The Classical Corner: Recent Episodes
Jack Gonsalez
Welcome to my podcast! My name is Jack, I am 21 years old and I am based in rural Wales. I'm a huge fan of Classical, Romantic and 20th century music, and I invite each and every one of you to join me on this unique and exciting learning experience, where we'll be taking a huge dive into the intricacies of classical music, the genius minds behind some of the most prevalent music of past centuries and the inner workings of many of our favourite pieces. See you on the other side!
If ever you are undecided about what kind of music you'd like to be played when you hit a certain age, ahem, whack out an old vinyl record of this - you won't regret it. I adore the ending to this piece, it's fantastic, so please do stick around to the end to find out why... You'll like it. You'll also like the tritones, simple melodic phrases and funky chords that have no correlation to each other whatsoever. But hey, don't let me ruin the surprise for you... Enjoy, fellow music lovers!
Yeeeeeeeee-hawwwww, I'm back. Jupiter is here, baby! What a majestic statement of music, probably up there with most people's favourite movements from Holst's suite 'The Planets'. This one is all about the suspenseful and rich melodies, combined with massive instrumentation and the most patriotic of all pieces of music (in my humble opinion) in 'I Vow to Thee My Country'. It's such an evoking piece of music, and I would strongly suggest listening to this episode, followed by the actual piece, first thing in the morning - you'll feel like leaping for the moon (actually, maybe leaping for Jupiter might be more realistic wink wink)... Have fun!
Howdy, glad you came back. This episode is focused on the quick-thinking, nimble attitude of 'Mercury', taken from Gustav Holst's suite, 'The Planets'. It's a myriad of interesting harmonies, and there does seem to be some very prevalent ideas that just keep getting recycled throughout the piece. Written in 6/8, the music propels you forward, leaving almost no time to think about what you're hearing - still, I hope this episode gives you an excellent insight into how it is constructed - do enjoy!
Hey! Welcome back - Venus is here! One of my favourite's from this suite of music, very much inspiring an ethereal and magical atmosphere - would highly recommend if you're looking to impress the ladies... and this episode too wouldn't go amiss either(!). Take a deep dive into the harmonies and cool sounds coming out of this monstrously sized orchestra, and have fun! Cheers!
Hello! My goodness, this week is a good one! We'll be looking at the first movement from Gustav Holst's suite, 'The Planets', in great detail today; 'Mars' is a truly bold statement in far-reaching harmonies, exciting rhythms and pulsating melodies that grip you to your chair. I will never listen to this piece again in the same way, and I am sure you won't either after having an understanding of how the music is composed! Grab a cup of tea, biscuits... Enjoy!
Hello! This episode is focused on the superbly written 'Adagietto', from the 5th symphony written by Gustav Mahler. Written during the summer months of 1901 and 1902 at his holiday cottage in Maiernigg, it is one of the boldest declarations I can think of, in terms of the perceived narrative. There is strong speculation that he wrote it as a love declaration for his wife, Alma, and if you know the music well, you can see why. It is exceptionally emotive. This is a fantastic work of art, and after studying the complexities of it, I have come to appreciate it so much more than ever before - my hope is that you will come to the same conclusion.
Friends! Welcome to my podcast, The Classical Corner! This podcast is dedicated to talking about music from the Classical era, Romantic era, and the 20th century - we'll be analysing all kinds of works in some serious detail, so I invite you to come along and have a laugh with me... who knows, we may actually learn something as well!
(I do realise the irony of playing slightly jazzy music in the background... what can I say, I'm actually a jazz musician!)