Every story has a soundtrack. Cleveland Orchestra Musicians and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst share stories about the music that has shaped their lives.
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big hit in Russia, complicating an already harrowing adoption journey. Then there are the two handsome princes, one Russian, one American, and all the ...
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A show about music, bringing you great musicians and fantastic sound! Your Host and producer: Liz Huff, singer, performer, educator, improvisor, and your guide to the musicians and music we bring you each episode. Your Sound Guy: Bruce Gigax, long time audio engineer for The Cleveland Orchestra, now doing even more fun things in classical, jazz, choral, and Health Journeys Guided Imagery. The Musicians: different every time, often people who are skilled in several areas including: classical, ...
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The San Francisco Symphony’s American Orchestra Forum brings together voices from diverse cultural perspectives and the general public to explore the 21st-century American orchestra. Topics include how orchestras connect with their communities; how orchestras balance creativity and innovation with artistic traditions and practices; and what orchestras can learn about changing audience patterns and engagement strategies from looking outside their own industry.
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What (if anything) makes us—Homo sapiens—superior to (or at least distinct from) our close cousins, those happenin' haplorrhine primates? WQLN's premier podcast Better than Monkeys posits that it’s our forays into the arts and sciences that make us, well . . . human. BTM takes a monthly deep-dive behind the scenes of the arts and sciences, alongside local luminaries working in both disciplines, in order to answer that unwieldy question: What makes us human? Listen on, and dig into your human ...
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We are two classical musicians exploring the many manifestations of kodawari in the world. Kodawari is a beautiful concept word from Japanese. Although difficult to translate succinctly, kodawari essentially means pursuing perfection in a craft. It is the pursuit of an ideal even though you realize you can’t arrive there. Kodawari is what drives musicians to spend countless hours in the practice room. It motivates a chef to make the perfect meal, a writer to suffer over their words, and a ba ...
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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A modern Russian fairytale about an American actress who adopts a little Russian girl in St. Petersburg in 1994. The actress, Molly McKay, finds herself alone in a Russia that is trying, for the first time in its history, to become a free market democracy. She also discovers that the TV show she starred in back in the ‘80s in the U.S. is now a big …
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Episode 30: NPR's ARI SHAPIRO talks NPR and "OCH and OY: A Considered Cabaret!"
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He has been a question on Jeopardy and an answer inthe New York Times crossword puzzle. As ajournalist he has covered stories from the Arctic circle to the cabin of Air Force One. He’s covered conflicts inIraq, Ukraine and Israel. As a vital part of NPR’s journalistic team, hehas served as NPR’s International Correspondent based in London, he serve…
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Episode 29 Stewart Copeland of the POLICE! Erie Philharmonic Guest Soloist
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Sat, Oct 21, 2023 · 8pm Sun, Oct 22, 2023 · 3pm Warner Theatre Daniel Meyer conductor Stewart Copeland special guest Prepare for an unforgettable evening with The Police Deranged for the Orchestra, featuring legendary drummer from The Police himself, Stewart Copeland. This concert pays homage to the work of rock icon and composer Copeland through o…
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In this episode—especially since it has been so long since our last one—we decided to revisit the concept of kodawari and how it has changed for us over the three years of doing this podcast/blog. Over time we encounter more knowledge and have more life experiences. And as we attempt to integrate those into a coherent life philosophy, our ideas abo…
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The Hedonic Treadmill: Exploring Happiness , Meaning, and Hedonic Adaptation (#38)
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“‘I shall take the heart,’ returned the Tin Woodsman; ‘for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.’” —L. Frank Baum The topic of this episode is happiness and hedonic adaptation, otherwise known as the hedonic treadmill. Hedonic adaptation is a phenomenon of our psychology and physiology that keeps us at a stable…
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Chad Goodman: The Art of Orchestral Conducting (#37)
1:10:32
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In this episode, we explore the art of orchestral conducting with guest Chad Goodman. Chad is currently the conducting fellow of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, and he has also had fellowships at Festival Napa Valley and the Atlantic Music Festival. Since 2018, he has served as an assistant conductor to the San Francisco Symphony, and he als…
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Contending With Nihilism Part 2: Meaning in the Face of Absurdity (#36)
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"Written fifteen years ago, in 1940, amid the French and European disaster, this book declares that even within the limits of nihilism it is possible to find the means to proceed beyond nihilism. In all the books I have written since, I have attempted to pursue this direction. Although “The Myth of Sisyphus” poses mortal problems, it sums itself up…
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Contending With Nihilism Part 1: The Meaning Crisis (#35)
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“What does nihilism mean? That the highest values devaluate themselves. The aim is lacking; 'why?' finds no answer.” —Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power This episode, Part 1 of our exploration of nihilism, gets into the justifications for nihilism and why it's important to give nihilism its due as a philosophy. We discuss Nietzsche and existent…
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Ryan Charles Ramer, composer; Ben Malkevich, Leah Frank, and Nicholas Underhill, on piano. And a music box! A composer's progression.
1:21:37
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Join us for a show about music, bringing you great musicians and fantastic sound from Audio Recording Studio. In this episode: our host and producer, Liz Huff, and our guests, composer Ryan Charles Ramer, and pianists Ben Malkevich, Leah Frank, and Nicholas Underhill. Audio engineering by Bruce Gigax. Theme music by Ryan Charles Ramer, video for ar…
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What Is Metacognition? Mindfulness, Meta-Awareness, and Other Metacognitive Strategies (#34)
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What is metacognition? Metacognition is a modern term coined in 1979 by the American developmental psychologist John H. Flavell. He defined it as “cognition about cognitive phenomena,” or “thinking about thinking”. But the concept of metacognition has been around long before that in philosophy. "Meta", meaning beyond or above, signals that metacogn…
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Rock and drum icon Stewart Copeland talks early influences and recent compositions — including Police Deranged, an orchestral survey of Copeland’s career and his many years with The Police. Upcoming Performance (September 11 at Blossom Music Center): Join Stewart Copeland and The Cleveland Orchestra for the finale to this summer's Blossom Music Fes…
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Calvin Stokes on harp - jazz & classical, Liz Huff soprano/vocals, playing: Grandjany, Ellington, Porter, Hasselmans, and more!
1:33:10
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Join us for a show about music, bringing you great musicians and fantastic sound from Audio Recording Studio. In this episode: our host and producer, Liz Huff, and our guest, Calvin Stokes, who can be heard in concert around the U.S., playing both classical and jazz harp. He started studying harp on a dare! Audio engineering by Bruce Gigax. Theme m…
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Understanding Stoicism: Stoic Psychological Techniques for Living a Better Life (#33)
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"Many of us have been persuaded that happiness is something that someone else, a therapist or a politician, must confer on us. Stoicism rejects this notion. It teaches us that we are very much responsible for our happiness as well as our unhappiness. It also teaches us that it is only when we assume responsibility for our happiness that we will hav…
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Understanding Stoicism as a Philosophy of Life (#32)
53:03
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"Remember: Matter. How tiny your share of it. Time. How brief and fleeting your allotment of it. Fate. How small a role you play in it." —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Stoicism as a philosophy is not the same as being lowercase s stoical. It is not about blocking our difficult feelings and emotions. Instead, Stoicism is an approach to life that teac…
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In an award-winning career that has encompassed TV, film, stage and concert work around the globe, Betty Buckley is probably best known as the quintessential musical theatre actress. In this episode of Better Than Monkeys, Brian Hannah interviews Betty Buckley. In 2012 Buckley was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame, where her name — engraved on…
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Kim Gomez, Lisa Boyko, & Bryan Dumm - violin, viola, & cello - all Cleveland Orchestra members, playing Bach, Mozart, & Ernst von Dohnanyi
58:03
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Join us for a show about music, bringing you great musicians and fantastic sound from Audio Recording Studio. In this episode: our host and producer, Liz Huff, and our guests, violinist Kim Gomez, violist Lisa Boyko, and cellist Bryan Dumm - all three are members of The Cleveland Orchestra (CTO at Blossom runs July 3-September 11), as well as vario…
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#31: Violinist Katherine Bormann of The Cleveland Orchestra
1:06:59
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This episode is our conversation with Katherine Bormann, a violinist with The Cleveland Orchestra since 2011. Katherine has degrees from Rice University and The Juilliard School and studied with Kathleen Winkler, Joel Smirnoff, and Ronald Copes. She has made appearances at Strings Music Festival, Mainly Mozart Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and Ta…
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#30: Chaos and Order, Yin and Yang—The Ultimate Mental Model of Reality
1:13:30
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We recently published a new page on our website organizing all of our mental models (aka mental frameworks) into one place. We explain what a mental model is and how you can use them to better understand the world. Mental Frameworks: Your Toolbox For Thinking More Clearly In short, mental models are ways of thinking that help to simplify the world.…
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#29: Author Terry Tucker—How to Embrace Suffering and Find Purpose in Life
1:10:51
1:10:51
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In this episode, we speak with author and motivational speaker Terry Tucker. Terry has lived all over the country and worked in many different fields. After playing NCAA Division I basketball in college, he worked in a marketing department and as a hospital administrator. After that, he worked as a police officer, both as a SWAT Hostage Negotiator …
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#28: Music and Life Wisdom with Trumpeter Scott Moore
1:11:34
1:11:34
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For this episode, we were joined by trumpet player Scott Moore, who has been principal trumpet of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra since 1988. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony. He has also recorded and performed with the Nashville Chamber Orches…
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#27: Robin Hanson, Hidden Motives, and The Elephant in the Brain
1:15:02
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“At every single stage [of processing information]—from its biased arrival, to its biased encoding, to organizing it around false logic, to misremembering and then misrepresenting it to others—the mind continually acts to distort information flow in favor of the usual goal of appearing better than one really is.” —Robert Trivers In this episode, I …
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#26: Communication And The Origins Of Language
1:07:17
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"Any model of communication is at the same time a model of trans-lation, of a vertical or horizontal transfer of significance. No two historical epochs, no two social classes, no two localities use words and syntax to signify exactly the same things, to send identical signals of valuation and inference. Neither do two human beings [...] Thus a huma…
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#25: Behavioral Scientist Dr. Kurt Nelson—Why We Do What We Do
1:06:55
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Why do people do what they do? This fascinating question is the foundation of behavioral science, and in this episode, we speak about exactly that with behavioral scientist Dr. Kurt Nelson. Kurt has a Ph.D. in Industrial & Organizational Psychology and is the founder of The Lantern Group, which uses behavioral science to help optimize companies and…
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Ep 27 - Michael Sachs, Principal Trumpet of the Cleveland Orchestra - 2/2
1:13:25
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This episode of Better Than Monkeys is part two of a two part series featuring MICHAEL SACHS, principal trumpet of THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA. Since 1988, Michael Sachs has held one of the premier positions in one of the world's premier orchestras, and on this episode of BTM, he shares his stories, his love of music, his love of sports and so much mor…
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#24: The Psychology of New Year's Resolutions
1:19:12
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We are finally back! Sorry for the delay in getting episodes out—we just moved from New York to Florida and couldn't find the time to podcast. But we are settled in now, and for our first episode of 2021, we decided to tackle the psychology of new year's resolutions. Why do we make new year's resolutions, and why do so few of us actually keep them?…
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Ariel Clayton Karaś - Opus 216 (Violin, thoughts on indie musician life)
1:07:18
1:07:18
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In this episode: meet our host and producer, Liz Huff, and our guest, Ariel Clayton Karaś, violinist, independent musical professional, and founder of Opus 216! Audio engineering by Bruce Gigax. Theme music by Ryan Charles Ramer, video for archives by Nate Lockwood, cover art by Alexandra Harsha, VO by Randall Fusco. If you want to support the show…
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Ep 26 - Dr. Evan Williams on "Dead White Man Music"
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This episode of BETTER THAN MONKEYS is a follow up to WQLN NPR's Harry T. Burleigh week celebration in December. Burleigh, born in Erie, Pa in 1866 was instrumental in bringing the African-American spiritual into the mainstream of classical music thru his art songs and for bringing these spirituals to the attention of composer ANTONIN DVORAK who lo…
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Griffith & Crabtree Holiday Music (Piano & Flute)
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Join us for a show about music, bringing you great musicians and fantastic sound from Audio Recording Studio. In this episode: our host and producer, Liz Huff, and our guests, Marshall Griffith on piano and Virginia Crabtree on flute. Audio engineering by Bruce Gigax. Theme music by Ryan Charles Ramer, video for archives by Nate Lockwood, cover art…
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Holiday Bonus: The Psychedelic History of Santa
1:28:45
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This bonus/end of the year holiday episode is a looser and more fun episode all about the psychedelic mushroom history of Santa Claus. According to this theory, our modern Santa is based on ancient shamans in the Scandinavian and Siberian regions who would pass out hallucinogenic mushrooms on the winter solstice. While it is just a theory, it does …
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Revered pianist Mitsuko Uchida reminisces with fondness on the familial nature of her decades-long relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra. Featured Music: MOZART – Piano Concerto No. 24 (K. 491) The Cleveland Orchestra Mitsuko Uchida, conductor and piano Recorded live at Severance Hall in November 2005 The connection we share through music is mo…
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#23: Brandon Dicks—Social Media, Composition, and Making Music Online
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In this episode, we speak with composer, arranger, and trumpet player Brandon Dicks. Brandon is currently pursuing a doctorate in Trumpet Performance at Arizona State University, but he caught my attention with his impressive videography skills on his Youtube channel. Brandon arranges just about any type of music for trumpet ensemble—for example, h…
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The answer to whether or not the self is an illusion is tricky—it really depends on what you mean by both self and illusion. In this episode, we challenge the sense of self that we all feel from the first-person subjective experience. We all feel like we are riding around inside of our heads looking out at the world. We don't feel like we are ident…
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#21: The Art of the Short Story with Joe Labriola
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“The well-told story seems to answer something very deep in our nature as if, for the duration of its telling, something special has been created, some essence of our experience extrapolated, some temporary sense has been made of our common, turbulent journey towards the grave and oblivion.” —William Boyd Our mission for this episode was to capture…
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Change of Seasons, Part 2: The Golda Touch
1:19:07
1:19:07
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After several artist cancellations irrevocably altered plans to perform Haydn’s The Seasons, soprano Golda Schultz was the last soloist standing. Not only did the show go on, it became a defining moment. Featured Music: HAYDN – The Seasons The Cleveland Orchestra Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Golda Schultz, soprano Recorded live at Severance Hall on…
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In January 2018, The Cleveland Orchestra planned to perform Haydn’s choral masterpiece The Seasons. One soloist fell ill. Then another. What resulted is one of the most unusual and memorable performances in Cleveland Orchestra history. Featured Music: HAYDN – The Seasons The Cleveland Orchestra Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Golda Schultz, soprano Re…
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The first evidence of marriage ceremonies dates back to 2350 BC in ancient Mesopotamia, and since then cultures around the world have had their various interpretations of this practice. So in this episode, we (Luke and Yankı) have a conversation about the meaning of marriage—both specifically for us but also more generally as a cultural phenomenon.…
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My guest on this Halloween edition of BTM is author, journalist, consultant and EXORCIST, the PARANORMAL PASTOR, ROBIN SWOPE! Rev. Robin Swope is a Writer and has been a Christian Minister for more than 27 years in both Mainline and Evangelical Denominations. He holds a B.A. in Biblical Literature and finishing an M.Div. In Pastoral Ministry with a…
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Cellist Paul Kushious reflects on the works of Richard Strauss as he traces the composer’s path on an unforgettable and perfectly planned trip from Austria to Switzerland. Featured Music: STRAUSS – Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24 The Cleveland Orchestra Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Recorded live at Severance Hall in 2016 The connection we share t…
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#19: Stephen Hill on Addiction, Speak Sobriety, and His Journey to Recovery
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This episode is our conversation with the speaker, author, and advocate for sobriety Stephen Hill. Stephen suffered from addiction for over a decade and his life was out of control. But in 2012 he began a journey to recovery, and on September 30th 2020 he celebrated eight years of sobriety. He also started an organization called Speak Sobriety wher…
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Bassoonist Jonathan Sherwin discusses the existential meaning behind Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony - Resurrection; “Why am I here, what am I doing, and what gives my life meaning…” Featured Music: MAHLER – Symphony no. 2 (Resurrection) 5. Im Tempo des Scherzos (In the tempo of the scherzo) The Cleveland Orchestra Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Joél…
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#18: Software Engineer Drew Shapiro—Understanding the Technology of Sound (Part 2)
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This episode is Part 2 of our conversation with software engineer Drew Shapiro. If you stumbled into this episode before hearing Part 1, I recommend going one episode back and listening to that one first...it will be kind of hard to connect the dots of where we land in this episode without hearing Part 1 first. In this part, we continue to analyze …
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