This Week at The Classical Station
by Rob Kennedy
Sunday, June 9, 2024
The acclaimed vocal ensemble Anonymous 4 will sing the Procession & Gloria from their 2000 recording, A Mass for the End of Time on Peaceful Reflections this evening at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Peaceful Reflections offers a blend of instrumental, choral and organ music to bring your weekend to a peaceful close. 9 p.m. to midnight every Sunday. With Tom Hayakawa.
Pianist Daniel Gortler opens Preview! this evening with a performance of Edvard Grieg’s Vanished Days, Op. 57, No. 1. Horn player Louis-Pierre Bergeron and pianist Meagan Milatz talk about their recording Bravura: Works for Natural Horn and Piano.
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 Oxford Camerata, the Slovak Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, and Jennifer Bate. On the playlist are works by Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, and many more. Our featured work is Pergolesi’s Laudate pueri.
Great Sacred Music. Sundays. 8 a.m. Eastern. Right after Sing for Joy. With Mick Anderson.
On June 9 we observe the birthdays of German composer Otto Nicolai (1810-1849), Danish composer Carl Nielsen(1865-1931), French composer Albéric Magnard (1865-1914), and Romanian soprano Ileana Cotrubaș (1939-). Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai was one of the founders of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Leonard Bernstein exposed Nielsen’s symphonies to a wider audience with a recording of his Fifth Symphony in 1962. Monsieur Albéric studied with Vincent D’Indy. Ms. Cotrubaș’s career spanned the 19602 through the 1980s, during which time she was in demand at opera houses around the world.
Photos: Carl Nielsen, Gerhard Lynge, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Otto Nicolai, Josef Kriehuber, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Albéric Magnard, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Ms. Cotrubaș, Unknown Author, Fair Use, Bach-Cantatas.org
Saturday, June 8, 2024
Metropolitan Opera House
Photo by Jonathan Tichler/Met Opera
This afternoon, the Metropolitan Opera brings its 2023-24 season of Saturday matinee radio broadcasts to a close with a sublime opera about the eternal power of music: Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, performed live from the Met stage. Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo stars as Orpheus, the renowned musician of mythology, and soprano Ying Fang is his beloved Eurydice, whom he vows to rescue from the underworld. Soprano Elena Villalón makes her network broadcast debut as the god Amore, and J. David Jackson leads the Met orchestra and chorus in Gluck’s expressive, elegant, and moving score.
The curtain goes up at 1 p.m. Eastern. Tell your smart speaker to “Play The Classical Station.”
On June 8 we observe the birthdays of Italian composer Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751), German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856), and Polish-born American pianist Emmanuel Ax (1949-).
In his day, Albinoni wrote operas, very few of which have survived. Robert and Clara Schumann were friends of Johannes Brahms. Ax is a champion of the works of contemporary composers.
Photos: Robert Schumann, Josef Kriehuber, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Tomaso Albinoni, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Emmanuel Ax by Maurice Jerry Beznos
Friday, June 7, 2024
The Metropolitan Opera presents
Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice
Saturday, June 8, 1 p.m. Eastern
Keep Great Classical Music on the air by donating your trusty ride to The Classical Station. We accept cars, trucks, boats – anything that moves, running or not! Donating is easy, and the pick-up is free.
Now, I’ve been publishing these blurbs about our Car Donation program for many years. But last year I had a chance to use the service myself. It really is simple. After the Cars staff take your information and explain how to prepare your title, they schedule the pickup. Then, I received a call from a local car dealer who arranged the actual pickup at my convenience. She also explained how to prepare the title certificate. (You have to sign in the presence of a notary.) The driver of the truck that came to pick up my car called me when he had arrived. He loaded my car. That was that! 4 weeks later, our Membership Department informed me that my car had been sold! WCPE will receive the proceeds, and I will have a tax deduction on my 2023 taxes. Could I have sold my car privately? Probably. But I determined that it wasn’t worth the hassle. The Classical Station‘s Car Donation Program is the way to go!~Rob
Find out more by clicking on Donate.
On June 7 we observe the birthdays of Hungarian-born American conductor George Szell (1897-1970), French conductor Philippe Entremont (1934-), Estonian-born American conductor Neeme Järvi (1937-), and Bolivian violinist Jaime Laredo (1941-).
George Szell was a protégé of Richard Strauss. M. Entremont is a noted pianist who recorded the Rachmaninoff concerti with Eugene Ormandy. Järvi was Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1990-2005. Laredo has enjoyed a career of over six decades as a soloist, teacher, conductor, and chamber musician.
Photo: George Szell, Unknown Author, Michiganesian, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
Thursday, June 6, 2024
This evening the Thursday Night Opera House presents Giacomo Puccini’s Il Trittico, consisting of three works performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Antonio Pappano.
Suor Angelica
Angelica belongs to an aristocratic Florentine family and is forced to don a nun’s habit after she gives birth to an illegitimate child. There is no respite for her at the convent, only tragedy.
Il Tabarro
At sunset on the Seine, there sits an old cargo barge, owned by elderly Michele. He has married the much younger Giorgetta, but she is passionate for another. Gianni Schicchi: Wealthy Buosu Donati has died, leaving his assets to the monks, not his family. Outraged, greedy and wanting to be rich, his heirs engage in a comic ruse with the wily
Gianni Schicchi
Amid the mayhem, Lauretta sings the beloved aria, “O mio babbino caro”, pleading with her father to marry her true love, Rinuccio.
The performance begins at 7 p.m. Eastern.
On June 6 we observe the birthdays of English composer Sir John Stainer (1840-1901), American composer Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987, and Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978). Stainer was noted in his day for revitalizing the choir of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London. Persichetti counted Philip Glass, Richard Danielpour, and Peter Schickele among his students. Khachaturian studied with Reinhold Glière.
Photos: Sir John Stainer, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia.org; Vincent Persichetti, Unknown Author, Philadelphia Music Alliance, Fair Use; Aram Khachaturian, Rob Mierement/Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Here at The Classical Station, we believe in developing and sustaining a community of classical music lovers by nurturing, educating, and offering the human side of music. One of the ways we do that is by speaking with performers, conductors, and composers on Preview! every Sunday evening at approximately 7 p.m. Eastern. Now, if you were busy and missed some of our interviews, not to worry. We have them all archived for you.
These musicians are passionate about their art. It’s fascinating to hear them talk about their early years, the influences which shaped their careers, and so much more. Thank you for making these interviews possible.
On June 5 we observe the birthday of Argentine pianist Martha Argerich (1941-)
Ms. Argerich is widely considered one of her generation’s finest concert pianists. As Medici.tv notes: “With her broad and varied repertoire, carefully chosen and never conformist, Martha Argerich has dominated the piano world since the 1960s. Endowed with a phenomenal technique, she has been able to put her personal stamp on the most demanding works in the repertoire, from Liszt to Prokofiev, and at the same time draw out all the keyboard colour for the musical worlds of Ravel and Messiaen. An impassioned and instinctively collaborative musician, she has increasingly focused less on solo recitals and more on chamber music and concertos, in fruitful partnerships with violinist Gidon Kremer and conductor Charles Dutoit.”
Photo: Adriano Heitman
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
The Summer edition of Quarter Notes®, the beautifully designed member magazine of WCPE Radio, The Classical Station, was mailed last week. Our informative guide to the upcoming quarter’s music programming, each new issue contains music listings and
- Quarterly programming highlights
- Announcer profiles
- Articles about composers and performers
- Book and CD reviews
Our goal is to enhance the appreciation and understanding of classical music while encouraging you to continue being a member of our 100% listener-supported station. Click on the cover image on the left to download a PDF of the current issue. To enjoy a subscription to Quarter Notes, make a donation and become a member of WCPE, The Classical Station.
Would you like to request a complimentary copy of the current issue of Quarter Notes? Send an e-mail to the Membership department. You can even give a friend a gift of Quarter Notes!
On June 4 we observe the birthdays of American baritone Robert Merrill (1917-2004) and Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli (1966-).
Robert Merrill enjoyed a successful career both on the opera stage and in musicals, radio and television. Ms. Bartoli made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1996.
Photos: Robert Merrill, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Cecilia Bartoli, Erinc Salor, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Monday, June 3, 2024
This evening, Monday Night at the Symphony features the Berlin Philharmonic, which was founded in 1882. The program includes music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Peter I. Tchaikovsky, Felix Mendelssohn, and more conducted by Herbert von Karajan, Mariss Jansons, and current Music Director Kirill Petrenko.
The concert begins at 8 PM Eastern. Tell your smart speaker to “Play The Classical Station.”
The June edition of My Life in Music features conductor Kwamé Ryan. Kwamé Ryan was born in Canada and grew up on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, where he received his early musical education. He completed his studies in the U.K. and Hungary, reading Musicology at Cambridge University. Maestro Ryan was recently appointed Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
Join Rob Kennedy for My Life In Music this evening at 7 p.m. Eastern.
On June 3, we observe the birthday of American lyric tenor Jan Peerce (1904-1984).
Born Jacob Pincus Perlmuth on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Peerce was highly regarded as a Verdi tenor. In fact, when Toscanini heard him sing on the radio, he engaged Peerce for a concert at Carnegie Hall. Peerce became the maestro’s “go-to tenor” and was featured in many historic recordings. Jan Peerce was active until 1982 on the concert stage and venues worldwide.
Photo: Jan Peerce, Halsman, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
