Dr. Music
"Classical's Cool!" Dr. Music is a fun, friendly educational podcast that introduces listeners to great classical music. The podcast is primarily for people who have little to no knowledge of classical music, and don't know where to begin their experience. Other styles will be discussed in relation to the various topics we cover. No prior knowledge of classical music necessary! All that is necessary is a desire to learn, and have fun doing it.
Episodes
62 episodes
Addendum to Season 3
An addendum to Season 3, addressing music literacy and appreciation in our culture.
•
19:42
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 15 - Season Finale
Ever hear a classical piece of music on TV and wonder what it's called, and who wrote it? Commercials never tell you who wrote the famous pieces used on the soundtrack. That's what Dr. Music is for! In this episode, you'll hear examples of grea...
•
37:46
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 14
Even if you are familiar with the music of Felix Mendelssohn, this episode contains interesting facts about some of his best works - much of which was composed before the age of 20!
•
22:30
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 13
We do not have a formal theory of melody in the vast discipl;ine of music theory. But if we limit our examination to particular styles and particular cultural themes, you may be surprised how collections of notes can "tend" toward certain patte...
•
21:25
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 12
Can a piece of music be generated from a 2-note "sigh" motif that has been used over and over again for hundreds of years? Frederic Chopin would say "yes"--as we'll see looking at his famous Opus 64 Waltz in C# Minor!
•
20:54
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 11
When Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 5, he, like all Soviet artists, was writing under the watchful eye of Joseph Stalin. Learn how a very talented composer can disguise a seemingly nationalistic, optimistic piece as a veiled d...
•
22:20
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 10
Discover how Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov was able to produce such a vivid impression of the sea in his classic symphonic suite, Scheherazade!
•
25:57
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 9
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is one of Steven Spielberg's greatest movies - and features one of the greatest scores of John Williams. In this episode, we'll be looking at the last 20 minutes of the film to get a...
•
27:38
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 8
Samuel Barber's Adagio For Strings, from his String Quartet, is one of the most recognizable works of the 20th century. Despite its mournful tone, why has this haunting piece caught the attention of so many listeners, inclu...
•
27:37
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 7
Harold Arlen's "Over The Rainbow" is considered one of the best songs ever written for the movies. What is it about this song that makes it so memorable, and so magical? We'll see how the notes themselves reflect the lyrics in a way as colorful...
•
18:09
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 6
Star Trek fans! What is it about Alexander Courage's famous main theme to the original series that makes it sound otherwordly -- "where no one has gone before?"
•
18:54
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 5
What is it about Mozart's last composition, the Requiem, that places it more in the Romantic Period of Beethoven than his own Classical Period? We will discover that the line between each of these historical periods is not so cut...
•
21:37
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 4
Schubert's Symphony No. 8 may be the "Unfinished," but the first few pages of the score can teach us a lot about how his genius worked!
•
25:01
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 3
What exactly is pandiatonicism in music? Let's travel to a few countries (including America) and find out!
•
26:19
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 2
Why do musicians have access to only 12 notes in the chromatic scale? Why are there not more or less notes available? The answer lies in math - and don't worry. This is FUN math!
•
19:44
Dr. Music Season 3 Episode 1
In this first episode of Season 3, discover how music is related to the birth of the universe!
•
19:38
Addendum to Season 2
A short addendum to Dr. Music Season 2, including a quote from W.E.B. Du Bois!
•
9:32
Dr. Music Season 2 Episode 20 - Season Finale
Happy Labor Day! Almost everybody is familiar with the Ode To Joy theme from the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - right? But how many people, other than musicologists, are familiar with exactly how that monum...
•
30:18
Dr. Music Season 2 Episode 19
The French composer Jules Massanet (1842-1912) is known mainly for his operas, though general audiences are often familiar with either specific arias or suites from operas. Besides the very popular Meditation from his opera Thaïs ,&nbs...
•
20:54
Dr. Music Season 2 Episode 18
What does the French word Gymnopédie mean? It could mean an ancient Greek dance, but only Erik Satie, the composer of three piano pieces bearing that name, knows the real answer. Being a mysterious man, it is possible ...
•
24:13
Dr. Music Season 2 Episode 17
When you think of a concerto, most often you think of a piece for solo instrument or instruments with orchestral accompaniment--piano concerto, violin concerto, trumpet concerto, etc. What about a concerto for orchestra? That is exactly w...
•
26:39
Dr. Music Season 2 Episode 16
This episode features the podcast's very first interview with a professional musician! I am privileged to know Dr. Jerry Felker, an educator, arranger, band director, and performer, holding a Doctor of Musical Arts in trombone performance...
•
32:28
Dr. Music Season 2 Episode 15
The idea of listening to a "death dance" may not be very appetizing...until you hear one by Franz Liszt. His 1849 composition for piano solo and orchestra, Totentanz, is a tour de force in virtousic performance, featurin...
•
23:50