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episode 1 : let's talk about syphilis
episode 2 : schubert's heavy metal therapy
episode 3 : bedřich smetana and the high e of doom
episode 4 : scott joplin didn't die of opera failure
this composer is SICK!
a podcast from WQXR's Artist Propulsion Lab
exploring the impact of Syphilis on the lives and music of Franz Schubert, Bedřich Smetana, and Scott Joplin
created by Emi Ferguson and Max Fine
episode 1
let's talk about s....yphilis
this composer is SICK! explores the impact of Syphilis on the lives and music of Franz Schubert, Bedřich Smetana, and Scott Joplin over the course of four gripping mini-episodes.
in this first episode, let's talk about s...yphilis, Emi Ferguson connects the dots between an Italian shepherd who upset Apollo, an angry Arnold Schoenberg in a Los Angeles grocery store (spoiler alert: he didn't have syphilis), and 1940s public health campaigns, all with the help of Syphilis expert, Dr. Sheila Lukehart, and famed musician Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
featuring Dr. Sheila Lukehart
with musical performances by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and music by Arnold Schoenberg
and with an introduction by John Schaefer
episode 2
schubert's heavy metal therapy
What's the relationship between syphilis, mercury, and the composer of "Die Forelle?"
Emi Ferguson continues her exploration of how syphilis impacted classical composers. This episode looks at the case of Franz Schubert, who died in 1828 at the age of 31.
Emi is joined by Schubert scholar and James H. Ottaway Professor of music history, Christopher H. Gibbs, as well as Dr. Sheila Lukehart.
Together, Emi and her guests explore the impact of syphilis and its treatments on Schubert, as well as his late life and works.
featuring Dr. Sheila Lukehart and Christopher H. Gibbs
with musical performances by Karim Sulayman and Yi-heng Yang, Matthew Rose and Malcom Martineau, Emi Ferguson and Peter Dugan, Sviatoslav Richter, Musicians From Marlboro, and Hope Lies Within.
and with an introduction by John Schaefer
episode 3
Bedřich Smetana...
and the High E of Doom
There's something strange in the last movement of Bedřich Smetana's String Quartet No. 1, "From My Own Life." In the middle of a lively finale, the quartet breaks off, followed by a mysterious high note.
What does it all mean?
How is it connected to his syphilis?
All that and more on this episode of This Composer is Sick.
featuring Dr. Sheila Lukehart and Dr. Kelly St. Pierre
with musical performances by the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Travnicek Quartet
and with an introduction by John Schaefer
episode 4
This Composer is Sick wraps up with an exploration of how syphilis affected the life, works, and death of American composer Scott Joplin.
Host Emi Ferguson and her guests, Joplin biographer and ragtime scholar Edward Berlin, and syphilis researcher Sheila Lukehart, look at Joplin's life as he battled syphilis, particularly his last years in New York, as he worked to stage a production of his opera, Treemonisha.
featuring Dr. Sheila Lukehart and Ed Berlin
with musical performances by The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers, Benjamin Loeb, the United States Marine Band, Jade Simmons, Laquita Mitchell and Joshua Rifkin, and Lara Downes
and with an introduction by John Schaefer
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