This Week at The Classical Station
by Chrissy Keuper
Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, 2024
Hello, Weekend!
Tune into The Classical Station for a great soundtrack to whatever you have planned.
Saturday:
Find the upcoming highlights of our daily music programming here, anytime. Saturday’s playlist includes George Frederic Handel’s Water Music, Suite No. 3 in G; the Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 by Johannes Brahms; Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture to Ruy Blas, Op. 95, and so much more.
And then join Haydn Jones at 6pm ET for the Saturday Evening Request Program. The playlist is here, and you can make requests for next week’s programs here.
Sunday:
The Tallis Scholars, c. 2022. (Photo by Hugo Glendinning – Courtesy of James Brown Management International)
Great Sacred Music includes performances by the King’s Consort and Choir, the Tallis Scholars, and organist Kenneth Gilbert, with works by Luigi Boccherini, Johann Sebastian Bach, and more. This week’s featured work is Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez. Join Mick Anderson for Great Sacred Music at 8am ET, following Sing for Joy.
And Preview! features the latest recordings from the classical music world, as well as Rob Kennedy’s interview with cellist Matt Haimovitz about his recent recording of Thomas de Hartmann’s Cello Concerto. Join us at 6pm ET for Preview!
On these dates in the history of classical music:
Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams walking in the Malvern Hills, c. 1921. (Photo by William Gillies Whittaker – Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
English composer, teacher, and trombonist Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst) was born September 21, 1874, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Young Holst was a talented musician who played piano (loved it), violin (hated it), and trombone (which apparently helped improve his asthma). He wanted to be a pianist, but neuritis in his right arm prevented him from realizing that dream. Instead, he pursued composition and began composing when he was 12, writing works for piano and organ; songs and anthems; and a symphony. Holst’s formal musical education began in Oxford, studying counterpoint with George Frederick Sims, organist of Merton College, followed by his first professional appointment at age 17, as organist and choirmaster at Wyck Rissington, Gloucestershire and conductor of the Bourton-on-the-Water Choral Society. He applied for a scholarship at the Royal College of Music, but it was won that year by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Holst was accepted as a non-scholarship student and began attending in 1893, studying composition under Charles Villiers Stanford (fellow student Ralph Vaughan Williams became a lifelong friend) and playing the trombone professionally to support himself. He left school in 1898 “to learn by doing,” and focused on composing while taking posts as an organist and playing trombone in theatre orchestras and with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In 1903, he began to replace his professional music gigs with teaching, at James Allen’s Girls’ School, Dulwich, until 1921; at St Paul’s Girls’ School, Hammersmith, from 1905 until his death in 1934; and at Morley College from 1907 to 1924. Musically, Holst was highly influenced by Gilbert and Sullivan (he wrote music for the Gilbert & Sullivan-inspired operetta Lansdown Castle (The Sorcerer of Tewkesbury) in 1892); Richard Wagner; Richard Strauss; friend, critic, and collaborator Ralph Vaughan Williams; Maurice Ravel; and English madrigals and folk songs. He is perhaps best known for (and found international fame with) his orchestral suite The Planets, written just after World War I, and composers (and Holst students) Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten both named him as an influence on their own work.
Hugh Cecil Bean, c. 1994. (Photo by Jayson Brinkler – Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London NPG x76943)
And English violinist Hugh Bean was born September 22, 1929, in Beckenham, Kent. Bean’s father gave him his first violin lessons as a child, then he became a student of Albert Sammons at the age of nine (for the next 20 years). At 17, as a student at the Royal College of Music (RCM), Bean won the principal prize for violin and went on to win more prizes over the next several years. He became professor of violin at RCM at 24 (until 1990) and also worked as an orchestral performer before becoming leader of the Philharmonia Orchestra (1956–67); member of the Music Group of London (1966-1976); co-leader of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1967-1969); and freelance performer until 1989, when he returned to the Philharmonia Orchestra as co-leader and then Leader Emeritus. Bean toured and performed extensively, both as a soloist and with ensembles and orchestras, and made many recordings.
Enjoy your weekend! And thank you SO MUCH for supporting The Classical Station.
Friday, September 20, 2024
Today is All-Request Friday, and we’re playing your favorites and dedications all day today, and then again tomorrow on the Saturday Evening Request Program. The playlists for the request programs are here if you’d like to know when yours will air, and if you want to make a request for next week, you can do that here. It’s a huge highlight of the week for our announcers (and your fellow listeners) to hear what you’ve chosen!
Attention: Ticket Giveaway (Wednesday September 25)
Next Wednesday during Classical Café (between 11am-12pm ET), we’ll be giving away a pair of tickets, sponsored by Duke Arts:
Pianist Schaghajegh Nosrati will give a recital on Sunday September 29 at 7pm ET in Baldwin Auditorium on Duke University’s East Campus in Durham, North Carolina. Tune in and win some tickets to what is sure to be an amazing performance.
On today’s date in classical music history:
Agnes Tyrrell, date unknown. (Jitka Bajgarová – Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
It’s the birthdate of English and Czech pianist and composer Agnes Tyrrell in 1846 in Brno, then the regional capital of Moravia, Austro-Hungarian Empire. Tyrell was a child piano prodigy; she was nine when she gave her first public piano recital, and she became a student at the Vienna Conservatory when she was sixteen. She studied piano in Vienna with Adalbert Pacher and composition in Brno with Otto Kitzler (Anton Bruckner’s teacher). She had a very active career as a pianist and a composer, but heart problems prevented her from performing so she focused on her compositions, instead. Tyrell only lived to be 36 years old, but she was a prolific composer: 39 compositions for solo piano; 55 vocal works including songs, choral music, oratorio, and opera; and several major orchestral works, making her one of the few women who composed a symphony before 1900; her entire catalog of published works is kept by the Kaprálová Society (named for composer and conductor Vítězslava Kaprálová). Her Overture in C Minor had its world premiere performance in 2018 at the Frauenkomponiert Festival in Bern; it was recorded by Swiss Radio and it’s the only known recording of her orchestral music (you can access it via the embed below).
Thursday, September 19, 2024
A very good Friday Eve to all of you, wherever you may be!
Join us at 7pm ET for Thursday Night Opera House* and hear the 1961 recording of Tullio Serafin conducting the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala Milano and amazing soloists in Vincenzo Bellini’s masterpiece, Norma (1831). Virtuosity abounds in this bel canto tragedy, set in Roman-occupied Gaul and centered on the love triangle of Druid high priestess Norma (Maria Callas), Roman proconsul Pollione (Franco Corelli), and young Druid priestess Adalgisa (Christa Ludwig).
*This is an archival broadcast (2021) by the late Al Ruocchio.
On this date in the history of classical music:
Kurt Sanderling conducting the Berlin Philharmonic and Chorus in the Palace of the Republic, Berlin, in a dress rehearsal for a concert celebrating the 750th anniversary of the city of Berlin, c. 1987. (Photo from the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv (BArch)) – Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
It’s the birthdate of German conductor Kurt Sanderling in 1912 in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Orzysz, Poland). Sanderling was an early piano student in Arys, then in nearby Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), and then in Berlin in 1931. He was 18 years old when he was appointed rehearsal director and assistant conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Städtische Oper, Charlottenburg), and he later said that he learned from watching Bruno Walter, Erich Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, and Wilhelm Furtwängler, all of whom were conducting in Berlin at that time. Two years later, the Nazi regime declared Sanderling “non-Aryan” (he was Jewish) and removed him from the post. He worked briefly for the Jewish Cultural Federation and then moved to the Soviet Union where he found work with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra (1936) and then was appointed conductor of the Kharkiv Philharmonic Orchestra (1939). From 1942 to 1960, Sanderling was joint principal conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic (with Yevgeny Mravinsky) and it was during this tenure that he met musical collaborator and friend Dmitri Shostakovich. In 1960, he returned to East Germany to conduct the Berlin Symphony Orchestra (holding the post until 1977), while also serving as chief conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle (1964-1967) and guest conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra (1972-1996, when he was appointed Conductor Emeritus). He was guest conductor with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (from 1979); Conductor Emeritus of the Madrid Symphony Orchestra; frequent guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and guest conductor with orchestras in Australia and throughout Europe. Sanderling recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He retired in 2002, the same year he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and received Berlin’s highest honor, the Ernst Reuter Plaque of Berlin.
Tomorrow is All-Request Friday! Did you make a request/dedication? Access the playlist here to see when it will broadcast. And if you want to make one for next week’s request programs, you can always do that here.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Hello, All! Are you having a good week?
We hope you’re listening, and we thank you for supporting The Classical Station.
On this date in the history of classical music:
Agnes De Mille with Richard Rodgers (music), and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics) at rehearsal for Allegro, c. 1947. (Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library – Courtesy of Library of Congress)
It’s the birthdate of American dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille in 1905 in New York City. It could be argued that de Mille was born to be on stage: Her father (William C. de Mille) and her uncle (Cecil B. De Mille) were Hollywood directors, and her paternal grandparents were playwrights Henry Churchill de Mille and Matilda Beatrice de Mille. De Mille wanted a career as an actress and a dancer, but she was dissuaded by her parents (at least until she graduated from UCLA with a degree in English). She taught herself dance by watching stars at work on the Hollywood sets run by her father and uncle, and she was more motivated by character work than by traditional dance techniques. In 1933, she moved to London to study with Dame Marie Rambert and joined The Ballet Club (later Ballet Rambert) and Antony Tudor’s London Ballet. Back in the U.S. in 1938, de Mille began choreographing for the newly formed Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre) where she made history by choreographing Obeah (Black Ritual) for the company’s African-American dancers (the first performance by black dancers in a ballet performance in New York). Her first internationally recognized work was Rodeo (1942), staged for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo to a score by Aaron Copland. She was hired next to choreograph the musical Oklahoma! (1943) for stage (as well as for the 1955 film). In 1973, de Mille founded the Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre (later Heritage Dance Theatre) and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. She won many other awards including the Tony Award for Best Choreography (1947, for Brigadoon; 1962, for Kwamina), the Handel Medallion for achievement in the arts (1976), a Kennedy Center Honor (1980), and the National Medal of Arts (1986). President John F. Kennedy appointed de Mille to the National Advisory Committee on the Arts when it was created (predecessor to the National Endowment for the Arts); President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her to the NEA after its creation. She continued to choreograph throughout her life, especially for the Broadway stage.
Simone Dinnerstein, c. 2022. (Photo by Simone Dinnerstein – Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
And it’s the birthday of pianist Simone Dinnerstein in New York City in 1972. Dinnerstein was a student in the pre-college program at the Manhattan School of Music, then auditioned at age 15 with Maria Curcio in London. She attended the Juilliard School of Music, but dropped out to study with Curcio, then went back to Juilliard to study as a student of Peter Serkin. She self-financed her first recording: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations (2007), which launched an international career, hit No.1 on the Billboard classical music CD sales chart, and was one of the highest-selling albums of the year. Dinnerstein tours as a solo pianist, performs with orchestras all over the world, and directs her own ensemble, Baroklyn. She has recorded over a dozen chart-topping albums, and Philip Glass composed his Piano Concerto No. 3 for her.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Good Day, Listeners!
Don’t forget:
We’ll have a ticket giveaway tomorrow during Classical Café (between 11am-12pm ET) for the Halle Cultural Arts Center’s Classical Concert Series. Tune in and win!
And if you haven’t put in your requests for All-Request Friday and the Saturday Evening Request Program, what are you waiting for? We can’t wait to hear what you’ve chosen for us this week!
Are you a business owner?
Reach out to our worldwide audience AND support WCPE/The Classical Station, your community, public radio, classical music, and your business by becoming one of our Business Sponsors! More information is here (or email WCPE’s business development specialist Mary Moonen).
On this date in classical music (and broadcasting) history:
Peter Allen in the broadcast booth at the Metropolitan Opera, c. 2000. (Photo by Nancy Siesel, The New York Times)
It’s the birthdate of musician, actor, narrator, radio broadcaster, and longtime MET Opera network announcer Peter Allen (born Harold Levy) in 1920 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Allen was an early student of violin and viola; he and his parents moved to Cleveland, Ohio, during his childhood, where he grew up and attended Ohio State University. While a student, he was principal violist in OSU’s student orchestra. Allen served in the U.S. Navy during WWII as a lieutenant in command of a minesweeper. When he returned to civilian life, he began a career in radio at WOSU (now WVSG) then went to work at WQXR in New York City (1947) until 1974. While at WQXR, Allen was an actor and television and film narrator (he narrated more than 100 films during his life), as well as a standby announcer for Milton Cross, host of the live Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts since the 1930s. When Cross died suddenly in 1975, Allen took over, broadcasting from a booth inside the auditorium, standing at a podium and using binoculars to watch the action on the stage. He hosted more than 500 broadcasts before resigning in 2004 (he was succeeded by Margaret Juntwait) and was also the announcer for Live from the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts on television.
We thank you for listening to The Classical Station and for your support. It means so much to us to be able to connect with you through such thought-provoking and beautiful music. You can access our playlists here to find out what’s coming up later today, tonight, tomorrow…
Monday, September 16, 2024
Hello, Listeners! Welcome to a brand new week of fantastic music here on The Classical Station.
Join us this evening at 8pm ET for Monday Night at the Symphony, featuring the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, and current Music Director Jaap van Zweden. The program includes music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Emil von Reznicek, Carl Nielsen, and more.
On this date in classical music history:
Claude Paul Taffanel, c. 1890. (Photograph by Bary at Photographie Benque, Paris – Courtesy of Library of Congress)
French flutist, conductor, and educator (also credited founder of the French Flute School that dominated flute composition and performance in the 20th century) Claude Paul Taffanel was born in Bordeaux in 1844. Taffanel took his first flute lessons from his father and gave his first concert at the age of ten; he then studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating in 1860 and winning the first of his awards for flute performance that year, as well. He spent the next 30 years touring and performing, developing his career as a soloist and orchestra member, and he was acknowledged to be the foremost flutist of his time. He was also instrumental in reestablishing the flute in mainstream classical music. Taffanel was appointed Professor of Flute at the Conservatoire in 1893 (then head of the orchestra class in 1897) and completely revamped the school’s repertoire and teaching methods, which included a major revival of early music for flute; he focused especially on works by Johann Sebastian Bach and other baroque composers. Taffanel founded the Société de musique de chambre pour instruments à vent (Society of Chamber Music for Wind Instruments) in 1879, reviving wind ensemble music of Mozart and Beethoven and encouraging the composition of new works, particularly by French composers. He was also a conductor and was the first flutist to hold the positions of chief conductor at both the Paris Opéra and the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire from 1890 to 1906.
Duke Ellington (center), with Reverend C. Julian Bartlett (left) and Bishop James Pike (right), announcing the Concert of Sacred Music, c. 1965.(Photo by Art Frisch, The Chronicle – Courtesy of Library of Congress)
And it’s the anniversary of the 1965 Concert of Sacred Music, the first of three concerts of sacred music composed by Duke Ellington. The first was at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California, and included Ellington’s song In the Beginning God, which won a Grammy Award in 1967. The Second Sacred Concert was at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in 1968, and the Third Sacred Concert was in 1973 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. Ellington said these concerts were the most important thing he’d ever done.
Ticket Giveaway:
Tune in this Wednesday (September 18) between 11am-12pm ET during Classical Café with George Leef to win a pair of tickets to the Halle Cultural Arts Center’s Classical Concert Series. It’s the 10th Anniversary of the series and there are some great concerts lined up!