The SPCO

Jonathan Biss talks about leading the SPCO.

There's nothing as cool as being there in the hall as the event unfolds -- even if it's just through your speakers. Anything can happen in a live concert; there aren't any second chances! So there's a kind of energy and buzz as the performers rise to the occasion and give it all they've got.

Music with Minnesotans returns with our first guest Senator Dick Cohen. The Senator is not a musician himself but a huge advocate for the arts and one of the originators of the Minnesota Legacy Amendment. We'll listen to a fabulously deep piece of music by Shostakovich, his 11th symphony.

How do you make a group of actors look like they've been playing string instruments all their lives? Bring in the consultants! Alison Young speaks with SPCO Principal Violist Sabina Thatcher about how she helped these actors look so natural on-stage.

Spring for Music, a new and innovative festival of concerts by North American symphony and chamber orchestras presented annually at Carnegie Hall to broad music-loving audiences, is being presented through a unique marketing structure built around adventurous and creative programs. The festival is designed to allow chosen orchestras to showcase their artistic philosophies through distinctive and creative programming in one of the world's most competitive musical environments.

Photos from the ongoing Spring for Music series brought to you by Classical Live.

In this week's edition, Alison Young talks with Dancer/Choreographer/Artistic Director James Sewell. He has long used classical music as a source for the dances he creates, and you'll never hear these pieces the same when he describes how the vibrations move him!

Classical MPR's assistant music director takes a musical trip around America, led by Spring for Music orchestras

He's one of the greatest Mozart interpreters in the world, and this weekend, he'll be right here in Minnesota. Christian Zacharias plays and conducts the SPCO in our live broadcast this Saturday at 8:00 on Classical MPR. You can listen on-line now to his "desert island discs."

Bach's Birthday is Monday and we celebrate all day this Saturday with a cycle of free hour-long concerts at five Saint Paul churches.