Episode 1: Roth & Chopin

Hello! Welcome to the first episode of The Fretful Porpentine, hosted by classical music expert Jeffrey Gross and book critic Valerie Stivers. This podcast explores references to classical music in classic literature. In this episode, we discuss Frédéric Chopin's Scherzo No. 2 in B♭ minor, Opus 31, and its mention in Philip Roth's "The Ghost Writer."

Recordings used in the episode can be found here:

https://musopen.org/music/139-scherzo-no-2-in-b-flat-minor-op-31/ , performed by Alice Hwang.

https://musopen.org/music/2840-sinfonia-concertante-in-e-flat-major-k-364320d/ , performed by Corey Cerovsek on violin, Kim Kashkashian on viola, and the Gardner Chamber Orchestra.

This episode was written and hosted by Jeffrey Gross (@Klassical_Kat on X.com) and Valerie Stivers (@Valerie_reads on X.com and @ivalleria on Instagram.com).

This episode was produced and engineered by Amanda Adams (@amandaadamsmusic on Instagram.com).

"And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine"