Tower's Violin Concerto
Joan Tower (b. 1938) Violin Concerto Elmar Oliveira, violin; Louisville Orchestra; Joseph Silverstein, cond. D'Note 1016
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Lauridsen's "Rose Songs"
Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) Les Chansons des Roses L.A. Master Chorale; Paul Salamunovich, cond. RCM 19705
Orchestral openings and closings
Modest Mussorgsky (1839 - 1881) Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel) Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Reference 79 Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1808) Symphony No. 104 Philharmonia Hungarica; Antal Dorati, cond. London 425 935
Copland's "Hurricane" for kids
Aaron Copland (1900–1990) The Second Hurricane High School of Music and Art; New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony 60560
Biblical Torke
Michael Torke (b. 1961) Song of Isaiah Present Music innova 590
Mozart's Quintets
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) String Quintet in C, K.515 Tokyo String Quartet; Pinchas Zukerman, viola BMG 60940
Bernstein's "Fancy Free"
Leonard Bernstein (1918- 1990) Fancy Free Ballet New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony 63085
Mozart in New York
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) The Magic Flute Overture Capella Istropolitana; Barry Wordsworth, cond. Naxos 8.550185
Persichetti and Tania Leon for band
Vincent Pershichetti (1915–1987) Symphony No. 6 (Symphony for Band) Eastman Wind Ensemble; Frederick Fennell, cond. Mercury 432 754 Tania Leon (b. 1943) Alegre American Composers Forum Bandquest CD-ROM Hal Leonard
Handel's famous "Largo"
George Frederic Handel (1685–1759) Largo, from Xerxes Boston Pops; Arthur Fiedler, cond. BMG 62698
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.