Leoncavallo's "Painted Smiles?"
Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857 – 1919) excerpts, fr Pagliacci Luciano Pavarotti, tenor; Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, cond. Philips 438 132
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Ives makes the "Pops" circuit
Charles Ives (1874 –1954) arr. Wm. Schuman (1910 – 1992) Variations on "America" New York Philharmonic; Kurt Masur, cond. Teldec 74007
Wagner in London
Richard Wagner (arr. De Vlieger) (1813 – 1881) Ring des Nibelungen Suite Netherlands Radio Philharmonic; Edo de Waart, cond. Fidelio 9201
Satie's "surreal" premiere in wartime Paris
Erik Satie (1866 - 1925) Parade Yuji Takahashi and Alain Planes, piano four hands Denon 7487
Debussy and the persistence of Ms. Elisa Hall
Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra Kenneth Radnofsky, alto saxophone; New York Philharmonic; Kurt Masur, cond. Teldec 13133
Mozart made to order
W.A. Mozart (1756 - 1791) Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299 Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp; Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, cond. EMI 57128
Stravinsky and Rochberg start trends
Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971) Pulcinella Suite CBC Vancouver Orchestra; Mario Bernardi, cond. CBC 5161 George Rochberg (b. 1918) String Quartet No. 3 Concord String Quartet New World 80551
East meets West in the music of Lou Harrison
Lou Harrison (1917-2003) Double Concerto Kenneth Goldsmith, violin; Terry King, cello; Mills College Gamelan Music and Arts 635
Panufnik and the school of hard knocks, Polish-style
Andrzej Panufnik (1914 - 1991) Symphony No. 1 (Sinfonia Rustica) Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra; Andrzej Panufnik, cond. Unicorn-Kanchana 2016
Shostakovich gets on first
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) Symphony No. 1, Op. 10 Cracow Philharmonic; Gilbert Levine, cond. Arabesque 6610
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.