Ravel's "Perfect 10"?
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Bolero New York Philharmonic; Pierre Boulez, cond. Sony 45482
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Rehearsing Monteverdi and Reich
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) Orfeo Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, cond. Erato 88032 Steve Reich (b. 1936) Tehillim Schoenberg Ensemble; Percussion group The Hague; Reinbert De Leeuw, Cond. Nonesuch 79295
Mahler's First in Budapest and New York
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) Symphony No. 1 in D Minnesota Orchestra; Edo de Waart, cond. Virgin 61258
Buda and Pest feted in music by Bartok and Kodaly
Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Dance Suite Philharmonia Hungarica; Antal Dorati, cond. Mercury 432 017 Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967) Psalmus hungaricus, Op. 13 Lajos Kozma, tenor; Brighton Festival Chorus; London Symphony; István Kertész, cond. London 443 488
'Toon-ful music by Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling (1888-1974) Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals and To Itch his Own Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra Warner Bros. 26027
Tchaikovsky's doubts and Stravinsky's toothache
Peter Tchaikovsky (1833-1893) Symphony No. 5 in e, Op. 64 Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, cond. Sony 66276 Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) The Rite of Spring Cleveland Orchestra; Pierre Boulez, cond. Sony 64109
Gluck sings the blues
Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787) Act 2 aria, from Armide Rockwell Blake, tenor; Monte Carlo Philharmonic; Patrick Fournillier, cond. EMI 55058 Christoph Willibald von Gluck Don Juan Ballet Music Rhine Chamber Orchestra of Cologne; Jan Corazolla, cond. Christophorus 74507
Kern's "Showboat" is launched in D.C.
Jerome Kern (1885-1945) selections from Showboat Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Carl Davis, cond. EMI 4573
An important date for Copland and Bernstein
Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Piano Blues No. 3 James Tocco, piano MPR 201
Casals and Copland at the White House
Pablo Casals (1876-1973) Song of the Birds Patrick Demenga, cello; Gerard Wyss, piano Novalis 150117 Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Billy the Kid Ballet Dallas Symphony; Eduardo Mata, cond. Dorian 90170
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.