There's a new movie opening this weekend. It's called "A Late Quartet," the story of a string quartet that's been together for 25 years. The movie does a good job portraying the very close, and sometimes very messy, relationships that develop when a quartet plays together for 25 years. Jealousy, passion, conflict, boredom. In the final scene, we see them on stage playing Beethoven's Op. 131 quartet. You can hear some of the beautiful intimacy and beautiful messiness of the human condition in Beethoven's music. The film's stars, including Christopher Walken and Philip Seymour Hoffman, do a passable job of pretending to play instruments. Today, we'll hear the real musicians who recorded soundtrack of "A Late Quartet," the Brentano Quartet.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Richard Wagner: Magic Fire Music, from Die Walkure
The Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, conductor
Angelo Badalamenti: Winter Love and Eternal Quest, from A Late Quartet
Studio Musicians
Ludwig van Beethoven: Second movement from String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131
The Brentano String Quartet
Richard Wagner (arranged by Lorin Maazel): The Ring Without Words, for Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel, conductor
Carnegie Hall, New York City
Hour 2
George Frideric Handel: See, the Conquering Hero Comes, from Judas Maccabaeus
Solid Brass
Johann Sebastian Bach (arranged by Pet Laurence): Prelude from Violin Partita No. 3 in E, BWV 1006
The Schwetzingen Festival Percussion Ensemble
Schwetzingen Festival, Schwetzingen, Germany
Johann Joachim Quantz: Concerto in G for Two Flutes, Two Horns, Strings, and Continuo
The Academy for Ancient Music, Berlin, Bernhard Forck, director
Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival, Potsdam, Germany
George Frideric Handel: Suite in B-flat, Vol. 2, No. 1, HWV 434
Juho Pohjonen, piano
Music@Menlo, Palo Alto, California
George Frideric Handel: Concerto Grosso in F, Op. 6, No. 2, HWV 320
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Paul Goodwin, conductor
St. Paul's United Church of Christ, St. Paul
Jean Sibelius: Lemminkainen's Return, from Lemminkainen Suite, Op. 22, No. 4
The Nashville Symphony, Mario Venzago, conductor
Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville
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