Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750) arr. Henry Wood Toccata and Fugue in D minor BBC Symphony; Andrew Davis, cond. Teldec 97868 Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952) Graal Theatre Gidon Kremer, violin; BBC Symphony; Esa-Pekka Salonen, cond. Sony Classical 60817
George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) Blue Monday Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, cond. Telarc 80434
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 – 1764) Pygmalion La Petite Bande; Gustav Leonhardt, cond. BMG/Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 77143
Alan Rawsthorne (1905 – 1971) excerpt, fr Practical Cats Robert Donat, speaker; Philharmonia Orchestra; Alan Rawsthorne, cond. EMI Classsics 66935
Charles Ives (1874 – 1954) The Unanswered Question New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony Classical 46701
Claude Goudimel (1510 – 1572) Comfort, comfort Ye my people Cathedral Singers; Richard Proulx, cond. GIA 290
Randall Thompson (1899 – 1984) Alleluia Dale Warland Singers; Dale Warland, cond. Minnesota Public Radio 201
George Frederic Handel (1685 – 1757) excerpts fr Messiah UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus; Philharmonic Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, cond. Harmonia Mundi 907050
Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886) St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds and Rhapsodie espagnole Stephen Hough, piano Virgin 61129
Joan Tower (b. 1938) Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 5 Colorado Symphony; Marin Alsop, cond. Koch 7469
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.
