Hello, ARIACode fans. I'm pianist Emanuel Axe, and I'd like to tell you about a new podcast I'm hosting that I think you might be interested in.

It's all about the joy in chatting about music with all sorts of people, like Yuja Wang, John Adams, David Hyde Pierce, and Yo-Yo Ma. It's called Classical Music Happy Hour,

and every episode will speak with a guest about their lives, we'll hear some music,

sometimes performed live in the studio, take listener questions, and play music-inspired games.

So grab a drink and join me for music, merriment, and conversation.

And to give you a taste of what you can expect,

the trailer for classical music happy hour starts right now.

I love how it just begins.

Music right now. I love how it just begins. Every time you hear it, it's like a long-term friendship that you're returning to, someone you care deeply about. Hi, I'm pianist

Emmanuel Acts, but my friends call me Manny.

I'm fortunate to count among my friends some of the greatest artists of our time, like Yuja Wong.

You know, if people are like, oh, you should take more time, I'm like, did you hear a monoflet?

John Adams.

Art, and particularly music, above and beyond all, music is really about communicating, feeling. And the iconic Yo-Yoma.

I think that music, when we're playing as if we were talking to one another, is a conversation.

It's a living thing.

And some of my favorite memories happen to be the conversations and laughter we've shared,

long after the concert stage has gone dark for the night, usually after a drink or two.

From WQXR and Carnegie Hall comes classical music Happy Hour, a new podcast hosted by me, Maniacs.

Each episode will speak with a special guest about their lives.

Can you please explain what you were doing in a lighthouse all by yourself?

Were you collaborating on guiding some ships?

...