Elgar's Second
Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) Symphony No. 2 London Symphony; Sir Colin Davis, cond. LSO 18
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Da Ponte (and Mozart) in New York
Wolfgang Mozart (1756 – 1791) arr. Triebensee Don Giovanni Suite Amadeus Ensemble; Julius Rudel, cond. MusicMasters 67118
Bright Sheng's "Flute Moon"
Bright Sheng (b. 1955) Flute Moon Sharon Bezaly, flute; Singapore Symphony; Lan Shui, cond. BIS 1122
Adolphe's "Tyrannosaurus Sue"
Bruce Adolphe (b. 1955) Tyrannosaurus Sue "A Cretaceous Concerto" Chicago Chamber Musicians Pollyrhythm Productions 30001
Beethoven in New York
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) Symphony No. 9 (Choral) Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, cond. DG 471 491
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
"Big bang" symphony by Hovhaness?
Alan Hovhaness (1911 – 2000) Symphony No. 50 (Mount St. Helens) Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, cond. Delos 3137
Bernstein's Philharmonic "stats"
Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990) Symphony No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano; Ulster Orchestra; Dmitry Sitkovetsky, cond. Hyperion 67170
Tower's "Concerto for Orchestra"
Joan Tower (b. 1938) Concerto for Orchestra Colorado Symphony; Marin Alsop, cond. Koch 7469
Thompson's Third
Randall Thompson (1899 – 1984) Symphony No. 3 New Zealand Symphony; Andrew Schenck, cond. Koch 7074
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.