Classical Music Idols

Who were the musicians, performers and teachers who first opened the door to classical music? In this episode of Classic! Pod, Alex Maxted and Jonny Whiting talk musical idols in the broadest possible sense: not just the grand names — Callas, Pavarotti, Sondheim, Bernstein — but the performers, recordings, videos and teachers that shaped how they listen.There are formative encounters with Alicia de Larrocha’s crystalline pianism, Diana Damrau’s Queen of the Night, Joyce DiDonato’s masterclasses, Antonio Pappano’s piano-side opera explainers, Gerald Finley’s Figaro, and Stephen Sondheim in person — or, at least, in the same room. Along the way, Alex and Jonny consider the cult of the soprano, the risks of meeting your idols, the weird glamour of classical celebrity, and whether the art form might benefit from a little more screaming.Plus: dodgy conductors, accidental oboe trauma, The Magic Flute’s chaotic pacing, recommendations from Amadeus to Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, and the eternal question: who are your musical idols?