Insights from recent episode analysis
Audience Interest
Podcast Focus
Publishing Consistency
Platform Reach
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Most discussed topics
Brands & references
Total monthly reach
Estimated from 34 chart positions in 34 markets.
By chart position
- 🇺🇸US · Music Commentary#5230K to 100K
- 🇨🇦CA · Music Commentary#9930K to 100K
- 🇩🇪DE · Music Commentary#1205K to 30K
- 🇬🇧GB · Music Commentary#1785K to 30K
- 🇸🇪SE · Music Commentary#12100K to 300K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
143K to 461K🎙 Daily cadence·160 episodes·Last published 2w ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
477K to 1.5M🇸🇪20%🇦🇪20%🇨🇴20%+31 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
191K to 614K
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
—
Total Plays
—
Total Reviews
—
* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
On the show
From 14 epsHosts
Recent guests
Recent episodes
Season 7 Recommended Summer Listening!
Jun 23, 2026
Unknown duration
Tosca! Puccini's tragic opera on love, lust, and brutality
Jun 9, 2026
1h 14m 47s
The Montgomery Variations: A Piece of American History by Margaret Bonds
May 26, 2026
1h 01m 26s
Haydn's Trumpet Concerto: Revolutionary in ways you didn't know!
May 12, 2026
50m 32s
Leos Janacek: an original composer who found success late
Apr 28, 2026
53m 20s
Social Links & Contact
Official channels & resources
Official Website
Login
RSS Feed
Login
| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/23/26 |  Season 7 Recommended Summer Listening! | 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! | — | ||||||
| 6/9/26 |  Tosca! Puccini's tragic opera on love, lust, and brutality✨ | operaPuccini+4 | — | Tosca | — | ToscaPuccini+5 | — | 1h 14m 47s | |
| 5/26/26 |  The Montgomery Variations: A Piece of American History by Margaret Bonds✨ | American historymusic analysis+3 | — | The Montgomery Variations | — | Margaret BondsThe Montgomery Variations+3 | — | 1h 01m 26s | |
| 5/12/26 |  Haydn's Trumpet Concerto: Revolutionary in ways you didn't know!✨ | HaydnTrumpet Concerto+3 | — | Haydn's Trumpet Concerto | — | HaydnTrumpet Concerto+3 | — | 50m 32s | |
| 4/28/26 |  Leos Janacek: an original composer who found success late✨ | Leos Janacekspeech melodies+3 | — | — | — | Leos Janacekclassical music+3 | — | 53m 20s | |
| 4/21/26 |  Bonus! John and James discuss Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and gigs✨ | MozartEine Kleine Nachtmusik+2 | — | the Berlin PhilharmonicEine Kleine Nachtmusik | — | Berlin Philharmonicgigs+1 | — | 27m 49s | |
| 4/14/26 |  Also Sprach Zarathustra: Where Music and Philosophy Reach New Heights✨ | Also Sprach Zarathustraphilosophy+2 | — | Sprach Zarathustra: | — | music analysisRichard Strauss+1 | — | 53m 08s | |
| 4/7/26 |  Bonus! 2 Opera preludes by Richard Wagner✨ | OperaWagner+1 | — | the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | — | Wagnerpreludes+2 | — | 24m 06s | |
| 3/31/26 | Richard Wagner: The flawed man who changed opera✨ | Richard Wagneropera+2 | — | Judaism in MusicRing Cycle | — | WagnerRing Cycle+2 | — | 1h 18m 39s | |
| 3/24/26 |  Bonus! 3 Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tampered Clavier Book 1 by Sam Post✨ | musicclassical+3 | Sam Post | Well-Tampered ClavierAcis Productions LLC+1 | — | Well-Tampered ClavierAcis Productions+1 | — | 14m 32s | |
Want analysis for the episodes below?Free for Pro Submit a request, we'll have your selected episodes analyzed within an hour. Free, at no cost to you, for Pro users. | |||||||||
| 3/17/26 | The Well-TAMPERED Clavier: A rhythmic reimagining of JS Bach by Sam Post✨ | JS BachSam Post+3 | — | — | — | reimagining21st century+2 | — | 44m 21s | |
| 3/3/26 |  Brahms Symphony No. 3: Perfection in Orchestration and Form✨ | BrahmsSymphony No. 3+4 | — | — | — | confidencemelodies+1 | — | 51m 04s | |
| 2/17/26 |  3 Composers lost to Tyranny✨ | composerstyranny+2 | — | — | — | Lubna Alyaanmusic history+1 | — | 43m 15s | |
| 2/3/26 |  Meet Grammy-Winning Composer Jessie Montgomery!✨ | compositionorchestral music+2 | Jessie Montgomery | the Chicago Symphony OrchestraBlacknificent 7 | — | Chicago Symphony OrchestraBlacknificent 7 | — | 40m 05s | |
| 1/27/26 |  A performance of Carnival of the Animals featuring Argerich and Freire!✨ | Carnival of the AnimalsSaint-Saens+2 | — | Carnival of the Animals | — | — | — | 25m 35s | |
| 1/20/26 |  Carnival of the Animals, a work of genius kept hidden (plus animal facts!) | One of the most endearing works in music was also hidden for years because the composer worried about his reputation. John Banther and Evan Keely explore the world of animals, how Saint-Saëns brings them to life, and why you have to play bad to sound good! | — | ||||||
| 1/13/26 |  Bonus episode: Ballet music from 2 operas by Verdi! | Different audiences have different tastes, and you can't always serve them the same dish. If Verdi wanted his grand operas to be staged in Paris, he needed to include ballet. In this bonus episode, we'll hear two ballet sections from two different operas, sometimes composed decades later. | — | ||||||
| 1/6/26 |  Giuseppe Verdi: A life of drama, censorship, and even farming! | This composer wrote operas almost exclusively, and his 19th-century success and popularity are hard to grasp even today. John Banther and Linda Carducci explore his life, his upward rise, the tragedies, and how he provided the sound for Italy's "Risorgimento!" | — | ||||||
| 12/23/25 |  Jean Sibelius' Violin Concerto, one of the most challenging works for violin! | This concerto is one of the most daunting in the repertoire, and almost every big soloist aims to lay down their interpretation. But what makes this work so difficult? Is it the written music or is it something else? John Banther and Evan Keely show you what to listen for, how Sibelius does things differently, a moment from a masterclass, and what went wrong in the premiere. | — | ||||||
| 12/16/25 |  A performance of Emilie Mayer's Cello Sonata in D minor featuring Grace Mockus | In the episode on Emilie Mayer's life and music, we briefly discussed her wonderful writing for cello, and we get to experience it firsthand in this bonus episode. Juilliard Graduate student, Grace Mockus, is working on publishing her critical edition of Emilie Mayer's Cello Sonata in D minor! After listening to this, you can find more performances of Grace Mockus on YouTube. | — | ||||||
| 12/9/25 |  Emilie Mayer; Rediscovering a celebrated 19th-century composer | She didn't have a typical upbringing like other composers, and forged her own way with private teachers and determination. John Banther and Evan Keely explore the wide range of repertoire she composed, from symphonies to songs, and look at events that changed the trajectory of her life and career. | — | ||||||
| 11/25/25 |  Clara Wieck Schumann's Piano Concerto; a teenage work of genius | This, the only orchestral output from Clara Wieck, might be one of the few 19th-century concertos written by a teenager that still occupies the concert stage today, and its popularity is only increasing. Join hosts John Banther and Linda Carducci to explore its youthful origins, characteristics of her writing, the size of her hands, and her big concert premiere. | — | ||||||
| 11/11/25 |  Adolphus Hailstork, an American composer writing for our time | Hailstork has been writing music and teaching for over 5 decades, and his work has documented in music major American moments, from the bicentennial, 9/11, George Floyd, and even infrastructure. John Banther and Evan Keely explore his life, studies with Boulanger, his military experience, and look at 3 works from orchestral to choral that demonstrate his style. | — | ||||||
| 10/28/25 |  Death in music! 10 works that explore life’s final question | Death has been depicted in music to console, frighten, warn, and entertain for over 400 years. In fact, the most quoted motif about death is also the oldest, and you know it intimately whether you realize it or not! John Banther and Evan Keely take you on a deathly trip over 10 works and a bonus. | — | ||||||
| 10/21/25 |  Bonus episode! 3 select performances of guitarist Xuefei Yang | I'm excited to bring you more from Xuefei Yang with these three performances taken from her YouTube channel (where you will find plenty more performances!). | — | ||||||
Showing 25 of 165
Pitch Fit is a Pro feature
See how bookable this show is for guests, which brands already advertise, the per-episode ad value, and the best-fit guest and sponsor profile. The numbers are blurred on the free plan.
How readily this show books outside guests like you.
How proven this show is for host-read sponsorships.
For Guests
ProFor Advertisers
ProUpgrade to Pro to unlock guest cadence, sponsor categories, fit scores, and per-episode ad value for this show.
Similar Audience Demographics
Podcasts that attract a similar listener profile
Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast
Joshua Weilerstein
Aria Code
WQXR & The Metropolitan Opera
Classical Music Happy Hour
WNYC, WQXR
The Open Ears Project
WQXR & WNYC Studios
Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited
Folger Shakespeare Library
Slow Burn
Slate Podcasts
The History of Literature
Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate
Chart history for Classical Breakdown
Peaked at #1 in AE, top 10 in 2 of 39 tracked markets, currently #1 in AE.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE | — | #1 | #1 | — |
| CO | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| Sweden | — | #12 | #12 | — |
| AE | — | #12 | #12 | — |
| CO | — | #14 | #14 | — |
| TH | — | #15 | #15 | — |
| Norway | — | #24 | #24 | — |
| KE | — | #46 | #46 | — |
| Sweden | — | #49 | #49 | — |
| PT | — | #51 | #51 | — |
| United States | — | #52 | #52 | — |
| South Africa | — | #52 | #52 | — |
| Italy | — | #61 | #61 | — |
| TH | — | #62 | #62 | — |
| IS | — | #76 | #76 | — |
| IL | — | #86 | #86 | — |
| Brazil | — | #86 | #86 | — |
| RO | — | #89 | #89 | — |
| New Zealand | — | #90 | #90 | — |
| South Korea | — | #94 | #94 | — |
Chart Positions
39 placements across 34 markets.
Chart Positions
39 placements across 34 markets.