Classically Speaking

One year ago how many of us would have predicted that our spring would be filled with meetings and social calls over video-conference? Even happy hour, the perennial post-work get-together has been transferred, in many cases to Zoom and Google Hangouts. As Classically Speaking continues to document these unprecedented times, it felt like the right moment to consult an expert in happy hours.

Harpist Kirsten Agresta Copley is experienced with these situations, and gave her advice for transferring them to the digital world. She, like so many musicians, is looking forward to being with a live audience once again. But she's also been working to translate as much of her work as possible to an online format.

A dispatch from social isolation with musician Matthew Phelps. 

While the English horn and the French horn couldn’t be much more different as instruments, the Nashville Symphony has given both their time to shine, thanks to the talents of Roger Wiesmeyer and Leslie Norton. Norton answers the audience’s most burning questions about the French horn. And Wiesmeyer describes making peace with the oboe and English horn’s inherent quirks. Both players do so through the lens of stunning pieces of solo playing from recent seasons.

Hear something new in this mixtape of performances from Live in Studio C. Classical meets jazz in four very different ways, as local artists bring the crossover. Performances by guitarist Richard Todd, Duo Versal, Avila Joy Strings, and the Tachoir Duo. Music by Frederic Hand, Paulo Olivera, Melanie Alvey, and the Tachoir Duo.

To celebrate the bicentennial of one of the most important musicians of the Romantic era, 91Classical held a two-week festival of concerts, broadcasts, and storytelling in her honor. Join Vanderbilt history professor Jim Lovensheimer to learn all about the remarkable life of Clara Schumann in a special two-part episode.

To celebrate the bicentennial of one of the most important musicians of the Romantic era, 91Classical held a two-week festival of concerts, broadcasts, and storytelling in her honor. Join Vanderbilt history professor Jim Lovensheimer to learn all about the remarkable life of Clara Schumann in a special two-part episode. 

On the eve of a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Piano Concerto No.1” pianist Stephen Hough finds the fire in the piece – implied by the seven times the composer indicates it should be played “con fuoco” (“with fire”). Hough even describes how the pianist chooses which instrument to play on a givenweekend, anddescribes playing it on Queen Victoria’s piano at Royal Albert Hall.

When Rhiannon Giddens returned to Nashville to accept the Legacy Award from the Americana Association in thefall of 2019she once again spoke with Classically Speaking. This time she gave exclusive insight into her recent album with FrancescoTurrisi“There is no Other,” as well as a sneak peek at her upcoming opera about Quran scholar Omar Ibn Said.

Looped and layered rhythmic lines give Cristina Spinei’s music an amazing amount of motion. This is what has put her work in demand with choreographers. For Nashville Public Radio’s Podcast Party, Spinei wrote a brand new piece of music, which was choreographed by Nashville Ballet company member Gerald Watson. Hear the full piece, and what drew Cristina to Nashville in the first place. Edited by Anita Bugg. Engineered by Carl Pedersen and Cameron Adkins. Recorded live at Nashville’s Children’s Theatre. Includes the world premiere of “In Between” by Cristina Spinei, performed by Alicia Enstrom and Sari Reist. Other music includes “Bootleg Sugar Lips” and “Relics” by Cristina Spinei.