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Nowadays, ‘Für Elise’ is undoubtedly one of Beethoven’s most famous works. It seems almost strange then that, at the time it was composed, the piece was relatively incidental. It certainly didn’t provoke much of a reaction and apparently, Beethoven himself was never fully satisfied with the work, returning to it some years later and trying, unsuccessfully in his eyes, to revise and refine it. Ultimately, ‘Für Elise’ wasn’t even published until 1865, nearly forty years after Beethoven’s death on 26 March 1827. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Listen to "Für Elise" Performed by Lang Lang

Fun Fact
Beethoven composed the piece on 27 April 1810. At this stage, Beethoven’s hearing was getting gradually weaker. The composer could apparently still hear some speech and music until 1812. But by the age of 44 (four years after he composed ‘Für Elise’), he was almost totally deaf and unable to hear voices. As he got progressively deafer, his pieces got higher and higher. This might account for the relatively high pitch of ‘Für Elise’, which reaches an E7 – two Es above a top soprano C.

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

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Johann Strauss Jr. found the perfect formula for engaging with the masses. He made a killing money-wise and was considered the biggest pop star of his time. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Strauss Jr. had a passion for accumulating an awe-inspiring array of medals, decorations and honours from the world’s sovereigns. As such, the titles and dedicatees of his compositions, as has been suggested, “may be viewed as a musically illustrated guide to about 50 years of European history.”

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

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This year marks the 40th anniversary of the compact disk. It’s worth giving a nod to this period in our music recording history because for many of us it was a brave new world. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
A BBC programme called Tomorrow’s World introduced British audiences to the CD in 1981 – the presenter Kieran Prendiville was skeptical about “whether there’s a market for this kind of disc”. There was indeed a huge market for this shiny little miracle worker, but alas, it wouldn’t last.

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

Description
The world of trailer music evolved composer Kati Falk-Flores’ skills beyond her classical training into writing the larger-than-life, cinematic music needed for the promotion of Hollywood’s biggest films.

From the heartwarming piece used for advertising Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns to the dark exploration of humanity used for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Kati’s music resonates with audiences for its “powerful role in storytelling” and has won both CLIO and Golden Trailer Awards.

While trailer music has given Kati well-earned skill in writing orchestral-hybrid music, emotive storytelling takes the front seat for both her concert works and music for media, just as it did in the violin-feature orchestral work Awakening, commissioned in 2015.

Currently, Kati balances composing trailer music with writing music for indie film projects. Join me for this bonus episode coffee chat!

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

On a personal note, please consider a coffee donation. 🤓☕️

It's thirsty work creating content for TCMM. Many sleepless nights spent crafting that perfect one-minute episode or editing my latest fab interview as a bonus episode for your listening pleasure. 🎙🤔📚 But a cup of coffee is always welcome to keep my creativity flowing. 🎼☕️✍🏽🙏

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]

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

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Blessed with good looks, but bad teeth, Franz Liszt had a number of vices, including cigars and cognac. All of which he would indulge in to excess. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Liszt was quite the rock star of his time. They called it “Lisztomania” – women would faint and go into a frenzy when he performed, so much so that local doctors thought it was an epidemic of mental illness. And it wasn’t just women swooning for Liszt! Upon seeing Liszt, one critic, Yuri Arnold, wrote: “As soon as I reached home, I pulled off my coat, flung myself on the sofa, and wept the bitterest, sweetest tears.”

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

Description
Anton Bruckner was extremely critical of his own work and often reworked his compositions. One such perplexity was his Symphony No. 0. Or was it? Take a minute to get the scoop!

Check out Bruckner's Symphony in D minor
℅ Frankfurt Radio Symphony | Paavo Järvi (YouTube)

Fun Fact
Unlike other musical radicals such as Richard Wagner and Hugo Wolf, Bruckner showed extreme humility before other musicians, Wagner in particular. This apparent dichotomy between Bruckner the man and Bruckner the composer hampers efforts to describe his life in a way that gives a straightforward context for his music. Hans von Bülow described him as "half genius, half simpleton". Bruckner was critical of his own work and often reworked his compositions.

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

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In defence of Ukraine and its cultural heritage, Keri-Lynn Wilson is leading the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra on its inaugural tour of Europe and America. Composed of leading Ukrainian musicians from both inside and outside of Ukraine, the orchestra was created by Ms. Wilson with support from the governments of Ukraine and Poland and the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera.

About the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra

About Maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson

BBC Proms Events

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

Description
"Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" ("Hell's vengeance boils in my heart"), commonly abbreviated "Der Hölle Rache", is an aria sung by the Queen of the Night, a coloratura soprano part, in the second act of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte). But who are some of the sopranos who successfully tackled this feat of brilliance? Take a minute to get the scoop!

Four Soprano Greats with their Queen Of The Night (℅ YouTube)

Cristina Deutekom

Diana Damrau

Lucia Popp

Edda Moser

…Wow! I never get tired of listening to this aria…worth checking out. 🤓🎵🌎
 
Fun Fact
the Queen of the Night Aria is written in D minor, and is scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, and trumpets, along with timpani and the string section. This is a larger orchestra than for "O zittre nicht" and comprises all the players from the opera as a whole, except the clarinets and trombones. The aria is renowned as a demanding piece to perform well. The vocal range covers two octaves, from F4 to F6 and requires a very high tessitura, A4 to C6.

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

Description
For this bonus interview episode, I chat with Canadian Media Composer, Maria Molinari. Trained as a classical guitarist, Maria Molinari began her composing career writing concert music for soloists, chamber groups, ballet and orchestras until her love of film, storytelling & collaboration drew her to film scoring. Maria recently composed the score for the bold critically acclaimed anthology film TO THE NEW GIRL. Her music can be heard in the score for the feature film END OF DAYS, INC. and the theme for the forensic series MOTIVES & MURDERS: CRACKING THE CASE. She has provided additional music for the MARVEL COMICS based sci-fi syndicated series MUTANT X and the retro musical comedy series GETTING ALONG FAMOUSLY. Enjoy!

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.

Send us Fan Mail

Description
The ‘Queen of the Night’ aria, "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" ("Hell's vengeance boils in my heart"), is a coloratura soprano part, in the second act of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte). Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
The story is a mixture of fun and high ideals, of Masonic philosophy and high jinx, of brotherhood and love affairs, of melodrama and serious thought.  Within this context Mozart sent his final message of personal conviction and standards of living, which had been confirmed by his membership in the Freemasons, on January 7, 1785, admitted into the Zur Wohltätigkeit Lodge in Vienna. There, he was in familiar company. Other contemporary members of this Lodge were Joseph Haydn, his patron Prince Lichnowsky, his father Leopold, Michael Puchberg and Gottfried van Swieten, two of his most important patrons, Anton Stadler (clarinetist) and Angelo Solimon, a good friend.

About Steven, Host
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. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

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] 

Love classical music? There's more to discover.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.

Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.