The Story of "Blind" Tom Wiggins, w/ Deirdre O'Connell
Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast
Joshua Weilerstein
4.9 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 24 June 2021
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Never heard of Tom Wiggins? You're in for a treat with this episode! Tom Wiggins was a fantastic 19th century pianist and composer who was ruthlessly exploited by his owner/guardian on account of his race and his mental condition. He was known as one of the greatest performers of his era and yet was never paid for his work. I sat down with Deirdre O'Connell (The Ballad of Blind Tom) to talk with her about Wiggins' life and work. Also included are clips of his music, performed by the pianist John Davis.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Sticky Notes, the Classical Music Podcast. My name is Joshua Weilers |
| 0:11.9 | and I'm a conductor and I'm the artistic director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra |
| 0:15.1 | in Los Angeles, Switzerland, and the music director of the Phoenix Orchestra of Boston. |
| 0:19.4 | This podcast is for anyone who loves classical music, works in the field, or is just getting |
| 0:23.5 | ready to dive into this amazing world of incredible music. Before we get started, I want to |
| 0:28.1 | think my new Patreon sponsors, Carrie, Jordan, Bill, Pablo, Pat, Bob, Jonathan, Karen, |
| 0:35.7 | Stan, Angie, Claude, Barbara, Theodore, Daniel, and all of my other Patreon sponsors for |
| 0:42.7 | making Season 7 possible. If you'd like to support the show, please head over to patreon.com |
| 0:47.4 | slash Sticky Notes Podcast. And if you are a fan of the show, please just think a moment |
| 0:51.1 | to give us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. Every rating or review helps more people |
| 0:55.2 | find the show, and it is greatly appreciated. |
| 0:59.2 | This week I have the bittersweet news that these are my final two concerts as artistic director |
| 1:04.1 | of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. This has been an absolutely incredible six years |
| 1:08.6 | with this wonderful orchestra. We've performed nearly 75 concerts over the last six years, |
| 1:14.7 | gone on tours all over Europe, recorded four CDs, and have created so many musical |
| 1:20.3 | memories together. I will be seeing them again in September and I know that this is not |
| 1:24.4 | the end, but just the beginning of a long friendship with these amazing musicians. In the |
| 1:30.0 | meantime, I wish them all the best for their new artistic director, Renaud Caputon, and |
| 1:34.0 | I will cherish all of the memories of our music making together and my time, of course, |
| 1:38.7 | in this amazing city of Lausanne. Today I have a very special episode, especially for |
| 1:44.2 | those of you who like discovering new composers. The story of blind Tom Wiggins, as he was |
| 1:49.6 | called in the 19th century, really is another one that deserves a film adaptation. He was |
... |
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