Movement Zero

Are you morally corruptible? Have you explored the darkest corners of your human nature? Composers Du Yun and Kate Soper explore these questions in their magnificent respective operas, Angel's Bone and Here Be Sirens. We'll find out what makes these recently composed pieces so great, and why they might not be getting the attention they deserve.

Musical theater is often considered quite separate from "classical" music - it's taught in different degree programs, shown in different theaters, and written about it different magazines. But Stephen Sondheim is one of those tricky artists that somehow transcends those boundaries. Sondheim - who, by all accounts, is a musical theater composer - has had his work performed by some of the world's great orchestras, and has been hailed as the closest American equivalent to the European opera composers of bygone centuries. 

Widespread popularity is standard for Broadway musicals and their composers - but the elite approval isn't. Join us the week as we sort through what sets Sondheim apart from the pack.

The Movement Zero crew sits down to talk about art, music, and our personal journeys through that landscape - this time, featuring the voices you don't normally hear: our lead producer Bobby Conselatore, and our graphic designer, Carlos Pacheco-Perez.

Rap is a lot older than you think. In this episode we explore the genre's roots that might stretch back as for as the origins of language itself.

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, many of us are already anticipating

the smells, tastes, and familiar sights of a classic family feast. But what

does Thanksgiving sound like? When you think of family - what music do you

hear? 

In the inaugural episode of our recurring Artist Confessionals series, we

ask three different artists to ruminate on that question.

Michael Jackson and Richard Wagner: the King of Pop and the King of Opera. Both were great artists who left indelible marks on their respective genres, but they share something else in common too - a questionable ethical record. How does the personal character of the artist this change the way we experience their art? Join us as we explore that question.

We're closing out our coverage of the Aspen Music Festival and School with an episode on their season finale, a rare performance of Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. Both the composer and the fictional main character of the piece were passionate, larger than life characters - and The Damnation of Faust is a testament. This massive work, scored for a large orchestra and choir with four soloists, is sure to bring home Aspen's 2017 season with monumental force.

We're continuing our summer coverage of music festivals with another concert from Aspen! This week, the Chamber Symphony will be performing Ravel's operetta Les Enfants et les Sortileges, a cautionary tale about a young boy in his room. The fine libretto by French author Colette intertwines perfectly with Ravel's wonky yet beautiful score to create a surreal alternate reality in which  time-out is not so simple.

The music festival season has started, and we're covering one of the most interesting programs of the summer - the Aspen Music Festival and School's opening concert. The Aspen Chamber Symphony will perform four pieces by four of classical music's most important composers, and in this episode we'll trace the legacy of their influence.

Gustav Mahler was a man for big ideas, big questions. In his Symphony No. 2, the "Resurrection" symphony, he explores one of the greatest questions of all - what comes after death? Join Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra this weekend as they follow Mahler into the mystery of the afterlife.