Daniel and Isabel Save Classical Music artwork

Music Commentary · Isabel Hagen and Daniel Anastasio

Daniel and Isabel Save Classical Music

by Isabel Hagen and Daniel Anastasio

Classical musician-turned-stand up comedian Isabel Hagen and classical pianist Daniel Anastasio explore their favorite classical pieces while discussing the creative life. Listen along for live musical excerpts paired with banter between two best friends. New episodes every Tuesday. For video episodes: http://www.youtube.com/@saveclassicalpod Follow the show on social media at linktr.ee/saveclassicalpod Follow Daniel on Instagram @daniel_anastasio_piano Follow Isabel at https://linktr.ee/isabelhagen

Chart trend

Position in the Music Commentary chart (US), last 90 days.

#19
all-time peak
31
days in the top 50 since May 2026

Latest episodes

Showing 17 · updated from the feed

Daniel and Isabel take a break

Daniel and Isabel are taking September and October off from the podcast. New episodes coming in November! With Daniel's tour of his solo show and Isabel's movie

Sep 3
8 min

Rachmaninoff Rests

Daniel and Isabel talk about slowing down, the balance between hard work and rest, and the power of musical rests, repetition, and rhythmic variation in Sergei Rachmanino

Sep 1
42 min

Chasing Ideas

Daniel and Isabel talk about reading Rick Rubin's "The Creative Act," getting ideas, and Debussy's Arabesque No. 1 in E major. YouTube for full video episodesF

Aug 25
42 min

Depression and Schubert

Daniel and Isabel talk about depression, the difference between depression and sadness, and whether great artists need to feel an intense emotional state like depression

Aug 18
43 min

Chopin's Dark Chorale

Daniel and Isabel analyze Chopin's short yet powerful Prelude in C Minor, and Isabel explains her unfortunate association with the piece. They also reference Chopin&

Aug 11
41 min

Pleasure in Melancholy

Daniel and Isabel talk about Brahms' Intermezzo op. 119 no. 1, which begins his final set of small works for the piano. They discuss Brahms' letter to Clara Sch

Aug 4
45 min

Shostakovich Goes Baroque

Daniel and Isabel dive into Fugue in A Major, op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich. YouTube for full video episodesFollow Isabel HERE. Follow Daniel HEREFollow the podcast ever

Jul 28
35 min

Chopin's Darkest Prelude

Daniel and Isabel dive into Chopin’s E Minor Prelude (and Isabel joins on a special viola rendition of it), and they briefly touch on Chopin’s E-flat Major Nocturne, Chop

Jul 21
1 h 01 min

Dr. Gradus

Daniel and Isabel dive into Claude Debussy’s Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum and the first movement of Leoš Janáček’s In The Mists. YouTube for full video episodesFollow Isabel

Jul 14
57 min

Getting Romantic with Brahms

Daniel and Isabel dive into Brahms' Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 2, and also touch on Brahms’ Piano Trio in B Major and the 3rd movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E M

Jul 7
49 min

Clair de Lune

Daniel and Isabel dive into Debussy's Clair de Lune. YouTube for full video episodesFollow Isabel HERE. Follow Daniel HEREFollow the podcast everywhere at @saveclas

Jun 30
59 min

Couperin and Memory

Daniel and Isabel dive into François Couperin's Les Barricades Mystérieuses, memory, and more. YouTube for full video episodesFollow Isabel HERE. Follow Daniel HERE

Jun 23
1 h 02 min

Special Chords

Daniel and Isabel dive into Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata and Schubert's A-flat Major Impromptu, and Isabel joins Daniel on viola for some of Brahms' F m

Jun 16
50 min

Scenes from Childhood

Daniel and Isabel dive into Schumann's Kinderszenen ("Scenes from Childhood") and more! YouTube for full video episodesFollow Isabel HERE. Follow Daniel HEREFollow

Jun 9
47 min

Funereal Chopin

Daniel and Isabel dive into Chopin's C-sharp minor Nocturne, the Funeral March from Chopin's Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, and more! YouTube for full video epi

Jun 2
48 min

Rethinking Für Elise

Daniel and Isabel dive into two piano repertoire staples, Beethoven's Für Elise and Bach's C Major Prelude from The Well Tempered Clavier. They also touch on Be

May 26
51 min

INTRO

COMING SOON! Daniel and Isabel Save Classical Music. Classical musician-turned-stand up comedian Isabel Hagen and classical pianist Daniel Anastasio explore their favorit

May 23
1 min

Chart positions

Where Daniel and Isabel Save Classical Music ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 9, 2026).

#60 ▼ 11 Music Commentary US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

My favorite of all the classical music podcasts I’ve listened to. I like the focus on shorter pieces, and often just snippets of those—other podcasts will try to talk about a whole Shostakovich symphony or whatever in an hour, and it never really works for me—too much jumping from thing to thing and telling instead of showing. Daniel and Isabel give themselves the time for freewheeling, but always informed, conversations on a single chord or a phrase. I love how Daniel can always pull out a bit of a Bach prelude or a Beethoven sonata to illustrate some point. Speaking of which I would love an episode on something from the WTC.

Ian 838407 · Jul 2026

Fun episode! As a music teacher, theory nerd and lover of a fine conversation, the first episode of this podcast won me over. Can’t wait to see what is next.

adammorrell · May 2026

This is an excellent show. Very much enjoyed the topic at hand, and bravo to Daniel for being able to pick off the musical examples on the piano. If you’re taking requests: a three-parter about Mahler would be outstanding. 🙂

Faril Bunner · Jun 2026

I didn’t know that there was a way to mix my two loves in one podcast… i’m a musician that never took lessons, purely self-taught, but also a giant Comedy nerd; I love Isabel so much! Saw her in Raleigh a few years back… please don’t stop with this podcast. Daniels Magic fingers were hypnotizing on that first episode. INCREDIBLE JOB SIR. I can’t wait for the next episode!

El-Babirusa · May 2026

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About Daniel and Isabel Save Classical Music on Reason.fm

Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Daniel and Isabel Save Classical Music, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

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