Classical Performance podcast Audio Podcast

Sergio Fiorentino plays Chopin

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Legendary pianist Sergio Fiorentino was struck with an injury which kept him from performing for many years. It was only late in his life that he was able to recover from it, and we were lucky enough to capture this performance a few months before he passed away in 1998.

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Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F minor

Sergio Fiorentino, piano

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Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Studio One on April 14th, 1998.

©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Peggy Pearson and Katherine Chi play Haydn

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Oboist Peggy Pearson has a knack for bringing together some of the finest musicians for her Winsor Music Chamber Series, performing concerts in the Boston area. Here she joins the Canadian virtuoso pianist Katherine Chi to play a Sonata in G by Haydn, an arrangement of his String Quartet, Op. 77 No. 1.

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Haydn: Sonata in G

Peggy Pearson, oboe; Katherine Chi, piano

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More information: http://www.winsormusic.org/

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on September 14th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Inna Faliks plays Beethoven and Pasternak

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST

Nobody really knows what Beethoven's improvisations sounded like, but this Fantasy gives a rare glimpse into the inventive mind of the master, as he put music together on the spot, at the piano. Eventually this was written down as his Op. 77. As bonus, Inna Faliks plays a couple of Preludes by the composer, poet and novelist, Boris Pasternak.

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Beethoven: Fantasy, Op. 77.

Pasternak: Two Preludes (1906)

Inna Faliks, piano

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Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on October 29th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Aldo Abreu plays Anonymous music from Mexico

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST

This anonymous composer wrote some beautiful tunes. Too bad we have no idea who he or she was! These pieces dating from around 1750 were discovered in the Mexico City Cathedral. Aldo Abreu has arranged them for recorder and basso continuo.

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Anonymous (Mexico City Cathedral, 1750): Sonatas;

Salaverde: Canzona Segunda.

Aldo Abreu, recorders; Peter Sykes, harpsichord; Sarah Freiburg, cello

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More info: http://www.hunsteinartists.com/artists/abreu.html

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on October 22nd, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Narek Hakhnazaryan plays Beethoven

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST

Beethoven's friend the Baron Ignaz von Gleichenstein was the lucky dedicatee of this beautiful Sonata for cello and piano. Beethoven must have had a lot of respect for the cello-playing Baron, because he gave him the first notes of the theme to play without any accompaniment!

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Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3 in A major, Op. 69

Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello; Noreen Cassidy-Polera, piano.

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More info: http://www.yca.org/hakhnazaryan.html

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on September 17th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Roberto Plano performs Liszt's Petrarch Sonnets

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST

Franz Liszt was captivated by the poetry of the 14th century humanist, Petrarch, who wrote ardent love poetry in honor of a woman he hardly knew, named Laura. Liszt thought of these pieces as his own sonnets in honor of his beloved Marie, the Countess Marie D'Agoult.

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Liszt: Three Sonnets of Petrarch.

Roberto Plano, piano

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More information: http://www.robertoplano.com/

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on September 10th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Raphael Popper-Keizer and Gloria Chien play Debussy

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST

Debussy planned to write six sonatas before he died, for various combinations of instruments, but only got around to writing three before he died of colon cancer. This Cello Sonata is the first one he finished. He originally wanted to call it "Pierrot angry with the moon", refering to the unhappy clown character in Commedia dell'arte theater. You can imagine PIerrot in this music: whimsical and funny, but occasionally revealing an undercurrent of sadness.

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Debussy: Sonata for cello and piano

Raphael Popper-Keizer, cello; Gloria Chien, piano.

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More information: http://www.chameleonarts.org/

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on September 30th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Pacifica String Quartet performs Mendelssohn

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST

Mendelssohn used his own song as a theme throughout this beautiful string quartet. It asks the question, “Is it true that you wait for me each evening under the arbor – that you ask the moon and the stars about me? Is it true? Oh, tell me!”
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Mendelssohn, Felix: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 130
Pacifica String Quartet
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Simin Ganatra, violin; Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Brandon Vamos, cello
More info: http://www.pacificaquartet.com/

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on November 16th, 2007.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Fenwick Smith and John Gibbons play C.P.E. Bach

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST

During the 1750’s, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, son of Johann Sebastian Bach, was a musician in the court of Frederick the Great, the king of Prussia. In addition to being a shrewd and powerful king, Frederick was quite an accomplished flutist, so it’s not surprising that most of C.P.E. Bach’s flute compositions come from this period. Sonatas like this one show off the beauty of the flute, of course, but they also serve as showcases for the art of the keyboard – C.P.E. was a harpsichord virtuoso. We hear them played by modern virtuosos, Fenwick Smith and John Gibbons.
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Bach, C.P.E.: Sonata in G for flute, W.86 (1755)
Fenwick Smith, flute; John Gibbons, harpsichord
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More information: http://fenwicksmith.com/ and http://necmusic.edu/faculty/john-gibbons

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on September 11th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Roberto Plano plays Liszt

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST

Franz Liszt was deeply inspired by the landscape, music and culture of Italy, where he went for a while in the 1830’s with his lover and the mother of his three children, Marie d’Agoult. The result of these travels was his Années de Pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage), in two sets of pieces published several years later. These three pieces were published as a supplement to the Second Year.
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Liszt: Venezia e Napoli
Roberto Plano, piano
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More information: http://www.robertoplano.com/i_index.asp

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on September 10, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Helena Winkelman and Anton Kernjak play Brahms

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST

Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann had a special relationship - there's no denying it. Brahms wrote to his friend Joachim, "I often have to restrain myself forcibly from just quietly putting my arm around her..." As for Clara, when she played his G major Violin Sonata, she wrote to Brahms, "...I could not help bursting into tears of joy over it." There's no evidence of hanky-panky between them, but let's face it - he was head-over-heels in love!

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Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78

Helena Winkelman, violin; Anton Kernjak, piano

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More information: http://www.winkelman.ch/Helena/

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Radio Studio One on January 11th, 2005.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Borromeo String Quartet plays Bach

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST

Nicholas Kitchen, first violinist with the Borromeo String Quartet, grew up with the sound of the pipe organ ringing in his ears - his father was an organist - so he developed a great love for the keyboard music of Bach. Here are a couple of Bach's works he has arranged.

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J.S. Bach (arr. Nicholas Kitchen) Passacaglia and Fugue for Organ in C minor, BWV 582.

Borromeo String Quartet

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Nicholas Kitchen, violin; Kristopher Tong, violin; Mai Motobuchi, viola; Yeesun Kim, cello

More information: http://www.borromeoquartet.org/

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on July 30, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Dominique LaBelle sings Saint Saens

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST

Saint Saens is best known for large-scale works like the Carnival of the Animals or the orchestral version of Danse Macabre, but you might not know that he wrote a large number of songs during his lifetime. Here are five of them, performed by Soprano Dominque LaBelle and pianist/composer Yehudi Wyner.

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Saint Saens: Five Songs: Aimons-nous; L'attente; La Coccinelle; Tournoiement; Danse Macabre.

Dominique LaBelle, soprano; Yehudi Wyner, piano.

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More information: http://dominiquelabelle.com/

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio, on April 9th, 2009

©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Alexander Ghindin plays Mussorgsky

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST

Modest Mussorgsky had a lively interest in folk art. It was an interest he shared with his friend Victor Hartmann, a brilliant young artist who died unexpectedly in 1873. Mussorgsky was devastaed by the loss of his friend and wrote this work after a visit to a memorial exhibition of Hartmann's paintings.

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Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Alexander Ghindin, piano

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More information: http://www.clevelandpiano.org/ghindin.html

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on March 2nd, 2009.

©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Borromeo String Quartet plays Beethvoen

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST

Vienna was under attack in in 1809 when Beethoven composed this in 1809, but you won't hear it in the music. It was a publisher who gave it the nickname, "Harp" because of the effect of pizzicatto strings in the first movement.

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Beethoven: String Quartet No.10 in E flat, Op.74 "Harp"

Borromeo String Quartet.

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Nicholas Kitchen, violin; William Fedkenheuer, violin; Mai Motobuchi, viola; Yeesun Kim, cello

More information at http://www.borromeoquartet.org/

Recorded in a live broadcast in WGBH's Studio One on September 29, 2000.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Ensemble Zefiro plays Lotti and Vivaldi

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST

This week the Classical Performance goes "on location" at the Boston Early Music Festival, for music by Antonio Lotti and Antonio Vivaldi, played by the Ensemble Zefiro, recorded in concert at Jordan Hall, at the New England Conservatory. This was from a glorious concert called "Winds of the Serenissima", featuring early 18th century Italian music for winds and strings.

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Lotti: Echo Sonata a 4 in F major

Vivaldi: Sonata a 4 in C major, RV 801

Ensemble Zefiro; Alfredo Bernardini, director

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More information:

Ensemble Zefiro - http://www.ensemblezefiro.it/

Boston Early Music Festival - http://www.bemf.org/

Recorded in concert at Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, June 8th, 2009.

©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.

http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Pacifica String Quartet plays the Mendelssohn

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST

For a musician in the 19th century, Mendelssohn had about the happiest life you could imagine. It's just that it was so darn short! Here's music from the period of his blissful marriage to Cecile Jeanrenaud.

Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44 No. 2
Pacifica String Quartet

Simin Ganatra, violin; Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Brandon Vamos, cello
More information
http://www.pacificaquartet.com/

Classical Performance Podcast: Michael Lewin plays Liszt, Lewin and Saint-Saens

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 EST

Michael Lewin has been collecting piano pieces inspired by birds, and he plays some of them for us, in this live-to-air performance at the Fraser studio.
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Saint Saens: The Swan;
Trad., arr. Michael Lewin: Turkey in the Straw;
Alabieff, arr. Liszt: The Nightingale;
Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1.
Michael Lewin, piano
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Watch for Michael Lewin's upcoming CD: "If I Were a Bird". More information at
http://www.michaellewin.com/

Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on April 6th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Jonathan Crow, Douglas McNabney and Matt Haimovitz play Bach

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST

Bach's Goldberg Variations are brilliant as keyboard pieces, but you can hear their elaborate detail much more clearly in this remarkable arrangement for String Trio.
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J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV.988.
Jonathan Crow, violin; Douglas McNabney, viola; Matt Haimovitz, cello
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More information:
http://oxingale.com/

Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on April 17th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Yaron Kohlberg plays Schumann

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST

Robert Schumann was a critic and a composer, and in his words he was often critical of the "Philistines" in music - those who promoted conservative and ordinary talent. He gathered together a group of personalities called the "Davidsbundler", to fight the Philistines, and even wrote this set of intensely personal dances to celebrate this "Band of David". We hear it played by Yaron Kohlberg.
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Schumann, Robert: Davidsbundlertänze, Op. 6.
Yaron Kohlberg, piano
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More info:
http://www.yaronkohlberg.com/

Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on April 14th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: The Moet Trio plays Dvorak

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST

Dvorak sat down to compose his third Piano Trio just a few weeks after his mother passed away in 1882. In some of the passages you can hear how distraught he must have been at the time, but you also hear his amazing gift for melody.
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Dvorak: Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65
The Moet Trio
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The Moet Trio is:
Yuri Namkung, violin; Yves Dharamraj, cello; Michael Mizrahi, piano

More info:
http://moettrio.com/

Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on March 4th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Andreas Klein plays Bach and Chopin

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST

J.S. Bach took a trip to Italy, and learned a great deal from the musicians he met. In this piece in the style of an Italian violin concerto, the pianist does double duty, playing the role of soloist and accompanist. Chopin, on the other hand, never made it to Italy, but captures the atmosphere of Venice beautifully in his Barcarolle.
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Bach: Italian Concerto in F, BWV.971; and Chopin: Barcarolle, Op. 60.
Andreas Klein, piano.
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More info:
http://andreasklein.com/

Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on March 31st, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Boston Chamber Music Society plays Schumann

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST

Schumann read fairy tales to his own children, and was inspired to create musical fairy tales of his own. He didn't reveal the specific stories he was trying to evoke in this music, but the imagination can roam as the viola and clarinet penetrate the fairy world with their rich, dark colors.
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Robert Schumann: Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales), Op. 132.
Marcus Thompson, viola; Thomas Hill, clarinet; Mihae Lee, piano.
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These artists are members of the Boston Chamber Music Society.
More information:
http://bostonchambermusic.org/

Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on March 26th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Thomas Hill talks about Schumann

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST

Thomas Hill gives his insights into the meaning of the title of Schumann's "Märchenerzählungen", which is usually translated "Fairy Tales".
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Thomas Hill, in conversation with Richard Knisely.
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Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on March 26th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Goran Krivokapic plays Sor and Giuliani

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST

In the early part of the 19th century, opera was all the rage. All the best tunes came from the opera stage. So when Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani each set out to do variations on a theme for solo guitar, they chose their favorite opera tunes. Sor picked a tune from Mozart's "Magic Flute" and Giuliani chose melodies from several Rossini operas. We hear these two pieces played by a young virtuoso guitarist from Montenegro, Goran Krivokapic.
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Sor: Introduction and variations on a theme of Mozart, Op. 9; and Giuliani: Fantasia, Op. 119 (Rossiniana No. 5).
Goran Krivokapic, guitar.
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More info:
http://www.gorankrivokapic.net/
Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on March 19th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: The Chiara String Quartet plays Haydn

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST

Haydn originally wrote his "Seven Last Words of Christ" as an oratorio for the cathedral at the Spanish port city of Cadiz. It was intended to be heard at the Good Friday Service, in between readings and discourses on each of the seven last statements of Christ on the Cross. We hear five movements in this abbreviated version.
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Haydn: Seven Last Words of Christ, Op. 51 (portion)
The Chiara String Quartet
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I. Introduzione: Maestoso et Adagio.
II. Sonata I: Largo - Pater dimitte illis quia nesciunt, quid faciunt ("Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.").
III. Sonata IV: Largo - Deus meus, deus meus, utquid dereliquisti me ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?")?
IV. Sonata V: Adagio - Sitio ("I thirst.").
V. Il Terremoto (The earthquake): Presto e con tutta la forza.
Chiara String Quartet: Rebecca Fischer, Julie Yoon violins; Jonah Sirota, viola; Gregory Beaver, cello

More info:
http://www.chiaraquartet.net
Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on March 12th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Haldan Martinson and Sally Pinkas play Schumann

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST

Robert Schumann was not happy with his first Violin Sonata, composed in September of 1851, so he sat down and wrote another one, and finished it in October. But he must have had misgivings about this second one as well, because it wasn't published until two years later! This is some of Robert Schumann's most compelling music. We hear it played by Haldan Martinson, with Sally Pinkas at the piano.
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Schumann, Robert: Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano in D minor, Op. 121.
Haldan Martinson, violin; Sally Pinkas, piano
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More info:
Haldan Martinson:
http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/bios_detail.jsp?id=1700055
Sally Pinkas:
http://sally.hirsch-pinkas.org/
Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on February 26th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: David McCarroll and Dina Vainshtein play Schumann - WGBH Classical Performance

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

All his life, Robert Schumann had to manage two different personalities within himself. He even gave them names: Eusebius (his melancholy nature) and Florestan (his passionate side). In his literary work he would often refer to them and write from their different points of view. In his Violin Sonatas, you can hear both Eusebius and Florestan, holding forth! This is the first of a series - next week: Sonata No. 2.
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Schumann, Robert: Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano in A minor, Op. 105.
David McCarroll, violin; Dina Vainshtein, piano
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More info:
http://www.longwoodsymphony.org/ (look for David's bio under "Artists")

Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on February 24th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: Sabrina Learman sings Falla

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Manuel de Falla spent the years before World War I in Paris, and that's where he befriended Debussy and Ravel. Before returning to Spain in 1914, he put together these brilliant song settings, using natural overtones in the accompaniment, rather than traditional modal scales. It's performed by members of the Chameleon Ensemble.
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Falla: Seven Spanish Folksongs
Sabrina Learman, soprano; Christopher Guzman, piano
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Titles of Manuel de Falla's Seven Spanish Folksongs: El Paño Moruno; Sequidilla Murciana; Asturiana; Jota; Nana; Canción; Polo.

More info:
http://chameleonarts.org/artists/chameleons/learman.html
http://chameleonarts.org/artists/guests/guzman.html

Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on February 13th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org

Classical Performance Podcast: The Auryn Quartet plays Haydn

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

In 1781, when Haydn met Mozart, he called him "the greatest composer known to me either in person or reputation." Three years later he became good friends with the younger composer, and joined him in a "string quartet party" at a Viennese apartment. That was also the year (1784) Haydn wrote his Opus 50 Quartets, which - no surprise - bear a striking resemblance to the style of Mozart! Again we have the Auryn String Quartet.
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Haydn: Quartet in F major, Op. 50 No. 5
Auryn String Quartet
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Matthias Lingenfelder, violin; Jens Oppermann, violin; Stewart Eaton, viola; Andreas Arndt, cello.
More info:
http://www.aurynquartet.com/english/ens_xx.html
Recorded in a live broadcast at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio on February 4th, 2009.
©2009 WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.wgbh.org/classical email: classical@wgbh.org