Dear Maestro

Trailer: Dear Maestro

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2455615/fan_mail/new] Visit www.dearmaestro.org [http://www.dearmaestro.org] for bonus content, including letters read-out and discussed by their writers. Email us at hello@dearmaestro.org [hello@dearmaestro.org] - we'd love to hear from you! Producers: Rowan Bishop and Kate Guthrie Hosts: Flora Willson and Kate Guthrie With thanks to: Cheryl Melody Baskin, Michael Ellison, Cassandra Fenton, Mark Keedwell, Melanie Shaffer, Karen Skinazi, Chuck Talley and Justin Williams.  Funded by: the Arts and Humanities Research Council [https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX012859%2F1].

Dear Mr. Bernstein

What do crockery and sweat have to do with the history of classical music? The answer lies with its fans. Meet hosts Dr. Kate Guthrie and Dr. Flora Willson as they discuss why we need to talk about classical music fandom.  We share stories of fandom from our own lives. We tell the story of how Leonard Bernstein, the composer of West Side Story, became the most famous classical music star of his generation. And we reveal how the thousands of fan letters he received ended up in DC’s prestigious Library of Congress. We discuss the wackiest letters from the archive, including one from a group of nuns who had created a Bernstein-themed table-setting for a competition; one from a couple who wanted to own a piece of Bernstein’s crockery; and another from a listener who thought Bernstein was too sweaty. Finally, meet letter-writer Cheryl Melody Baskin, who describes her surprise at being reunited with a letter she sent to Bernstein over 6 decades ago. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2455615/fan_mail/new] Visit www.dearmaestro.org [http://www.dearmaestro.org] for bonus content, including letters read-out and discussed by their writers. Email us at hello@dearmaestro.org [hello@dearmaestro.org] - we'd love to hear from you! Producers: Rowan Bishop and Kate Guthrie Hosts: Flora Willson and Kate Guthrie With thanks to: Cheryl Melody Baskin, Michael Ellison, Cassandra Fenton, Mark Keedwell, Melanie Shaffer, Karen Skinazi, Chuck Talley and Justin Williams.  Funded by: the Arts and Humanities Research Council [https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX012859%2F1].

This is no fan letter

From ‘Swifties’ to ‘Trekkies’, ‘Potterheads’ to ‘Twihards’, fans of popular culture often proclaim their fandom with pride. But the idea of fandom still seems to make the classical music world uncomfortable.  In this episode, we ask: what’s so bad about being a fan of classical music?!  We take a deep dive into the history of the fandom to find out where the word ‘fan’ comes from. We explore how the popular music industry, Beatlemania and television made it controversial to be a fan of classical music. And we investigate how fans connected with celebrities in an age before social media. From Leonard Bernstein's archive, we discuss letters from a young woman who lost her fiancé in the Holocaust, a teenager who is determined to prove he’s different from Bernstein’s other fans, and a secretary who felt rather embarrassed about her decision to write. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2455615/fan_mail/new] Visit www.dearmaestro.org [http://www.dearmaestro.org] for bonus content, including letters read-out and discussed by their writers. Email us at hello@dearmaestro.org [hello@dearmaestro.org] - we'd love to hear from you! Producers: Rowan Bishop and Kate Guthrie Hosts: Flora Willson and Kate Guthrie With thanks to: Cheryl Melody Baskin, Michael Ellison, Cassandra Fenton, Mark Keedwell, Melanie Shaffer, Karen Skinazi, Chuck Talley and Justin Williams.  Funded by: the Arts and Humanities Research Council [https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX012859%2F1].

Longhair music

For decades, critics have been slamming the classical music world for its elitism. Meanwhile, fans insist that classical music is for everyone. What’s all the fuss about? In this episode, we ask: why is classical music’s elitist reputation so contentious?  We explore how in the 1950s and 1960s - when Bernstein was at the height of his celebrity - the USA’s rapidly expanding middle class embraced classical music as a cultural equivalent of the white picket fence. We discuss musicians from Bernstein to Nigel Kennedy who have flouted the rules. And we reflect on how, in pushing the boundaries, they helped some fans to feel a sense of belonging, while others found themselves feeling excluded. From Bernstein's archive, we meet a father who wants his children to learn “proper conduct,” a woman enraged by Bernstein’s “lunatic” conducting, and a couple of writers who are grateful for his performances of “longhair music.” Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2455615/fan_mail/new] Visit www.dearmaestro.org [http://www.dearmaestro.org] for bonus content, including letters read-out and discussed by their writers. Email us at hello@dearmaestro.org [hello@dearmaestro.org] - we'd love to hear from you! Producers: Rowan Bishop and Kate Guthrie Hosts: Flora Willson and Kate Guthrie With thanks to: Cheryl Melody Baskin, Michael Ellison, Cassandra Fenton, Mark Keedwell, Melanie Shaffer, Karen Skinazi, Chuck Talley and Justin Williams.  Funded by: the Arts and Humanities Research Council [https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX012859%2F1].

Emotional summits

Ask any classical music boffin, and they’ll tell you that you can’t just listen to classical music. It’s a skill that you have to learn. But what about our gut response to music – where does that come into it?  In this episode, we ask: is there a correct way to listen to classical music?  We recount our own experiences of being taught how to listen at school and university. We discuss what Bernstein thought the Beatles had in common with Schumann – and why drawing this comparison was controversial. And we explore how his broadcasts encouraged both emotional and intellectual responses to classical music in a way that was deeply countercultural. From Bernstein’s archive, we meet a classical music educator eager to convert “lay listeners,” a high school senior for whom Bernstein became an emotional guide, and a young person whose concert viewing has made old before his time.  Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2455615/fan_mail/new] Visit www.dearmaestro.org [http://www.dearmaestro.org] for bonus content, including letters read-out and discussed by their writers. Email us at hello@dearmaestro.org [hello@dearmaestro.org] - we'd love to hear from you! Producers: Rowan Bishop and Kate Guthrie Hosts: Flora Willson and Kate Guthrie With thanks to: Cheryl Melody Baskin, Michael Ellison, Cassandra Fenton, Mark Keedwell, Melanie Shaffer, Karen Skinazi, Chuck Talley and Justin Williams.  Funded by: the Arts and Humanities Research Council [https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX012859%2F1].