Beethoven and Kernis in a somber mood
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 7 Vienna Philharmonic; Carlos Kleiber, cond. DG 447 400 Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) Meditation (in memory of John Lennon) Eberli Ensemble Phoenix 142
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
The Philharmonic does Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 5 Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, cond. DG Archiv 439 900
Brubeck, sacred and profane
Dave Brubeck (b. 1920) Blue Rondo a la Turk The Dave Brubeck Quartet Columbia 40585 Dave Brubeck (b. 1920) La Fiesta del Posada Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Dennis Russell Davies, cond. Columbia Legacy 64669
A wild night with Berlioz
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 Cleveland Orchestra; Pierre Boulez, cond. DG 453 432
Tchaikovsky and North endure unkind cuts
Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Violin Concerto, Op. 35 Itzhak Perlman, violin; London Symphony; Alfred Wallenstein, cond. Chesky 12 Alex North (1910-1991) Unused "Opening Theme," for 2001: A Space Odyssey National Philharmonic; Jerry Goldsmith, cond. Varese Sarabande 66225
Gershwin's Jazz Age concerto
John Harbison (b.1938) Remembering Gatsby Baltimore Symphony; David Zinman, cond. Argo 444 454 George Gershwin (1898-1937) Piano Concerto in F Peter Jablonski, piano; Royal Philharmonic; Vladimir Ashkenazy, cond. London 430 542
Bartok in Minneapolis
Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Viola Concerto (completed by Tibor Serly) Hong-Mei Xiao, viola; Budapest Philharmonic; Janos Kovacs, cond. Naxos 8.554183
"Four Weddings and a Funeral" by Clarke and Wagner?
Jeremiah Clarke (ca. 1674-1707) Trumpet Voluntary (Prince of Denmark March) Maurice André, trumpet; Jane Parker-Smith, organ EMI 64899
Massenet (and Laurie Anderson)
Jules Massenet (1842-1912) O souverain, o juge, o pere, from Le Cid Ben Heppner, tenor; Munich Radio Orchestra; Roberto Abbado, cond. RCA/BMG 62504
New York City "firsts" by Rossini and Cole Porter
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) selections from The Barber of Seville Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; Neville Marriner, cond. Philips 412 266 Cole Porter (1891-1964) Gay Divorce Overture London Sinfonietta; John McGlinn, cond. EMI 68589
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.