music
Hosted by WETA Classical · music · EN-US
John Banther takes classical music fans behind the scenes with interviews, deep dives, and analysis. Episodes released bi-weekly on Tuesdays. Produced by WETA Classical in Washington, D.C.
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Booking probability
35%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchJohn Banther takes classical music fans behind the scenes with interviews, deep dives, and analysis. Episodes released bi-weekly on Tuesdays. Produced by WETA Classical in Washington, D.C.
Classical Breakdown is hosted by WETA Classical. The show has published 171 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "Your Guide to Mozart's Requiem with Steven Fox" (27 October 2026, 88 minutes), "Snoopy and the Gang come to life in Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Peanuts Gallery!" (13 October 2026, 35 minutes), and "William Schuman: The composer that shaped Juilliard, the Lincoln Center, and American music" (29 September 2026, 54 minutes).
Classical Breakdown publishes roughly every two weeks, with episodes averaging 48 minutes across 171 episodes.
Booking probability for Classical Breakdown is 35%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Classical Breakdown requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Classical Breakdown's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Classical Breakdown are Artists, Writers & Performers and Performing Arts. Classical Breakdown has a music audience.
WETA Classical hosts Classical Breakdown, a music podcast with 171 episodes published.
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Classical Breakdown
Who better to learn about all the nitty-gritty of Mozart's Requiem than a conductor who's been living it his whole life? Steven Fox, Music Director of the Cathedral Choral Society, came to the studio with the score in...
Classical Breakdown
What kind of dance is Snoopy's favorite? What is Schroeder's favorite Beethoven sonata? And will Charlie ever kick the football? John Banther and Evan Keely learn all about that and more in the imaginative piano...
Classical Breakdown
Why is it that this composer's name is probably not known to you? John Banther and Evan Keely explore some of his extraordinary music and achievements in the arts, including how he shaped art institutions and his very...
Classical Breakdown
Not too many instruments in the orchestra have a history that spans the centuries, and use of the harp! Nadia Pessoa, a Washington, DC-area harpist, shares with us the harp's use in the orchestra from around 1600 to...
Classical Breakdown
Enjoy a Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra recording of the music we learned about last week, plus a listener comment that helps clarify the situation after Queen Anne's death!
Why did Handel write this, and what would it have been like on the river's edge? John Banther and Linda Carducci explore how Handel went above and beyond for a King and even what it would have been like for the...
Classical Breakdown
It's time again to look at some recently recorded albums for us to enjoy and grow with this summer. John Banther has 4 albums to recommend, and one of them includes a remarkable composer's story!
Classical Breakdown
Why watch a thriller on a Friday night when you can watch the dramatic and compact "blood and guts" opera by Puccini that is... Tosca! John Banther and Linda Carducci give you the historical and cultural context to the...
Classical Breakdown
Music can be just as much of a historical document as letters or legislation, and we see that directly in this episode with music by Bonds written in 1963. John Banther and Evan Keely show you what to listen for, how...
Classical Breakdown
There is so much more to this humble concerto than you realize, because the context of hearing a trumpet do something unheard of before has been lost. We show you what made this concerto possible, how Haydn was...
Classical Breakdown
Another listener request! John Banther and Bill Bukowski explore the life of Leos Janacek and look at 2 specific subjects to understand this composer's original sound, speech melodies and modality.
Classical Breakdown
John Banther and James Jacobs discuss Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and performing it at gigs, which for James reaches into the hundreds at weddings! Plus, we enjoy a full performance with the Berlin Philharmonic.
Classical Breakdown
You know the opening of this work through its countless use in movies, commercials, and even popular music. But do you know the underlying philosophy that inspired Strauss? John Banther and Evan Keely show you how...
Classical Breakdown
Let's enjoy two iconic Wagner preludes in two larger-than-life recordings featuring the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and conductor Bernard Haitink!
Classical Breakdown
This composer's life was tumultuous and sometimes straight out of a soap opera. John Banther and Evan Keely explore what led him to opera, his initial success and failures, his bigoted "Judaism in Music" essay, and how...
Classical Breakdown
Listen to Ralitza Patcheva and Sam Post in their latest recording, featuring a rhythmic reimaging of JS Bach. If you missed last week's episode, listen afterwards to learn all about this project from beginning to end...
Classical Breakdown
JS Bach was experimental, and that spirit has carried on into the 21st century with composers and pianists like Sam Post and Ralitza Patcheva. While Bach was experimenting with using all 12 major and minor keys at a...
Classical Breakdown
The first symphonies came from a place of insecurity, but his 3rd exudes confidence from the first note to the last. John Banther and Evan Keely show you what to listen for in Brahms' orchestration, how he uses...
Classical Breakdown
A hallmark of tyranny is its desire to control and stifle creative expression. In this episode, in memory of Lubna Alyaan, John Banther and Evan Keely explore three 20th-century composers, what happened to them, and...
Classical Breakdown
Jessie Montgomery and John Banther discuss her popular works, her time writing for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Blacknificent 7 composer group, and her early artistic influences.
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