Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) Don Pasquale Overture Philharmonia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, cond. EMI 54490 John Williams (b. 1932) Devil's Dance, from Witches of Eastwick Boston Pops; John Williams, cond. Philips 422 385
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) The Flying Dutchman Overture Concertgebouw Orchestra; Edo de Waart, cond Philips 400 089
Edwin Franko Goldman (1878 - 1956) On the Mall Eastman Wind Ensemble; Frederick Fennell, cond. Mercury 434 334
George Antheil (1900-1959) Symphony No. 5 (Joyous) Frankfurt Radio Symphony; Hugh Wolff, cond. CPO 999 706
Franz Lehár (1870-1948) The Merry Widow excerpts Budapest Philharmonic; Janos Sandor, cond. Laserlight 15046
While hardly twins, the String Quartets of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel are often linked in the minds of music lovers and record companies. Admired today for their grace and sheer beauty, back when these quartets were first performed in Paris, reactions were quite different.
Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921) Koenigskinder excerpts
Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) Poème, Op. 25 Isaac Stern, violin; Orchestre de Paris; Daniel Barenboim, cond. CBS/Sony 64501 Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) Air for Violin Minnesota Orchestra; David Zinman, cond. Argo 460 226
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) Tapiola, Op. 112 Helsinki Philharmonic; Paavo Berglund, cond. EMI 68646
J.S. Bach (1685-1750) Jauchzet frohlocket, from Christmas Oratorio Munich Bach Soloists and Chorus; Karl Richter, cond. Archiv 413 625 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 9 (Choral) Members of Bavarian Radio Symphony, Dresden State Orchestra, Kirov Theatre Orchestra, London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Orchestre de Paris; Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG 429 861
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.
