| 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).
Program
#326 (broadcast Jan. 2 & 5) - Mona Lisa Smile
II
In
a recent episode we explored the layers of musical expression
in Mozart’s music from the 1770s. “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. This program
continues with mature works from the 1780s, inviting
listeners to once again delve into the many sophisticated
elements of humanity infused with Mozart’s genius: Piano
Sonata in B-flat, K. 333 (rondo finale); “Porgi, amor”
from Marriage of Figaro; “Hoffmeister” String
Quartet, K. 499 (finale); and the Gigue in G Major,
K. 574.
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