Series: Classical Bedtime
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Philip Glass and the Yellow Cab
A struggling composer drove a yellow taxi through New York City streets, hearing symphonies in the ordinary sounds around him. Philip Glass would transform those rhythmic patterns into a revolutionary new style of music called minimalism.
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Edvard Grieg and the Troll King’s Mountain
A famous playwright challenged Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg to write music for shipwrecks, flying reindeer, and a kingdom of grumbling trolls. This episode explores how Grieg created musical magic for the impossible through his beloved “Peer Gynt” suite.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Flute That Faced the Fire
When Mozart’s opera characters face trials by fire and water, their true natures are revealed through the magic of music. This episode explores how different voice types tell us who to trust in a world where nothing is quite what it seems.
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Scott Joplin and the Musical Hiccup
Scott Joplin created a musical “hiccup” that made pianos skip and dance in unexpected ways. This episode explores how ragtime got its name from “ragged time” and became America’s first original musical style.
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Hildegard von Bingen and the Living Light
Nearly 900 years ago, a medieval nun named Hildegard saw mysterious visions of golden rivers and spinning wheels of fire that no one else could see. This episode explores how she turned these mystical experiences into some of the oldest music we still have today.
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Johann Sebastian Bach and the Moonlight Manuscript
Young Bach walked 250 miles through cold German forests to hear the master organist Dietrich Buxtehude play. This episode explores that legendary journey and introduces the musical magic of fugues—melodies that chase each other like a sophisticated game of follow-the-leader.
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Bedřich Smetana and the Two Springs
Deep beneath the mountains, two springs bubble up to begin an incredible journey—joining together to become the mighty Moldau River. Smetana painted this entire voyage in music, from tiny trickling streams to a grand river flowing past ancient castles. This episode follows the water’s path through one of classical music’s most beloved tone poems.
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Modest Mussorgsky and the Walking Melody
Mussorgsky composed a musical tour through an art gallery, with a special walking melody that changes mood as listeners move from painting to painting. This episode explores how different instruments paint vivid pictures, from dancing baby chicks to creaking ox carts.
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Antonín Dvořák and the Two Sunsets
Composer Antonín Dvořák crossed the ocean to America but couldn’t stop thinking about his homeland. His homesickness and wonder at the New World inspired his most famous symphony, filled with train rhythms and folk melodies.
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Frédéric Chopin and the Jar of Polish Earth
Homesick in Paris, young Chopin kept a jar of Polish soil on his desk as he composed music that made the piano sing like a human voice. This episode explores his beautiful nocturnes and how longing for home inspired some of history’s most beloved piano music.