hector berlioz

Description
Well, it’s nearly Halloween 🎃 and there are many works of music that depict the spookiness, darkness and morbidity of this annual tradition. 😱 But one jumps out at me, Danse macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Like all great music, this work was imitated by many over the years. The re-tuning of the violin for the tri-tone interval was used by many composers, with my personal favorites being Béla Bartók’s Contrasts for violin, clarinet, and piano, and James Newton Howard’s chilling score to the 2002 film, Signs. But notable occurrences include Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff, “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim, and “Into the Unknown” by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez from Frozen II. Rachmaninoff actually quoted the “Dies Irae” theme in a dozen of his works.
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About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
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Got a topic? Pop me an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 🤔

Description
Blessed with good looks, but bad teeth, Franz Liszt had a number of vices, including cigars and cognac. All of which he would indulge in to excess. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Liszt was quite the rock star of his time. They called it “Lisztomania” – women would faint and go into a frenzy when he performed, so much so that local doctors thought it was an epidemic of mental illness. And it wasn’t just women swooning for Liszt! Upon seeing Liszt, one critic, Yuri Arnold, wrote: “As soon as I reached home, I pulled off my coat, flung myself on the sofa, and wept the bitterest, sweetest tears.”

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 

Description
Ever wonder what inspired Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz? This “program” symphony is fueled by Hector’s obsession with actress Harriet Smithson. It is a shocking ride of epic psychological dimensions. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
In the fall of 1827, at age 24, Hector Berlioz attended the opening night of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, performed in Paris by an English theatre company. On that night, Berlioz was fascinated by more than the work of the revered English poet: he was enchanted by Harriet Smithson, the young Irishwoman who played Ophelia. That enchantment soon turned to obsession as Berlioz haunted the stage door and inundated Smithson with love letters only to have his advances ignored.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com