Classical Breakdown
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.
Insights from recent episode analysis
On the show
- Sam Post1 ep
- Jessie Montgomery1 ep
Audience Interest
Podcast Focus
Publishing Consistency
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Most discussed topics
Brands & references
Total monthly reach
Based on 1 signal.
Built from
By chart position
- 🇺🇸United States · Music CommentaryHOME#31118K to 626K
- 🇧🇷Brazil · Music Commentary#701.9K to 10K
- 🇨🇴CO · Music Commentary#231.3K to 7.1K
- 🇩🇪Germany · Music Commentary#861.1K to 5.8K
- 🇦🇺Australia · Music Commentary#721.1K to 5.7K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
132K to 699K🎙 Monthly cadence·166 episodes·Last published 1w ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
147K to 777K🇺🇸89%🇧🇷1%🇨🇴1%+6 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
59K to 311K
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
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Total Plays
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Total Reviews
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/13/26 |  Snoopy and the Gang come to life in Ellen Taafe Zwilich's Peanuts Gallery! | 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 concerto, Peanuts Gallery, by American Composer Ellen Zwilich. | 34m 31s | ||||||
| 9/29/26 |  William Schuman: The composer that shaped Juilliard, the Lincoln Center, and American music | 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 unusual start in composing music. | 53m 47s | ||||||
| 9/15/26 |  What is a Harp with Nadia Pessoa: Ancient origins to modern innovations! | 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 now, answers John's burning questions, and plays for us, including a recent viral tune on the harp. | 38m 18s | ||||||
| 9/8/26 | HandelWater Music+3 | — | Concertgebouw Chamber OrchestraHandel's Water Music | — | HandelWater Music+4 | — | 49m 20s | ||
| 9/1/26 | HandelWater Music+3 | — | Handel's Water Music | Kingriver | HandelWater Music+3 | — | 48m 12s | ||
| 6/23/26 | summer listeningmusic albums+3 | — | — | — | summermusic+3 | — | 33m 29s | ||
| 6/9/26 | operaPuccini+4 | — | Tosca | — | ToscaPuccini+5 | — | 1h 14m 47s | ||
| 5/26/26 | American historymusic analysis+3 | — | The Montgomery Variations | — | Margaret BondsThe Montgomery Variations+3 | — | 1h 01m 26s | ||
| 5/12/26 | HaydnTrumpet Concerto+3 | — | Haydn's Trumpet Concerto | — | HaydnTrumpet Concerto+3 | — | 50m 32s | ||
| 4/28/26 | Leos Janacekspeech melodies+3 | — | — | — | Leos Janacekclassical music+3 | — | 53m 20s | ||
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. | |||||||||
| 4/21/26 | MozartEine Kleine Nachtmusik+2 | — | the Berlin PhilharmonicEine Kleine Nachtmusik | — | Berlin Philharmonicgigs+1 | — | 27m 49s | ||
| 4/14/26 | Also Sprach Zarathustraphilosophy+2 | — | Sprach Zarathustra: | — | music analysisRichard Strauss+1 | — | 53m 08s | ||
| 4/7/26 | OperaWagner+1 | — | the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | — | Wagnerpreludes+2 | — | 24m 06s | ||
| 3/31/26 | Richard Wagneropera+2 | — | Judaism in MusicRing Cycle | — | WagnerRing Cycle+2 | — | 1h 18m 39s | ||
| 3/24/26 | musicclassical+3 | Sam Post | Well-Tampered ClavierAcis Productions LLC+1 | — | Well-Tampered ClavierAcis Productions+1 | — | 14m 32s | ||
| 3/17/26 | JS BachSam Post+3 | — | — | — | reimagining21st century+2 | — | 44m 21s | ||
| 3/3/26 | BrahmsSymphony No. 3+4 | — | — | — | confidencemelodies+1 | — | 51m 04s | ||
| 2/17/26 | composerstyranny+2 | — | — | — | Lubna Alyaanmusic history+1 | — | 43m 15s | ||
| 2/3/26 | compositionorchestral music+2 | Jessie Montgomery | the Chicago Symphony OrchestraBlacknificent 7 | — | Chicago Symphony OrchestraBlacknificent 7 | — | 40m 05s | ||
| 1/27/26 | 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! | 1h 02m 54s | ||||||
| 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. | 17m 48s | ||||||
| 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!" | 57m 59s | ||||||
| 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. | 52m 04s | ||||||
| 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. | 28m 07s | ||||||
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Chart history for Classical Breakdown
Peaked at #23 in CO, currently #23 in CO.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO | — | #23 | #23 | — |
| AT | — | #25 | #25 | — |
| United States | — | #31 | #31 | — |
| BE | — | #35 | #35 | — |
| CZ | — | #38 | #38 | — |
| GR | — | #39 | #39 | — |
| CL | — | #48 | #48 | — |
| Netherlands | — | #50 | #50 | — |
| HK | — | #56 | #56 | — |
| South Korea | — | #59 | #59 | — |
| SG | — | #64 | #64 | — |
| RO | — | #68 | #68 | — |
| Brazil | — | #70 | #70 | — |
| Australia | — | #72 | #72 | — |
| Italy | — | #78 | #78 | — |
| Finland | — | #80 | #80 | — |
| AE | — | #81 | #81 | — |
| TR | — | #85 | #85 | — |
| Germany | — | #86 | #86 | — |
| Ireland | — | #87 | #87 | — |
Chart Positions
41 placements across 38 markets.
Chart Positions
41 placements across 38 markets.