
“There is only one Beethoven”
14/5/2019 | 35min
Everybody knows the Beethoven story: He’s a brilliant composer who faced hearing loss; a genius who couldn’t listen to his own masterpieces. But there’s a different way to consider the story we think we know.

Symphony for a starving city
07/5/2019 | 32min
Making music under Stalin was a dangerous undertaking — it could end with applause or in a prison camp. In the brutal grip of World War II, Shostakovich composed a symphony so powerful, it was smuggled halfway around the world in order to be played.

“Why did you betray me?”
30/4/2019 | 37min
This is the story of two letters Tchaikovsky received in the mail. One would lead to his greatest mistake; the other to the most intimate relationship of his life.

Oil, meet fire
23/4/2019 | 31min
Richard Strauss and his wife Pauline de Ahna are often described as artist and muse. But you’ve never met a muse like Pauline. One of Strauss’ greatest musical masterpieces was ripped straight from the most scandalous moment of their marriage.For a complete list of the music in this episode, as well as recommended reading, visit decomposedshow.org

“A fallen, abominable, wicked girl”
16/4/2019 | 41min
Clara Schumann was a child prodigy turned international sensation — when she never should have been on stage at all. This is the story of a woman who was born to play, and refused to stop.



Decomposed with Jade Simmons