Week of July 1, 2024 - Aaron Copland (1990-1990) From waves of grain to stars and stripes, Aaron Copland defined the soundtrack to much of America. This week, we’ll trace his trek from the heart of Brooklyn to the heart of a nation. Featured works include Appalachian Spring performed by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Our Town with Copland himself conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Bill tells the story of Copland’s trip to Mexico that inspired his symphonic movement El Salón México, and we will listen to the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein perform it with pure joy.
Week of July 8, 2024 - Piano Concertos The piano concerto is one of the most beloved genres of the concert hall. After all, it was the thundering virtuosity of some of the great composer-pianists that gave rise to music's first superstars. To name just a few of our stars, we'll explore their world and the great compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Sergei Rachmaninoff performed by Lukas Foss, Leon Fleisher, Rudolf Serkin, Lang Lang, and Arthur Rubinstein.
Week of July 15, 2024 - Italian Souvenirs We all would like to have a holiday in Italy, and your desire will just grow and grow as you listen to this week of Exploring Music. The composers inspired by the great beauty of Italy include Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, and Edward Elgar. And let us not forget Wolfgang Mozart’s visit as a teenager that changed the course of opera forever. This week, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Georg Solti will perform Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major “Italian,” and violist Donald McInnes will solo with the Orchestre National de France under the baton of Leonard Bernstein in the third movement of Berlioz’s Harold in Italy “Serenade of an Abruzzo mountaineer”.
Week of July 22, 2024 - Hindemith, Paul (1895-1963) From his birth in a town near Frankfurt through his time in Egypt and Turkey, then his eventual emigration to America, Paul Hindemith had a lasting impact on the music of the 20th century. Bill follows his journey from an avant-garde composer to his works being outlawed by the Nazi Party. He never let a setback get in his way: the year after Nazi Germany banned his music (1937), Hindemith released his masterpiece, Matthias the Painter. Witness the progression through Hindemith’s early pieces into his signature style combining the tonal experimentation of Arnold Schoenberg with the strict counterpoint of JS Bach. Violist Geraldine Walther and the San Francisco Symphony will perform Trauermusik, and we will hear “When Lilacs Last in The Dooryard Bloom’d” performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chorus conducted by Robert Shaw.
Week of July 29, 2024 - Five Fabulous New Albums Our theme for this week is simple – just five fabulous new albums. Bill starts with Yuja Wang performing a recital in Vienna, then on to the remarkable trio of Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, and Leonidas Kavakos performing Beethoven's Archduke Trio and an interesting piano trio transcription of Beethoven's second symphony. Thursday we will hear a French album from Lang Lang, and then on Friday enjoy a summer concert with the Vienna Philharmonic performing in the Schönbrunn Gardens. Great music, great recordings!
