Are you looking for something interesting to listen to while you are driving or out for a walk? I have been exploring the world of Classical Music podcasts and have some recommendations for my fellow classical music lovers!
Aria Code: Each episode of this podcast features one famous aria from an opera. Three or four guests, including the individual singing the aria (like Renee Fleming, Sondra Radvanovsky, etc.), discuss the musical and psychological aspects of the piece. The guests are always fascinating – recent guests discussed women and aging (Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier); death of a loved one (Gluck’s Orpheus – warning, I was in tears driving down 76); and infidelity (Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro)
Sticky Notes: Hosted by young conductor Joshua Weilerstein, Sticky Notes is a deep dive into classical music. Joshua is very fun to listen to. In each podcast, he either features a piece of music or an interesting topic like “What Does a Conductor Really Do?” I really like how Joshua shares recordings of many famous musicians playing a few bars of the same piece to show how individual interpretation make a really big difference in how music sounds (for example, check out the podcast on the Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites).
That Classical Podcast: Who says Classical Music is humorless? This British podcast is a hoot! The hilarious hosts of this podcast bring classical music to the masses, explaining concepts in plain language and bringing up all the more bawdy aspects of music history. Their one-minute bios of famous composers are particularly funny.
For newcomers – here is how you actually listen to a podcast! Well, at least here are instructions for Apple devices since that is all I know how to do! On your Apple device, tap the purple podcasts icon. Using the search key, type in the names of these podcasts and then click subscribe. When you next click on your podcasts icon, you will see all the available episodes of your subscribed podcasts ready to play. Podcasts are free!
