Waaaay back in episode 102, composer and conductor Victoria Bond taught us about the first woman to run for the U.S. presidency, about whom Bond wrote the opera Mrs. President. On this, the first day of early voting for the U.S.’s 2016 election, Bond is back to teach about what turns out to be a tradition in classical music: music based on true political events. Learn about the pieces throughout history that are… about history, go vote, and then learn about the upcoming performance of Bond’s opera here. View the live stream of the opera at Friday, October 28, 8:00 pm EDT.

Music in this episode:

  • By Victoria Bond:
    • Mrs. President
    • “Soul of a Nation,” from Four Presidents 
  • Ludwig van Beethoven’s Third Symphony
  • Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh
  • John Adams’ Nixon in China
  • Benjamin Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem and War Requiem
  • Krzysztof Penderecki’s Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
  • Georges Bizet’s Carmen

Audio production by Todd “Electoral College” Hulslander with editing by Mark DiClaudio and yeas and nays from Dacia Clay.

Happy voting everyone!