Classical is cool

Choreographed chaos

Luciano Berio’s (1925-2003) Sinfonia is stressful to listen to.

Nov 7 • 

Classical is cool

1

September 2025

Tell me lies

“Tell me sweet little lies.” From seduction to deception to institutional fabrication, deceit drives the tension in these three masterpieces.

Sep 19 • 

Classical is cool

1

August 2025

Liminally speaking

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (1818) is bonkers and was groundbreaking for many reasons.

Aug 8 • 

Classical is cool

1

July 2025

Everybody hates Ralph

Ralph (Pronounced Rayf) Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was a British composer obsessed with putting out the most revolutionarily banal work in the history…

Jul 25 • 

Classical is cool

Rich and dense

If you only got to bring one string octet score to a desert island to enjoy for the rest of your life you’d probably pick the Mendelssohn, but I’m here…

Jul 18 • 

Classical is cool

3

May 2025

Beethoven the philosopher

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was known as the “father of the symphony” and that’s a shame because once you get a nickname you sort of have to stick…

May 30 • 

Classical is cool

1

Missa defunctorum

In 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) received a commission for a Requiem from an anonymous aristocrat.

May 16 • 

Classical is cool

3

April 2025

The One Where the Gang Plays in G Major

Sometimes you just want to turn your brain off and enjoy something, amiright?

Apr 25 • 

Classical is cool

1

It's the madrigals, stupid

Let’s take a break from watching our economy and democracy… erm… let’s enjoy some funk-TASTIC music from the late Renaissance!

Apr 18 • 

Classical is cool

Minimalism

One way to think about music that plays by the traditional harmony and form rules is that it’s goal-oriented.

Apr 4 • 

Classical is cool

4

March 2025

A love letter to the clarinet

You may read that title and think what???

Mar 21 • 

Classical is cool

Malkovich Malkovich

I rewatched Being John Malkovich last night and was so tickled by not only the absolutely wackadoodle plot, but also by the classical music selections…

Mar 7 • 

Classical is cool

1