One of Mexico's most renowned classical composers, Ortiz's latest work was commissioned by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and inspired by Mexico's first liberator of slaves.
The classical flutist came back from the hospital after receiving an Alzheimer's diagnosis and felt compelled to write. The result is a stunning memoir that mixes poetry and prose.
What do Gertrude Stein, Billy Joel and Robert Burns have in common? Their words all show up in a new song by Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw.
His radical combination of symphonic and popular music comes eight years after a controversial statement about the word "jazz."
The British conductor, harpsichordist and scholar helped reignite interest in works by composers like Monteverdi — but he also championed new works and wrote notable film scores of his own.
Ten years ago, Costanzo had surgery that threatened to destroy his singing voice. Now the countertenor is starring as a gender-fluid Egyptian pharaoh in a new production by the Metropolitan Opera.
It's the latest release from his forthcoming score to The Decalogue , the artist's latest collaboration with ballet choreographer Justin Peck.
Joker is a psychological character study of a disturbed man who turns violent. To give the comic book villain human depth, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir had to dig deep and empathize with the character.
This latest release in Naxos’ ongoing series The Music of Brazil features chamber works and concertos by Heitor Villa-Lobos, one of Brazil’s best known and most prolific composers. He wrote more than two thousand pieces and was a major figure in the development of classical music in Brazil. Raymond Bisha introduces a colourful programme that Read More ...
Beethoven certainly has the wind in his sails with this tremendous release of music for wind ensemble, a genre that formed a regular part of entertainment in the composer’s day. Included on the recording, for example, is his Sextet for winds in E flat major that was well received by a critic at the time Read More ...
If playlists had been available in the 18th century, Magna Sequentia II would undoubtedly have enjoyed an enthusiastic reception, with its varied track list embodying a theme of music by association. In her second of three Magna Sequentias, pianist Sonia Rubinsky leads with J. S. Bach’s Overture in the French Style and follows by building Read More ...
The internationally respected artists on this release are well known to Naxos followers: pianist Boris Giltburg (whose recordings of Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann and Rachmaninov have been universally acclaimed); and conductor Vasily Petrenko (whose edition of the complete Shostakovich symphonies has been recognised as a historic recording milestone). They come together now in Beethoven’s first two Read More ...
Raymond Bisha introduces a new recording of music by Austrian composer Hanns Eisler who, in his late years, concentrated increasingly on adapting his film scores for the concert hall. He also began his Leipzig Symphony during this period, but it was left unfinished at the time of his death. Thilo Medek, a young composer at Read More ...
This podcast introduces Vol. 2 in our ground-breaking The Music of Brazil series, a five-year project to record around 100 mostly orchestral works by 19th and 20th-century Brazilian composers, many in world premiere recordings. Released in February, Vol. 1 (8.574067) featured works by Alberto Nepomuceno. Gramophone declared it “urgently recommended”. We follow up with chamber Read More ...
The Creatures of Prometheus was Beethoven’s only full-length ballet score. The work premiered in March 1801 and the composer’s own version for piano solo was published later the same year. The work relates the story from Greek mythology of Prometheus, a lofty spirit who endeavoured to lift human beings from a state of ignorance into Read More ...
Raymond Bisha and composer Derek Bermel discuss the latter’s Migrations, a 3-work programme that observes the universal phenomenon of human transit through an eclectic mix of styles: Migration series depicts the movement of African Americans from the south to the north of the United States in search of a better life during the first half of the 20th Read More ...
As Naxos reaches Vol. 19 of its 23-volume edition of the music of John Philip Sousa, Raymond Bisha talks with the musical director of the project, Keith Brion, a world authority on Sousa’s music, who conducts throughout.
For those unfamiliar with the name of Nikolay Yakovlevich Myaskovsky, Raymond Bisha’s podcast presents the composer’s calling card as the ‘father of the Soviet symphony’. Having lived from 1881 to 1950, Myaskovsky spent all his life under the restrictive influence of Joseph Stalin, yet managed to produce 27 symphonies that preserved his individual voice. This Read More ...
Listening Guide With Lew Smoley and Howard Nevison Rhinemaidens Olga Schramm-Tschörner, Anni Konetzni, Emmy Neiendorf Doris Doe, Stella Andreva, Irra Petina Erna Berger, Lucine Amara, Hertha Glaz Dorothea Siebert, Claudia Hoffmann, Sona Cervena Helen Donath, Edda Moser, Anna Reynolds Alberich’s Theft Eduard Habich, Doris Doe, Stella Andreva and Irra Petina Gustav Neidlinger Otakar Kraus Zoltan […]
With Lew Smoley
With Lew Smoley, Dennis Rooney, and Sedgwick Clark
Get a free MP3 of Peter Tchaikovsky - Manfred: II. Vivace con spirito. And don't forget to sign up for the new Daily Download newsletter so you never miss a free classical track!
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Get a free MP3 of Gabriel Faure - Shylock: Finale. And don't forget to sign up for the new Daily Download newsletter so you never miss a free classical track!
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It's Chopin, playing as gorgeous and as fleeting as the last rays of the sun on a late Autumn day. Award-winning Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov's Frederic Chopin Society recital in October included Chopin's Nocturne Op. 15, No. 1. Kolesnikov makes the piano sing. His performance is in this week's Regional Spotlight.
Welcome to Classical Kids Storytime! Today's story is all about a girl who has many names all around the world, but you probably know her best as Cinderella. Our classical version is based on Rossini's famous opera and features illustrations by Nancy Carlson.
Back in the fall of 2010, flutist Karen Baumgartner was Minnesota Varsity's very first entrant. Karen is now a professional musician and flute instructor, and she's shared with us her thoughtful and inspiring essay about how her early striving for a career in music has evolved over the years to encompass a wider and more meaningful world view.
Looking for something fun to do this weekend in the Twin Cities or elsewhere in the region? Classical MPR host John Birge offers his picks in classical music, theater and more for the weekend of Nov. 15, including Trumpet Day at the University of Minnesota.