Understatement of the week: composer Hector Berlioz had a vividly romantic and dramatic view of the world. When the 23 year-old Berlioz saw a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, he fell truly-madly-deeply in love with the actress who played Ophelia. He sent her passionate letters, which she ignored as the ravings of a crazed fan. So Berlioz wrote a bizarre symphony that told the story of their torrid (and completely imaginary) relationship. When she heard the piece two years later and realized it was about her...she got in touch. They were married the next year. Highlights from the Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz, Alan Gilbert conducting the New York Philharmonic in concert at Lincoln Center, in New York City.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Hector Berlioz: Rakoczy March, from the Damnation of Faust
The New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, conductor
Eugene Ysaye: Obsession No. 1, from Sonata No. 2 in A Minor for Solo Violin
Antje Weithaas, violin
Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Germany
The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestants are Bill Wise and Toni Kazic from Columbia, Missouri
Hector Berlioz: Three movements from Symphonie Fantastique
The New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City
Leos Janacek: First movement from In the Mists
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Grieg Hall, Bergen, Norway
Hour 2
Peter Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty Waltz
The New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur, conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Concerto in G Minor, BWV 1056b
Elmar Oliveira, violin and conductor, the Arco Ensemble
Eugene Shelley Enlow Recital Hall, Union, New Jersey
Dmitri Shostakovich: Prelude and Fugue No. 5 in D and No. 7 in A, Op. 87
Alexander Melnikov, piano
Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude and Fugue No. 21, from the Well-Tempered Clavier
Till Fellner, piano
Gustav Mahler: Blumine (Bouquet of Flowers)
The New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City
Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043
Elmar Oliveira, violin and conductor, Eva Gruesser, violin, the Arco Ensemble
Eugene Shelley Enlow Recital Hall, Union, New Jersey
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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
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