Poster John Birge
John Birge
YourClassical MPR

Composers Datebook®

Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge

YourClassical

Josiah Flagg, Music Man?

John Greenwood The Hessian Camp First Michigan Colonial Fife and Drum Corps Private release G.F. Handel (1685 – 1757) Water Music English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, cond. DG 439 147

YourClassical

Stravinsky and Larsen "do" Eliot

Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) The Dove Descending The Gregg Smith Singers; St. Luke's Orchestra; Robert Craft, cond. MusicMasters 67152 Libby Larsen (b. 1950) Ring of Fire London Symphony; Joel Revzen, cond. Koch 7370

YourClassical
YourClassical

Delibes plays with dolls?

Leo Delibes (1836 –1891) Coppelia Lyons Opera Orchestra; Kent Nagano, cond. Erato 91730

YourClassical

Elgar's Second

Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) Symphony No. 2 London Symphony; Sir Colin Davis, cond. LSO 18

YourClassical

Da Ponte (and Mozart) in New York

Wolfgang Mozart (1756 – 1791) arr. Triebensee Don Giovanni Suite Amadeus Ensemble; Julius Rudel, cond. MusicMasters 67118

YourClassical

Bright Sheng's "Flute Moon"

Bright Sheng (b. 1955) Flute Moon Sharon Bezaly, flute; Singapore Symphony; Lan Shui, cond. BIS 1122

YourClassical

Adolphe's "Tyrannosaurus Sue"

Bruce Adolphe (b. 1955) Tyrannosaurus Sue "A Cretaceous Concerto" Chicago Chamber Musicians Pollyrhythm Productions 30001

YourClassical

Beethoven in New York

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) Symphony No. 9 (Choral) Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, cond. DG 471 491

YourClassical

Saint-Saens and "Babe" at the organ

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1921) Symphony No. 3 (Organ) Matthias Eisenberg, organ; Toulouse Capitole Orchestra; Michel Plasson, cond. EMI 56362

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.