May 3, 2010

We don’t feature voice as often as we’d like, which is why we’re especially pleased to present the mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke. A graduate of the Julliard and the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. Cooke has been acclaimed for her performances in opera, as a soloist with orchestra and song recitals. Her 2009-10 season includes engagements with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas’s San Francisco Symphony, and the title role in Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe.  She also sings the role of Meg in Falstaff with the Seattle Opera, and the role of Medea in Jason with Chicago Opera Theater.

We’ll hear Ms. Cooke in a contrasting set of songs. First, Hector Berlioz’s Au cimitière, from Les Nuits d'été, which will be followed by Maurice Ravel’s cycle Cinq mélodies populaires Grecques. We’ll finish with two songs from William Bolcom’s set of Cabaret Songs: Blue and Amor. To listen, click here.

April 26, 2010

Sergei Prokofiev, one of the most important composers of the 20^th century, was born this week, on April 25, 1891. By his mid-20s he was already well-known as a composer and pianists: his first piano concerto was written in 1910, the violin concerto – in 1915. Prokofiev left Russia shortly after the revolution. He spent most of his subsequent 17 years in the US and then France before returning to the Soviet Union in 1935. Despite all the difficulties (his wife was arrested as a “spy” and he was often criticized in the official press as a “formalist”), he wrote some of his best music in the late 1930s and the 40s: piano sonatas 6 through 9, which were championed by Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels, a cello sonata that was first performed by the young Rostropovich, along with operas, ballets and symphonies. He died the same day as Stalin, March 5, 1953. His death wasn’t announced till three days later.

We’ll open the Prokofiev playlist with his youthful Sarcasms, Op. 17, played by the pianist Milica Jelača Jovanović. We’ll continue with Five Melodies for violin & piano, Op. 35 bis, performed by Ilya Kaler (Violin) and Eteri Andjaparidze (Piano). Following that, the pianist Vakhtang Jordania plays Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84. We’ll conclude with Jeffrey Biegel soloing in the Third Piano concerto in C Major op. 26. To listen click here.

April 19, 2010.

We were playing catch up celebrating several birthdays when tragic events forced us to focus on Poland and its contribution to the world of classical music. In the mean time, yet another birthday of a great composer has passed: Sergei Rachmaninov was born on April 1, 1873. So today we’ll play some music we planned to present earlier, along with some Rachmaninov. We’ll start with Pablo Sarasate, the Spanish violinist and composer; his Playera is performed by Albert Markov. The Hungarian Béla Bartók was one of the greatest composers of the 20^th century. He was often inspired by regional folk music, both Hungarian and Romanian. We’ll hear a rather unusual performance: Michel Tirabosco is a virtuoso player on Pan Pipes. He’ll perform Six Romanian Popular Songs accompanied by the guitarist Antonio Dominguez. Some day we’ll dedicate a program to Sergei Rachmaninov. But today, as a token, we’ll play his Prelude Op. 32, No. 5, in G Major in Jeffrey Biegel’s interpretation. To listen, click here.

April 12, 2010.

A terrible tragedy befell Poland last Saturday when many leaders of the recently reborn country perished in a plane crash. We will commemorate this event with a selection of Polish music. Poland gave much to the world, and classical music is one of its gifts. From the Renaissance, through the 19^th century and such composers as Karol Szymanowski, Andrzej Panufnik, Henryk Górecki and Krzysztof Penderecki in the 20^th, Polish composers were on the forefront of European music. We’ll hear Chopin’s Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38 played by the pianist Hayk Arsenyan, and then two pieces by Karol Szymanowski: piano Etude Op. 4 no. 1, performed by Hyunjung Chung, and Mazurka no. 1, Op. 50, played by the pianist Martin Labazevitch. We’ll continue with the Allegretto movement from Krzysztof Penderecki’s Symphony No. 2. To conclude, the venerable American pianist Abbey Simon will play (and, in the manner of Glenn Gould, hum) Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in b-flat minor, Op. 35, with the famous third movement, the funeral march. To listen, click here.

April 5, 2010

March is so rich on composers’ birthdays, but we had a chance to celebrate just two – that of Chopin, who turned 200, and Bach’s also quite special 325^th anniversary. So we missed the birthdays of Maurice Ravel, Pablo Sarasate, Hugo Wolf, Telemann, two great Russians, Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky, Bela Bartok, and even Franz Joseph Haydn! We’ll try to catch up this week with the following chronological program. First, the flutists Colleen Matheu performs Telemann’s Fantasia No. 2 for Unaccompanied Flute. Then the pianist Sofya Melikyan plays Andante with variations in f minor by Franz Joseph Haydn. Sonya Bach follows with the piano transcription of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain. And at the end we’ll hear Amelia Trio play Ravel’s Piano Trio in a minor. We’ll have more next week, but in the mean time, please click here to listen.

March 29, 2010

The pianist Alon Goldstein, violinist Ilya Kaler and cellist Amit Peled, wonderful instrumentalists in their own right, have been playing together for a number of years. Now they call their ensemble the Tempest Trio. The Tempest has embarked on an exploration of all Beethoven trios for piano and strings. Beethoven wrote piano trios throughout most of his creative life, starting with Op. 1 and finishing with the “Archduke” in 1811. If we count trios without opus numbers, then the total comes to 12, so the Tempest, and its listeners, are set for a wonderful journey. We have three trios in our library, numbers 4, 5, and 7. Today we present Trio no 7 op. 97, “Archduke.” To listen, click here.