“The talk was about how Beethoven uses minor keys. They key of a piece can dramatically influence how a listener reacts to it. My talk was about how the minor key effects listeners, how they perceive it, what is the mood of the piece. Beethoven used minor keys in a way that very few composers in that period were doing,” said Harel.

In the past year, word of Harel’s thought-provoking and engaging lectures has traveled and he has gotten requests to appear everywhere from the many public libraries in Fairfield County, to a most recent lecture last month held at the New Cannan Library to lecture on Italian Opera.  For those who which to catch Harel locally, he will be giving a lecture , “A Journey Through Jazz” at Washington, CT’s Gunn Library on Thursday, May 16 from 6:30-7:30. More information on that lecture is here.