Robert Franz
Late conductor and music director of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in Ontario, Canada
Robert Franz (Late conductor and music director of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in Ontario, Canada) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Active listening to classical music, Symphony No. 5 (Tchaikovsky), The Rite of Spring.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Active listening to classical music
Franz recounts that his father was so engaged in active listening that a 30-minute symphony felt too short.
“My dad was so engaged with his active listening to classical music that he didn't even pay attention to the amount of time that had taken place”
TED Radio Hour: How we experience time (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 43:44
Franz describes music as architecture in time and says a good melody carries the listener through time.
“Music is architecture in time, not in space, but in time”
TED Radio Hour: How we experience time (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 36:37
Franz argues composers can write rhythms that either work with or against the listener's heartbeat, explaining listeners' reactions.
“listen to the rhythm and decide if the rhythm is with your heartbeat or against your heartbeat”
TED Radio Hour: How we experience time (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 29:40
Symphony No. 5 (Tchaikovsky)
Franz contends that Tchaikovsky wrote more beautiful melodies than perhaps anyone else in history.
“there was probably nobody in the history of all melody writing who wrote more beautiful melodies than the Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky”
TED Radio Hour: How we experience time (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 35:09
The Rite of Spring
Franz says the sacrificial dance from The Rite of Spring pushes against natural body rhythm but is exciting because of its chaos.
“yes, it's disjunct and it goes against your heartbeat, but it's incredibly exciting because of the chaos”
TED Radio Hour: How we experience time (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 32:27
Appearances
How we experience timeTED Radio Hour · Oct 23, 2026 · 50 min
Manoush Zomorodi explores how humans experience time with artist Katie Paterson, neuroscientist Irena Arslanova, conductor Robert Franz, and psychologist Philip Zimbardo.
Often appears with
- Manoush Zomorodi · 1 shared episode
- Katie Paterson · 1 shared episode
- Irena Arslanova · 1 shared episode
- Philip Zimbardo · 1 shared episode