COMPOSER NEWSBBC Composer of the Week: Johannes BrahmsSeptember 02, 2010 After 20 years of turbulent friendship, the relationship between Brahms and Joseph Joachim finally snapped at the beginning of the 1870s. But for once it wasn't the fault of the infamously rude and argumentative composer.
First Listen: 'Cantique,' With The Music Of Arvo Pärt August 31, 2010 Since finding his artistic voice in the late 1960s, Arvo Pärt has opened a window into a world of spiritual ideals and aspirations, and attracted many fans along the way. The music on this new disc — released to coincide with the composer's 75th birthday and conducted by longtime family friend Kristjan Järvi — represents three decades of Pärt's journey through social change, musical and personal (r)evolution.
BBC Composer of the Week: Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876) August 16, 2010 Forget Samuel Sebastian Wesley as a pillar of the Anglican Cathedral world. He was an eccentric, inconsistent and irascible character, who frequently abandoned his Sunday duties of conducting the choir or playing the organ, to visit the nearest river for fishing. His life is one of regret, having left the world of musical opportunities in London at an early age, to be from that point considered a composer of Church music. His career spans many Churches and Cathedrals, most of which he resigned from under circumstances relating to his neglect of duties, and his outspoken views concerning the clergy's power over music.
Johann Johannsson: The Transporter August 10, 2010 I've been fascinated by Johann Johannsson ever since I traveled to Iceland in 2006. In addition to his work as a musician and "modern classical" composer, he's been an active participant in the country's arts scene. He co-founded Kitchen Motors, an organization known for putting together concerts, art exhibitions, films, albums, books, theater performances and even radio shows. I was excited to have him visit our station.
Elgar's other, dotty, enigma August 05, 2010 The British composer's Violin Concerto has a strange dedication, ending in five dots. A century after this romantic masterpiece's premiere, Jessica Duchen investigates the object of the epigraph.
John Williams joins Pops, remembers an old friend August 03, 2010 John Williams was recording his score to "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," when he suddenly thought about Cincinnati Pops conductor Erich Kunzel.
BBC Composer of the Week: Giuseppe Verdi July 22, 2010 Donald Macleod continues his exploration of Verdi's operas with Don Carlos, an epic tale of thwarted love that poses epic problems for directors. The historical Don Carlos was a tortured, tragic and misshapen young man in 16th-century Spain. Verdi's grand operatic version of his life, based, not for the first time, on a play by Schiller, turned out to have one of the most tortuous and protracted histories in all opera. As a result there are no fewer than eight possible 'authentic' versions of the score, so for anyone putting on a production of Don Carlos, it's rather a case of Let's Make an Opera!
Betrayal In Brooklyn: 'A View From The Bridge' July 20, 2010 When William Bolcom's opera A View from the Bridge premiered in Chicago in 1999, one critic described it as "Brooklyn verismo," invoking the emotive style popularized by Italian composers such as Puccini. And that pretty much hits the nail on the head.
In defence of Schumann July 14, 2010 Robert Schumann wrote music of extraordinary, visionary beauty. But why is so much of it so little known? It's time to re-evaluate a musical genius.
Drumming in Summer with Xenakis June 22, 2010 Fiercely iconoclastic composer Iannis Xenakis receives extraordinary tributes in New York City and Montreal this month. Composer and writer Raphael Mostel profiles the artist himself and the various offerings staged in honor of the late musician.
How to execute Mozart's unknown ending June 19, 2010 Mozart left his opera Zaide uncompleted and with his heroes facing death. Ian Page explains how he finished what the composer started.
John Eaton Chats About 'Benjamin Button' Opera; World Premiere June 15 June 14, 2010 Center for Contemporary Opera closes its 27th season with the world premiere presentation of John Eaton’s opera The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on June 15, 2010 at Symphony Space. Eaton discusses the work here.
Robert Schumann's Routine Of Intensity June 10, 2010 Intensity. There's no more appropriate word to describe Robert Schumann. Everything in his life seemed to be done with nothing less than total commitment, from his unrelenting pursuit of the love of his life, Clara, to his determination to make a career of composing. Even his way of pursuing that career was a full immersion approach — spending a year writing songs, then a year on symphonic music, followed by nothing but chamber music.
Robert Schumann's Childhood Dreams June 08, 2010 To mark the 200th anniversary of Robert Schumann's birth, pianist and composer Rob Kapilow takes a look at one of Schumann's most quiet, introspective and most popular pieces — "Träumerei," often translated as "Dreaming," from the set of 13 solo piano pieces called Kinderszenen, or Scenes from Childhood.
BBC Composer of the Week: Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) June 03, 2010 Donald Macleod continues our series, focusing upon Alessandro Scarlatti's disillusionment with Rome, and his opera failures for the Venetian Carnival season in 1707.
Opera Amended: Gluck's 'Iphigenia in Aulis' June 01, 2010 What did the 18th-century opera composer Christoph Willibald Gluck and 20th-century jazz great Miles Davis have in common? Quite a bit, as it turns out, including a genuine disregard for the status quo.
1 Composer, 2 Centuries, Many Picks May 28, 2010 The classical music world, embarked on a bicentennial tour through the Romantic era, is just now preoccupied with the melancholic master Frédéric Chopin, born near Warsaw in 1810. Beloved by pianists for his abundant legacy, he is cherished by countless others for the teeming worlds of color and emotion he conjured. The classical music critics of The New York Times have combed through the many recordings devoted to Chopin and selected their favorites.
BBC Composer of the Week: Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) May 25, 2010 Dvořák's earliest attempts at opera were not at all successful, but he couldn't shake the opera bug and determined to struggle on, even if that meant re-composing an entire music drama from scratch.
NY Philharmonic plays high schoolers' compositions May 22, 2010 Two subway-inspired compositions written by New York City high school students are being performed at Lincoln Center.
I'll Be Bach May 20, 2010 A computer program is writing great, original works of classical music. Will human composers soon be obsolete?
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