A Beethoven marathon in Vienna
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 5 Concertgebouw Orchestra; Bernard Haitink, cond. Philips 442 076 Samuel Barber (1910-1981) Chorale Prelude on Silent Night Jeremy Fisell, organ GMCD 7145
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Schoenberg in Vienna and New York
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10 Borealis Ensemble Victoria 19088 J.S.Bach (arr Schoenberg) Chorale Prelude Adorn thyself, O my Soul Houston Symphony; Christoph Eschenbach, cond. RCA 68658
Mozart in Salzburg, Bloch in America
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Violin Concerto No. 5 Jean-Jacques Kantorow, violin; Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; Leopold Hager, cond. Denon 7504 Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) America: An Epic Rhapsody Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, cond. Delos 3135
Wendy Carlos "synthesizes" Purcell and Bach
Henry Purcell (arr. Wendy Carlos) Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary Wendy Carlos, synthesizers Eastside Digital 81362 J.S. Bach (arr. Wendy Carlos) Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 Wendy Carlos, synthesizers CBS/Sony 42309
Contrasting premieres by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich
Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) The Nutcracker Ballet, Op. 71 Kirov Orchestra; Valery Gergiev, cond. Philips 462 114 Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 (Babi Yar) Nicola Ghiuselev, bass; Choral Arts Society of Washington; National Symphony; Mstislav Rostropovich, cond. Erato 85529
"Leif" Insurance for Schubert?
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Symphony No. 9 Berlin Philharmonic; Karl Böhm, cond. DG 419 318 Jón Leifs (1899-1968) Fine I, Op. 55 and Fine II, Op. 56 Iceland Symphony; Petri Sakari, cond. Chandos 9433
On Beethoven, Saint-Saens, and fossil-hunting
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) Variations on a theme of Beethoven Philippe Corre and Edouard Exerjean, pianos Pierre Verany 790041 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) Fossils, from Carnival of the Animals Martha Argerich, Nelson Freire, pianos; Markus Steckeler, xylophone; ensemble Philips 446557
Dvořák's version of "Toy Story"?
Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) New York Philharmonic; Kurt Masur, cond. Teldec 73244
Messiaen and Respighi for the birds
Franz Schubert (1891-1828) Hark, hark the Lark (arr. Franz Liszt) Frederic Chiu, piano Harmonia Mundi 90.7054 Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) Oiseaux Exotiques Peter Donohoe, piano; Netherlands Wind Ensemble Chandos 9301/2 Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) The Pines of Rome Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Reference 95
Mahler and Schoenfield at the Vaudeville?
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) London Symphony; Gilbert Kaplan, cond. Conifer 51337 Paul Schoenfield (b. 1947) Vaudeville New World Symphony; John Nelson, cond. Argo 440 212
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.