The Classical Influence

Molly Sonsteng is a trained opera singer with a background at Carnegie Hall and the Manhattan School of Music. She has been hosting intimate listening evenings in her home, sharing the music she loves alongside the history and culture surrounding it. For this evening at Small Hours, she's bringing that experience to a wider room. Molly brings her deep knowledge and genuine enthusiasm for classical music to these listening salons, creating an entry point into a piece through the world around it. For this evening, Molly will take us into one piece of music and the time it came from: the history and politics of the day, along with its art, fashion, inventions, and other details of everyday life. We'll listen to the piece together, then talk about what we heard and where the piece shows up today. It's an intentionally analog evening: sitting together, listening closely, drinking wine, and spending time with something you may or may not know much about. You can simply enjoy the experience, or leave with something that makes you want to keep digging.