May 26, 2022
Imagine writing a concerto that prompted Beethoven to remark to a friend: “we’ll never be able to write anything like that. Or a piece that prompted Brahms to call it: “a masterpiece of art, full of inspiration and ideas.” Or had scholars and musicologists raving, saying things like: "not only the most sublime...
May 19, 2022
Today I’ve got a pretty special show for you. It’s set up in two parts, with the first part featuring an interview, and the second part will be a more typical Sticky Notes analysis of a specific piece. Why did I set up the show this way this week? Well, I had the opportunity a few months ago to work with...
May 12, 2022
May 5, 2022
It's easy to forget that Mahler, for all of his ubiquitous success nowadays, was much better known as a conductor during his life than as a composer. He had basically one major success in his compositional career: a performance of his 8th symphony in Munich in 1910 that finally seemed to give him the approval he craved...
Apr 28, 2022
Remember where we ended in the first movement of Mahler's 9th symphony? After a 27 minute farewell which touched on the two poles of rage and acceptance, while filling in every conceivable emotion in between, we ended in total peace, calm, and acceptance .
There is a lot about this symphony that is traditional - it...