Classical Breakdown Podcast
1) Bonus episode! 3 select performances of guitarist Xuefei Yang
I'm excited to bring you more from Xuefei Yang with these three performances taken from her YouTube channel (where you will find plenty more performances!). In this episode, we hear: John Willi...Show More
2) Xuefei Yang performs Erik Satie and shares insight into her new album!
She is one of today's great living guitarists, and in this episode, she tells us all about her new album Chapeu Satie. Xuefei explains how she approaches transcribing and arranging for the guitar, why...Show More
3) Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 "Eroica", Rejecting Napoleon and Charting a New Path!
Beethoven pushed the symphonic form in a new direction with this heroic work that sounds larger than the sum of its parts. John Banther and Evan Keely show you what to listen for, how it pushed bounda...Show More
4) The Great World of Percussion with Chris DeChiara: From bones and war drums to symphonies!
Think you can play the triangle? Think again! In our biggest episode yet, we explore the big world of percussion with Chris DeChiara. Using composers from Beethoven to Ozzy Osborne, he demonstrates ov...Show More
5) Bonus episode! A performance of a suite from the ballet Daphnis and Chloe by Maurice Ravel
Who doesn't love more music? Starting this season, we'll be releasing occasional bonus episodes. We kick it off with a great performance of a suite from Ravel's ballet Daphnis and Chloe. Sup...Show More
6) Maurice Ravel at 150: celebrating his life, music, and influence!
This composer had way more impact on the 20th century than you realize! Join us as we celebrate his life at 150 and look at how he achieved this unique sound, why he was kicked out of school twice, an...Show More
7) Recommended listening; 4 new albums to listen to this summer!
It's the final episode of Season 6, and per tradition, it's an episode with recommended summer listening. Thank you very much for listening, rating, and sharing the podcast as it continues to grow yea...Show More
8) Mahler's Symphony No. 5, a story of uncertainty and triumph
This work marks a departure from his previous symphonies, which were linked together by vocal music. But what is this? Is this Mahler working through his mortality and uncertainty, or something else? ...Show More
9) Felix Mendelssohn: A prodigy, inventor, and visionary!
Join us to explore Felix Mendelssohn's life through 4 different aspects of life that separated him from nearly every other composer. John Banther and James Jacobs explore his life, what made him diffe...Show More
10) Verdi's Rigoletto: Unforgettable tunes, tragedy, and a new concept in opera
Verdi considered this character worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy, and he delivers just that! John Banther and Linda Carducci explore Verdi's masterpiece and show you what to listen for, intricacies o...Show More