What sign was Beethoven born under? Was Verdi a Virgo? Domenico Scarlatti a Scorpio? And can you hear any of that astrological influence in their music?
Such questions are the focus of a new monthly Substack newsletter from Patrick Scott, the co-founder, artistic, and executive director of the Santa Monica-based Jacaranda Music.
That organization, which ended its two-decade run of innovative contemporary concerts in February due to financial constraints, has changed its name to Jacaranda Media. It is shifting its mission to focus on recordings, podcasts, and other internet-driven material, including a Substack called AstroMusic.
“I am not trained as an astrologer,” Scott said in announcing the initiative. “but I became an informal apprentice decades ago.
“My late mentor was a serious student of astrology, a pianist, self-taught composer, and freethinking classical music freak. He researched the sun signs of every important composer and listened to LPs for characteristics in their music that illuminated the archetypes of the zodiac.”
In the initial post, which went online on Oct. 4 to mark Jacaranda’s 21st birthday, astrologer Gahl Sasson interprets the organization’s natal chart, and Scott reveals the origin story of his 50-year fascination with music and astrology.
“This first post also features Libra composer Charles Ives, whom Jacaranda has championed and whose sesquicentennial has been overshadowed by Virgo Arnold Schoenberg’s 150th birthday last month,” Scott said. “An audio clip stands in for our wealth of unreleased Ives recordings.”
In April 2025, Scott will inaugurate a new podcast named Classical Freak, in which he will interview a wide range of guests about musical matters. The first episode will feature Mark Alan Hilt, Jacaranda’s music director and other co-founder.
Jacaranda Media also plans to release a series of recordings taken from its 20 years of live concerts. Two recordings were released in CD and download formats in 2020: one focusing on the music of Julius Eastman and another featuring works by Los Angeles-based composers Bruce Broughton, William Kraft, and Veronika Krausas. Both albums are available via Bandcamp.
Scott said he hopes to release additional recordings in February 2025 — which would make those CDs either Aquarians or Pisceans.
