Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

By Joshua Weilerstein

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What's Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast about?

Sticky Notes is a classical music podcast for everyone. Whether you are a beginner just looking to get into classical music but don't know where to start, or a seasoned musician interested in the lives and ideas of your fellow artists, this podcast is for you. The show will feature interviews with the top artists of today, in-depth looks at specific pieces from the repertoire, and deep dives into each era of classical music, plus much more.

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10 Pieces You Never Heard B...

02.13.2020

I once was talking with a conductor about Beethoven's 8th symphony. He made a comment that stuck with me ever since: "this symphony is Opus 93, but I always want to know what was Opus 94, and we never hear ...

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast episodes:

02.20.2020 Ten Pieces You've Never Heard By The Biggest Names In Classical Music (Part 2) (Part 2 is composers 6-10: Dvorak, Sibelius, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Rachmaninoff) I once was talking with a conductor about Beethoven's 8th symphony. He made a comment that stuck with me ever since: "this symphony is Opus 93, but I always ...
02.13.2020 10 Pieces You Never Heard By The Biggest Names in Classical Music (Part 1) I once was talking with a conductor about Beethoven's 8th symphony. He made a comment that stuck with me ever since: "this symphony is Opus 93, but I always want to know what was Opus 94, and we never hear ...
02.06.2020 How to Be A Film Composer, with Christopher Willis This week I was joined by the wonderful composer Christopher Willis for a wide ranging and fascinating conversation. Willis, who wrote the music for The Death Of Stalin, Mickey Mouse Shorts, Veep, and the new movie the Personal History of ...
01.30.2020 Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 Rachmaninoff remains extremely popular as a composer. But at the same time, a kind of condescending attitude continues to linger about Rachmaninoff’s music. People say it sounds like movie music, it's too sentimental, etc. etc. In fact, Rachmaninoff’s music is ...
01.23.2020 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, (Part 2) It's at the end of the second movement of this symphony that it truly leaves convention, if it was ever there in the first place! Traditionally the 3rd movement of a symphony would either be a slow movement or a ...
01.16.2020 Season 6 Premiere: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, Part 1 A bit of a preamble is necessary here: devotees of the podcast will know that I’ve already done an episode on Tchaikovsky 6. Looking back though, I realized that a short episode was just not nearly enough to go through ...
01.09.2020 What Does a Conductor Really Do? (Re-Broadcast) One more week until Season 6! For now, let's look back at one more episode. People are often fascinated when I tell them what I do for a living. When it comes down to it, I always seem to get ...
12.26.2019 Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker (Re-Broadcast) What is there to say about this ubiquitous holiday classic? Quite a lot, actually! This week's show will delve into the complicated process that brought the ballet to life, the not so successful premiere, and the brilliant and characteristic music ...
12.20.2019 How to Understand and Enjoy Atonal Music(Re-Broadcast) Since its first appearances in the early 1900s, atonal music has been one of the most polarizing topics in the classical music world. Some people believed that atonal music was the only way forward, while some thought that it would ...
12.12.2019 Bach Cello Suites (Re-Broadcast) The Bach Cello Suites represent the apex of the path of every cellist. On this show, previously aired January 3, 2019, we go through the history of the Suites, including their disappearance, rediscovery, and now ubiquity. We'll then look at ...
12.05.2019 Schubert Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished" (Season 5 Finale) There are many reasons why Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony remains a mystery to this day. It’s unfinished form, it’s unusual way of coming into public consciousness, and probably most importantly, the character of the music itself, which seems to inhabit a ...
11.27.2019 Immigrant Composers from Dvorak to Waxman to Bartok A couple of weeks ago I promised you a Thanksgiving show on American music. I also realized that this will be my second Thanksgiving NOT living in the US, and it got me thinking about the immigration story of my ...
11.21.2019 Brahms Violin Concerto This week we have a Patreon-sponsored episode looking at the Brahms Violin Concerto. This is a piece inextricably linked with the great violinist Joseph Joachim. We'll talk all about the genesis of the concerto, and the lively back and forth ...
11.14.2019 6 More Living Composers You Need to Know About It was over 100 episodes ago when I took you through a list of 10 great living composers. We’re going to be doing a similar thing this week, with a brand new, fresh list of 6 great living composers. Once ...
11.07.2019 Mozart Piano Concerto in C Minor, K. 491 Imagine writing a concerto that prompted Beethoven to remark to a friend: “we’ll never be able to write anything like that." That's what you get with Mozart's C Minor concerto, a piece that could be said without hyperbole to be ...
10.31.2019 Haydn Symphony No. 94, "Surprise" This week we explore Haydn's most famous symphony, the "Surprise." We'll also compare "Historically Informed" and "old-school" performance practice. Often Haydn is thought of as someone who is not taken as seriously as Mozart or Beethoven. But I continue to ...
10.24.2019 Classical Music Changemakers: Garrett McQueen Garrett hosts the nationally syndicated radio show Music Through the Night, is a bassoonist, and also hosts his own podcast, called Trilloquy. If you’ve ever wondered how radio playlists are created, this is the episode for you. In this conversation ...
10.22.2019 Classical Music Changemakers Week: Aubrey Bergauer + Lorenzo Brewer This week, I'm interviewing 3 people who are making real change in the classical music business. Today, I talk with Aubrey Bergauer, the former Executive Director of the California Symphony, and Lorenzo Brewer, the founder of Nkoda, the Spotify of ...
10.17.2019 West Side Story: Symphonic Dances There is perhaps no more iconic musical than West Side Story. The team of Bernstein, Sondheim, Laurents, and Robbins collaborated on a show that combined humor and menace and love and violence in a way that revolutionized the stage. The ...
10.10.2019 Stravinsky: The Firebird (Re-broadcast) Due to family reasons, Sticky Notes is off this week, but don't worry, we'll be back next week! In the meantime, enjoy this look back at Stravinsky's magical Firebird, the piece that rocketed Stravinsky to celebrity and is still a ...
10.03.2019 Bach Transformed Throughout the centuries since Bach's death, composers have grappled with the mastery and the mystery of his music. Many composers have tried their hands at arranging or transcribing Bach's music, so this week we'll discuss works like Brahms' reimagining of ...
09.26.2019 The Music of Christopher Rouse (1949-2019) The classical music world was rocked this week by the passing of the American composer Christopher Rouse. Rouse was one of the most powerful voices of our time, writing music that combined visceral energy with deep emotional intensity. Chris was ...
09.19.2019 Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 (Part 2) It can be difficult to separate Shostakovich's 5th from his political situation, but focusing only on the politics can lead us to ignore some of the most searingly powerful music of the 20th century in favor focusing only on the ...
09.12.2019 Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 (Part 1) Shostakovich's 5th symphony has always been indelibly associated with politics and Shostakovich's traumatic experiences with Joseph Stalin. But what about the music itself? This week, we'll look at the first two movements of this symphony, including the massive and innovative ...
09.05.2019 Beethoven Symphony No. 4 Robert Schumann called Beethoven's 4th symphony “a slender Grecian maiden between two Nordic giants.” It's true that the 4th is a much lighter and brighter piece than the 3rd and 5th symphonies that surround it, but its charm, wit, and ...
08.29.2019 Sticky Notes Does Fantasia This week we're going to take a look at 7 pieces that represent perfect starting points for those interested in beginning their journey with classical music. If you are a regular listener, don't worry - these 7 pieces are all ...
08.22.2019 Brahms Symphony No. 2 This week we take a look at a symphony that has been called both "sunny and bucolic" and "tragic and full of shadow." What accounts for these differences of opinions about such a beloved symphony? We'll explore all of the ...
08.15.2019 How to Understand Atonal Music Part 2: The Musical Cold War of the 1950s This week we're focusing on the 1950s and the musical cold war between composers of the total serialist school like Boulez, Babbitt, and Carter, and the tonalists like Copland and Bernstein. Caught in the middle of pitched battles over the ...
08.08.2019 Schumann Symphony No. 2 Schumann's Symphony No. 2 expresses a journey of redemption like perhaps no other symphony. It begins in the depths of Schumann's physical and mental breakdown of 1842, and ends in grateful thanks for his recovery. Whatever tragedies Schumann experienced later, ...
08.01.2019 Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3, "Scottish" From the ruins of the Holyrood Chapel in Scotland, Mendelssohn found his inspiration for an epic symphony. This week, we'll explore this beautiful piece, discussing its genesis, Mendelssohn's journey through Scotland, and the unusual structure of the work. We'll also ...
07.25.2019 Barber Adagio for Strings This week we explore one of the most popular, and most misunderstood, pieces of the 20th century. Barber's Adagio has been called "The Saddest Music Ever Written," and yet portraying sadness was never Barber's intention in writing the piece. It ...
07.18.2019 How to Understand (and enjoy!) Atonal Music Since its first appearances in the early 1900s, atonal music has been one of the most polarizing topics in the classical music world. Some people believed that atonal music was the only way forward, while some thought that it would ...
07.11.2019 Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 In 1857, Brahms wrote to his friend Joseph Joachim about his first Piano Concerto, saying, “ “I have no judgment about this piece anymore, nor any control over it.” The piece is one that probably has more emotional backstory than ...
07.04.2019 Bruckner Symphony No. 7 On this week's Patreon-sponsored episode, we explore the 7th symphony of Anton Bruckner, who has not come up at all in over 100 episodes of the show! We'll talk all about how Bruckner's devotion to his faith and to Wagner ...
06.27.2019 Sticky Notes Mailbag! At long last, it's the Sticky Notes mailbag! I'm joined by a special guest to answer around 20 questions such as, "What is the best way to learn how to compose?" or "Is there a simple explanation in classical music ...
06.13.2019 Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132 (Part 2) This week we're diving into one of the great movements ever written in Western Music with the slow movement of Beethoven's Op. 132 quartet. This is a movement that explores Beethoven's contradictory religious beliefs, his core optimism despite all that ...
06.06.2019 Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132 (Part 1) I’ve long hesitated to write about any of Beethoven’s late string quartets. These are pieces that every quartet grapples with. They explore not only every conceivable emotion, but they dig down into the core of those emotions and dare to ...
05.30.2019 10 MORE Pieces You've Never Heard, But Have To Listen To! This week on Sticky Notes, we're going back on a musical archeological expedition and discovering 10 more under-appreciated, underrated, and under-played works of the past and present. We'll look at composers like Janacek, Martinu, Kapralova, Beach, and Bonds among others, ...
05.23.2019 Mozart Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter" Why explore two Mozart symphonies in the span of one month? Well, both the Prague and Jupiter symphonies show us different sides of Mozart's genius, and so this week we'll look at the Jupiter symphony in the context of Mozart's ...
05.16.2019 Forces of War Unleashed: Shostakovich String Quartet No. 3 This week we explore one of the great string quartets of the 20th century. It is a piece that was written in the wake of World War II, and reflects the turmoil and uncertainty of a composer asking the deepest ...
05.09.2019 American Maverick: The Music of Charles Ives Charles Ives was one of the most innovative, dynamic, creative, and underrated American composers. Described as half Huck Finn, half Thomas Jefferson, Ives tackled a dizzying array of styles in his music, from avant-garde music 50 years ahead of its ...
05.02.2019 Mozart Symphony No. 38, "Prague" This week we explore one of Mozart's greatest symphonies, the Prague. This symphony, written possibly as a gift for the city that adored him so much, is one of Mozart's most ambitious pieces, with a massive first movement that rivals ...
04.25.2019 Season 5 Premiere - Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Welcome to Season 5 of Sticky Notes! This week, we look at Mendelssohn's famous overture, and his slightly less famous incidental music to Shakespeare's beloved play. We'll explore the remarkably precocious overture, written when Mendelssohn was just 17, and the ...
04.18.2019 Sibelius Symphony No. 2 (Re-Broadcast) One week until Season 5 of Sticky Notes! This week, we look t one of the most popular 20th century symphonies. From the moment of its premiere, this piece was given a revolutionary narrative by Finnish Nationalists looking to throw ...
04.11.2019 Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, "Italian" We're two weeks away from Season 5 of Sticky Notes! This week, we look back at Mendelssohn's most popular symphony, the Italian! We discuss Mendelssohn's love of nature, the the remarkable independence and variety that Mendelssohn achieves within a tightly ...
04.04.2019 Copland: Appalachian Spring (Re-broadcast) This week we take a look back at a favorite episode of mine exploring the piece that practically invented the Americana style of classical music. We'll take apart this wonderful work and compare its chamber version for 13 instruments along ...
03.28.2019 Dvorak's "New World" Symphony (Re-Broadcast) We're taking a look back this week at Dvorak's beloved New World Symphony. This is a piece that has been popular since its very first performance, but its origins are widely debated. Is this music based on Native American, or ...
03.22.2019 Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (Re-Broadcast) Very few pieces of classical music are as iconic as George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, so this week we're taking a look back at one of my favorite episodes! We'll talk about the amazing circumstances of the piece's premier, the ...
03.15.2019 Brahms Symphony No. 4 (Re-Broadcast) Due to a last minute substitution conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra, there was unfortunately no time to write and record Part 2 of our exploration of Mahler's 9th Symphony. Don't worry, we'll be back next week with the 2nd and 3rd ...
03.14.2019 Mahler Symphony No. 9 (Part IV + Season 4 Finale) It's the Season 4 Finale and we're going out with a bang with the Finale of Mahler's 9th Symphony. This is one of Mahler's most unusual and passionate creations, a 25 minute slow movement that embraces church hymns as well ...

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