On this week’s episode of SymphonyCast, with guest host Steve Seel, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra awakens Igor Stravinsky’s Chant Funèbre, which was long believed to be lost. It resurfaced in 2015 after more than 100 years. The extent to which music history was seething at the time and pushing toward new shores also can be heard in the sheer effervescence of the Poem of Ecstasy by Stravinsky’s compatriot Alexander Scriabin, composed in 1908 during the same time but following a different path. The violin arpeggios are no less intense and all the more refined in the exquisite Violin Concerto No.1, by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski from 1916. Plus we’ll hear Lili Boulanger’s delightful D’un Soir Triste.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
STRAVINSKY: Chant Funebre
SZYMANOWSKI: Violin Concerto No. 1
Hour 2
LILI BOULANGER: D’un Soir Triste
SCRIABIN: Symphony No. 4 (The Poem of Ecstasy)
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About SymphonyCast®
The Show
SymphonyCast®, with host Steve Seel, is a two-hour weekly radio program featuring a full-length concert by a major orchestra. Material is drawn from Europe’s premier symphony orchestras, along with U.S. orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Nashville Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Our Host
Steve Seel
Steve Seel possesses a broad knowledge of many musical genres, having hosted radio programs ranging from classical to jazz and even avant-garde music at radio stations around the country. Steve began his love affair with public radio at 24 working whatever shifts he could at his hometown station of WUSF-FM in Tampa, Florida, and from there worked his way to snowy Buffalo, New York, and its renowned classical station WNED-FM, where he hosted middays and the weekly experimental-music show Present Tense. In 2005, Steve became one of the founding voices on Minnesota Public Radio's eclectic station, the Current. While there, he hosted afternoons and mornings, and conducted in-depth interviews with pop music luminaries ranging from Brian Eno to David Byrne to Tori Amos. Steve is a basement composer obsessed with all things both minimalist and slow, and might actually be incapable of writing anything that exceeds 75 beats-per-minute.
The Team
Daniel Nass, Producer
Daniel Nass is the producer of SymphonyCast®. He is responsible for creating the sound of the show, including choosing music programming and conducting artist interviews. In his nonproducer life, he is an avid runner and an award-winning composer.
Michael Osborne, Technical Director
Michael "Ozzie" Osborne is the Technical Director for SymphonyCast®. He masters the live and recorded music recordings that are programmed for each SymphonyCast® show. He also enjoys photography, listening to music and bicycling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the name of the composer, performer or piece I heard on the show?
Complete playlist information is available for each show. Click on a specific episode to access a detailed playlist.
What is the theme music at the beginning of every SymphonyCast® episode?
It’s the opening trumpet fanfare from Steve Heitzeg’s Nobel Symphony.
Can I buy a recording of music I heard on your show?
It’s possible, but not likely. Many of the performances that you hear on SymphonyCast® are not available for purchase because they were played at a live concert. In some cases, the musicians have recorded that same music for a commercial CD. If so, album title and recording label information will be available in the episode playlist.
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