Shostakovich's Eighth and Ninth
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) Symphony No. 8, Op. 65 Leningrad Philharmonic; Yevgeny Mravinsky, cond. Philips 422 442 Symphony No. 9, Op. 70 St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Yuri Termirkanov, cond. BMG/RCA 68548
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Mozart and "Amadeus"
Wolfgang Mozart (1756 – 1791) Requiem, K. 626 La Chapelle Royale and Orchestre des Champs Elysees; Philippe Herreweghe, cond. Harmonia Mundi 901620
Chopin gets out of town
Frederick Chopin (1810 – 1849) Piano Concerto No. 2 in f, Op. 21 Martha Argerich, piano; Montréal Symphony; Charles Dutoit, cond. EMI Classics 56798
Hovhaness in "Hooston"
Alan Hovhaness (1911 – 2000) Symphony No. 2 (Mysterious Mountain) London Symphony; John Williams, cond. Sony Classical 62729
Beach's Boston "Celtic"
Amy Beach (1867 – 1944) Gaelic Symphony Detroit Symphony; Neeme Järvi, cond. Chandos 8958
Handel advertises his wares
George Frederic Handel (1685 – 1757) Concerto Grosso in D, Op. 6, no. 5 I Solisti Italiani Denon 6305
A "pathetic" symphony by Tchaikovsky
Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique) Russian National Orchestra; Mikhail Pletnev, cond. DG 449 967
"Eating Greens" with Mackey
Steven Mackey (b. 1956) Eating Greens New World Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. RCA/BMG 63826
Robert Ward panned and prized
Robert Ward (b. 1917) The Crucible New York City Opera; Emerson Buckley, cond. Albany 25/26
Martinu at the lost and found
Bohuslav Martinu (1890 - 1959) Violin Concerto No. 1 Josef Suk, violin; Czech Philharmonic; Vaclav Neumann, cond. Supraphon 11 0702
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.