celebrated composer and electric guitarist whose work is regularly performed by orchestras around the world — including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony, and the Boston Symphony. He's taught composition at Princeton University for nearly 40 years and has served as a composer in residence at the Curtis Institute of Music, Tanglewood, and the Aspen Music Festival.

On his latest album, Beautiful Passing, Mackey brings together two works inspired by personal experiences that deeply informed his views on memory, life, and death: Mnemosyne’s Pool, which Musical America called "the first great American symphony of the 21st century"; and Beautiful Passing, a violin concerto Mackey composed after watching his mother pass away from cancer.

Despite the presence of death woven throughout both works, Mackey made sure to find moments for levity and humor in his music. "Part of death is a farewell to this joyous life and the energetic people my parents were," Mackey says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "There's a depth of emotion that music is really uniquely suited for. Where words are a struggle to come by, music bypasses those language centers and gives you a direct emotional response."

In this episode, we talk more about the new album, and Mackey shares the profoundly moving story of his mother's death and how it influenced Beautiful Passing's title. Plus, he discusses the parallels he sees between filmmaking, cooking, and composition, and his go-to spot for Italian food on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Listen to Beautiful Passing on Spotify, Apple Music, Idagio, or wherever you stream and download music.

After years spent touring the world with pop and jazz legends like Julio Iglesias and Babik Reinhardt, pianist Chad Lawson was hungry to find a more intimate avenue for his curiosity and creativity. So he began composing short, ethereal works for solo piano, several of which made their way onto his debut album, 2009's Set on a Hill.

Although he began composing as a way to find quiet calm after years on the road, Lawson quickly saw the effect his music had on people all over the globe. He received countless emails from listeners who had found in Lawson's album the solace they needed to deal with hardships in their personal lives. And in the 15 years since that flood of emails began, Lawson has grown a devoted fan base. His music has received more than 500 million streams, and every week 60,000 people listen to his podcast, Calm It Down.

On his most recent album, breathe, it's clear Lawson has forged a career that's less concerned with his popularity as an artist and more about helping people improve their emotional and mental health.

"breathe is meant to invite people to be OK with what we've been through — be it the last two years, the last two hours, the last two decades — and to find that place where we can kind of exhale everything we've been carrying with us that we no longer need," he says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast.

"It's not about Chad Lawson. It's about creating a platform that allows healing for people and what they're going through."

In this episode we talk more about the new album, and Lawson shares profound insights into the creative process behind his music. He also talks more about the marriage of music and mental health, the ways Transcendental Meditation helps him quiet his racing mind, and his favorite Brooklyn pastry shop for what he calls "the best donuts on the planet."

Listen to breathe wherever you stream or download music.

I'm always curious how many frequent flier miles composers rack up in a year. That's because, to hear a new work performed live, they need to travel to where the concerts are happening. And often times that's major cultural hubs like New York City, London, Berlin, or Tokyo.

But an inventive project from harpist Emily Levin is bringing composers much closer to their home turf. GroundWork(s), which Levin founded in 2022, is commissioning 52 composers — one from each of the 50 states, plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico — to write new works for the harp. But what makes GroundWork(s) unique is that each piece receives its premiere in the composer's hometown, showcasing the artistry of the composers in the cities that first inspired and supported them.

For the third GroundWork(s) commission, Levin tapped Puerto Rico–born composer Angélica Negrón, currently the composer-in-residence with the Dallas Symphony, where Levin is also the principal harp. Negrón's new work for violin, cello, harp, and electronics, Ave del paraíso, takes its inspiration from the Bird of Paradise and even includes field recordings of birds native to Puerto Rico. 

For Negrón, the GroundWork(s) project represents the first time she's received a premiere in her hometown of San Juan. In addition to having family and friends be among the first to hear a work of hers performed, Negrón also saw the premiere earlier this year as a unique opportunity to dissolve the borders often placed between musicians and the audience.

In this episode, I talk more with Levin and Negrón about how the San Juan premiere came together and what's next for GroundWork(s) in the coming months. Plus, Levin shares her fascinating strategy for engaging audiences with new music by putting the focus not on the music — but on the people involved in the creative process.

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Few classical musicians have an IMDb page as extensive as composer-pianist Volker Bertelmann.

In addition to the experimental piano music he composes and performs under the moniker Hauschka, Bertelmann is one of the most prolific film composers at work today. Over the past 15 years, he's scored nearly 60 films and television shows — including titles featuring megawatt stars like Nicole Kidman and Benedict Cumberbatch.

But even with those credits, Bertelmann knew it would be difficult composing the score for Netflix's new World War I epic All Quiet on the Western Front. He would need to establish a musical atmosphere that could take viewers from the optimistic enthusiasm felt at the start of the war to the bleak despair experienced by millions of soldiers trapped in trenches on the front lines. Bertelmann was up for the challenge.

"My life philosophy is that your lifetime is there for you to grow," he says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "And you can only grow if you're challenged — finding solutions, another path. I'm a big fan of that. It keeps you flexible."

Bertelmann's work has certainly paid off. Earlier this year, he won the BAFTA Film Award for his score to All Quiet ..., and just last month he took home an Oscar for best original score.

In this episode — recorded before his trophy wins — we talk more about the development of his award-winning score and the ways modern dance and architecture inspire his creativity. Plus, Bertelmann shares the facial toner he can't live without and his favorite Manhattan restaurant for, interestingly enough, Shaker-inspired early American cuisine.

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⁠⁠⁠Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Pianist Zsolt Bognár had a light-bulb moment while building his first artist website in 2012. What if, instead of short clips of his performances — something every pianist publishes on their website — he interviewed his musician friends about their craft and careers?

Inspired by Bognár's love for Bravo's Inside the Actor's Studio, the first iteration of the web series that would become Living the Classical Life was born. And more than a decade later, it has grown into an incredibly popular, award-winning show that's featured the best of the best in the classical music world.

With more than three million views on YouTube alone, Bognár's in-depth conversations with the likes of Daniil Trifonov, Yuja Wang, Joyce DiDonato, Lisa Batiashvilli, and Susanna Mällki illuminate the inner world of classical musicians — revealing the passions, fears, and rewards that fuel their lives in music.

To find success in today's content-saturated landscape, Bognár knew he would need to build a network of like-minded professionals who could support his vision for Living the Classical Life not only as a creative outlet, but as a business venture. That's a perspective he hopes to impart on anyone seeking advice on launching a new project.

"Seek out people who you are really on the same wavelength with," Bognár shares on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast, "or you may not have the same values that can connect you with others you'll resonate with. This is a world of business, as much as we don't like to think in those terms. Identify the people whose qualities you trust."

In this episode, Bognár and I talk more about the early days of Living the Classical Life — when it was simply called Zsolt Bognár and Friends — as well as the mix of hard work, luck, and opportunity that helped the show take off, and the importance of strategic introductions, no matter your industry.

Full disclosure: I have a very close relationship with Living the Classical Life. I'm a member of the Board of Directors and have regularly advised Bognár on the show's branding, outreach, and marketing over the past 10 years. It's been my absolute pleasure to see how Living the Classical Life has grown over the past decade, and I hope this deep dive into the show's evolution inspires you in your own creative journeys.

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⁠⁠⁠Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

After more than two decades as one of New York City's busiest freelance oboists, James Roe decided to pivot his career.

He packed up his oboe case, reed knife, and metronome to take on leadership positions at two of the ensembles he had regularly performed with. First he spent two years as president and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, before moving into his current role as president and executive director of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, where he's been since 2015.

How did 25 years of performing in symphony orchestras prepare him to lead one himself? For Roe, his seat in the oboe section gave him a strategic vantage point — one that allowed him to see thousands of concerts play out on the faces of audience members in real time.

"You could see when something was hitting, that look in someone's eye that meant the music was meaningful to them," Roe says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "I've taken that into my leadership role because it shows that, as musicians and musical organizations, our mission is not fulfilled on stage — that's only the beginning. The mission is fulfilled in the hearts, minds, ears, and spirits of people in the audience."

At the helm of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Roe oversees more than 70 concerts per season in 20 venues across New York City, as well as a host of education and community programs that help make classical music more accessible for every New Yorker. And through it all, Roe's guiding principle is to ensure "the audience is the focus of everything we do."

In this episode, we talk more about the Orchestra of St. Luke's current season — including the Carnegie Hall premiere of Florence Price's Piano Quintet with Marc-André Hamelin and the third year of the ensemble's DeGaetano Composition Institute, where three emerging composers work with composer-mentor Anna Clyne on new pieces to be premiered by OSL.

Plus, Roe shares how reading during his daily commute supports his well-being, the inspiration he gets from the "wonderful crackle of anticipation" before a concert begins, and his favorite Manhattan restaurant when he's craving Basque cuisine.

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

In business, marketing strategies often revolve around defining your ideal customer. What specific interests and demographics do they represent? The more specific you are in your targeting, the better.

But Time for Three proves just how wrong that approach to building an audience can be. Performing their unique blend of Americana, modern pop, and classical music, the acclaimed string trio has grown a large fan base that defies demographics — people who are just as likely to listen to Brahms as bluegrass and the Beatles.

And now the members of Time for Three — violinists Charles Yang and Nick Kendall and bassist Ranaan Meyer — are celebrating their latest achievement: a Grammy Award for Letters for the Future, the Deutsche Grammophon album they recorded last year with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

For Yang, the nominations carry a comforting sense of validation. "As a group as eclectic, and unique, and weird as we are, we've had to swim upstream at times in this industry. So this was a nice way of saying, finally: What we're doing is right, and we went with our heart."

In this episode of the Classical Post podcast, the members of Time for Three and I talk more about the album and the Olympic training mindset that helped them thrive while recording Letters for the Future in Philly. Plus, they share how therapy sessions can often serve as creative sessions and their picks for the best Thai and Japanese food in Manhattan.

Listen to Letters for the Future on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever you stream and download music.

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.