Easter is coming – and it coincides this year with “C.P.Eppreciation Day!” What’s that, you ask? Let Jens and Joe lead you on an egg hunt for sacred gems among the works of Johann Sebastian’s second oldest son, Carl Philip Emmanuel – C.P.E. – Bach. Along the way, they try to demystify the challenges that the “Galant” period music may pose to modern listeners.

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When you hear ‘Engelbert Humperdinck’, you’ll invariably either think of the King of Romance’s hit ballad “Release Me” (in which case you’ve got the wrong Humperdinck, as far as we are concerned) or of the King of Romantic Children’s Opera’s greatest hit “Hansel & Gretel”. Well, in their latest podcast, Jens and Joe will try to re-wire your brain so that you will associate the name with mystical blue birds and nuns on the run. Romance, however, remains the name of the (musical) game all the same.

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In this episode, Jens & Joe tackle Franz Schreker, the missing link between Schoenberg and Zemlinsky – and a composer of wildly Freudian fairy-tale operas that were all the rage between the wars. Deemed too modern in his time, and shocking in Vienna – but loved for both – Schreker was one of the most widely performed opera composers before World War II, along with Richard Strauss and Walter Braunfels. But the curse of the Nazis and the subsequent shunting of much of the romantic repertoire saw him largely forgotten, occasional resuscitation-efforts notwithstanding.

The post Classical Discoveries – FRANZ SCHREKER: an old-fashioned modernist appeared first on The Naxos Blog.

If you wanted to dance with somebody, in 19th century Vienna, Johann Strauss was your best bet to provide the soundtrack. But he wasn’t alone in churning out the waltzes and polkas and operettas – continental “light music” – that the city consumed at such a rapid rate. In this episode Jens and Joe explore some of these composers, the history of the genre, and even visit Copenhagen by way of twirling musical entertainment.

The post Classical Discoveries: JOHANN STRAUSS II and his Contemporaries appeared first on The Naxos Blog.

Alexander Zemlinsky
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Once upon a time, there was a tiny little man in Vienna, who composed the grandest operas. What started out with fairy-tale works of musical theatre did, alas, take a tragic end for Alexander Zemlinsky in the New World. In their latest podcast, Joe and Jens track this wildly underrated composer’s operatic career from Vienna via Prague and Berlin to a premature death in New York.

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The post Classical Discoveries: ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY – The Opera Composer appeared first on The Naxos Blog.

Photo: Secretaría de Cultura de la Nación, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The whole stylistic world of Krysztof Penderecki in just over 70 minutes! Fear not, that’s not the length of our podcast today, it’s the time it takes to perform all his compositions involving string quartet and string trio. And they conveniently trace the composer’s startlingly divergent stylistic output, from the wild-as-it-comes 1960 String Quartet No.1 via the masterly String Trio to the romanticism of the Third and beyond.

Other Episodes: Classical Discoveries – The Podcast

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© Courtesy of the Kurt Weill Foundation

If you know that sharks have teeth, dear, then that’s probably because Kurt Weill told you so in his song “Mack the Knife”. Pearly white they may be, too, but what else did Kurt Weill do? Mahagonny-something. Right. If you’re as ignorant as Jens, when it comes to matters Weill, join our podcast and let Joe help you discover what an astoundingly divergent universe of music this known-unknown composer has in store for you!

Other Episodes: Classical Discoveries – The Podcast

The post Classical Discoveries: KURT WEILL – From Brecht to Broadway appeared first on The Naxos Blog.

You may not have heard of him, but if you have had any exposure to early music, chances are you have heard him: In this first installment, Werner Ehrhardt, the founder and leader of the early music ensembles Concerto Köln and L’arte del mondo, sits down with Jens and Joe for a chat about his half century of recording rare and early music and how you discover music that’s yet to be discovered.

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The post Podcast: Classical Discoveries – REDISCOVERING SALIERI – Werner Ehrhardt on raiding the archives appeared first on The Naxos Blog.

In their latest #ClassicalDiscoveries episode, Jens and Joe explore Shostakovich’s symphonies – works of daring subversion masked as Soviet conformity. From the banned Fourth Symphony to the sardonic Ninth, they reveal how Shostakovich smuggled private rebellion into public music. Featuring Gürzenich-Orchester Köln’s powerhouse recordings, this is Soviet-era genius at its most explosive. “Quiet in person, screaming in music.”

Other Episodes: Classical Discoveries – The Podcast

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In their latest episode of their #ClassicalDiscoveries podcast, Jens and Joe take a look at the scintillating music of Charles Koechlin, a fascinating composer and forgotten French symphonist who is impossible to pigeonhole. Neither an impressionist, nor simply a romantic, dramatic, lyric, abstract, or descriptive composer, he combined revolutionary, academic, and eclectic traits. One second, he will display hints of Debussy and Ravel and the next sound like Poulenc, Florent Schmitt, or even Olivier Messiaen.

Other Episodes: Classical Discoveries – The Podcast

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The post Podcast: Classical Discoveries – CHARLES KOECHLIN: France’s Hidden Symphonist appeared first on The Naxos Blog.