With Steve Seel
Nothing is worse than having your life determined by people who show up unprepared, and that's exactly what happened to Rachmaninov. At the first performance of his first symphony, the conductor showed up drunk and the orchestra hadn't practiced. In the words of Homer Simpson, "D'oh!"
Love it or hate it, Ravel's Bolero has always been a magnet for an opinion. At its premier a woman yelled out that the composer must be insane! To which he replied "Aha! She understood the piece." Listen for yourself.
John Eliot Gardiner will bring your understanding of Beethoven into a whole realm in this emotionally raw and revolutionary performance from Carnegie Hall.
This spectacular performance of Israel in Egypt - it's really that good - is a great example of how Handel was more than a one hit wonder when it came to writing oratorios.
Nikolaj Znaider feels Elgar's Violin Concerto in his bones - literally. The violin he tucks under his chin is the same instrument used at the premiere of this gorgeous piece 100 years ago. No one plays this music like Znaider.
It's possible that Schubert would be amazed - or at least surprised - that these days we're listening to his symphonies. He wrote his fourth when he was just 19, and while it's labeled "Tragic" it has a bounce and jauntiness that only a kid could create.
Soloists from within the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra shine in this Baroque concert from sunny LA.
There is something so pure, so elemental in the violin concertos of Mozart, and in the playing of the inimitable Hilary Hahn. Put them together, and -- magic!
Tenor Stuart Skelton loves Mahler's uproarious love song to life, Das Lied von der Erde, especially the moments when he gets to sing of the joys of wine! But there is so much tenderness here, too, and Skelton is a master at evoking these and many other moods in Mahler's masterpiece.
Schumann's Symphony No. 2 has moments of such gorgeous song -- though no words -- that the strings of the orchestra can feel for a moment like the world's greatest opera stars. Heart-melting music from Amsterdam.
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.
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.
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 "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.
Complete playlist information is available for each show. Click on a specific episode to access a detailed playlist.
It’s the opening trumpet fanfare from Steve Heitzeg’s Nobel Symphony.
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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