Classical Post

My guest today on the Classical Post podcast is singer, cellist, and composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson who makes her debut at Madison Square Garden as part of Andrea Bocelli's US tour this December. I'm sure you realize the significance of someone debuting in front of a crowd that could be upwards of 20,000 people. It's an incredible feat. One of the really beautiful things that Bocelli has done for other artists is brought them on tour with him, which gives them enormous levels of recognition they might not get otherwise simply because of the vast amount of people that crowd into these stadiums to hear him sing. Ayanna, who joins me today in the Classical Post studio, finds herself with that exciting opportunity—on stage with Bocelli, making a very important splash in New York's iconic venue, Madison Square Garden. I personally find her artistry so vibrant, exuding a light that is just exciting to be around. We discuss her musical origins that are very much grounded in numerous genres—coupled with her education as being a seriously trained classical musician at Manhattan School of Music—and producing a sound that is uniquely hers, flavored with alternative R&B. This sound world is particularly evident on a new single called "Flow My Tears", recently arranged by John Aram, but originally, the music was written by John Dowland in 1596. Yes, you heard that correctly. It's over 400 years old. Ayanna brings to life Mr. Aram's arrangement of an atmospheric, beat-driven ancient song, now built for streaming online. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Ayanna Witter-Johnson and that it inspires you to explore this artist who will certainly light up Madison Square Garden this month. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

I know many of you have seen Breaking Bad, the globally popular show. Today's guest has some tracks that are featured on it. He's also got music on Netflix's reboot of the anime series Cowboy Bebop that was just released. From the beautiful European city of Copenhagen, composer, pianist, and producer Asger Baden joins us on the Classical Post podcast. Also with us in the same virtual studio, the famous Danish Illustrator, John Kenn Mortensen. The two artists actually collaborated on a recent album of Asger's music, released on the Neue Meister label. John did the cover art illustration. I thought it would be fascinating to have a discussion on creativity and making space for it in our lives. Too often our physical space (at home or at the office) is not conducive to the type of work we do -- that is, to maximize our quality output. Many in the corporate world have now realized this working from home. But having a comfortable work space is part of how people in the arts have functioned for years. My guests today speak to carving out a zone that helps you produce your best work. We also speak on how John and Asger view success and their differing viewpoints, as well as their collaboration on this new album. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

We all remember the royal wedding of Prince Harry to the American actress, Meghan Markle, in 2018. I remember getting up early to watch it streamed live as I know many Americans did. Serendipitously, a classical cellist performed in the ceremony that day to a global audience of 2 billion people, in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. That cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, has since charted a meteoric rise to prominence. This month, he makes his New York Philharmonic debut. He's also just released an album with his sister, the brilliant pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. Both Sheku and Isata join me on the Classical Post podcast today to discuss this new album called Muse, released on the Decca Classics label, featuring gorgeous works by Rachmaninoff and Barber. Listen to this discussion about how these siblings create art together. But also, hear a brief snapshot into Sheku's New York Philharmonic debut and what it was like for him performing at the royal wedding. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Mark Ainley has become quite an authority in historic recordings of classical pianists. His highly-regarded Facebook page, The Piano Files with Mark Ainley, delves into how pianists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries played the instrument.  Concurrently, he is a consultant in the Chinese art of Feng Shui and has been helping people integrate principles of nature to create a sense of balance in their homes and businesses. I spoke with Mark specifically on how you could draw parallels between these two worlds -- the Western art of classical music and the Eastern art of Feng Shui. To my surprise, there are more related ideas than you might think. Mark articulates both art forms in a way that is digestible, and I hope it stimulates your own thoughts as you approach your work. I know I personally find value in being able to look at something that might seem disparate, but draw parallels. That drive for curiosity keeps me fresh and I hope it will for you, too. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Grammy Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem just released his first-ever solo album called Shall We Gather. It's a collection of American art songs that celebrate resilience and togetherness. His wife, Irina, the dynamic collaborative pianist, joins him on this album. For those of you who might not know, Lucas Meachem is one of the most in-demand opera singers right now. He opens this season at LA Opera in Tannhaüser, then later appears at the Metropolitan Opera in La Bohème, followed by London's Royal Opera House in Madama Butterfly. It's certainly one of those high-gloss, jet-set lives, but he's so down to earth. Both Irina and Lucas join me on the Classical Post podcast today where we discuss the profound questions that their album poses. For example, it makes you question: Should we connect? Should we physically be together? Should we be distanced? As Irina points out, music is here to heal and to inspire. As the performing arts continue to return and gain traction again with larger audiences around the world, this album is a poignant milestone to contemplate. It's a type of cathartic unpacking of the turbulent period we all just experienced. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Berlin-based composer-producer-pianist Meredi joins me on the Classical Post podcast to discuss the musical fusion of German nightclubs with a classical music backbone. In essence, this is her new album called Trance, released on the label Modern Recordings. As an artist who has garnered millions of streams online between all of the various digital services, ELLE magazine declares, "Meredi composes music which shines like stars." Electronic music in its various iterations is ubiquitous now, but there's a slice of this known as trance that I remember experiencing in Europe on a number of occasions in London, Paris, and Vienna. It takes you to a higher mental state, perhaps even altering your mind in a positive way. Meredi takes her classical training and approaches this very European nightclub sound, resulting in a passionate recording to let others experience a different state of mind, lose a sense of time, and become one with their surroundings. In this episode, we speak on getting "high" on music, differences between the European and American nightclubs, and how she hopes to shatter the stereotype of composers today. Listen to the podcast to learn about the trance genre and tap into energy emitted from this music that could just get you through your next hard day at work. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

My guest today is the cellist and composer Peter Gregson, whose music you've most likely heard on Netflix's crazy-popular Bridgerton, and HBO's The New Pope starring Jude Law and John Malkovich. His output even reaches the heights of haute couture in campaigns for Balenciaga, Burberry, and Dior. He's now released his fifth studio album called Patina on the premier label Deutsche Grammophon. It's an unusual album in that it explores the theme of absence, particularly with the posed question, "What happens when you remove a melody?" Patina is his most expansive and expressive work to-date, featuring an astonishing array of analogue electronic instruments, a string ensemble, and his unique solo cello. This is the type of art that makes you pause and reconsider reality. It's not something that is just casual, but rather forces you to understand what is happening through a heightened awareness. My conversation in this podcast explores numerous examples in which Peter articulates this "hyper-awareness" through subtraction: from Disney's Pixar and the concept of "uncanny valley" to Paul McCartney's recordings to photography in a Phaidon coffee table book. While this might seem very philosophical, it really is quite relatable when you think about Andy Warhol's work focusing on Campbell's soup cans or his icon-type paintings of Marilyn Monroe. Examples abound of this hyper-sensitivity to the subject matter, not the subject's existence in the real world. It's the representation of reality versus reality itself. Listen to Peter Gregson's full story in this episode. I hope it gives you a new sense in which to experience life—and most likely a certain angle that you haven't explored. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

In this episode of the Classical Post Podcast, concert violinist Alexi Kenney shares his experience of releasing a visual album (Paul Wianko’s X Suite for Solo Violin) earlier this year that was filmed in wine country at a fabulous estate in Sonoma, California. The Donum Estate was founded 20 years ago on 190 idyllic acres. Today, 91one those acres are planted with grapes such as pinot noir and chardonnay. But more interestingly, the grounds are dotted with an incredible sculpture collection of modern art. The resulting series of videos from this album — that you can watch on YouTube — features Alexi playing amidst this dynamic landscape of Vineyard-bliss and contemporary sculptures. He commissioned the composer Paul Wiancko to write this work called X Suite for Solo Violin. The visual album pairs the seven movements with seven sculptures at this vineyard. The work originally premiered at London's prestigious Wigmore Hall in 2019. But now this is the recording premiere in multiple formats — the video on YouTube and audio recordings you can find on Spotify, Apple Music, etc. Alexi is one of those people that sees art as "total art", encompassing not just what you hear, but what you see and experience in the physical world. I know I personally value this and want the classical music world to move in this direction. But for now, I want to highlight his viewpoint on just that — creating art music that's not in a vacuum, but inextricably tied to the visual experience. How is this valuable to you? Some might find art music esoteric, but I'm here to showcase Alexi's work as something that's approachable just as you would approach a wine pairing at a fine restaurant. To take the analogy further, imagine a summer's night on Nantucket. You've just had dinner with the sun setting over the water. You've had a fine bottle of champagne. And now you're getting ready to leave and have a cigar by the fire, now that the cool breeze is sweeping off the coast. All of these elements are uniquely beautiful — the food, the view, the champagne, the fire — but if you eliminate one of these, it's still beautiful, but not as complete. That's the best way I can describe this discussion of art we have in this podcast episode. The total package becomes transcendent, picking us up from the mundane and placing us in a state of elevated consciousness. I hope you enjoy my chat with Alexi Kenney who The New York Times calls “spellbinding". —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Our podcast guest today is Danielle Eva Schwob. The New Yorker hails her as a “notable cross-genre composer”, who writes concert works, experimental electro-rock, and film scores. Many listeners should care about her work because she is redefining what it means to be a "serious composer". Notable presenters have featured her work, like Lincoln Center and Le Poisson Rouge, and she has received commissions from the American Composers Forum and New Music USA. But unlike many composers who run in these circles, she has her finger on the pulse of music for big name Hollywood movies. She's worked on the music team for Manhattan Night starring Adrien Brody, and the film Mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence. We discuss her work and more on this episode, including her new album, Out of the Tunnel, featuring PUBLIQuartet. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Countertenor Randall Scotting is carving out a path that is uniquely exciting in the opera world. Singing to sold-out crowds at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House and working on a newly filmed production at Seattle Opera, he’s operating at a level that has positive momentum, using fitness as meditation, and grounded in his roots as a “Colorado boy”. Listen to our interview with him on the Classical Post Podcast. Or read the full transcript, edited for clarity. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Elena Urioste is a musician, yogi, writer, and entrepreneur who has appeared as violin soloist with all the top orchestras in the U.S. — New York Philharmonic, LA Phil, Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras. She is the co-director of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, which is an Associate Ensemble of London's prestigious Wigmore Hall. She is the co-founder of Intermission, a program that combines music, movement, and mindfulness, aiming to make music-making a healthier, more holistic practice for students and professionals alike through yoga and meditation. Our conversation highlights her vibrant energy from her multi-cultural background and how that infuses her everyday style. I particularly enjoyed hearing her travel recommendation to Germany's Schloss Elmau hotel and spa, which needs to be on everyone's dream hotel list. We explore how she expanded her career into yoga and started an organization that even has an app! Interestingly, she recounts her perspective on the importance of fulfillment and not just success. I found this emphasis to be quite profound. Finally, we conclude our chat with how her new studio album came to be — out of the depths of lockdown and building a large digital community around that shared experience. The album, #UriPosteJukeBox, features her husband, pianist Tom Poster, and will be released on the Orchid Classics label this September. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

My guest today is Simon Goff. You've probably heard his work on the film, Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Simon was a recording engineer working alongside the composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. The film ended up winning the Oscar for Best Original Score. You've also heard his work on the HBO miniseries, Chernobyl, where he won a Grammy as a recording engineer. He's got a new album out called, Vale, that you certainly should listen to! Simon's extraordinary accomplishments led us to a fascinating conversation in this episode. Keep listening to hear how the downtown music scene of 1960s New York, the Bauhaus movement, and minimalism have influenced his aesthetic choices. Take notes on a certain Italian red wine he recommends and also which Japanese whiskey to buy. Plus, gain insight into why we all should be protagonists of the creation process. Connect with Simon on Instagram. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Having recently performed at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil and Gustavo Dudamel, pianist David Fung joins us on the Classical Post Podcast for an intriguing conversation highlighting his design and style aesthetics. He speaks on the wabi-sabi approach to minimalism and a dream house of raw material. Plus, hear if he prefers to spend a day in Biden or Rhianna’s shoes. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or other platforms. HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR DISCUSSION Favorite cocktail: Manhattan with Luxardo cherries Style icons/movements: Marie Kondo, minimalism, wabi-sabi (finding beauty in imperfection) Architecture preference: Mid-century modern, Frank Lloyd Wright Dream aesthetic: Raw material, austerity, massive space Fashion: Issey Miyake, Cartier, Dior, Uniqlo Recommended products: Aesop Whose shoes would you walk in for a day? Toss up between Biden or Rhianna What does success mean to you? Success is being able to do what you love on a day-to-day basis and being able to share this. What's one important trait in the workplace? A simpatico professional environment is very valuable. Learn more: davidfung.com, Instagram, Facebook Praised for his “ravishing and simply gorgeous” performances in The Washington Post, pianist David Fung is widely recognized for interpretations that are elegant and refined, yet intensely poetic and uncommonly expressive. Declared a Rising Star in BBC Music Magazine, Mr. Fung regularly appears with the world’s premier ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Israel Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the San Diego Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony, as well as the major orchestras in his native country of Australia, including the Melbourne Symphony, the Queensland Symphony, and the Sydney Symphony. Mr. Fung garnered international attention as laureate of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Brussels and the Arthur Rubinstein Piano International Masters Competition in Tel Aviv.  In Tel Aviv, he was further distinguished by the Chamber Music and Mozart Prizes, awarded in areas in which Mr. Fung has a passionate interest. Mr. Fung is the first piano graduate of the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles and is a Steinway Artist. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

American baritone Jarrett Logan Porter joins us on the Classical Post Podcast for a candid look at his inspiration from the worlds of design, interiors, fashion, and global travel. Speaking with a level of poignant depth beyond his years, he shares how minimalism, sentimentality, form, light, and a major nod to Japanese and Danish aesthetics influence him. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or other platforms. HIGHLIGHTS OF DISCUSSION Style icon: Jeff Goldblum Interior design inspo: Minimalism — should be timeless and classic, mixed with earthiness. Not stark minimalism, but Danish, Japanese style/design; Charles and Ray Eames aesthetic. Favorite place: Kyoto — smell, wetness of the trees. Anything that brings back those memories. Dream aesthetic: A sharp focus on sentiment, form, and light. What does his style say about him: Focus…that he cares. Put together, but not fussed over. Recommended products: Lulu Lemon, Acne Studios, J.Crew, Comme de Garcons, Aesop. What energizes him: Being around people where you can be real, knowing different levels of who you are. Whose shoes would he spend a day in:  Yo Yo Ma Learn more: jarrettporter.com / Instagram — Praised for his “imposing baritone” and “supple vibrant baritone that he deploys with unaffected lyricism and manifest honesty” by Opera News, American baritone Jarrett Porter is quickly making a name for himself with a fearless talent and commanding intellect. Porter is currently a member of the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at The Juilliard School. —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.

Bass-baritone Dashon Burton joins us on the Classical Post Podcast to discuss style, wellness, and his successful career that won him Grammy Awards. Serendipitously, we actually recorded this interview two days before he won the second Grammy for his work on Smyth: The Prison. Here are some highlights of what we discussed on the podcast. Style icons: Thundercat, Amy Sedaris Dream home: At least a Tesla in the driveway. The aesthetic should also be one that connects people and draws people together. Style philosophy: Style is about inviting people into your community. Product recommendation: You Need a Budget (YNAB), the Marie Kondo of budgeting. Guilty pleasure: "…nothing wrong with RuPaul's Drag Race.” What energizes him: Connecting with students who don't normally have access to classical music, as well as anyone who’s curious to learn more in life. How does he define success: Success is feeling comfortable in your own shoes. Greatest career moment: Attending the Grammy Awards ceremony with his mother and sharing that success of winning with her. Learn more: dashonburton.com Remember to follow Classical Post on Instagram and Facebook. Visit our website with insightful content on classical music, style, and wellness. Hit the subscribe button wherever you're listening to this podcast to be notified of new episodes! —  Classical Post® is created and produced by ⁠Gold Sound Media⁠® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can ⁠grow your audience⁠ to make a lasting impact in your community.