~Program~
Frédéric Chopin: Ballade No. 3 in A flat, Op. 47
Abdel Rahman el Bacha, piano
Lebanese pianist Abdel Rahman el Bacha (1958-) studied at the Paris Conservatoire where he was a prize-winner. He is reputed to play all the works of Chopin from memory. His recording of Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 was released on the Mirare label earlier this year.
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
City of Birmingham Symphony, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla
Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla recently signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. She conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the much-loved Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The CD on the DG label is entitled Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla: The British Project.
Louise Farrenc: Variations concertantes on a Swiss melody, Op. 20
Daniele Orlando, violin; Linda Di Carlo, piano
French composer Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was ahead of her time. A brilliant teacher, she was appointed Professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatoire in 1842. This evening violinist Daniele Orlando and pianist Linda Di Carlo perform Farrenc’s Variations concertantes on a Swiss melody, Op. 20. You can find this on a Brilliant Classics CD released earlier this year.
Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 (in one movement)
Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern
Samuel Barber completed his Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 (in one movement) in 1936. He dedicated it to his companion, the composer Gian Carlo Menotti.This evening we hear it performed by the Kansas City Symphony conducted by Michael Stern. It’s on a CD entitled One Movement Symphonies on the Reference Recordings label.
Rob Kennedy speaks with conductor Andrew Shenton about his recent release, Voices of Earth and Air, Volume III.
Christopher J. Hoh: Music at The Heart of Creation
Vox Futura, Andrew Shenton
English conductor and composer, Andrew Shenton is Professor of Music and James R. Houghton Scholar of Sacred Music at Boston University’s School of Theology. Voices of Earth and Air was released in 2020 on the Navona label.</small
Linda Robbins Coleman: For a Beautiful Land
Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra, Reuben Blundell
American composer Linda Robbins Coleman (1954-) wrote this work in 1996 to celebrate her native state of Iowa. It’s on American Discoveries released by New Focus Recordings.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat, Op. 19
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Krystian Zimerman, piano
The artists recorded this concerto during a series of live-stream performances in December 2020. Deutsche Grammaphon released it as part of the recording entitled Ludwig van Beethoven : Complete Piano Concertos.
Gustav Mahler: Finale from Symphony No. 10
Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vanska
When Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra released their stunning new recording of Gustav Mahler’s Unfinished Symphony No. 10, we were eager to showcase it on Preview! You can hear Elizabeth Elliott’s interview with Maestro Vänskä, an interview that originally aired on May 23, 2021.
Louis Guglielmi: La vie en rose
Daniel Hope, violin; Christoph Israel, piano
Spanish composer Louis Guglielmi (1916-1991) or Louiguy as he was known, set lyrics by French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Daniel Hope and Christoph Israel recorded it in 2020 in a virtual, live stream concert from Daniel Hope’s living room in Berlin. Deutsche Grammaphon released the CD in 2020.
Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D. 417 “Tragic”
B’Rock Orchestra, René Jacobs
The B’Rock Orchestra, founded in 2005 in Ghent, Belgium, brings new vibrancy to the music of Baroque and Classical composers. The name is a play on the words “baroque” and “rock”. René Jacobs, who is well-known for his early music performances, conducts Schubert’s Symphonies 4 & 5 on a Pentaton release.
Rob Kennedy
August 22, 2021