Episodes
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4.4: Concerto Grosso for sextet and Bach Contrapunctus 11
A sextet prelude, composed in lockdown by yours truly, recorded and synced with the members of Kassia Music, and Bach's Contrapunctus 11 from the Art of Fugue.
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4.3: Tribute to my late teacher Irena Orlov
Today would have been my former teacher's birthday. Today, I share a Prelude and Fugue composed in her honor, plus an elegy for those affected by the pandemic
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4.2: Bach's Syncopations and a Quarantine Prelude
A prelude by me, inspired by Gabriela Montero, followed by a close look at the hidden rhythms in one of Bach's most famous pieces, the Prelude in C from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1.
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4.1: Marc Chan's Fugues
A prelude by me, followed by a conversation with composer Marc Chan, and his fugue on the Disney theme "My Own Home" from the Jungle Book.
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3.12: Ragtime Toccata #2
Ragtime toccata #2, composed and recorded in 2019
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3.11: Shostakovich Prelude in C
The first Prelude from Shostakovich's set of 24 Preludes and Fugues
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3.10: Gigue from "Syncopated Suite"
Last movement from a 2019 Suite in Neo-Baroque style
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3.9: Pastoral Etude (Nikolai Kapustin)
Studio recording of the Pastoral Etude, Op. 40, #6 by Nikolai Kapustin
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3.8: Improvisation (on the state of the world)
It's been a rough couple of days for me, for the country, for the world. A lament in music.
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3.7: Prelude and Fugue in C# minor (Bach)
From the extreme of jubilance to the extreme of melancholy and frustration, to match my dire mood after Monday's news. J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C# Minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, recorded live in performance from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 2019.
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3.6: Leapfrog Rag
Music for you every day of the week. Today: One of my first ragtime compositions from 2015, performed live in 2019.
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3.5: "Social Distancing," a song inspired by our new reality
Music for you every day of the week. Today: A new song (and how-to) inspired by the world's (suddenly) most common phrase.
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3.4: Prelude and Fugue in D major (Bach WTC 1)
Music for you every day of the week. Today: J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D major from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, recorded live in performance from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 2019.
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3.3: Meditation #2: Seeking a Higher Power
Music for you every day of the week. Today: Meditation #2: Seeking a Higher Power, recorded live in performance from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 2019.
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3.2: Chorale Toccata
Music for you every day of the week. Today: Chorale Toccata #1, from September 2019, composed and performed by me.
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Music Post 3.1: Daily dose of music
A short piece of music for you every day of the week to help keep the music alive during the pandemic. Starting today with "Skip: A Baroque-Ragtime Prelude," from February 2020.
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#25: Improv with Carlos part 2: Embracing it
Guest pianist Carlos Cesar Rodriguez joins me again to share his remarkable talent for and insights into improvisation, while I challenge him to make it more a part of his regular concert fare. He improvises an Ives-ian accompaniment to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (featuring tenor Peter...
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#24: Red River Valley and folk-modern-classical
Modern classical music has a reputation for atonality, that is, that it lacks the harmonic and melodic core that has shaped Western music for hundreds of years. In this episode we hear three of my very non-atonal piano pieces. They are rooted in a traditional harmonic and motivic system and draw…
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#23: Intimate Chopin
One of the (many, but principal) challenges of playing Chopin's music is finding room for expressiveness in intimacy. Ivan Moravec was on another level achieving this in his playing (as you'll hear!), but I take a crack at it too, and Eli Luberoff joins me for listening challenge and…
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#22: Ari & Mia & me
Special guest Ariel Friedman joins me to share a sublime song of hers and ruminate on genre distinctions and crossover in the classical and folk music realms. We talk about Kinhaven (see episode 20), how she got started with her sister duo band (Ari & Mia), and how they and she have influenced me...
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#21: Art of Fugue Contrapunctus five and different approaches to Bach
I explain the careful structure behind Contrapunctus five from Bach's Art of Fugue, while looking at different ways to approach playing fugues on the piano. Finally, we hear it complete on the piano as well as the continuo organ.
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#20: Kinhaven Sonata with Lauren Cook
I talk with Lauren Cook, clarinetist, about her career, our experiences playing chamber music, and the piece I wrote for us to play last summer, and we play it together.
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#19.5: Season 2 Preview
After a long break, the Music Post is back! Here's a peak at the new season of episodes, featuring new musicians, new music and old classics.
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#19: Improv with Carlos
Listen to the creation of new music, live on the spot, on one and two pianos.
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#18: Live from the Kennedy Center
An extended episode, live from the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. An all-American program, along with commentary, including music of yours truly, Wild/Gershwin and William Bolcom.
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#17: Ke$ha meets Cla$$ical
Together, we explore the intersection of pop and classical. I debate myself on the proper role of popular music in the life of the devoted musician, compare excerpts from Bach, Mozart, Madonna and Shakira, and play a composition of yours truly, inspired in unlikely fashion by a pop icon.
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#16: Goldbergs, part 2: miraculous canons
Today, you'll hear about two of the nine canons from the Goldberg Variations, variations that are truly astonishing for their craft and construction. Hear what makes them special, get to know two of them more closely, and hear them in performances.
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#15: Getting to know the Goldbergs, variations 13 and 14
In the first episode about the Goldberg Variations by Bach, we acquaint ourselves with the beautiful, serene variation 13 and the dazzling 14. You'll hear sections from different pianists, but also hear excerpts on the harpsichord string trio, before the hearing the variations back-to-back from…
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#14: Crash course music and the apple tree
In today's short episode, you'll hear a new piece, and learn the basics of open and closed phrases and how they create and resolve tension in music.
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#13: Music Post 2.0: Improvisation, part 1
The first in a many-part series on classical improvisation: what is it, what makes it special, why is it so rare, and why should we care? We delve into the science and the stories behind the people who are figuring all that out, and listen to some delicious music in the meantime. Featuring jazz...
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#12: Ragtime duel
This week, we hear four rags by living composers, use them as an opportunity to learn what distinguishes ragtime from classical traditions and jazz that followed, and generally discover that they're awesome.
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#11: Yuliya Gorenman, Alexander Scriabin, and seizing the moment
Two tales of seizing opportunities and making the most of them: a flight from Soviet Russia to an unknown place, and overcoming injury to become a world-renowned composer.
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#10: Bach Inventions, continued: Bach's genius, bite-sized
He can delight us, and he can throw us into darkness with these short keyboard pieces. But what brings them together, how do they shed light on his music? These are the questions we'll be exploring today as we listen to and learn about three more brilliant miniatures of Bach's.
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#9: A musician's first love
This week, we get personal, with a look at the very first piece that captivated me, and how it fits in the set of pieces of Bach wrote for his eldest son. As compelling for me today as they were when I was a child, you'll hear what makes these pieces great, and get the details on one of them in...
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#8: Christmas music, part 2: when one piece begets another
A Serial parody, dueling pianos, and a unique look at the collaboration of performer and composer, all wrapped in a history of one of the most beautiful Christmas carols. Guest artist Ralitza Patcheva returns with a rousing performance.
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#7: Jingle Bells, like you've never heard it before
From Thanksgiving until Christmas day, we're barraged with holiday-themed music, but so much of it is bland, generic and worn. In this episode, we listen to some Christmas music that's really worth getting excited about, and find out what distinguishes it from the seventeen versions you'll hear…
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#6: Tragic Chopin
In this episode, we listen to Chopin's great C minor nocturne, with short excerpts from different pianists. You'll learn about how pianists navigate the challenges of Chopin's music and get to know one of his finest miniature masterpieces.
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#5: Magical Mozart and Soave sia il vento
In this episode, we listen to the popular terzetto from Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte, and talk about how opera fits in (perhaps not so seamlessly) to the culture of classical music today.
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#4: Contrapunctus 9 and what makes Bach work
In this episode, we look at Contrapunctus 9 as a microcosm for Bach's compositions more generally, and begin to see how he perfectly balances repetition with unpredictability in his music.
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#3: Bach's French side, with guest artist Ralitza Patcheva
In this episode, we learn about the counterfugues from the Art of Fugue, about how Bach's inclusion of the French style affects the piece on the whole, and about the relative advantages of the harpsichord and the piano.
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#2: Crisis of Chromaticism: Art of Fugue, Contrapunctus 3
We continue our exploration of Bach's final masterpiece with a close look at the third fugue. Along the way, we learn more about how Bach's extreme dissonances and chromatic adventures.
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#1: Bach's Final Project: Art of Fugue, Contrapunctus 1
We begin our exploration of the Art of Fugue and look closely at the opening number, Contrapunctus 1
About this show
The Music Post is music, mostly new, mostly piano, delivered to you. Old episodes and occasional future episodes will explore in more depth a piece or a musical trend, and feature conversations with other musicians and composers
Hosted by
Sam Post
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