Before Rick Steves became one of America’s best-known travel teachers, he was a piano teacher.

In this episode of One Symphony, conductor Devin Patrick Hughes sits down with Rick Steves for a wide-ranging conversation about classical music, travel, culture, and the surprising connections between them.

Rick shares how teaching piano helped shape his approach to teaching travel, why understanding the context behind a piece of music can transform the way we hear it, and what the music of a place can reveal that its museums, food, architecture, and history sometimes cannot.

Their conversation travels from flamenco in Spain and fado in Portugal to Grieg in the Norwegian fjords, Smetana and Czech identity, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” and the role music played in shaping the national identities of Europe.

Rick and Devin also explore travel as a journey from tourist to traveler to pilgrim, the value of culture shock, and how both music and travel can take us outside ourselves and deepen our understanding of other people.

They also discuss Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey, which Rick describes as a concert “designed for people who didn’t know they liked classical music.”

Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey — Colorado performances:

October 8 | Symphony of the Rockies | Denver https://www.symphonyrockies.org/events

October 9 | Boulder Symphony & Music Academy | Boulder https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/rick-steves-europe-a-symphonic-journey

Learn more about Rick Steves: https://www.ricksteves.com/

Learn more about A Symphonic Journey: https://www.ricksteves.com/symphony

One Symphony is hosted by conductor Devin Patrick Hughes.

In One Symphony’s first live, in-person interview, Devin Patrick Hughes sits down with conductors Kristin Ditlow, Karin Hendrickson, and Emily Moss before an audience at the University of New Mexico.

Representing the worlds of opera, orchestra, and wind band, the three conductors explore the craft of conducting, mentorship, musical authority, rehearsal technique, trust, and the balance between listening and leading. They also discuss their different paths to the podium, the relationship between conductor and ensemble, what various musical traditions can learn from one another, and why collaborative music-making remains essential.

Host and conductor Devin Patrick Hughes welcomes pianist David Korevaar to One Symphony for a rich conversation on Beethoven’s piano sonatas and Korevaar’s newly released complete recording of the cycle on Prospero Classical. Together they explore why Beethoven still feels so relevant today, how the sonatas trace his artistic evolution, and why they can feel like the closest thing we have to a musical autobiography.

The conversation moves from the familiar nicknamed sonatas — including the Moonlight, Tempest, and Les Adieux — into the deeper world of Beethoven’s middle and late periods, from the symphonic scale of works like the Appassionata to the daring vastness of the Hammerklavier and the transcendent farewell of Op. 111. Along the way, Korevaar reflects on Beethoven’s sonatas as a compositional laboratory, the challenge of hearing beyond the famous openings, the role of patrons and titles, recommended entry points for new listeners, and the enduring mystery of Beethoven’s metronome markings.

All music featured in this episode is composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and performed by David Korevaar from his newly released recording, Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas, available on Prospero Classical.