Description
Ever wondered what is Neoclassicism in music? And how did Igor Stravinsky play his part? Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
From 1948 to 1951, Stravinsky worked on his only full-length opera, The Rake’s Progress, a Neoclassical work based on a series of moralistic engravings by the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth. The Rake’s Progress flirts with the late 18th-century grand opera but with the hard edges and twists of the Stravinsky wit and refinement.

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
Why was Verdi so revered by the Italian people? Was it just his catchy tunes, or something deeper and more complex? Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Italian unification is also known as the Risorgimento meaning "Resurgence", was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single state, the Kingdom of Italy. The unification process was precipitated by the revolutions of 1848 and reached completion in 1871 when Rome was officially designated the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.

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
Ever wondered who invented the printing press and how this affected music way back when? Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
It wasn’t until the 19th century that the hand-operated Gutenberg-style press was replaced by steam-powered rotary presses. This allowed printing on an industrial scale, becoming practically the sole medium for modern bulk printing worldwide.

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
Martin Luther is best known for having brought about the Protestant Reformation. But Luther was also an avid composer, whose works are still celebrated today. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
The Protestant Reformation was a religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. Its greatest leaders were Martin Luther and John Calvin. The Reformation had far-reaching political, economic, and social effects on society. It became the basis for the founding of Protestantism, one of the three major branches of Christianity.

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
Ever heard of the “pants role” aka “trouser roles” or “breeches parts” in opera? Well, this goes back centuries, with quite the backstory. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Why did Baroque audiences buy into women playing masculine heroic parts in opera? The most conceivable theory is that Baroque opera was not concerned with realism. Further, these parts were designed to showcase vocal virtuosity, as opposed to lending credence to the plot or character.

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
In order to understand where music stands today, it’s great to consider some of the origins and uses of music. Archaeology has uncovered numerous indications of the importance of music in Ancient Greece, especially as it relates to their athletic Games. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
The earliest games at Delphi were held in the eighth century BC. Initially, they were wholly religious. They formed part of the festival of Apollo. A sacrifice of three different animals opened proceedings, followed by a sacred banquet. The games began the following day.

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
Ever heard of the twelve-tone technique aka dodecaphony aka twelve-tone serialism aka twelve-note composition? I know, it’s a little mind-bending, but worth noting if you love music that breaks the boundaries of tonality. It’s even used in modern broadway shows! Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Schoenberg believed that his 12-tone technique would assure the supremacy of Germanic music for another hundred years. In reality, it had far less impact than he had hoped. Even Schoenberg’s star pupil Alban Berg found ways to infuse elements of 12-tone into his scores, but with his own unique flare.

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
Ever wonder what inspired Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz? This “program” symphony is fueled by Hector’s obsession with actress Harriet Smithson. It is a shocking ride of epic psychological dimensions. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
In the fall of 1827, at age 24, Hector Berlioz attended the opening night of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, performed in Paris by an English theatre company. On that night, Berlioz was fascinated by more than the work of the revered English poet: he was enchanted by Harriet Smithson, the young Irishwoman who played Ophelia. That enchantment soon turned to obsession as Berlioz haunted the stage door and inundated Smithson with love letters only to have his advances ignored.

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
One of my favourite operas by Giuseppe Verdi is Macbeth—maybe because I am such a Shakespeare fan. Verdi himself was also an avid reader of Shakespeare and sought to produce an operatic work unlike any that had gone before. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
When Verdi’s Macbeth first premiered in Florence in 1847, it was dubbed “L’opera senza amore!” The opera without love. It was odd to Italian audiences of the day that there was no great love affair as the focal point. Despite that, Verdi proved himself to be a trailblazer as he pushed the boundaries of the operatic art form to great acclaim.

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
Ever wondered where the term Bel canto came from? Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Did you know that Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the Bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s? One of the most remarkable female opera singers of the 20th century, she was dubbed La Stupenda by a La Fenice audience in 1960 after a performance of the title role in Handel's Alcina. Her good friend Luciano Pavarotti once called Sutherland the "Voice of the 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