Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini (1801 – 1835) Sinfonia, fr Il Pirata German Opera Orchestra, Berlin; Marcello Viotti, cond. Berlin Classics 11152
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Leonardo Balada
Leonardo Balada (b. 1933) Concierto Magico Eliot Fisk, guitar; Barcelona and Catalonia National Orch.;Jose Serebrier, cond Naxos 8.555039
Stravinsky back in the USSR
Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) Orpheus Ballet Orpheus Chamber Orchestra DG 459 644 Traditional (arr. Stravinsky) Song of the Volga Boat Men Philharmonia Orchestra; Robert Craft, cond. Koch 7504
Tchaikovsky in Paris
Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) The Firebird (1919 revision) Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Reference 70 Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) Valse-Scherzo Gil Shaham, violin; Russian National Orchestra; Mikhail Pletnev, cond. DG 457 064
Brahms and the clarinet
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) Clarinet Sonata, Op. 120, no. 2 Michael Collins, clarinet; Mikhail Pletnev, piano Virgin 91076
Thomson's "portrait" Concerto
Virgil Thomson (1896 – 1989) Flute Concerto Mary Stolper, flute; Czech National Symphony; Paul Freeman, cond. Cedille 046
Wagner gets a Ride in New York
Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883) Ride of the Valkyries, fr Die Walkuere Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, cond. DG 471 627
Barber at the Met
Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981) Anthony and Cleopatra Spoleto Festival soloists and orchestra; Christian Badea, cond New World 322
Ives at Yaddo
Charles Ives (1874 – 1954) String Quartet No. 2 Emerson Quartet DG 435 864
New "Variations on a Theme by Purcell"
Colin Matthews (b. 1946) Bright Cecilia Variation BBC Philharmonic; Gianandrea Noseda, cond. BBC Music Vol. 11, no. 3
About Composers Datebook®
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.