Classical Music Happy Hour

Pianist Yefim Bronfman, “Fima,” chats with Manny about their decades-long friendship, their love of sports, their surprising anxiety around live broadcast performances.  They’ll answer listeners’ questions about recovering from injuries and picking repertoire, even the stuff no one heard of!  Fima and Manny work together in our Newly Dead game to identify odd ways composers have died.

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8: II. Adagio
Szymanowski
Martin Roscoe, piano 
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Sinfonia avanti il Barcheggio for Trumpet, 2 Violins and Continuo
Stradella
Niklas Eklund & Wasa Baroque Ensemble & Edward Tarr
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Armide, Act III Scene 4: Je responds a tes voeux
Lully
Stephanie Houtzeel & William Sharp
Opera Lafayette Chorus & Opera Lafayette Orchestra & Ryan Brown
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Solomon, HWV 67: Pt. III: Air. Ev’ry sight these eyes behold
Handel
Nicola Wemyss & Barockorchester Frankfurt & Joachim Carlos Martini
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc
 

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

The piece Paquito D’Rivera and Emanuel Ax perform is Contradanza for Bb Clarinet and Piano, composed by our guest, Paquito D’Rivera.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Comedian Isabel Hagen is a classically trained violist, and a filmmaker. As a comedian, she has been featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and was a New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs festival in Montréal. She talks to Manny about how the viola can be funny and make people love classical music by making them laugh!

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Harold en Italie, S. 472/R. 138: I. Harold aux montagnes
Berlioz
Philip Dukes & Piers Lane 
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: I. Allegro non troppo
Brahms
Jenő Jandó & Brussels Philharmonic & Ali Rahbari 
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio
Beethoven
Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra & Richard Edlinger
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

The Star-Spangled Banner
John Stafford Smith
Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy & Keith Brion

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The New York Times has called Nicholas Britell: “The composer at the frontier of film music.” Britell has written scores for Hollywood movies including:The Big Short, Moonlight and If Beale Street Could talk. Listeners might best recognize his work from the theme of the HBO series “Succession” for which he’s won the Emmy for the iconic theme song. He’ll talk about writing for the big screen and he’ll play one of his most recognizable pieces live-in studio.  

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma": Var. I (C.A.E.)
Elgar
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & George Hurst
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

The Planets, Op. 32: I. Mars, the Bringer of War
Holst
CSR Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava & Adrian Leaper
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, TrV 176: Introduction
Strauss
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra & Zdeněk Košler
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor Op. 13, Pathetique”
Beethoven
Alessio Bax, piano
Live recording at The Greene Space
 

Fantasia in C minor, K. 475
Mozart
Péter Nagy, piano
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, L. 86
Debussy
The Knights
Live recording at the Naumburg Bandshell

Symphony No. 64 in A Major, Hob. 1:64 (Tempora mutantur)
Haydn
The Knights
Live recording at the Naumburg Bandshell

Le Sacre du Printemps
Stravinsky
Brussels Philharmonic, Ali Rahbari
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Symphony No. 7 in E Major, WAB 107; II. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam
Bruckner
Linz Bruckner Orchestra & Mark Poschner
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Actor David Hyde Pierce has had a long career in film, television and the theater.  He’s best known to listeners for his portrayal of Niles Crane on the sitcom "Frasier."  He joins Manny to talk about his life and love of classical music and listen to some of their favorite recordings.  They also play a game called “Animal or Instrument.” 

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 80 "Choral Fantasy": Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 80
Beethoven
Leon McCawley, piano 
City of London Choir 
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Piano Trio No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 "Archduke": III. Andante cantabile
Beethoven
Xyrion Trio

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor": I. Allegro
Beethoven
Boris Giltburg, piano 
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Composer Jeanine Tesori is a two time Tony Award winner, a two time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and in 2024, she became the first woman composer to open the Metropolitan Opera Opera season in its 139 year history. On this edition of CMHH she tells Manny about her time living in a lighthouse, about her love of Stravinsky, and why she decided not to be a doctor. 

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

3 Movements from Petrushka: No. 1, Danse russe
Stravinsky
Antonii Baryshevskyi, piano
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Carmen, Habanera
Bizet
Graciela Alperyn, mezzo-soprano
Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Rahbari, conductor
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Turandot, SC 91: Nessun dorma (Live)
Puccini
Mario Malagnini  
Genoa Carlo Felice Theatre Orchestra & Donato Renzetti
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Carmen: Act I: Habañera: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle
Bizet
Marjana Lipovšek, mezzo-soprano
Munich Radio Orchestra 
Giuseppe Patanè, conductor
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Boléro, M. 81
Ravel
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Adrian Leaper
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.
 

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Live from Tanglewood, cellist Yo-Yo Ma chats with Manny about their long musical relationship and friendship.  The two treat the live audience to a few musical performances, and they take questions from the audience about their burning musical questions, like “why does a piano have three pedals?”

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music Performed in Today’s Episode:

Lieder ohne Worte (Song without Words)
Mendelssohn
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
Emanuel Ax, Piano

Ave Maria
Schubert
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
Emanuel Ax, Piano

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Columbia University Professor of Linguistics John McWhorter, chats with Manny about swear words, Broadway, and tackles the conundrums of musical etymology.  McWhorter also makes the case for the brilliant first movement of Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet in B minor. The two then square off in a game about famous classical pieces that bombed at their premieres.

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Strike Up the Band: The Man I Love (Arr. For orchestra)
George Gershwin
Richard Hayman Symphony Orchestra & Richard Hayman
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115, I. Allegro
Brahms
József Balogh, clarinet and Danubius Quartet
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 “The Hunt”
Beethoven
Joyce Yang, Piano
Live Recording at The Greene Space

Herzgewächse 
Arnold Schoenberg
Alumni Musicians of the Bang on a Can Summer Festival
Live Recording

Symphony No. 5 in D Major, I. Preludio. Moderato. Allegro
Vaughan Williams
Kees Bakels and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178
Liszt
Juan Pérez Floristán, piano
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53, B. 108: I. Allegro ma non troppo
Dvorak
Ilya Kaler, violin and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra & Camilla Kolchinsky
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Renowned American composer John Adams joins Manny to discuss his approach to opera composition, the stories behind his intriguingly titled works, and the time he was once mistaken for John Cage. Adams answers listener questions on the evolution of music and the emotional pull of minor keys.  He also  shares his love of Stravinsky and Handel. For our game segment, Adams puts his knowledge to the test as Manny quizzes him on outrageous performance directions.

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Italian Concerto in F Major BWV 971, III: Presto
Bach
András Schiff, Piano
Live Recording at The Greene Space

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Var. 25
Bach
Anne-Catherine Bucher, Harpsichord
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Var. 25
Bach
Simone Dinnerstein, Piano
Live Recording at The Greene Space

Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K. 304
Mozart
Takako Nishizaki, 
Violin
Jeno Jando, Piano
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Cello  Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38, I. Allegro non troppo
Brahms
Johannes Moser, Cello
Michael Brown, Piano
Liver Recording at The Greene Space

Symphony No. 5, I. Trauermarsch
Mahler
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, IV. Finale–Adagio lamentoso
Tchaikovsky
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Tu Del Ciel
Il Trionfo Del Tempo E Del Disinganno
Handel
Claron McFadden, Elisabeth Scholl, Joachim Carlos Martini, Junge Kantorei, Barockorchester Frankfurt, Nicholas Hariades & Peer Abilgaard
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Gnossienne No. 3
Satie
Klara Kormendi, Piano
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Horn Concert No. 2 in E-Flat Major, K. 417, III. Rondo Allegro
Mozart
Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Michael Thompson
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Composer Gabriela Ortiz joins Manny to talk about her grandfather’s surprising connection to Mahler, her own compositional process, and her enduring love for works by Debussy and Stravinsky. Listeners call in with tricky questions about folk music’s influence on classical works, new developments in orchestral instruments, and the realities of orchestra cliques. In our game segment, Manny puts Gabriela to the test—can she identify which famous composer was panned by critics?

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp minor, IV. Adagietto
Mahler
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Le Sacre du Printemps
Stravinsky
Brussels Philharmonic, Ali Rahbari
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

La Mer, L. 109, II. Jeux de vagues
Debussy
Brussels Philharmonic, Ali Rahbari
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Miroirs, M. 43 Une barque sur l'océan
Ravel
Francois-joel Thiollier, piano
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Estancia, Op. 8, Scene 5: Danza Final. Malambo
Alberto Ginastera
London Symphony Orchestra, Gisele Ben-Dor
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Romanian Folk Dances
Bartok
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Live Recording

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
Beethoven
Danish Chamber Orchestra, Ádám Fischer
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Composer and pianist Marc-André Hamelin joins Manny to talk about growing up with a musical father, the mechanics of piano playing, and the influences behind his prolific performing and recording career. He answers listener questions about piano transcriptions and why music is written in so many different keys. In the music segment, Hamelin performs one of his favorite works by Rachmaninoff live in the studio.

The piece performed by Marc-André Hamelin is Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Etude-Tableau op39/5 in E-flat minor.

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

53 Studies on the Chopin Études: No. 12 in G-Flat Major (6th Version)
Leopold Godowsky
Robert Helps, Piano

53 Studies on the Chopin Études: No. 45 in E Major (1st Version)
Leopold Godowsky
Robert Helps, Piano

Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade
Modest Mussorgsky
Yutong Sun, Piano

Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade
Modest Mussorgsky
Volgograd Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Serov

Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major
Mozart
Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Michael Thompson

Fantasia in C minor, K. 475
Mozart
Péter Nagy, piano

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Superstar pianist Yuja Wang joins Manny Ax to talk about bad pianos, encores, what influences her musical interpretations, and her love for Prokofiev. In our Newly Dead game, Yuja puts her knowledge of composer deaths to the test.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-Flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3 "La chasse": IV 
Beethoven 
Boris Giltburg, Piano

Piano Sonata No. 16 in G Major, Op. 31 No. 1: I. Allegro
Beethoven
Boris Giltburg, Piano 

Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 "Sonata facile": I. Allegro
Mozart
Jenő Jandó, Piano

Concerto No. 2 Op 18 II Adagio Sostenuto
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
The Philadelphia Orchestra 1924

Scythian Suite, Op. 20: II. The Enemy of God, III. Night 
Prokofiev
Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra
Theodore Kuchar, conductor

Piano Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 6: IV. Marche Funebre 
Scriabin
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Konstantin Scherbakov & Igor Golovschin  

Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica": II. Marcia funebre 
Beethoven
Danish Chamber Orchestra & Ádám Fischer 

Symphony No. 44 in E minor Trauer Sinfonie Mourning III Adagio
Haydn
Capella Istropolitana & Barry Wordsworth

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join renowned pianist Emanuel Ax for Classical Music Happy Hour: a new podcast full of music, merriment, and conversation. Manny (Emanuel) talks with special guests about their lives, listens to some of their favorite classical gems, plays music-inspired games, and answers questions from listeners. Grab a cocktail and press play on a podcast celebrating our love of all things classical music! Episode one with guest  and pianist Yuja Wang drops next week.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Our Common Nature fans, Ana González is dropping into the feed to tell you about Classical Music Happy Hour, a new podcast you might be interested in, hosted by Yo-Yo Ma’s friend and pianist Emanuel Ax.

The show is all about the joy in chatting about music with all sorts of people, including some of Manny’s dearest friends like pianist Yuja Wang, composer John Adams, actor David Hyde Pierce, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. 

In every episode, Manny Ax speaks with a guest about their relationship with music.  We’ll hear their favorite music selections–sometimes performed live in the studio! Manny also takes listener questions, and he and his guests play music-inspired games.

To Our Common Nature fans, please join Manny for music, merriment, and conversation. And to give you a taste of what you can expect, here’s just a bit of the episode with guest Yo-Yo Ma. 

Follow or subscribe to this show for upcoming episodes of Classical Music Happy Hour  wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Yo-Yo Ma has wanted to use his cello to communicate with whales for half his life. And, in Hawai’i he got a chance. With help from the Polyneisan Voyaging Society and hula master Snowbird Bento, Yo-Yo learns about the ancient art of Hawaiian chant, what one local singer describes to him as their “contribution to the orchestra of the world.” Then Ana and Yo-Yo board a legendary canoe, Hōkūleʻa, with local fishermen, seafaring captains, and marine biologists. The musicians play cello for whales through the hull of the ship, all in the red glow of volcano Mauna Loa’s active eruption. 

Featuring music by Yo-Yo Ma and Snowbird Bento

Listen to the Our Common Nature EP

Credits: 
Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings 

Hosted by Ana González
Produced by Alan Goffinski
Editing from Pearl Marvell
Sound design and episode music by Alan Goffinski
Mixed  by Joe Plourde
Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado
Executive Producers are Emily Botein, Ben Mandelkern, Sophie Shackleton, and Jonathan Bays.
Our advisors are Mira Burt-Wintonick, Kamaka Dias, Kelley Libbey, and Chris Newell
Episode photo by Austin Mann; Episode and show art by Tiffany Pai

Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

Yo-Yo Ma wants to know: what place do you love most? What reminds you that you are part of the Earth? Snap a photo of your favorite place on the planet and share it on social with the tag #ourcommonnature

Visit the website at ourcommonnaturepodcast.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the island of Molokaʻi in Hawaii, we trace the spiritual power of mana, from a sacred grove to the Kalaupapa colony, where music, story, and Yo-Yo Ma’s performance honor the resilience and memory of those who came before.

Perched on a plateau on the southeast side of the island of Molokaʻi sits a grove of kukui trees. Mikiʻala Pescaia tells us that beneath the roots of these trees are the bones of Hawaiian spiritual leader Lanikaula. It holds his energy and power, his mana, a key concept in Hawaiian culture. On the north side of the same island, on a rugged peninsula called Kalaupapa, we explore the mana left behind by another history. It’s the site of a government-mandated colony for people who contracted Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. 

Historian Anwei Law tells us the story of Bernard Punikaiʻa, who came to Kalaupapa as a boy with a disease and created a life of music and community within the bounds of the colony. We reflect on how to memorialize the residents of Kalaupapa as the last remaining living residents listen to Yo-Yo play in one of the peninsula's many cemeteries. 

Featuring music by Yo-Yo Ma and Bernard Punikaʻia

Watch a video of Bernard performing “Where Birds Never Fly”

Listen to the Our Common Nature EP

Credits: 
Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings 

Hosted by Ana González
Produced by Alan Goffinski
Editing from Pearl Marvell
Sound design and episode music by Alan Goffinski
Mixed  by Joe Plourde
Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado
Executive Producers are Emily Botein, Ben Mandelkern, Sophie Shackleton, and Jonathan Bays.
Our advisors are Mira Burt-Wintonick, Kamaka Dias, Kelley Libbey, and Chris Newell
Episode photo by Austin Mann; Episode and show art by Tiffany Pai

Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

Yo-Yo Ma wants to know: what place do you love most? What reminds you that you are part of the Earth? Snap a photo of your favorite place on the planet and share it on social with the tag #ourcommonnature

Visit the website at ourcommonnaturepodcast.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

West Virginia is defined by its beauty and its coal, two things that can work against each other. Yo-Yo Ma felt this as soon as stepped foot in its hills.This episode explores how music and poetry help process the emotions of a community besieged with disaster and held together by pride and duty. We travel down the Coal River with third-generation coal miner Chris Saunders, who tells us how coal has saved and threatened his life. Poet Crystal Good shares her poetry, which channels her rage and love. And musician and granddaughter of West Virginia coal miners, Kathy Mattea, explains the beauty of belting out your home state in a chorus. The end of the episode finds host Ana floating down the New River with help from a group of high schoolers and Yo-Yo Ma. 

Featuring music by Yo-Yo Ma, Dom Flemons, and Kathy Mattea and poetry by Crystal Good. 

Listen to the Our Common Nature EP. 

Credits: 
Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings 
Hosted by Ana González
Produced by Alan Goffinski
Editing Pearl Marvell
Sound design and episode music by Alan Goffinski
Mixed  by Joe Plourde
Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado
Executive Producers :  Emily Botein, Ben Mandelkern, Sophie Shackleton, and Jonathan Bays.

Our advisors are Mira Burt-Wintonick, Kamaka Dias, Kelley Libbey, and Chris Newell

Episode photo by Austin Mann; Episode and show art by Tiffany Pai

This podcast was inspired by a project of the same name, conceived by Yo-Yo Ma and Sound Postings, with creative direction by Sophie Shackleton, in collaboration with partners all over the world.

Our Common Nature is made possible with support from Emerson Collective and Tambourine Philanthropies

Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

Yo-Yo Ma wants to know: what place do you love most? What reminds you that you are part of the Earth? Snap a photo of your favorite place on the planet and share it on social with the tag #ourcommonnature

Visit the website at ourcommonnaturepodcast.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode begins in Fairbanks, AK.  Yo-Yo Ma is at a house concert with drag queen environmentalist Pattie Gonia, singer/songwriter Quinn Christopherson and Princess Daazhraii Johnson, a writer and filmmaker from the Gwich’in Nation.  They were all performing to help their communities process the negative effects of climate change in Alaska.  Salmon have been disappearing for decades, but now there are laws preventing fishing along the Yukon River, an ancestral practice for many Alaska Native people.  Host Ana travels up to the 2024 Gwich’in Gathering in Circle, Alaska to learn how the Gwich’in nation uses its centuries-old tools of music and discussion to speak with one voice and  bring back the salmon.

Featuring music by Yo-Yo Ma, Quinn Christopherson and Pattie Gonia, poetry by Princess Johnson, and traditional music by members of the Gwich’in Nation.

• Watch Pattie Gonia performing "Won't Give Up" featuring Yo-Yo Ma and Quinn Christopherson (video) 
• Watch Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach in a birch forest damaged by melting permafrost on Lower Tanana Dene lands near Fairbanks, Alaska
  Listen to the Our Common Nature EP.

Credits: Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings 
Hosted by Ana González
Produced by Alan Goffinski
With editing from Pearl Marvell
Sound design and episode music by Alan Goffinski
Mixed  by Joe Plourde
Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado
Executive Producers are Emily Botein, Ben Mandelkern, Sophie Shackleton, and Jonathan Bays.

Our advisors are Mira Burt-Wintonick, Kamaka Dias, Kelley Libbey, and Chris Newell

Episode photo by Austin Mann; Episode and show art by Tiffany Pai

This podcast was inspired by a project of the same name, conceived by Yo-Yo Ma and Sound Postings, with creative direction by Sophie Shackleton, in collaboration with partners all over the world.

Our Common Nature is made possible with support from Emerson Collective and Tambourine Philanthropies

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the Smoky Mountains, traditions layer and intersect. Yo-Yo Ma believes that story and song can help us grapple with America’s complicated history. This episode highlights two stories of people who are reclaiming their connections to the land. The first brings us to Cherokee, North Carolina, where Lavita Hill and Mary Crowe are working to change the name of the tallest mountain in the range back to its original Cherokee name.

Then, we go to the other side of the mountains, where musician Eric Mingus meets up with some long-lost family, and grapples with the weight of his family’s history. His performance reconnects him to a lineage he never thought he’d find.

Featuring music by Eric Mingus, Rhiannon Giddens and Yo-Yo Ma.

“Grinds My Bones/The Mill” was composed and performed by Eric Mingus. 

Flute and vocal performance in this episode by Jarrett Wildcatt. Additional audio recording provided by Taylor MacKay.

Credits: Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings 

Hosted by Ana González
Produced by Alan Goffinski
With editing from Pearl Marvell 
Sound design and episode music from Alan Goffinski
Mixed by Joe Plourde
Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado

Executive Producers are Emily Botein, Ben Mandelkern, Sophie Shackleton, and Jonathan Bays

Our advisors are Mira Burt-Wintonick, Kamaka Dias, Kelley Libbey, and Chris Newell

Episode photo by Austin Mann; Episode and show art by Tiffany Pai

And if you want to listen to more music from this series, you can check out the Our Common Nature EP, featuring Yo-Yo playing with Eric Mingus, Jen Kreisberg and an Icelandic choir, now available on all streaming platforms.

This podcast was inspired by a project of the same name, conceived by Yo-Yo Ma and Sound Postings, with creative direction by Sophie Shackleton, in collaboration with partners all over the world.

Our Common Nature is made possible with support from Emerson Collective and Tambourine Philanthropies.

Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

Yo-Yo Ma wants to know: what place do you love most? What reminds you that you are part of the Earth? Snap a photo of your favorite place on the planet and share it on social with the tag #ourcommonnature

Visit the website at ourcommonnaturepodcast.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A cave can hold secrets. Louisville Orchestra conductor Teddy Abrams knows that, which is why he wrote a piece for symphony orchestra to be performed entirely underground. This episode takes us into Mammoth Cave to hear a performance that unlocks a centuries of stories preserved by the caves' seemingly endless walls. One of those is the story of Jerry Bransford, who brought the Bransford name back to Mammoth Cave 80 years after his ancestors were removed from  their jobs as cave guides because of their race.

Featuring original music from Louisville Symphony Orchestra conductor Teddy Abrams, performed by the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, Davóne Tines, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Special thanks to: Mammoth Cave National Park and Louisville Orchestra for their recording of Mammoth used throughout this episode. Find out more about their projects and concerts by visiting louisvilleorchestra.org  

To learn more about all the history of enslaved guides at Mammoth Cave, read Making Their Mark: The Signature of Slavery at Mammoth Cave, written by Joy Lyons.

Listen to the Our Common Nature EP. 

Credits: Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings 

Hosted by Ana González
Produced by Alan Goffinski
Editing from Pearl Marvell
Sound design and episode music by Alan Goffinski
Mixed  by Joe Plourde
Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado
Executive Producers are Emily Botein, Ben Mandelkern, Sophie Shackleton, and Jonathan Bays.
Our advisors are Mira Burt-Wintonick, Kamaka Dias, Kelley Libbey, and Chris Newell

Episode photo by Austin Mann; Episode and show art by Tiffany Pai

This podcast was inspired by a project of the same name, conceived by Yo-Yo Ma and Sound Postings, with creative direction by Sophie Shackleton, in collaboration with partners all over the world.

Our Common Nature is made possible with support from Emerson Collective and Tambourine Philanthropies

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The series opens with a window into the Yo-Yo universe, one where music and nature work together. Host Ana González guides us into Yo-Yo Ma’s mindset, connecting Bach to leaves, birds, and sunlight. That takes us to a sunrise in Acadia National Park in Maine, where Chris Newell leads Yo-Yo and Wabanaki musicians in a musical performance to welcome the dawn. 

Featuring music by Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Newell, and Lauren Stevens.

Yo-Yo’s performance of In the Gale by Anna Clyne

Additional audio provided by the Upstander Project. Watch the Upstander Project film about this sunrise performance here: https://www.reciprocity.org/films/weckuwapok

Listen to the Our Common Nature EP here.

Preview more videos on @wnyc Instagram/Facebook 

Credits: 
Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings 

Hosted by Ana González
Produced by Alan Goffinski
Editing from Pearl Marvell
Sound design and episode music by by Alan Goffinski
Mixed  by Joe Plourde
Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado
Executive Producers are Emily Botein, Ben Mandelkern, Sophie Shackleton, and Jonathan Bays.

Our advisors are Mira Burt-Wintonick, Kamaka Dias, Kelley Libbey, and Chris Newell

Special thanks to Acadia National Park. 

This podcast was inspired by a project of the same name, conceived by Yo-Yo Ma and Sound Postings, with creative direction by Sophie Shackleton, in collaboration with partners all over the world.

Our Common Nature is made possible with support from Emerson Collective and Tambourine Philanthropies.

Episode photo by Austin Mann; episode and show art by Tiffany Pai

Our Common Nature is a production of WNYC and Sound Postings.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

Yo-Yo Ma wants to know: what place do you love most? What reminds you that you are part of the Earth? Snap a photo of your favorite place on the planet and share it on social with the tag #ourcommonnature

Visit the website at ourcommonnaturepodcast.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When the world stopped in 2020, cellist Yo-Yo Ma started thinking about how music can reconnect people to nature. In this limited podcast series, Yo-Yo travels around the country to make music and meet people who have deep connections to the earth.  Host Ana González joins him to uncover stories of the ways that culture binds us to nature, from Maine to Appalachia and Hawaii. 

The result is a seven-episode series that fuses music, personal narratives, and local histories from across the United States. We travel into the world's largest cave to hear the Louisville Orchestra perform. In Hawai‘i, an elder says her “chants are our contribution to the human orchestra of the world.” And the Wabanaki teach us about their duty to welcome the sun each day in Maine. For Yo-Yo Ma, who has spent most of his career indoors, a connection to the natural world is “what doesn’t exist in my life, that I know is missing.”  Our Common Nature helps to bridge the gap – for Yo-Yo and for all of us.  

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.