William Grant Still's rain delayed premiere
William Grant Still (18975 - 1978) And They Lynched Him on a Tree Plymouth Music Series Singers; Leigh Morris Chorale; Philip Brunelle, cond. Collins Classics 14542
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Mehul's "interesting" times and tunes
Étienne-Nicolas Méhul (1763 - 1817) Symphony No. 1 Les Musiciens du Louvre; Marc Minkowski, cond. Erato 45026
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin (b. 1932) Hommage a Ravel Eaken Piano Trio Naxos 8.559062 Lalo Schifrin (b. 1932) Theme fr Mission Impossible studio orchestra BBC Records 763
Mendelssohn and Richard Rodgers make LP history
Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847) Violin Concerto in e Nathan Milstein, violin; New York Philharmonic; Bruno Walter, cond. Sony 64459 Rodgers and Hammerstein South Pacific Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin; orchestra; Lehman Engel, cond. Sony 53327
An Antheil premiere (or two)
George Antheil (1900 - 1959) Ballet Mécanique The New Palais Royale Ensemble; Maurice Peress, cond. MusicMasters 67094
Operatic chillers by Weber and Anthony Davis
Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826) Der Freischütz Overture Dresden State Orchestra; Sir Colin Davis, cond. Philips 438 497 Anthony Davis (b. 1951) Tania American Music Theater Festival soloists Koch 7467
Bach is back
J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750) Harpsichord Concerto in A, S. 1055 Ton Koopman, harpsichord; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra Erato 45646
The diverting Mr. Persichetti
Vincent Persichetti (1915 - 1987) Divertimento North Texas Wind Symphony; Eugene Migliaro Corporon, cond. Klavier 11124
David Ward-Steinman's Cinnabar
David Ward-Steinman (b. 1936) Cinnabar Karen Elaine, viola; David Ward-Steinman, piano Fleur de Son 57935 (distributed by Qualiton Imports)
Bernstein, Blitzstein and Brecht
Kurt Weill (1900 - 1950) Little Threepenny Music London Symphony members; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. CBS 44529
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.