Description
Glenn Gould is best remembered for his remarkable interpretations of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach. But he is also fondly thought of as having been extraordinarily peculiar—in the most endearing way. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
From an early age, Gould challenged the accepted norms of the “classical music biz.” After winning the first Kiwanis festival in Canada in 1944, he swore off competitions, claiming that they were antithetical to the nature of art. (He later declared that “competition, rather than money, is the root of all evil.”) Most controversial of all, he came to detest the live concert experience – for reasons of anxiety, and more importantly, for philosophical reasons. Fundamentally, he regarded his mission as an artist as a moral one: to experience and share a state of “ecstasy,” of a higher spiritual state. (The Glenn Gould Foundation 2021)

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
The Age of Enlightenment saw the dawning of a new era in music. Public concert halls were established, lower classes had access to music, and even music itself changed and grew. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
The Age of Enlightenment considered the importance of an individual who can reason for themselves, the idea of equality under the law, and the notion of natural and inherent rights. This focus on the individual greatly influenced the music composition of the time.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
The Renaissance was a period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
From about 1520 through to the end of the sixteenth century, European composers utilized polyphonic language to explore musical expression through the French chanson, the Italian madrigal, the German tenorlieder, the Spanish villancico, and the English song, as well as in sacred music.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
Steve Reich is an American composer and leading exponents of Minimalism, a style based on repetitions and combinations of simple motifs and harmonies. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
In commemoration of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, Reich composed WTC 9/11: For Three String Quartets and Pre-recorded Voices (2010), incorporating recordings of emergency personnel and New York residents that had been made on the day of the tragedy.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
John Cage’s music is loved by many and hated by some. After him, no one could look at a painting, book, or person without considering how they might sound if you listened closely. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
In the 1970s, with inspirations like Thoreau and Joyce, Cage began to take literary texts and transform them into music. “Roratorio, an Irish Circus on Finnegan’s Wake” (1979), was an outline for transforming any work of literature into a work of music.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
Frédéric Chopin suffered from serious and chronic health problems throughout his life. This shaped many of the pieces he created as he searched for peace of mind and a quest for simplicity. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop! Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Chopin generally bypassed the sketching process and proceeded directly from the piano to the engraver’s manuscript. As such, dealing with Chopin’s posthumous works was a rather complex undertaking. Chopin’s music was, for the late 19th century, “an intimate communication, an agent for cultural and even political propaganda, and a commodity.”

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
There was an overwhelming melancholy in Elizabethan times and composer John Dowland understood how best to capture this sadness. Dowland (1563 –1626) is best known for “I saw my lady weep,” and “Flow my tears” both of which capture the melancholy side of the early 17th century. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Dowland made his name on these crying songs and “Flow My Tears” became his signature song. The piece first existed as one for lute simply entitled Lachrimae (Tears). Despite its sad nature, this song is considered by some to be the most widely known English song of the early 17th century.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
The Metropolitan Opera is back after a long pandemic shutdown with a new season. It launched with Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” marking the first time that a Black composer and a Black librettist have found their way to the Met. This is indeed a historic moment, fueled by recent events, and yet long overdue. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
“If you have passion for something and you work hard and study hard and put forth the effort, the sky’s the limit. One thing I believe as an artist is when you’re honest about what you are creating, you are creating something that will touch other people who are dealing with the same issues.” — Terence Blanchard, Composer

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is a highly celebrated work. But did you know that poetry was also published along with it? You can check out the full poetry on the Charlotte Symphony website. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Vivaldi’s opera Giustino, which was also written in 1723, has similarities to The Four Seasons. In the middle of Act I, there’s a short sinfonia, and we can hear what Vivaldi did with the theme from the first movement of his (then) new concerto.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show

Description
Leonard Bernstein was one of the first American-born conductors to receive worldwide fame. A conductor, composer, and avid educator, his life cannot be captured in this podcast. But my hope is that if you didn’t know much about Leonard Bernstein, this snapshot may inspire you to learn more. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" was inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. The original 1957 Broadway production, ran for 732 performances before going on tour. It was nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Musical in 1958. The show had an even longer-running London production, a number of revivals, and international productions. A 1961 musical film adaptation was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won ten, including Best Picture.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show