This Week at The Classical Station

by Rob Kennedy

Sunday, October 22, 2023

Pianist Marc-André Hamelin plays the Barcarolles Nos.10-13 by Gabriel Fauré this evening on Preview! Conductor Dr. Al Sturgis tells us about the North Carolina Master Chorales 2023-24 season.

Preview! brings you the latest releases and local arts news every Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern.

This morning Great Sacred Music includes performances by the Prague Chamber Choir, the Choir of New College, Oxford, and the Amsterdam Baroque. You’ll hear works by Johann Sebastian Bach, John Rutter, and more.

Great Sacred Music. 8 a.m. Right after Sing for Joy. With Mick Anderson.

On October 22 we observe the birthday of Hungarian composer, pianist, and Franciscan tertiary Franz Liszt (1811-1886).

Mere superlatives are not sufficient to describe Liszt’s virtuoso piano and organ performances. By all accounts he was extraordinary. Friend of composers Saint-Saëns, Chopin, and Debussy, Liszt himself composed over 750 works during his lifetime.

Photo: Felix Nadar, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Yesterday was the first day of our Fall Fund Drive. You make the great classical music we broadcast in Central North Carolina and stream worldwide possible with your financial support. Thank you!

We receive no tax dollars, and no funds from a university or foundation. It’s listeners like you and me who have been bringing the classical music we love so much for over forty years. If you have been listening and never sent us a dollar, why not give us a call at 800-556-5178. Donate at the level that works for you. $5 a month, $10 a month, whatever YOU decide. We’d love to welcome you into our family of classical music lovers.

On October 21 we observe the birthdays of French composer Joseph Canteloube (1879-1957), English composer Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006), and Hungarian-born British conductor Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997).

Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret was a musicologist as well as a composer. He is best known for his arrangements of the folk music of the Auvergne region of France. Despite a rather troubled personal life, Sir Malcolm Arnold composed in a variety of forms. He wrote over one hundred film scores. Widely considered one of the great conductors of the 20th century, Maestro Solti was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for twenty years.

Photo: Joseph Canteloube, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia

Friday, October 20, 2023

On October 20 we observe the birthday of American composer Charles Ives (1874-1954).

While Charles Ives’ music was largely ignored during his lifetime, he came to be regarded as an American original because of his experimentations with avante-garde styles of composition.

Photo: Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Richard Wagner’s opera “Das Rheingold” is the first installment of his epic four-opera cycle, “Der Ring des Nibelungen.” This opera serves as a prelude to the larger narrative and sets the stage for the events that follow.

The story revolves around a magical ring crafted from the Rhinegold by the Nibelung dwarf, Alberich. Wotan, the ruler of the gods, and his wife, Fricka, seek to obtain the ring’s power. Loge, the demigod of fire, aids them in their quest.

Alberich’s curse on the ring and the greed it instills drive much of the plot. The giants Fasolt and Fafner demand the ring as payment for building Valhalla, the gods’ fortress. Wotan reluctantly hands it over but plans to ultimately reclaim it.

The opera concludes with the gods crossing the rainbow bridge into Valhalla, while Alberich’s curse begins to unravel the order of the world.

“Das Rheingold” explores themes of power, corruption, and the consequences of desire, all set to Wagner’s sweeping and innovative music, laying the foundation for the grand saga of the Ring cycle.

You can hear this monumental opera on the Thursday Night Opera House beginning at 7 p.m.

On October 19 we observe the birthday of Russian pianist Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (1916-1985). Widely considered one of the great pianists of the 20th century, Gilels gave his first public piano recital at the age of 12.

Photo: Unknown Author, Fair Use, Alchetron

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

For more than 44 years, The Classical Station has depended upon the support of listeners and volunteers to share Great Classical Music with everyone everywhere. Keep this unique classical music service going strong by giving online today or by calling 800-556-5178 anytime. Thank you!

On October 18 we observe the birthdays of Spanish guitarist and composer Miguel Llobet (1878-1938) and American trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis (1961-).

Señor Llobet was a virtuoso performer who studied with Francisco Tárrega. Wynton Marsalis won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997 for his oratorio Blood on the Fields. He is the Director of Jazz Studies at The Julliard School and the Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Photo: Wynton Marsalis, Eric Delmar, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

On October 17 we observe the birthdays of Italian composer Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726), French composer Henri Mulet (1878-1967), Polish composer Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz (1916-1998), English composer Herbert Howells (1892-1983), and American pianist Stephen Bishop Koyacevich (1940-).

A Jesuit priest, Signor Zipoli emigrated to South America where he composed and taught music to the locals. A student of Guilmant and Widor, Monsieur Mulet wrote several organ works which remain staples of the repertoire. Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz was a 20th-century composer who stuck to his own conservative style of composing as opposed to following the avant-garde style which was all the rage back then. Herbert Howells is perhaps best known for his choral music written for the Anglican Church in England. Stephen Bishop Koyacevich, now known simply as Stephen Koyacevich, has enjoyed a career as both piano soloist and conductor.

Monday, October 16, 2023

This evening Monday Night at the Symphony features the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra which was founded in 1916. The program includes music by Sergei Prokofiev, Hector Berlioz, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, conducted by David Zinman and Music Director Laureate Marin Alsop.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Marin Alsop
Photo by Grant Leighton

On October 16 we observe the birthdays of French composer Frédéric-Nicolas Duvernoy (1765-1838), Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745), English composer Charles Harford Lloyd (1849-1919), and American conductor Marin Alsop (1956-).

Monsieur Duvernoy was a hornist in the Orchestre de la Garde Nationale. Jan Dismas Zelenka flourished in Dresden, Germany for most of his career. Charles Harford Lloyd was educated at Oxford and held positions at Gloucester Cathedral and Eton College during his long career. Ms. Alsop is the Music Director Laureate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra which she directed from 2007 to 2021, and the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra in Brazil.