Program #365 (broadcast Oct. 1 & 4, 2008) - Three
More Tenors
Probably
you all know the three tenors—Pavarotti, Domingo, and
Carreras. But here we have “Three More Tenors”
certainly matching their contributions and equally deserving
of our attention: a Frenchman, Alain Vanzo; an Italian, Franco
Corelli; and the Canadian Jon Vickers. Featuring the Act I
Recitative and Romance from Georges Bizet’s Pearl Fishers,
an Aria from Gounod’s Faust, “Di quella pirra”
from Verdi’a Il Trovatore, “O terra addio”
from Verdi’s Aida, and an excerpt from the “Mad”
scene of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes.
Program
#364 (broadcast Sept. 24 & 27, 2008) - Live and Spontaneous
In this
program we’ll discover the thrill of hearing performances
captured live in recording—no editing, no splicing,
just the performer interpreting and communicating the music:
pianist Rudolf Serkin playing Schubert’s Impromptu in
F minor; selections from Aaron Copland’s “Old
American Songs,” sung by mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne;
an excerpt from the finale of John Corigliano’s Clarinet
Concerto, featuring Stanley Drucker; and pianist Ignaz Jan
Paderewski playing Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 6 in
D-flat.
Program
#363 (broadcast Sept. 17 & 20, 2008) - Repetition
The art
of repetition in great oratory—how does music compare?
In musical oratory, repetition can be used as building blocks
or as glue binding a movement or an entire work. Join me as
we discover how the idea of repetition unifies and empowers.
Includes examples from Handel’s Giulio Cesare (“Il
lamo dell’ armi”); Mozart’s Rondo in D,
K. 485; Wagner’s Die Walküre; and Ravel’s
Bolero.
Program
#362 (broadcast Sept. 10 & 13, 2008) - Call Me Unpredictable
The great
lyricist Sammy Cahn once wrote the famous “Call me irresponsible”
for a 1963 film. We all know the words sung by Frank Sinatra:
“call me unreliable, throw in undependable too …
call me unpredictable …” and so on. Cahn could
have easily been writing about the surprising, unpredictable
elements found in the music of C.P.E. Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven.
In this program, we call these composers “unpredictable,”
featuring the finale of Haydn’s Symphony No. 90, the
C.P.E. Bach Fantasy in C Major, and two movements from Beethoven’s
String Quartet, Op. 18, No. 6.
Program
#361 (broadcast Sept. 3 & 6, 2008) - Mona Lisa Smile
(sequel)
In a recent
episode, we explored the layers of expression in Mozart’s
music from the 1770s. This program continues with mature works
from the 1780s, inviting listeners to once again delve into
the many sophisticated elements infused in Mozart’s
genius: the Sonata No. 13 in B-flat Major, K. 333 (III); “Porgi,
amor” from The Marriage of Figaro; the “Hoffmeister”
Quartet, K. 499; and the Gigue in G Major, K. 674.
Program
#360 (broadcast Aug. 27 & 30, 2008) - Mona Lisa Smile
“Perhaps
there has to be one great composer who wears a Mona Lisa smile,
but behind the smile, and the more one listens, the more one
marvels at the shades of subtle feeling that Mozart is able
to convey.” So writes Joseph Kerman about the mysterious
genius, the contrasts of light and dark, the elegance, energy,
and spontaneity that all reside in the music of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart: the Concerto for violin No. 3 in G, K. 216 (II. Adagio);
and Variations on “Lison dormait,” K. 264.
Program
#359 (broadcast Aug. 20 & 23, 2008) - Haydn Portraits
This program
will capture some of Franz Josef Haydn’s most vivid
musical portrayals, featuring the Trio in E-flat minor, H.
XV:31, “Jacob’s Ladder”; the introductory
movement to the Seven Last Words; and Haydn’s “Plowman”
and “Erblicke” Arias from The Seasons, concluding
with the famous “Thunderstorm” Chorus.
Program
#358 (broadcast Aug. 13 & 16, 2008) - Biblical Inspirations
How does
music interpret and recreate stories of scripture? How have
composers treated such powerful words? Throughout the history
of oratorio and opera, composers such as Handel (Israel in
Egypt), Verdi (Nabucco), Camille Saint-Saens (Samson and Delilah),
and Arnold Schoenberg (Moses and Aaron) have musically depicted
the Old Testament vengeful, jealous, and protective God the
Father. We will study this musical God in a program entitled
“Biblical Inspirations.”
Program
#357 (broadcast Aug. 6 & 9, 2008) - Fire and Ice
How do
composers breathe life into their masterpieces? When listeners
feel as the composer felt, the emotions can run so high or
low that one is lost inside the art. In this program of “Fire
and Ice” we explore the passionate, fiery feelings conjured
by Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” Sonata for violin
and piano as well as the desolate, depressive state of Sergei
Prokofiev’s duo Sonata in F minor, Op. 80.
Program
#356 (broadcast July 30 & Aug 2, 2008) - Acorn To
An Oak Tree
Our focus
this program centers on musical growth from simple motives
and basic ideas. I’ve borrowed the title “Acorn
To An Oak Tree” from the prominent British theorist
Ebenezer Prout, who wrote in 1896, “all music is an
organic growth … as natural a process of evolution as
that by which an oak grows out of an acorn.” And so
we will examine organic ideas small yet essential to the life
and growth of the musical works, featuring music by Haydn
(“Nelson” Mass Kyrie and the Symphony No. 88 finale),
Kodály (Meditation on a Motive of Claude Debussy),
and Aaron Copland (scherzo movement of his Piano Sonata).
Program
#355 (broadcast July 23 & 26, 2008) - Favorite Chopin
Every
dedicated listener surely has favorite Chopin performances.
This program explores favorite Chopin recordings of your host:
who can resist the intuitive genius of authoritative pianists
Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Artur Rubinstein, and Piotr
Anderszewski. Join me as we discover these unmatched Chopin
interpretations.
Program
#354 (broadcast July 16 & 19, 2008) - Musical Patrons
In this
program we talk about “Musical Patrons,” and particularly
the Prussian patrons of the 18th century, Kings Frederick
the Great and Friedrich Wilhelm II. Often patrons of the arts
would inspire the creation of special works, and we dedicate
this Art for Ears program to these patron kings, highlighting
the music of J.S. Bach (selections from the Musical Offering),
Mozart (the finale of his String Quartet, K. 575), and Beethoven
(the finale of his Op. 5, No. 1, Sonata for Cello and Piano).
Program
#353 (broadcast July 9 & 12, 2008) - Rondo Returns
We will
study four descriptive and inventive rondos, each bearing
their composer’s individual stamp, but all maintaining
the design of a rondo. What makes an effective rondo—perhaps
a balanced combination of individuality and unity? Music of
Haydn (finale of Symphony 102), Beethoven (finale of the Piano
Concerto No. 2), Brahms (an excerpt from the Adagio rondo
of his Op. 26 Piano Quartet) and Bartók (the finale
of his Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion) will highlight
the sophisticated design possibilities of rondo form.
Program
#352 (broadcast July 2 & 5, 2008) - How Does It Fit?
In this
program we ask, “how does it fit?” and study the
musical complexities composers bring to important works. We
will also consider how history and literature might fit with
the music. “How Does It Fit?” explores Stravinsky’s
L’histoire du Soldat, a piano Excursion of Samuel Barber,
the Fourth Symphony of Charles Ives, and Mozart’s influential
and famous opera Don Giovanni.
Program
#351 (broadcast June 25 & 28, 2008) - More Legends
In a
recent program we studied musical legends of the past—legendary
performers and recordings—legends kept alive by these
historic recordings and the performers’ unmatched contributions
to the musical world. We have “More Legends” to
commemorate from music’s last century and the golden
age of great recordings: Vladimir Horowitz in music of Rachmaninoff
(Etude-Tableaux in E-flat minor, Op. 39, No. 5), Mischa Elman
(Wienawski’s Souvenir de Moscow, Op. 6), Leopold Auer
(Tchaikovsky’s Melodie, op. 42, No. 3), and Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf (Mozart’s “Come Scoglio” from
Cosi fan Tutte and Wolf’s “Elfenlied” with
Wilhelm Fürtwangler).
Program
#350 (broadcast June 18 & 21, 2008) - Canopy of Stars
In a
review of the New York Philharmonic’s performance of
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the critic Anthony Tommasini
portrayed the finale as a “vivid and haunting depiction
of the mysterious starry firmament.” After the chorus
sings the famous words by poet Friedrich Schiller, “O
ye millions, kneel before him,” Tommasini describes
the following Adagio section: “Beethoven evokes the
canopy of the stars … as the strings shimmer and create
hushed, high-pitched and tremulous waves of sound.”
And it is that mysterious “Canopy of Stars” we
will study in this program with music of Schumann (Mein schöner
Stern”), Wagner (“Song to the Evening Star”
from Tannhäuser), Liszt (piano transcription of Wagner’s
“Song to the Evening Star”), Messiaen (“The
Stars and Glory” from Illuminations from the Beyond),
and Beethoven (the final section of his Ninth Symphony).
Program
#349 (broadcast June 11 & 14, 2008) - Astrology and
Mythology
This week
we consider the influence of astrology and mythology on music.
How do these two views of history and the universe interact
with composers and their fascination with the planets and
space? In this program myth and music come together as we
study The Planets of 20th-century composer Gustav Holst (“Mars—the
Bringer of War” and “Mercury: the Winged Messenger”),
selections from Makrokosmos of George Crumb (“Phantom
Gondolier” and “Spiral Galaxy” from Volume
I), and an excerpt from the Turangalila Symphony of Olivier
Messiaen (“Joy of the Blood of the Stars”).
Program
#348 (broadcast June 4 & 7, 2008) - Using the Breath
In this
program we will hear ingenious combinations of the human voice
and woodwinds in music of J.S. Bach (“Esurientes”
from the Magnificat), Mozart (a selection of the movement
“Et incarnatus est” from the Mass in C minor),
and in operas of Verdi (“O patria mia” from Aida)
and Donizetti (an excerpt of the “mad” scene from
Lucia di Lammermoor).
Program
#347 (broadcast May 28 & 31, 2008) - Discovering Copland
Features
music of American composer Aaron Copland: “Dance of
the Adolescent” from his Dance Symphony; “Dream
March and Circus Music” from The Red Pony Suite; “The
Cat and the Mouse” for solo piano; Danza de Jalisco
from Three Latin-American Sketches; and the second, scherzo
movement from his 1941 Piano Sonata.
Program
#346 (broadcast May 21 & 24, 2008) - One-Take Wonders
These
days we all take for granted the sophisticated techniques
of tape splicing and digital editing. Edited studio versions
of the great masters might be note perfect, but they can also
be lacking in spontaneity -- merely correct, or even a bit
sterile. To counter those occasional impressions of contrived
and calculated, we have a program entitled “one-take
wonders” with music of Mozart (Piano Quartet in E-flat,
K. 493, III. Allegretto) played by William Kapell, Chopin
(Mazurka No. 32 in C-sharp minor, Op. 50, No. 3) performed
by Artur Rubinstein, and Rachmaninoff (a selection from the
famous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) in a recording made
by Leon Fleisher and the Cleveland Orchestra with conductor
George Szell.
Program
#345 (broadcast May 14 & 17, 2008) - Musical Birds
How do
composers combine nature with music? What unites musical works
that imitate the different kinds of birds found in nature?
How do humans and birds interact? We will explore a program
of “Musical Birds” featuring works by Beethoven
(“Scene by the brook” from his “Pastoral”
Symphony No. 6), Liszt (“St. Francis of Assisi preaching
to the birds”), Olivier Messiaen (“Grand Concert
of the Birds” from his opera St. Francis of Assisi),
Béla Bartók (the Andante religioso from his
Third Piano Concerto), and Enrique Granados (“Maiden
and the Nightingale” from Goyescas).
Program
#344 (broadcast May 7 & 10, 2008) - Musical Math
This program
features pieces constructed by intervals: the opening movement
of Haydn’s String Quartet, Op. 76, No. 2, nicknamed
“Fifths”; Debussy’s Prelude for Piano “La
puerta del vino” exploiting the interval of a Perfect
Fifth; the “Game of Pairs” from Bartók’s
Concerto for Orchestra; Chopin’s Etude in Thirds, Op.
25, No. 6; an excerpt of the slow movement from Schumann’s
Piano Quartet in E-flat, Op. 47, highlighting the ascent and
descent of the seventh; and Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata
No. 3.
Program
#343 (broadcast Apr. 30 & May 3, 2008) - Verdi Villains
This week
we explore the darker side of opera, the evil spirits and
characters that lurk behind three tragic operas of Giuseppe
Verdi: the villain Iago from Otello, the dark and twisted
mind of Macbeth in Verdi’s opera Macbeth, and the jealous
and raging Count di Luna from Il Trovatore (“The Troubadour”).
Program
#342 (broadcast Apr. 23 & 26, 2008) - Stravinsky Ballets
Highlights
selections from Igor Stravinsky’s three early Ballets:
“The Firebird” from 1910, “Petrushka”
from 1911, and “The Rite of Spring” from 1913,
all composed for the Russian Ballet at the request of Impresario
Sergei Diaghilev.
Program
#341 (broadcast Apr. 16 & 19, 2008) - Fund Drive
Program
#340 (broadcast Apr. 9 & 12, 2008) - Last But Not
Least
Includes the final movement of Beethoven’s last String
Quartet, Op. 135; the Adagio religioso movement of Bartók’s
Viola Concerto, Op. Posth.; the final Rhapsody, Op. 119, No.
4, of Johannes Brahms; and selections from the Mozart Requiem.
Program
#339 (broadcast Apr. 2 & 5, 2008) - Who's On First?
Featuring
significant first works in certain genres: music of Brahms
(excerpt of the finale of Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68);
Chopin (Nocturne No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 9); Shostakovich
(Scherzo of Symphony No. 1, Op. 10); and Beethoven (presto
finale of his Trio, Op. 1, No. 1, for fortepiano, violin,
and cello).
Program
#338 (broadcast Mar. 26 & 29, 2008) - Musical Journeys
Featuring programmatic music of Richard Strauss (selections
from Don Quixote); Liszt (an excerpt of Vallée d’Obermann
from the Swiss book “Years of Pilgrimage”); Wagner
(an excerpt from “Siegfried’s Rhine Journey”);
and Beethoven (the final-movement “The Return”
from his Piano Sonata, Op. 81a, “Les Adieux”).
Program
#337 (broadcast Mar. 19 & 22, 2008) - Legends
This
week, we study great “Legends” of the past—legendary
performers, legendary recordings. In these historic documents,
music and artists come together to create a magical effect:
the great violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler playing two
of his own works (“The Old Refrain” and “Schön
Rosmarin”); the opera legends Renata Tebaldi and Jussi
Bjoerling in a scene from Puccini’s Turandot; and that
great French pianist and conductor Alfred Cortot playing the
middle movement of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op.
21.
Program
#336 (broadcast Mar. 12 & 15, 2008) - Composers Play
the Piano
Features
Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Flight of the Bumblebee,”
transcribed and played by Rachmaninoff; Bartók’s
“Evening in the Country” and “Bear Dance”
from Ten Easy Pieces; an excerpt from Gershwin’s “Rhapsody
in Blue”; and the final movement of Mozart’s G-minor
Piano Quartet, K. 478, played by Leonard Bernstein.
Program
#335 (broadcast Mar. 5 & 8, 2008) - In Memory
This
week’s program pays tribute to the memory of three master
pianists: Ruth Laredo, John Browning, and Malcolm Frager—all
three born in the United States during the 1930s, all three
contributing immensely to the 20th-century musical landscape.
All three whose lives were cut too short—we will honor
their musical memories and praise the gifts they brought to
the piano. “In Memory” features music for the
piano by Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Samuel Barber.
Program
#334 (broadcast Feb. 27 & Mar. 1, 2008) - Three More
Tenors
Probably
you all know the three tenors: Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras.
But here we have “Three More Tenors” certainly
matching their contributions and equally deserving of our
attention: a Frenchman, Alain Vanzo; an Italian, Franco Corelli;
and the Canadian Jon Vickers. The French lyric tenor Alain
Vanzo will be featured as Nadir in The Pearl Fishers by Georges
Bizet and as the character Faust in Charles Gounod’s
Faust; Franco Corelli will be featured as Manrico in Verdi’s
Il Trovatore and in Aida; Jon Vickers will portray the character
of Peter Grimes from Benjamin Britten’s opera.
Program
#333 (broadcast Feb. 20 & 23, 2008) - Making It New
In
this program, we will listen to composers “making it
new”—works inspired by preexisting models that
proved to be useful creations. Featuring selections from music
by Handel (Judas Maccabaeus), Beethoven (Variations on a Theme
of Judas Maccabaeus for piano and cello), J.S. Bach (Cantata
No. 51, “Jauchzet Gott in Allen Landen”), Dufay
(L’homme armé Mass), and Karel Husa (Slovak Dance).
Program
#332 (broadcast Feb. 13 & 16, 2008) - Conflicting
Emotions
How
many different emotions can be expressed through words and
music, often simultaneously? In opera, many feelings can be
conveyed at once - and effectively, too, with the listeners’
ability to feel what each of those characters are experiencing.
In this program of “Conflicting Emotions,” we will study three
very different operas and tap into many powerful emotions,
both real and concocted. Features the famous trio from Mozart’s
Cosi fan tutte; the end of Act I from Verdi’s Il
Trovatore; and the Act III trio from Der Rosenkavalier
by Richard Strauss.
Program
#331 (broadcast Feb. 2 & 9, 2008) - Climbing the Stairs
In
this program, we will join the music in “Climbing the Stairs,”
studying works that dramatically rise by step. The first movement
of Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Piano Sonata in F minor, Op.
57, is perhaps the most dramatic example of all; we will also
highlight Wagner’s famous “Liebestod” from Tristan und
Isolde as well as excerpts from acts one and two of this
monumental music drama.
Program
#330 (broadcast Jan. 30 & Feb. 2, 2008) - Repetition
In musical
oratory, repetition can be used as building blocks or as glue
binding a movement or entire work. Join me as we discover
how the idea of repetition and return unifies and empowers:
music of Handel (“Il lampo dell’ armi” from Giulio Cesare),
Mozart (Rondo in D Major, K. 485), Wagner (selections from
Die Walküre), and Ravel (Boléro).
Program
#329 (broadcast Jan. 23 & 26, 2008) - Your Attention,
Please!
In this
program, Mozart, Verdi, and Tchaikovsky will arrest our attention,
as they did for their audiences during those first performances.
Featuring the opening Allegro of Mozart’s “Paris” Symphony
No. 31, Verdi’s Aria “Celeste Aida” from the opera Aida,
and the finale of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Program
#328 (broadcast Jan. 16 & Jan. 19, 2008) - Animated
Conversations
In
this program, we will be listening in on some musically “Animated
Conversations.” How do composers create lively dialogues
or exchange spirited thoughts with their instrumental music?
True to its definition, animation–life, interest, activity,
motion—can be infused into entire movements by just a few
notes, a certain motive, or by material passing from one instrument
to another. Our study of J.S. Bach (the Gigue from his French
Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816), Mozart (Symphony No. 40
in G minor, K. 550, final movement), Brahms (excerpt from
the opening of Symphony No. 1), and Bartók (the Piano Concerto
No. 2, opening movement) will inspire an “Animated Conversation.”
Program
#327 (broadcast Jan. 9 & 12, 2008) - Singing Poetry
Poetic
works are often clarified or even enhanced when translated
into song. In this program of “Singing Poetry,” we will study
poetic-musical settings of Aaron Copland (“There came a wind
like a bugle” and “Dear March, come in!” from his Twelve Poems
of Emily Dickinson), Benjamin Britten (the Agnus Dei from
his War Requiem based on the poetry of Wilfred Owen),
George Crumb (his eerie setting of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The
Sleeper”), and Jeffrey Van (two movements from “A Procession
Winding Around Me” with Leaves of Grass poems by Walt
Whitman).
|
