Week of May 1, 2023 - Some of My Best Friends Are Virtuosi Over the decades that Bill has conducted orchestras and hosted radio programs, he feels very fortunate to have worked with and become friends with many prominent musicians. In this program, Bill will feature some of these virtuosic musicians whom he has watched grow and admired for many years. To highlight this warm spirit of musical friendships, Bill has chosen many works that composers have written for their best friends, who also happen to be virtuosi. Five hours of gorgeous rich tones and great melodies like Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto played by pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet featuring the Pacifica Quartet and their friend Anthony McGill, and Chopin’s Cello Sonata with pianist Garrick Ohlsson accompanying cellist Carter Brey.
Week of May 8, 2023 - Strings Plus “Mozart wrote so beautifully for strings plus, probably better than anyone,” Bill says at the beginning of this week. Our listening starts with Mozart's quartets for strings plus oboe and flute, then his quintet for strings plus clarinet. In Tuesday’s hour, we will listen to Samuel Barber's Dover Beach, written for a string quartet and baritone. Barber sang the baritone part at its premiere in Philadelphia. Bill then adds to our playlist Hindemith, Mahler, and Bartók. Strings Plus is a colorful week of listening that ends with the chamber music of Johannes Brahms, and Joan Tower's Petroushskates played by the eighth blackbird ensemble.
Week of May 15, 2023 - Nadia Boulanger “Every town in the United States had a five-and-dime and a Boulanger student," Virgil Thomson once said, and he wasn't far off. Nadia Boulanger taught and influenced an entire generation of musicians, from Aaron Copland and Ástor Piazzolla to Philip Glass and Quincy Jones, and this week we'll hear some of her compositions and performances alongside those of her prolific students.
Week of May 22, 2023 - Families of Instruments This week we are exploring the families of instruments within the orchestra, and how they are represented in the orchestral score. The score is a big blueprint that a composer creates and gives to the conductor to supervise the construction of his piece. It has individual instructions for every player and instrument section. For this week’s program, we will follow score order from the top of the score, where the higher woodwinds, violins, and soloists live, down to the double basses and contra-bassoon at the bottom. This week Maestro Bill McGlaughlin wears his conductor’s hat!
Week of May 29, 2023 - Edward Elgar There’s much more to Edward Elgar than graduation marches and the Enigma Variations. A composer of equally masterful symphonies, oratorios, chamber music, and concertos, he led a renaissance in 20th-century England that firmly reestablished its musical identity. Don’t miss the last installment of the week when Bill features the “English Rose,” Jacqueline Du Pre in her legendary performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
