This month Bill McGlaughlin explores the relationship between humanity and nature. What is it that drives us to explore and discover open spaces? During the week of 3/30, tune in to hear Bryn Terfel sing Vaughn Williams' The Vagabond and to hear other composers' takes on nature.
Week of March 2, 2020 - 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.
Week of March 9, 2020 - Millennium of Women’s Music - Exploring Music embraces works written in honor of, and by, women. Bill will feature women performers and composers going back as far as we can find them in the history books. Benedictine abbess-composer Hildegard of Bingen; Mozart’s friend, the Spanish composer Maria Theresa von Paradis; a couple of remarkable Polish composers around the time of Chopin; and on to the present day with Shulamit Ran. Performers will include Teresa Carreño and Hilary Hahn, and we hope to squeeze in Lorraine Hunt Lieberson singing "Bist du bei mir" by JS Bach. This aria was found copied by a foreign hand in Anna Magdalena Bach’s notebook, and has a theme of secret love.
Week of March 16, 2020 - Georges Enesco - Georges Enesco’s family was steeped in the rich folklore and oral traditions of Romania. When he was just a young boy, his parents hired a gypsy violinist to teach him the violin by ear— note by note, phrase by phrase. And by the age of seven, Enesco was sent to the Vienna Conservatory to formalize his musical studies. Enesco as a mature musician traveled the world, never forgetting his Romanian roots. Romanian folk tunes were woven throughout his music, and his creative, warm, and giving musicianship was treasured by all. Come join Bill as we listen to Enesco’s story, hear his music, and watch him pass the torch to the young Yehudi Menuhin.
Week of March 23, 2020 - The Class of 1809: Six composers born over a five-year period 1809 – 1813 - Our six extraordinary composers are Felix Mendelssohn, born February 3, 1809; Frederic Chopin, March 3, 1810; Robert Schumann, June 8, 1810; Franz Liszt, October 22, 1811; Richard Wagner, May 22, 1813; and Giuseppe Verdi, October 10, 1813. 1809 also brought the death of Papa Haydn and the birth of Abraham Lincoln, plus Beethoven wrote Les Adieux “Farewell,” and the Emperor Concerto for his friend and sponsor, the Archduke Rudolf. This is the time of the Battle of Wagram, after which the Austrian nobility withdrew to safer realms as Napoleon closed in on Vienna. Starting in 1809, the 19th century opens up, and we’ll follow our six composers all the way to Verdi’s death in 1901.
Week of March 30, 2020 - Outward Bound - Afoot and lighthearted, Bill takes to the open road with the world before him. In the steps of Walt Whitman, he explores the relationship of man to nature as expressed in music. We start this week with Bryn Terfel singing The Vagabond, the words of Robert Lewis Stevenson set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Bill will then “inhale great drafts of space” with Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, and Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras. Come join us on this colorful musical path.
