
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.
Total monthly reach
Estimated from 2 chart positions in 2 markets.
By chart position
- 🇺🇸US · Music History#1515K to 30K
- 🇮🇪IE · Music History#122500 to 3K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
2.8K to 17K🎙 Weekly cadence·71 episodes·Last published 1mo ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
5.5K to 33K🇺🇸91%🇮🇪9% - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
1.6K to 9.9K
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
Recent episodes
Episode 66 - 2008: David Lang, The Little Match Girl Passion
Apr 21, 2026
23m 56s
Episode 65 - 2007: Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar
Feb 14, 2026
25m 00s
Episode 64 - 2006: Yehudi Wyner, Piano Concerto: 'Chiavi in Mano'
Dec 19, 2025
26m 00s
Bonus: Giants in the Earth Revisited
Nov 20, 2025
17m 44s
Episode 63 - 2005: Steven Stucky, Concerto for Orchestra, No. 2
Nov 4, 2025
32m 19s
Social Links & Contact
Official channels & resources
Official Website
Login
RSS Feed
Login
| Date | Episode | Description | Length | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/21/26 | ![]() Episode 66 - 2008: David Lang, The Little Match Girl Passion | In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore an oratorio for voice and percussion that mingles minimalism, Bach, and a fairy tale. Will that mixture prove potent for them? And has Andrew ever been more excited for a particular winning piece? If you'd like more information about David Lang and The Little Match Girl Passion, we recommend: David Lang's website Dominic Wells's "In the Footsteps of Bach's St. Matthew Passion: The Passion Setting of David Lang and James MacMillan" Tempo 67, no. 264 (2013): 40–51. Tom Service's BBC podcast "The Listening Service" on The Match Girl Passion William Robin's Industry: Bang on a Can and New Music in the Marketplace New York: Oxford University Press, 2021 | 23m 56s | ||||||
| 2/14/26 | ![]() Episode 65 - 2007: Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar | In this episode, Dave and Andrew listen to the first work without a written score to ever win a Pulitzer, Ornette Coleman's album Sound Grammar. What will they think about this new direction for the prize? And it wouldn't be Hearing the Pulitzers without discussing some drama from the judges! We also discuss a special certificate granted to a deserving late jazz musician. If you'd like more information about Ornette Coleman, we recommend: Stephen Rush's book Free Jazz, Harmolodics, and Ornette Coleman (Routledge, 2016) Michael Stephan's book Experiencing Ornette Coleman: A Listener's Companion (Rowman and Littlefield, 2017) Nathan Frink's dissertation "Dancing in His Head: The Evolution of Ornette Coleman's Music and Compositional Philosophy" (University of Pittsburgh, 2016) | 25m 00s | ||||||
| 12/19/25 | ![]() Episode 64 - 2006: Yehudi Wyner, Piano Concerto: 'Chiavi in Mano' | In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a piano concerto that the composer, Yehudi Wyner, said "permits expression of the raunchy as well as the refined." How will that duality sit with the hosts? Why doesn't a distinguished composer like Wyner get more performances?? And what former PP winners make an appearance in the episode? If you'd like more information about Yehudi Wyner, we recommend: June Yin-Hsuan Chen's dissertation, "Analysis of Yehudi Wyner's Piano Concerto, 'Chiavi in Mano'" Chapter 17: "A Tale of Two Concertos: The Piano Concertos of Yehudi Wyner and Bernard Rands" in Observations on Music, Culture, and Politics by Daniel Asia David Cleary's "An Intoxicating Wyner at 70" in The New Music Connoisseur 8, no. 2 (2000) 9–10. | 26m 00s | ||||||
| 11/20/25 | ![]() Bonus: Giants in the Earth Revisited | In 2020, Dave and Andrew released their 9th episode, covering Douglas Moore's forgotten opera Giants in the Earth without being able to hear it or even see the score. Now, after 50 years after the last performance, Giants in the Earth has appeared again in a new production by the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Will it be a hit or a miss? If you'd like to know more about the performance, we recommend: Information about the live performance by the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra The streaming performance of Giants in the Earth Joshua Barone's coverage of the performance in the New York Times, "An Operatic ‘Diamond on the Side of the Road’ Catches Light Again." | 17m 44s | ||||||
| 11/4/25 | ![]() Episode 63 - 2005: Steven Stucky, Concerto for Orchestra, No. 2 | In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a concerto for orchestra that achieved great heights by, in the words of its creator Steven Stucky, "standing on the shoulders of those who have already cleared the path ahead." But will our hosts appreciate the view? And who were some of the other nominees this year? We also discuss a rule change within the Pulitzer Prize award process that took effect with this year's winner. If you'd like more information about Steven Stucky, we recommend: "Stucky, Hartke, Crockett: Conversations in Los Angeles." Contemporary Music Review, 10, no. 1 (1994): 51–73. Franklin Crawford, "Steal this concerto, please: An interview with Steven Stucky" Cornell Chronicle, April 21, 2005. Steven Stucky, Lutosławski and his Music (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981). This Washington Post article about the changes to the music prize from June 2004. | 32m 19s | ||||||
| 8/15/25 | ![]() Episode 62 - 2004: Paul Moravec, Tempest Fantasy | In this episode, Dave and Andrew dive into a work inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest. Will the work live up to the Bard's reputation? And does this piece fit into the typical mold of a Pulitzer Prize winning work? If you'd like more information about Paul Moravec, we recommend: Paul Moravec's personal website Dialogue with Moravec for the Kansas City Lyric Opera's production of The Shining Paul Moravec's short article “Tonality and Transcendence.” Contemporary Music Review vol. 6. no. 2 (1992): 39–42. | 29m 42s | ||||||
| 7/12/25 | ![]() Episode 61 - 2003: John Adams, On the Transmigration of Souls | In this episode, Dave and Andrew go back to the events of 9/11 and listen to a piece memorializing the day. But will they find the piece moving or maudlin? And how does the piece hold up some 20+ years later? By this point, John Adams was a famous composer, but should this particular piece of his have won the prize? If you'd like more information about John Adams, we recommend: His memoir Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life (you can read an excerpt at NPR). Dan Blim's article referenced in the show, "Disunity and the Commemoration of 9/11 in John Adams's On the Transmigration of Souls" Journal of the Society for American Music, 7, no. 4 (November 2013): 382-420. Kalle Puolakka's article "Public Art and Dewey’s Democratic Experience: The Case of John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls" The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 74, No. 4 (2016): 371-81. | 36m 04s | ||||||
| 6/18/25 | ![]() Episode 60 - 2002: Henry Brant, Ice Field | In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the first experimental composer to win the Pulitzer since Charles E. Ives. With that pedigree, what will they think of Henry Brant's Ice Field? And why is this piece called a "spatial" composition? If you'd like to learn more about Henry Brant and Ice Field, we recommend: This video of the work with commentary from Michael Tilson Thomas and organist Cameron Carpenter Maria Anna Harley's article “An American in Space: Henry Brant’s ‘Spatial Music.’” American Music 15, no. 1 (1997): 70–92. Frank Oteri's 2002 interview with Henry Brant in New Music Box | 31m 39s | ||||||
| 5/28/25 | ![]() Episode 59 - 2001: John Corigliano, Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra | In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the symphony of John Corigliano they don't know. After appreciating Corigliano's first and third symphonies, what will they think of the second? This piece, a rescoring and revision of Corigliano's String Quartet, is another in a recent stretch of winning works that began in a different form. If you'd like to learn more about Corigliano, we recommend: This interview with Corigliano by Living the Classical Life Corigliano's composer's note about the Symphony No. 2 Elizabeth Bergman's “Of Rage and Remembrance, Music and Memory: The Work of Mourning in John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1 and Choral Chaconne.” American Music 31, no. 3 (2013): 340–61 | 31m 44s | ||||||
| 4/30/25 | ![]() Episode 58 - 2000: Lewis Spratlan, Life is a Dream, Opera in Three Acts: Act II, Concert Version | In this episode, Dave and Andrew talk about a curious winner for the year 2000 since it was originally composed 25 years earlier! What will they think about this blast from the past? It's also the first opera to win the Pulitzer Prize in many decades. If you'd like more information about Lewis Spratlan, we recommend: This video of Spratlan talking about the origins of the opera before the full premiere by the Santa Fe Opera. This video of Spratlan detailing the opera's history with the Massachusetts Cultural Council. A. Robert Lauer's article "The Santa Fe Opera’s Life Is a Dream" Bulletin of the Comediantes, Volume 63, Number 2 (2011): 155-60. | 32m 23s | ||||||
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. | |||||||||
| 3/11/25 | ![]() Episode 57 - 1999: Melinda Wagner, Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion | In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a concerto featuring an instrument not often put into a concerto setting: the flute. But its title also promises a balance among three forces instead of a featured soloist. What will they think of this contradictory piece? If you'd like more information about Melinda Wagner, we recommend: Frank Oteri's excellent interview with Melinda Wagner from 2015 Yujia Xia's dissertation "Melinda Wagner and Her Piano Concerto: Extremity of Sky" from 2021. Mark Alburger, "Winning the Pulitzer Can Brighten Your Whole Day: An Interview with Melinda Wagner," 20th-Century Music 6, no. 6 (1999): 1-7. | 25m 22s | ||||||
| 2/3/25 | ![]() Episode 56 - 1998: Aaron Jay Kernis, String Quartet #2 (musica instrumentalis) | In this episode, Dave and Andrew return to the venerable string quartet for a piece that mixes tonality, modernist music, Baroque dances, and Medieval modality. But will this mixture work for them? If you'd like more information about Aaron Jay Kernis and the String Quartet #2, we recommend: Leta Miller's book Aaron Jay Kernis, the first biography of the composer that we reference several times in the episode. A conversation between Kernis and Frank Oteri right after the biography was published. | 28m 18s | ||||||
| 12/13/24 | ![]() Episode 55 - 1997: Wynton Marsalis, Blood on the Fields | In this episode, Dave and Andrew go deep into the tangled history surrounding the first jazz piece to ever win the Pulitzer Prize in Music, Wynton Marsalis's Blood on the Fields. But what will they think of the changes to the Pulitzer that allowed a largely-improvised piece to win an award previously reserved for notated music? If you'd like more information about Wynton Marsalis, we recommend: Wynton Marsalis's official website Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life by Wynton Marsalis and Geoffrey Ward David Stowe's article "The Diasporic Imagination of Wynton Marsalis," in The Black Urban Community, edited by Gayle T. Tate and Lewis A. Randolph (Palgrave, 2006) Matthew Alan Thomas's dissertation "Dynamic canons: How the Pulitzer Prize, documentary film, and the U.S. Department of State are changing the way we think about jazz," University of Southern California, 2011 | 29m 35s | ||||||
| 10/19/24 | ![]() Episode 54 - 1996: George Walker, Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra | In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a song cycle in all but name, George Walker's Lilacs. From the outside, this win looks like another lifetime achievement award, but is it? And does Lilacs remind them of music from an earlier period in the Pulitzer's history? If you'd like more information about George Walker or Lilacs, we recommend: Ginger Sharnell Jones-Robinson's DMA document, "An Analysis of Selected Vocal Works by George Walker" from the University of South Carolina, 2023. Mikey Thomas Terry's interview with George Walker, The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 84, No. 3 (2000), pp. 372–88 This short documentary on Walker and his music | 27m 35s | ||||||
| 10/1/24 | ![]() Episode 53 - 1995: Morton Gould, Stringmusic | In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer from an earlier generation winning a Pulitzer in the twilight of his career. What will they think of Stringmusic? If you'd like more information about Morton Gould, we recommend: J. Wesley Flinn's article, "Developing Variation in the Late Work of Morton Gould and Why It Matters" Gamut vol. 10. no. 1 (2021) Lee Evan's dissertation, "Morton Gould: His Life and Music," Columbia University, 1978. Peter Goodman's book, Morton Gould: American Salute (Amadeus Press, 2003). | 28m 47s | ||||||
| 9/11/24 | ![]() Episode 52 - 1994: Gunther Schuller, Of Reminiscences and Reflections | In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss one of the composers Dave wishes he had met, Gunther Schuller. But does Schuller's winning work Of Reminiscences and Reflections live up to his high expectations? If you'd like more information about Gunther Schuller, we recommend: Schuller's autobiography, A Life in Pursuit of Music and Beauty The Gunther Schuller Society Read "The Compleat Musician in the Complete Conservatory" in Schuller's collection of essays, Musings. | 28m 33s | ||||||
| 6/10/24 | ![]() Episode 51 - 1993: Christopher Rouse, Trombone Concerto | In this episode, Dave and Andrew consider one of the few concertos to win the Pulitzer Prize, this time for an instrument whose sound some critics claimed grew "tiresome." Will they agree? And what famous composer's music is quoted in the piece? If you'd like more information about Christopher Rouse, we recommend: This interview with Joe Alessi mentioned in the episode. R. Burkhardt Reiter's 2005 dissertation, Symmetry and Narrative in Christopher Rouse's Trombone Concerto with white space waiting (an original composition for chamber orchestra). Laurie Shulman's article, "Christopher Rouse: An Overview" in Tempo, no. 199 (1997): 2-8. | 29m 49s | ||||||
| 5/24/24 | ![]() Episode 50 - 1992: Wayne Peterson, The Face of the Night, The Heart of the Dark | In this episode, Dave and Andrew address one of the most controversial awards in Pulitzer history. What happened in 1992 and was Wayne Peterson's music worthy of the ruckus that grew around it? If you'd like more information about Wayne Peterson, we recommend: Joshua Kosman's Obituary of the composer in the New York Times. Peterson's professional management service (with discography, video, etc.) The Boston Modern Orchestra Project's recording of The Face of the Night, The Heart of the Dark. | 32m 35s | ||||||
| 4/19/24 | ![]() Bonus: An Interview with Howard Pollack | In this episode, Dave and Andrew are joined by Howard Pollack, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music at the University of Houston. Dr. Pollack is the author of acclaimed biographies of several Pulitzer Prize winners from the early years, including a recent biography of two-time winner Samuel Barber. About Howard Pollack | 39m 37s | ||||||
| 3/29/24 | ![]() Episode 49 - 1991: Shulamit Ran, Symphony | In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the second Pulitzer Prize in music won by a female composer, Shulamit Ran for her Symphony, in 1991. What will they think about this fourth freely-atonal work in a row to win the prize? And what snags did they run into researching this episode? As mentioned in the podcast, here is Shulamit Ran performing with the New York Philharmonic in 1965: If you'd like more information on Shulamit Ran, we recommend: Malcolm Miller, "Between Two Cultures: A Conversation with Shulamit Ran" Tempo, 2004, 58(227):15-32. "Casting Musical Spells: Time, Passion, and Inevitability in the Music of Shulamit Ran," In: Kouvaras, L., Williams, N., Grenfell, M. (eds) The Composer, Herself. Palgrave Macmillan (2023). | 26m 26s | ||||||
| 1/30/24 | ![]() Episode 48 - 1990: Mel Powell, Duplicates | In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a composer who played with Benny Goodman as a jazz pianist, and then embraced Arnold Schoenberg's musical ideas as a member of the academy. What kind of music does that concoction create? Listen to this episode on Duplicates, Powell's winning piece for two pianos and orchestra. If you'd like more information about Mel Powell, we recommend: Sally Lamb, “An Analytical Guide to the Works of Mel Powell.” DMA diss., Cornell University, 1988. Jeffrey Perry, "Constructing a Relevant Past: Mel Powell's Beethoven Analogs" American Music 29, no. 4 (2011): 491–535. Finally, you might like to see Mel Powell in action with Benny Goodman: | 29m 52s | ||||||
| 1/12/24 | ![]() Episode 47 - 1989: Roger Reynolds, Whispers Out of Time | In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a work for string orchestra that Kyle Gann opined was the first experimental composition to win the Pulitzer since Charles Ives. Given how much Dave loves Ives, how does he react to Whispers Out of Time? How does the piece fit in the context of music written in the late 1980s? If you'd like more information about Roger Reynolds, we recommend: Kyle Gann's American Music in the 20th Century (Schirmer, 1997). Roger Reynolds's "Ideals and Realities: A Composer in America" American Music Vol. 25, No. 1 (2007): 4-49. | 30m 38s | ||||||
| 12/8/23 | ![]() Bonus: An Interview with William Bolcom | In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with 1988 Pulitzer Prize Winner William Bolcom. What is the difference between the Etudes and the New Etudes? What impact did John Cage have on his career? And who is answering the phone? We hope you enjoy hearing from him about these insights and many more! | 24m 22s | ||||||
| 11/16/23 | ![]() Episode 46 - 1988: William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes | In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first solo piano work to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. And they try to answer the question–if these are "new" etudes, what are the "old" etudes? They also examine how Bolcom incorporates various styles and techniques into the etudes, and ponder the set's historical place among other etude collections. If you'd like more information about William Bolcom, we recommend: Henry S. Jones's dissertation "William Bolcom's Twelve New Etudes for Piano" (Louisiana State University, 1994). Ji Sun Lee's dissertation "Revolutionary Etudes: The Expansion of Piano Technique Exploited in the Twelve New Etudes of William Bolcom" (University of Arizona, 2001) William Bolcom's website. And if you'd like to read Dave's interview with Marc-André Hamelin (who premiered the entire set), you can find it here. | 32m 26s | ||||||
| 9/24/23 | ![]() Bonus: An Interview with John Harbison | In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with Pulitzer Winner John Harbison. Why did he decide to play the tuba? What was it like to study composition with two-time winner Walter Piston? What was the impetus for looking at the darker side of Christmas in The Flight Into Egypt? We hope you enjoy hearing from him about these insights and many more! | 28m 46s | ||||||
Showing 25 of 72
Sponsor Intelligence
Sign in to see which brands sponsor this podcast, their ad offers, and promo codes.
Chart Positions
2 placements across 2 markets.
Chart Positions
2 placements across 2 markets.
