Hanson's "Merry Mount" at the Met
Howard Hanson (1896-1981) Merry Mount Suite Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, cond. Delos 3105
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Mozart starts keeping track
Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791) Piano Concerto No. 14, K. 415 Murray Perahia, piano and cond.; English Chamber Orchestra CBS/Sony 415 Freemason Cantata, K. 623 Boston Early Music Festival; Andrew Parrott, cond. Denon 9152
Virgil Thomson and Wallace Stevens in Hartford
Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) Four Saints in Three Acts Orchestra of Our Time; Joel Thome, cond. Nonesuch 79035
Barber borrows an idea from Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Violin Concerto, Op. 61 Hilary Hahn, violin; Baltimore Symphony; David Zinman, cond Sony 60584 Samuel Barber (1910-1981) Violin Concerto, Op. 14 Hilary Hahn, violin; Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Hugh Wolff, cond. Sony 89029
Stephen Paulus and the Commissioning Club
Stephen Paulus (1949 - 2014) Dramatic Suite Judith Ranheim, flute; Chouhei Min, violin; Korey Konkol, viola; Mina Fisher, cello; Thelma Hunter, piano innova 539
Verdi's "Otello" premieres
Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901) Act I excerpt, from Otello Ambrosian Chorus; New Philharmonia Orchestra; Sir John Barbirolli, cond. EMI Classics 65296
The passing of Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) Opening of A Colone New London Chamber Choir; Critical Band; James Wood, cond. Hyperion 66980 Huuem-Duhey Edna Michell, violin; Michael Kanka, cello Angel 57179
Mexico's Blas Galindo Dimas
Blas Galindo Dimas (1910-1993) Sones de mariachi Mexico City Philharmonic; Enrique Batiz, cond. EMI 49785
Haydn's "real" Miracle Symphony
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Symphony No. 96 in D Concertgebouw Orchestra; Sir Colin Davis, cond. Philips 442 611
George Walker's Pulitzer Prize
George Walker (b. 1922) Lilacs Faye Robinson, soprano; Arizona State University Symphony; Timothy Russell, cond. Summit 274
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.