
The Classical Gabfest
The Classical Gabfest
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Top 10 The Classical Gabfest Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Classical Gabfest episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Classical Gabfest for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Classical Gabfest episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

89: Will on Moveable Do
The Classical Gabfest
05/12/22 • 58 min
This week, we’re playing Will’s interview on the Moveable Do podcast, hosted by Steve Danielson.
Will joins an illustrious lineup of composers to be interviewed on the show, including Eric Whitacre, Libby Larsen, Rollo Dilworth, and Jake Runestad. Be sure to check out the podcast and subscribe:
https://anchor.fm/moveabledo
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
From Will’s interview, we’ll add “Acadia Fanfare” to the mixtape as this week’s selection:
White, “Acadia Fanfare”
THINK YOU CAN STUMP US? GO AHEAD AND TRY!
Google Form for “Name that Tune: Stump the Hosts Edition”
You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:

90: Friends Like These
The Classical Gabfest
05/19/22 • 54 min
This week, we start out with a rousing round of Back to the Future AKA Retrogradus ad Parnassum, and then we move on to our three topics:
MUSICIANS FIRED FROM THEIR OWN QUARTET
Nonprofit board fires DaPonte String Quartet musicians, changes mission (Portland Press Herald)
CHINA-NK FRIENDSHIP CONCERT
Full Performance of North Korean Artists in Beijing (YouTube)
RAVEN CHACON WINS 2022 PULITZER IN MUSIC
Full performance (Vimeo)
Meet Raven Chacon, the first Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize for music (NPR)
Commentary: Raven Chacon’s ‘Voiceless Mass’ magnifies unsung voices into the realm of the sacred (LAT)
The Pulitzer Prize Winner That Emerged Out of a Time of Quietness (NYT)
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
Tiffany
Farrenc, Symphony No. 3, mvmt. 3
Will
Bloch, Baal Shem
Gabe
Beethoven, arr. Roman Kim: Symphony No. 5
THINK YOU CAN STUMP US? GO AHEAD AND TRY!
Google Form for “Name that Tune: Stump the Hosts Edition”
You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:

49: John Williams is a Really Good Composer
The Classical Gabfest
08/05/21 • 56 min
This week, we start out with a rousing round of Back to the Future AKA Retrogradus ad Parnassum, and then we move on to our three topics:
UNFINISHED
Beethoven didn’t know how to read a metronome
The New York Metropolitan Opera
Union negotiations
Dallas SO / NFTs
No kids at the MET this fall
Competition judges only watch 22 seconds of online video
Jarod Impichchaachaaha Tate named US Cultural Ambassador
Will’s new group name!
www.harmoniaseattle.org
CHICAGO SYMPHONY SEASON (P)REVIEW
https://order.cso.org/events?view=listing&startdate=2021-09-01
JOHN WILLIAMS’ NEW VIOLIN CONCERTO
https://youtu.be/fl_-JKB21b0
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
Kensho
Augusta Holmès - La Nuit et l'amour (1888)
Tiffany
Franck, “Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne"
Will
Schnittke, Movement 1 Cadenza for the Beethoven Violin Concerto
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Google Form for “Name that Tune: Stump the Hosts Edition” https://forms.gle/NbCgtefUXkNgF7c49
You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:

10: Slave Orchestras
The Classical Gabfest
11/05/20 • 60 min
This week, we start out with a rousing round of Match the Interpreter and then we move on to our three topics:
SFCM ACQUIRES OPUS 3
SF Conservatory Engineers a Deal to Acquire Arts Management Firm
WEDDING MUSIC
Kensho’s service music reveal:
Strauss, Capriccio: Prelude
Morricone, Gabriel’s Oboe
Wuorinen, Josquiniana
SLAVE ORCHESTRAS
Jon Silpayamanant, “Classical Music and its Slave Orchestras”
Twitter unroll
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
JON
Frank Raden, Concerto for Indonesian National Orchestra
WILL
Danish String Quartet, Sonderho Bridal Trilogy Part II
TIFFANY
Shostakovich, The Gadfly: Romance
KENSHO
Johann Pachelbel, Vespers: “Gloria Patri, Sicut Erat”
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Google Form for “Name that Tune: Stump the Hosts Edition”
GET A COPY OF ALEX ROSS’S WAGNERISM FOR OUR BOOK CLUB
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374285937
You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:

4: Enthusiastic Disbandment
The Classical Gabfest
09/24/20 • 58 min
This week, we start off with a rousing game of Listening Limbo, then we dive into our three topics:
THE DISSOLUTION OF THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MARCHING BAND
Part 1 in the Columbia Spectator Article
Part 2
The band’s statement on Medium
NORMAN LEBRECHT’S ZERO-STAR REVIEW OF “JOHN WILLIAMS IN VIENNA”
The album on Spotify
The review
THE DISMISSAL OF GARRETT MCQUEEN FROM AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA
Garrett’s statement on Opus 66 of TRILLOQUY (begins at 16:16)
MPR News story
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
GARRETT
Celso Garrido-Lecca, Andean Folk Dances: 3. Ritmico
WILL
Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro “Porgi amor”
TIFFANY
Britten, Billy Budd “Blow Her Away” Chorus
KENSHO
Beethoven, Fidelio: “Komm, Hoffnung”
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You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:

69: Classical Yulefest II: 2 Holly 2 Jolly 🎄
The Classical Gabfest
12/23/21 • 59 min
Happy Holidays! This week, we start by looking at Classic FM’s list of classical Christmas gifts, then we turn to our three (er... several) subjects:
UNFINISHED
French stagehand found guilty
Kids play recorders with rubber chickens
Kaufmann releases super extended double album of “It’s Christmas”
THE HOLY TRINITY OF CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS PART DEUX
The Buttcracker
The Nutcracker Stage Fall
Sleigh Ride from the Trombonist’s perspective
Young Messiah
—The Trumpet Shall Sound
THE NEW WEST SIDE STORY MOVIE
Full 2021 movie album (Spotify)
Bernstein 1985 opera recording (Documentary)
MTT 2014 recording with San Francisco (Spotify)
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
Kensho
Humperdinck, Hansel & Gretel: Evening Prayer and Dream Pantomime
Tiffany
The Baltimore Consort, Greensleeves variations
THINK YOU CAN STUMP US? GO AHEAD AND TRY!
Google Form for “Name that Tune: Stump the Hosts Edition”
You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:

71: Cultural Revolution
The Classical Gabfest
01/06/22 • 64 min
This week, we start out with a rousing round of Classical Chronology and then we move on to our three topics:
NEWS!
Isarphilharmonie opens in Munich (NYT)
Luthier & daughter tortured and killed over 4 Strads (Daily Beast)
Venezuela sets record for largest concert (Le Monde)
Turkish donkeys love Beethoven (Al Jazeera)
Conductor quits over lack of Covid rules (All The Conducting Masterclasses)
Met institutes booster requirement (NYT)
BOOK CLUB
Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Amazon)
PUBLIC DOMAIN & COPYRIGHT
Public Domain Day 2022 (Duke Law)
‘Winnie the Pooh’ And More Works Will Enter the Public Domain Tomorrow (NPR)
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
Tiffany
Bright Sheng, Seven Tunes Heard in China
Will
Sulkhan Tsintsadze, Chonguri
Kensho
Joseph Schwantner, Velocities
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You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:

86: Michael Jinbo, Teacher
The Classical Gabfest
04/21/22 • 6 min
Hi there Classical Gabfest Listeners, this is Will, and I’m afraid we don’t have a regular episode for you this week. Longtime listeners to the show will know that Tiffany and Kensho and I all met at the Pierre Monteux School, which is a summer music institute focused on orchestral conducting and playing. Unfortunately, earlier this week, the school’s director, Michael Jinbo, died suddenly, and as Michael was a beloved teacher, mentor, and friend to all three of us, we decided not to produce an episode this week.
As a brief tribute, I wanted to say a few words about our teacher:
Maestro Jinbo was only the third-ever music director of the Monteux School in its 79-year history, succeeding his own teacher, Charles Bruck, and before him, Pierre Monteux himself, whom some of you may know was the conductor of the world premieres of The Rite of Spring and Daphnis and Chloé, and who performed Brahms’ string quartets for Brahms himself, among many other accomplishments.
Maestro Jinbo was proud of the school’s tradition, but he was very much his own musician and a great musician at that. Maestro Jinbo was not a famous conductor, but he was famous among conductors. We marveled at his crystal-clear technique and his deeply felt, uncomplicated musicality, and I know for a fact that videos of his conducting (which he would never allow to be released) circulated privately among his admirers. In rehearsal, he was totally unfussy and to-the-point. He always preferred to show and rather than to tell, but whenever he did say something about the music, it was invariably insightful, witty, and inspiring.
Of course, my co-hosts and I, and many, many others of his students will remember Michael for his abilities as a teacher. He combined uncompromising honesty with a deep care for each of his students as a human being, and he taught to each student individually. He didn’t waste time and he went immediately for your weaknesses, not to demean you, but to strengthen you.
Above all, Michael Jinbo taught us to be our true selves, both on and off the podium. He never tried to mold us in his own image, rather he helped us to strip away our excess baggage and taught us to honor the essential core that remained. And that’s just about the greatest gift that any teacher can give you.
It’s hard to find recordings of Michael’s work, but I did find a beautiful one on YouTube, in which Michael is leading the Nittany Valley Symphony of Pennsylvania, of which he was also music director for several decades. This is a recording of the “Meditation” from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs, featuring violinist Max Zorin, which I offer as this week’s mixtape suggestion.
Rest in Peace, Michael.
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
Massenet, Thaïs: “Meditation”
Nittany Valley Symphony Orchestra
Max Zorin, violin
Michael Jinbo, conductor

19: Top Brass at the Covid Lab
The Classical Gabfest
01/07/21 • 67 min
This week, we start out with a rousing round of Classical Chronology with listener Ted Fishman. Want to join us for a prelude segment? Post about the Gabfest on social media and tag us to be entered for a chance to come on the show.
Then we move on to our three topics:
ROBERT F. SMITH’S TAX FRAUD REVELATIONS
Carnegie Hall Stands by its Chairman Despite Tax Violations (NYT)
“LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN” ON AMAZON
Trailer (YouTube)
SFS ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL HORN AND COVID RESEARCHER MARK ALMOND
Profile in the San Francisco Classical Voice
Profile in the San Francisco Chronicle
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
Kensho
Vaughan-Williams, Flos Campi
Will
Sibelius, Morceau romantique sur un motif de monsieur Jakob de Julin
Tiffany
Gershwin, Piano Concerto in F
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Google Form for “Name that Tune: Stump the Hosts Edition”
GET A COPY OF JOHN BORSTLAP’S “THE CLASSICAL REVOLUTION” FOR OUR BOOK CLUB
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073BKG4J9
You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:

63: The Boratorio
The Classical Gabfest
11/11/21 • 55 min
This week, we start out with a rousing round of Viola Hero and then we move on to our three topics:
LISTENER FEEDBACK
Breaking Down the Innovative Deep Learning Behind Google Translate (Medium)
Kevin Puts, Symphony No. 2 Video (YouTube)
ARE CONDUCTORS NECESSARY?
Performing Without a Conductor: Liberation or Illusion?
“THE ORATORIO” DOCUMENTARY
Watch on PBS
CLASSICAL MIXTAPE
The full playlist
Will
Hersant, Cantique des trois enfants dans la fournaise
Tiffany
Arvo Part, Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten
Kensho
Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 2 IV. Allegro vivace
THINK YOU CAN STUMP US? GO AHEAD AND TRY!
Google Form for “Name that Tune: Stump the Hosts Edition”
You can reach us at [email protected] and on social media:
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Classical Gabfest have?
The Classical Gabfest currently has 106 episodes available.
What topics does The Classical Gabfest cover?
The podcast is about Music, Podcasts, Arts and Performing Arts.
What is the most popular episode on The Classical Gabfest?
The episode title '67: Stephen Sondheim, Composer' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Classical Gabfest?
The average episode length on The Classical Gabfest is 57 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Classical Gabfest released?
Episodes of The Classical Gabfest are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of The Classical Gabfest?
The first episode of The Classical Gabfest was released on Sep 3, 2020.
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