Music of the Gilded Age: Symphonies to Saxophones

Join Carl and historian and professional musician Dr. Christopher Brellochs for a tour through the musical influences of the Gilded Age.

Music in the Gilded Age incorporated many different styles and influences from the classical symphonies and operas brought to American concert halls and stages from Europe to more home grown music that included military influenced music as well as music that reflected the fusion of cultural influences like ragtime.

Dr. Brellochs shares insight into just what Gilded Age audiences were tapping their feet to and where they were going to hear music from the brand new Carnegie Hall in 1891 to the opening of the Metropolitan Opera in 1883.

This episode covers some American composers that you might not know including John Knowles Paine who was tremendously influential in the Gilded Age and nearly forgotten today. And just to give some special perspective Dr. Brellochs played the role of John Knowles Paine in an episode of HBO's first season of "The Gilded Age".

We also discuss the popularization of a new instrument - the saxophone - which Dr. Brellochs has called a Gilded Age "coming of age story".