Athena on the air
Athena Adamopoulos (b. 1987) Soliloquy Yo Yo Ma, cello; Christopher O'Riley, piano Live recording courtesy of From The Top (PRI)
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
The murderous Mr. Copland
Aaron Copland (1900 –1990) Symphony for Orchestra and Organ Wayne Marshall, organ; Dallas Symphony; Andrew Litton, cond. Delos 3221
Handel in London
George Frederic Handel (1685 – 1757) Bourrée from Rodrigo Hallé Orchestra; Sir John Barbirolli, cond. EMI 63956 George Frederic Handel (1685 – 1757) Overture to Teseo The English Concert;Trevor Pinnock, cond. Archiv 419 219
Singleton in Atlanta
Alvin Singleton (b. 1940) After Fallen Crumbs Atlanta Symphony; Louis Lane, cond. Nonesuch 79231
The Sessions Violin Concerto
Roger Sessions (1896 –1985) Violin Concerto Paul Zukofsky, violin; French Radio-Television Orchestra; Gunther Schuller, cond. CRI 676
Some fantastic Martinu
Bohuslav Martinu (1890 – 1959) Symphony No. 6 (Fantaisies symphoniques) Czech Philharmonic;Vaclav Neumann, cond. Supraphon 111895
Frederick the Great's revenge?
Carl Heinrich Graun (1703 – 1759) Montezuma Overture German Chamber Academy;Johannes Gortizki, cond. Capriccio 60032
Exploding Boulez
Pierre Boulez (1925 - 2016) explosante-fixe Sophie Cherrier, solo midi flute; Ensemble Intercontemporain; Pierre Boulez, cond. DG 445 833
Liszt gets political
Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886) Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 Valentina Lisitsa, piano Audiofon 72055
Rachmaninoff dances
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) Symphonic Dances Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Reference 96
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.