Uploaded July 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A look at the second-most-famous Holst.
This was a viewer request from YouTuber classicalmusic26. If you've got a question or request for a future video, leave a comment, shoot me a message through YouTube, or use the email/Tumblr links below.
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Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
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Music:
- Imogen Holst: “Phantasy” Quartet, performed by the London Conchord Ensemble [original upload: a5wokRknTRE]
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
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Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
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All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information.
A look at the second-most-famous Holst.
This was a viewer request from YouTuber classicalmusic26. If you've got a question or request for a future video, leave a comment, shoot me a message through YouTube, or use the email/Tumblr links below.
----------
Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
----------
Music:
- Imogen Holst: “Phantasy” Quartet, performed by the London Conchord Ensemble [original upload: a5wokRknTRE]
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
----------
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
----------
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information.
![Musical Sudoku: Serialisms History and Techniques
Math in music? Its more likely than you think.
This was a viewer request from YouTuber Quinn Roberts. See the current request queue at http://lentovivace.com/requestqueue.html.
Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
Music:
- Arnold Schoenberg: Piano Suite, Op. 25, performed by Peter Bradley-Fulgoni and available on IMSLP: https://tinyurl.com/yarg6ygr
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Musical Sudoku: Serialisms History and Techniques](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VhA3W3PAb5g/mqdefault.jpg)
![Confronting Stillness: The Life and Works of Morton Feldman
🎶 Support the channel:
🎼 https://lentovivace.bandcamp.com
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📚 Sources/further reading:
http://www.cnvill.net/mfhall.pdf
http://nilsvigeland.com/writings-interviews/morton-feldman-ii
http://www.cnvill.net/mf-interview-with-Nils-Vigeland.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242758215_Morton_Feldman_and_Abstract_Expressionism_Time_and_sound_construction_in_his_piano_miniatures_of_the_1950s_and_1960s
https://publications.lakeforest.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=seniortheses
http://rohandrape.net/ut/rttcc-text/Hanninen2004a.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKyW2Ua_9YY
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,28007.20.html
https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu:175589/datastream/PDF/view
https://portal.rcs.ac.uk/mdonohue/wp-content/uploads/sites/261/2017/02/Vertical_thoughts-morton-feldman.pdf
http://www.ex-tempore.org/mpaccione/MPACCIONE.htm
This was requested by Ryan Edwards, Chlamydius Spearmint, Joe Rhodes, Harrison Koley, Stavroula Mi, and Zachary Detrick. See all requests at http://www.lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html.
Classical Nerd is a video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
Music:
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
- Morton Feldman: Coptic Light, performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Peter Eötvös [original upload: PgS37X4P2hM]
- Morton Feldman: The King of Denmark, performed by Colin Frank [original upload: rZpa0WWAK5c]
- Morton Feldman: Rothko Chapel, performed by the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Les Cris de Paris conducted by Gregor A. Mayrhofer [original upload: ks_mZJR-lAQ]
- Morton Feldman: Between Categories, performed by Frank Wolff, Wilhelm Schulz, Christoph Keller, Morton Feldman, Hans-Peter Friedrich, Ulf Klausenitzer, Burkhard Wissemann, and Michael Dietz [original upload: XUnT3FOg0tI]
- Morton Feldman: Piano and Orchestra, performed by John Tilbury and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra [original upload: r_gzPtMuKRw]
- Darude: Sandstorm, clip originally from Wikipedia [http://tinyurl.com/y2cch3md]
Footage:
- Morton Feldman, Ursula Oppens, and Elliott Carter in conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZzEnuUJEsA
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
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Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/classicalnerd/
Instagram:
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All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Confronting Stillness: The Life and Works of Morton Feldman](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VpL80kd9qcY/mqdefault.jpg)

![Great Composers: Edgard Varèse
A look at the stratospheric colossus of sound.
This was a request from Tyson Davis. See all current requests at http://www.lentovivace.com/requestqueue.html
Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
Music:
- Edgard Varèse: Amériques, performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly [original upload: 8zXaEwWFbnA]
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Great Composers: Edgard Varèse](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WnJNTNg9IF0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Why Viola Jokes?
🎶 Support the channel:
🎼 https://lentovivace.bandcamp.com
🎼 https://www.patreon.com/classicalnerd
Why one instrument gets a bad rap.
Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
Music:
- Thomas Little: Gossamer Limerence, Op. 9b, performed by Wooram Kwon and Thomas Little
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Why Viola Jokes?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WtmlybCRplY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Modest Mussorgsky: The Troubled Dramatist [The Mighty Handful, Pt. 5/6]
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This was requested by parker, Josh Tebben, torram28, Sean Ramsdell, Jose Vega, and Peasants Rondo. See all requests at http://lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html
📚 Sources/further reading:
“Musorgsky: His Life and Works” by David Brown
“Pianistic Mastery of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition: Developing Associative Thinking through Analysis of Musical Texture” by Ana Cristea (DMA Dissertation, University of Miami, 2016): https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2637&context=oa_dissertations
“Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition: Identifying the Expressive Narrative through Comparisons with Vocal Literature” by Matthew Quick (DMA Dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2014): https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=ucin1406819727&disposition=inline
“Correcting the Record: A Comparison of Vladimir Ashkenazy’s Urtext-Based Edition of ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ with Orchestration by Ravel and Stokowski” by Hoon Choi (DMA Dissertation, University of North Texas, 2012): https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc149572/m2/1/high_res_d/dissertation.pdf
“A Stylistic Analysis of the Early and Late Songs of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1836–1881)” by Daniel Johnson (MM Thesis, Texas Tech University, 1976): https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/2346/15681/31295015502858.pdf?sequence=1
Classical Nerd is a video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
Music:
- Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (1874), performed by Chiara Bertoglio and available on IMSLP: https://tinyurl.com/PixatanExhibition
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
- Modest Mussorgsky: Night on [the] Bald[/Bare] Mountain (1867), performed by the London Philharmonic conducted by David Lloyd-Jones [original upload: zR2P-5J-2MA]
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/classicalnerd/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/the_classical_nerd/
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Modest Mussorgsky: The Troubled Dramatist [The Mighty Handful, Pt. 5/6]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XXXycC1h1ko/mqdefault.jpg)
![Do Different Keys Mean Different Things?
🎶 Support the channel: http://www.patreon.com/classicalnerd
📚 Sources/further reading:
A History of Key Characteristics in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, 2nd Ed., by Rita Steblin (University of Rochester Press, 2002)
Interview: Jacob Collier (Part 1) by June Lee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnBr070vcNE
Music:
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/classicalnerd/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/the_classical_nerd/
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Do Different Keys Mean Different Things?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YJMb0Uv5aZI/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Dean of Afro-American Composers: William Grant Still’s Life and Work (with Celeste Headlee)
This work was sponsored by a Humanities New York Public Humanities Grant.
🎶 Support the channel and watch hours of bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/classicalnerd
0:00 Introduction
0:36 I: Arkansas
7:53 II: Wilberforce
9:58 III: Grace
16:03 IV: Shuffling Along
22:17 V: Black Music
29:34 VI: The Commercial World
44:56 VII: Verna
50:56 VIII: The Still Sound
58:56 IX: Opera
1:07:07 X: The Dean’s Legacy
📚 Sources/further reading:
William Grant Still and the Fusion of Cultures in American Music, ed. Robert Bartlett Haas (Black Sparrow Press, 1972)
My Life, My Words: The Autobiography of William Grant Still, American Master Composer by William Grant Still and Judith Anne Still (The Master-Player Library, 2011)
William Grant Still: An Oral History, ed. Judith Anne Still, Dominique-René de Lerma, and Lance Bowling (The Master-Player Library, 1998)
In One Lifetime by Verna Arvey (University of Arkansas Press, 1984)
Music:
- William Grant Still: Symphony No. 3 “Sunday,” performed by the Fort Smith Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Jeter
- John A. Gregg, Charles Henri Woode, and Henry A. Garcia: WU alma mater, performers unknown
- William Grant Still: “Darker America” performed by the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra
- William Grant Still: Symphony No. 1 Afro-American,” performed by the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sarah Ioannides
-William Grant Still: Levee Land, performed by Celeste Headlee, accompanied by Michael Sullivan, Paul Balch, Wildy Zumwalt, Ivan Ochsner, Nancy Sullivan, Charles Way, Peter Vivona, Steve Hemphill, Ted Goddard, Karin Hallberg, Kathleen Nourie, and Richard Wright, conducted by Patricia J. Hoy
- William Grant Still: Kaintuck’, performed by Ben Dawson and the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Michael Seal
- William Grant Still: Troubled Island, performed by the New York City Opera conducted by Laszlo Halasz
- William Grant Still: And They Lynched Him On A Tree, performed by the Harry T. Burleigh Society and Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra conducted by Thomas Cunningham
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/classicalnerd/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/the_classical_nerd/
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. The Dean of Afro-American Composers: William Grant Still’s Life and Work (with Celeste Headlee)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YJr7BDA36AA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Carlo Gesualdo: Composer & Murderer
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Putting the mad back in madrigal.
This was requested by YouTubers Eric Rakestraw, Kris Mariasy, and Polo Lala, and by Bobby Thomas. See all requests at http://www.lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html.
Further reading:
http://riviste.paviauniversitypress.it/index.php/phi/article/viewFile/1617/pdf
http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10127/9/Volume%20I.pdf
http://elevenpitchclassanalysis.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Order-and-Balance-in-Gesualdo’s-“Moro-lasso”.pdf
Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
Music:
- Carlo Gesualdo: O vos omnes for 5 voices, arranged for Renaissance recorder ensemble by Denis Carpenter and available on IMSLP: https://tinyurl.com/ycmz87uw
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
- Tom Lehrer: “The Masochism Tango” [original upload: TytGOeiW0aE]
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/classicalnerd/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/the_classical_nerd/
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Carlo Gesualdo: Composer & Murderer](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YOWyONTcC60/mqdefault.jpg)
![Great Composers: Ralph Vaughan Williams
A look at a preeminent English symphonist.
This was requested by YouTubers Jeremy Jones, Logan Campbell, gabrieru1983, Anthony Pagan, and Emily Rowland-Rawson. See all requests at http://www.lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html.
Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
Music:
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 1 “A Sea Symphony,” performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Proms Youth Choir, Sally Matthews, and Roderick Williams, conducted by Sakari Oramo [original upload: Lp4G5vtdSWc]
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
- Unknown Artist: [Vaporwave] - MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー [original upload: _wcURnFRp9A]
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
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Facebook:
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All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Great Composers: Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z8-vAx0YepE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Great Composers: Franz Schubert
A look at Viennas Little Mushroom.
This was requested by YouTubers Mr. DSCH, Sean Ramsdell, Ross Williams, Danilo Buenante, and Popo Lala. See all requests at http://www.lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html.
Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
Music:
- Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor “Death and the Maiden,” performed by the Borromeo String Quartet and available on IMSLP: https://tinyurl.com/yclfjjdu
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/classicalnerd/
All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. Great Composers: Franz Schubert](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZAS8BRTr-MI/mqdefault.jpg)