Host Bill McGlaughlin searches for hidden treasures by relatively unknown composers, among the WFMT radio staff who are constantly unearthing musical gold (week of July 15th)
Week of July 1, 2019 - Arias and Barcarolles Taking a cue from President Eisenhower's famous remark to Leonard Bernstein, “… I like music with a theme, not all them arias and barcarolles." This week is a sampling of arias, overtures, barcarolles, and other melodic delights that deserve more time on the airwaves. Bill will spin tunes like Lawrence Welk’s “Bubbles in the Wine” and Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians performing Jerome Kern’s “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” This is a week to just sit back and enjoy.
Week of July 8, 2019 - Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (1803-69) wrote that “Beethoven opened before me a new world of music, as Shakespeare had revealed a new universe of poetry.” Bill covers the arc of Berlioz’s life and music, from leaving medical school in Paris to attend the opera and studying at the Paris Conservatory, then being a model of the Romantic movement. This week’s fifth episode features the last two movements of Symphonie Fantastique, displaying Berlioz's gift for spectacular drama and concludes with an excerpt from his setting of “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem.
Week of July 15, 2019 - Hidden Gold On this series of Exploring Music, we examine some works that are absolutely fantastic - every bit as fantastic as the pieces we hear all the time - but relatively unknown by comparison. These works are usually not in the standard repertoire though perhaps should be. Guides to finding some of this hidden treasure are the on-air hosts at WFMT, who have a wealth and depth of knowledge when it comes to unearthing musical gold. This week Bill takes up their claims for greater awareness and appreciation of this music.
Week of July 22, 2019 - Clash of the Titans, Part II This week Exploring Music profiles three more divine" beings” Maestros Pierre Monteux (1874-1964), Fritz Reiner (1888-1963), and Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951): three world-renowned conductors who seemed to have descended from the Greek gods. After World War I, these conductors settled in America and took on the responsibility of nurturing the artistry of American composers and American orchestras: the native Frenchman Monteux in Boston and then San Francisco; the Hungarian Reiner in Pittsburgh and Chicago; and the Russian Koussevitzky in Boston. The stories of their boundless energy and colorful natures are as legendary as their support of musicians and orchestras. We will listen to music by Stravinsky, Bartok, and Debussy in works that these conductors commissioned and premiered, plus many other compositions all played by "their bands.”
