The Classical Music Minute
Ever wonder who were the Florentine Camerata? Where did the conductor’s baton come from? Or the difference between Opera Buffa and Opera Seria? These little nuggets of classical music trivia are what this podcast is all about. Come hop around music history with me, Steven Hobé, as we take a minute to get the scoop!
Episodes
Description
Mozart in Miniature: Master of Chamber Music in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Mozart’s publisher worried that his Piano Quartet in G minor (1785) was too difficult for amateurs—the intended market for chamber music. Sales flopped at first, but the piece later became a cornerstone of the repertoire. It’s a reminder that Mozart sometimes wrote not for popularity, but for pure ar...
Description
Form, Function, and Flourish: The Classical Sonata in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata wasn’t named by him at all—the nickname came years later, when a critic compared its first movement to moonlight on Lake Lucerne. Beethoven might have rolled his eyes, but the title stuck, and today it’s one of the most famous (and misinterpreted) sonatas ever wri...
Description
Back to the Future: Neoclassicism in Music in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Stravinsky admitted that Pulcinella wasn’t just homage—it was liberation. “It was a backward look, of course,” he said, “but it was a look in the mirror too.” By reworking 18th-century melodies with his own twists, he essentially invented neoclassicism—proving that recycling old material can still crea...
Description
Faraway Fantasies: Exoticism in Opera in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
When Carmen premiered, critics complained it was too scandalous and “vulgar” for the Paris stage. Yet the opera’s Spanish flair and exotic energy soon captivated Europe. Ironically, Bizet never visited Spain—the rhythms and melodies came from French collections of “Spanish” tunes. Authentic or not, it becam...
Description
Showtime with Strings Attached: The Romantic Concerto in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Franz Liszt’s piano concertos were so demanding that critics sometimes accused him of showing off. He didn’t mind—he once said performing should “transport the listener.” Paganini caused similar uproar: audiences whispered he’d sold his soul to the devil to master the violin. Marketing hype,...
Description
Bigger, Louder, Wilder: The Romantic Orchestra Arrives in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Wagner was so ambitious he built his own opera house in Bayreuth just to fit the expanded orchestra he envisioned. His pit design hid the musicians from the audience—so all you saw was drama on stage while an enormous, unseen orchestra unleashed waves of sound beneath.
About Steven...
Description
Berlioz & the Program Symphony: When Music Told the Whole Story in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Berlioz claimed Symphonie fantastique was inspired by his infatuation with Irish actress Harriet Smithson, whom he later married—briefly. She didn’t attend the premiere, but when she finally heard it, she was impressed… and a little alarmed. Courtship tip: maybe don’t include a...
Description
Small Rooms, Big Genius: Mozart’s Chamber Music in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet was written for his friend Anton Stadler, whose extended-range clarinet could play lower notes than normal. Mozart adored the instrument’s warm tone—so much so that he later wrote his famous Clarinet Concerto for Stadler. Friendship goals: writing one of the most beautifu...
Description
Lutes, Lyrics, and Life on the Road: Meet the Medieval Minstrels in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Minstrels had to pass on their songs by memory, since music printing wouldn’t arrive until the 15th century. That meant performances changed over time—sometimes intentionally, sometimes forgetfully. A tale sung in France might sound very different once it reached England… with a n...
Description
If the Music Fits, Sing It: The Art of Word Painting in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
In Weelkes’ madrigal "As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending", the word “descending” is literally sung with downward scales—meanwhile, “ascending” climbs right back up. Even “running down” gets a rapid, breathless passage. It’s one of the earliest—and cheekiest—examples of word pa...
Description
Notes on Repeat: How the Printing Press Changed Music Forever in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Petrucci’s music prints were so beautifully done that people treated them like prized books. His triple-impression method printed staves, then notes, then text—a slow process, but incredibly precise. Later printers opted for faster techniques, but Petrucci’s editions set a gold stand...
Description
When One Voice Became Many: The Rise of Polyphony in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
In early polyphonic music, singers didn’t always have rhythm notated. They had to feel their way through the parts. Imagine performing complex interwoven melodies… by ear! It wasn’t until the 13th century that rhythmic notation caught up. Until then, performances were part skill, part educated g...
Description
Opera à la Carte: Rossini, Risotto, and the Birth of a Beloved Aria in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Rossini retired from composing operas at just 37, choosing to focus on fine food and entertaining. He invented or inspired several gourmet dishes—like Tournedos Rossini, topped with foie gras and truffles. For Rossini, music and food weren’t separate pleasures—they were two way...
Description
Knock Knock... It’s Fate: The Four Notes That Shook the World in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
During WWII, Allied radio broadcasts began with the da-da-da-DUM motif because its rhythm matched the Morse code for “V” (•••–), symbolizing “Victory.” Beethoven’s Fifth thus became a sonic emblem of resistance—proof that four notes written in 1808 could help rally hope mor...
Description
When a Cello Speaks: The Heartbreaking Opening of Elgar’s Concerto in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Elgar’s Cello Concerto premiered in 1919—and flopped. Overshadowed by rehearsal mishaps, it wasn’t until Jacqueline du Pré’s 1965 recording that the piece gained fame. Today, its opening bars are considered some of the most emotionally gripping in classical music—proof...
Description
That Note from Heaven: The Top C in Allegri’s Miserere in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
The Vatican once banned copying Miserere, enforcing secrecy to protect its mystique. Young Mozart heard it once in 1770 and wrote it out entirely from memory. This musical jailbreak helped make the soaring top C famous—and added to Mozart’s legend as a prodigious musical genius wi...
Description
Lip Gymnastics: The Wild World of Horn Embouchure in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Horn players often practice just buzzing their lips into a mouthpiece—no horn needed—while driving, walking, or even watching TV!
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About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his ...
Description
Puff, Play, Breathe: The Oboe’s Magic Trick in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Some oboists have used circular breathing to play continuous notes for over 45 minutes—long enough to make a sandwich between breaths!
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About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his m...
Description
Mahler’s Motto: Go Big or Go Back to Vienna in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 premiered in 1910 with over 1,000 performers on stage. Though “Symphony of a Thousand” wasn’t his title, the name stuck. It was one of the largest-scale choral works ever attempted—and still gives orchestra managers mild panic attacks every time it’s programmed.
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Description
The Nutcracker? No Thanks, Said Tchaikovsky (At First) in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!
Fun Fact
Tchaikovsky didn't trust Russian composers not to steal his idea of using the celesta for The Nutcracker, so he had it secretly shipped from Paris. He needn’t have worried—now it’s hard to imagine Christmas without it. He didn’t love the ballet, but the celesta made magic.
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