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Echoes Along the Nile: Music in Ancient Egypt in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
The sistrum—a sacred rattle associated with the goddess Hathor—was believed to ward off evil spirits. Priests shook it during ceremonies to “awaken” the gods. Archaeologists have found beautifully ornamented versions made of bronze and faience, proving even ancient noisemakers could be objects of stunning craftsmanship.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

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The Musician’s Life in the Romantic Era in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Franz Liszt was the 19th-century equivalent of a rock star. Fans reportedly fought over his discarded gloves and hair strands, a frenzy dubbed Lisztomania. While his performances caused swooning in concert halls, his income often relied more on teaching and touring than on the sale of his compositions.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

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Mozart’s Piano: The Enlightenment’s Favourite Sound Machine in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Mozart loved his personal fortepiano so much he took it on tour. It still survives today in Salzburg. Unlike modern pianos, its keys are wood-topped, not ivory, and its sound is surprisingly intimate—more like a lively conversation than a thunderous recital. You could almost imagine it gossiping in Viennese.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

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Harmony Behind Stone Walls: Life in the Medieval Cloister in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
The earliest Western musical notation emerged in monasteries, where scribes invented “neumes”—tiny marks above text to guide singers. This humble invention paved the way for modern sheet music. So, the next time you read a score, thank a monk with very steady handwriting.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

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Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra: A Musical Who’s Who in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
When The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra premiered, Britten wasn’t sure audiences would take it seriously. He needn’t have worried—it’s now one of the most-performed orchestral works ever written for education. Ironically, it’s also one of the most sophisticated fugues in the entire 20th-century repertoire.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

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The Pulse Redefined: Rhythmic Complexity in 20th-Century Music in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
When The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris, 1913, its jarring rhythms helped cause a near riot. Audience members shouted, booed, and even fought. A century later, the same rhythms are considered masterpieces of modernity—proof that innovation often sounds like chaos before it becomes art.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

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Breaking the Spell: Reaction Against Romanticism in Early 20th-Century Music” in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
When Stravinsky’s Pulcinella premiered in 1920, audiences were puzzled—was it parody, homage, or rebellion? Stravinsky called it “a look backward with a smile,” summing up the entire neoclassical spirit: modern sensibility dressed in old-fashioned clothes.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

Please Buy Me A Coffee 🤓☕️

Support the show

Send us a text

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Mozart in Miniature: Master of Chamber Music in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Mozart’s publisher worried that his Piano Quartet in G minor (1785) was too difficult for amateurs—the intended market for chamber music. Sales flopped at first, but the piece later became a cornerstone of the repertoire. It’s a reminder that Mozart sometimes wrote not for popularity, but for pure artistry.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.

You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram. 👋

Please Buy Me A Coffee 🤓☕️

Support the show