This is a “best of” episode from three classic Contrabass Conversations episodes. Back in the early days of the podcast, John Grillo and I recorded two episodes that dissected various excerpts. He and I talked through each excerpt and then played a recording of John performing it. These have been extremely popular resources over the years, but they came out not he podcast ten years ago. With so many episodes of this podcast and so many new listeners to the show, bringing these classic offerings to light is important to me, so I’m planning on doing a few rebroadcasts of this cornerstone content every now and again. Orchestra Excerpts Covered: Beethoven Symphony No. 9 Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Brahms Symphony No. 1 and 2 Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 Mozart Symphony No. 35 and 39 Mahler Symphony No. 2 Schubert Symphony No. 9 Strauss Ein Heldenleben Britten Young Person’s Guide Verdi Otello Opera Excerpts Covered: Strauss Salome Rosenkavalier Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Die Walküre Britten Peter Grimes Verdi Otello Rigoletto Falstaff Weber Euryanthe Mozart Magic Flute Marriage of Figaro Beethoven Fidelio Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel Thanks to our sponsors! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance. Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings! Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which  offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!