Boyce Lancaster interviews Christopher O’Riley

Christopher O’Riley
Recorded May 8, 2007

LISTEN (Running time: 7:39. 14.0 MB)

BOYCE LANCASTER TALKS WITH CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY

Christopher O’Riley is a classical pianist who studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. He has received awards at the Leeds, Van Cliburn, Busoni and Montreal competitions, as well as an Avery Fisher Career Grant. O’Riley has made many recordings of classical music. including works of Maurice Ravel, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jean-Philippe Rameau, John Adams, Igor Stravinsky, and Alexander Scriabin. He is also the host of the weekly National Public Radio program “From the Top,” on which young musicians are heard and interviewed.

He was in Columbus preparing for a live taping of the show when Boyce Lancaster interviewed him.

See www.fromthetop.org

Licia Albanese on Toscanini

Licia Albanese on Toscanini
Recorded March 26, 2007

LISTEN  (Running time: 16:59. 38.8 MB)

Soprano Licia Albanese shares her memories of the great conductor Arturo Toscanini, who died fifty years ago. Mme Albanese sang Mimi in “La Boheme” and Violetta in “La Traviata” on Toscanini’s broadcasts
with the NBC symphony in the 1940s. These recordings have never been out of print. She sang at the Metropolitan from 1940 to 1966 and continued her career for years afterward. Today, at 94, Albanese gives master classes for, and financial assistance to, young artists through the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation. We spoke from her home in New York on March 26, 2007.

See also www.lapfny.org for the Albanese Puccini Foundation

Rostropovich

In memory of Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, we present an interview from our archives…

Interview with Dr. Margarita Mazo
Recorded March 15, 2007, WOSU studios
Interviewed by Christopher Purdy

Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich born March 27, 1927, affectionately known as Slava, is a Russian and American cellist and conductor, considered by some to be one of the greatest cellists ever. Cellist, conductor, teacher, political activist, and humantarian, he celebrated his 80th birthday recently, and is recovering from cancer surgery in Moscow.

Dr. Magarita Mazo is a professor of music at The Ohio State University, and has worked with Rostropovich. She gives valuable insights into this artist.

Part 1. (MP3. Length – 4:27)
Rostropovich as conductor, and his collaborations with great composers.

Part 2. (MP3. Length – 4:39)
Rostropovich and Russia. His exile from the Soviet Union, 1974-1990, when he and his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, were ordered out of the country for sheltering Alexandr Slozhenitsyn.

Part 3. (MP3. Length – 4:53)
Rostopovich, Vishnevskaya, and their lives, and the perceptions of them in Russia today, and through the world.

See www.rostropovich.org to learn more about the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation

The Sound of radio

As WOSU Public Media enters into a new era and takes on the challenge of incorporating new and exciting types of programming, quality, which should never play second fiddle to innovation, is still the primary focus. The purpose of public media is to offer informative and entertaining programming that is of the utmost quality, not necessarily for the purpose of attracting sponsorship, but to satisfy its viewers. Publicly funded organizations aren’t off the hook of accountability to corporate sponsors; rather, they’re accountable to the public, and therefore bear a much greater burden than most privately funded organizations.

            Michael Rathke’s job as Radio Program Director is to ensure this level of quality. He has been here only since December, so Rathke is still learning for himself what this requires at WOSU. But he is no stranger to these types of decisions. Rathke has worked as program director in several metropolitan areas, and is excited about bringing his experience to WOSU’s longstanding tradition of quality. “I was attracted to WOSU first because it offers two separate radio program services, and second, because the staff and management of WOSU are recognized nationally.”

            Rathke’s job is to ensure quality, and that means sometimes he’s faced with extremely difficult decisions. Alluding to competition offering satellite and Internet radio, he says, “People can listen to any public broadcast that they want every morning, so WOSU needs to offer programming that is not only good, but unique, to stay competitive.”

            In order to ensure this level of quality, Rathke spends the majority of his time paying strict attention to “the sound of the program.” He means this in a technical sense, equating the sound almost completely with the production value of a program. Since the majority of radio hosts on WOSU programming are seasoned veterans, he doesn’t need to spend much time evaluating the quality of their performances. In the future, Rathke looks forward to becoming more familiar with WOSU Public Media, merging his attentiveness to quality production with the already stellar cast of hosts to create some truly special programming for the new millennium.

- By Brett Renzenbrink, OSU student intern

 

EMI Podcasts

EMI announces New Podcasts
Don’t miss our new audio podcasts from Nina Stemme and Antonio Pappano discussing their new Strauss disc, and the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich in celebration of his 80th birthday.

http://www.emiclassics.co.uk/podcasts.php

This includes Mstislav Rostropovich at 80 (Audio Podcast)

Join radio broadcaster Jon Tolansky in a journey to explore the life and work of this larger-than-life figure. Understand why Rostropovich, affectionately known as Slava, is recognised at the world’s greatest living cellist.

Download as MP3

Free classical podcasts

Wikipedia provides links to many free classical pieces…

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Classical_music
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sound/list

Free classical podcasts on iTunes

No, this isn’t a “Free iTunes Tuesday” type of thing offered by Apple. There are a few podcasts available on iTunes that make recordings of classical music available free for your enjoyment. The first two podcasts are thanks to Deutsche Welle, a German international broadcasting service, and they are Beethovenfest and Classical Masterpieces.

So far, between the two, there is some Beethoven (obviously) as well as some Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, and Strauss. The best part about the podcasts is this: each piece is offered as a separate recording. I was suspicious that I’d be downloading one giant, 4-hour-long podcast with various pieces mixed in together, but that is thankfully not the case with these.
If you don’t mind a bunch of movements or pieces stuck together into one giant file, another one to check out might be the Magnatune Vivaldi podcast. Also available are the 1stpiano free piano podcast and the Cello podcast (mmmmm cello).

I’m sure there are even more that I haven’t had a chance to hunt out yet, but those are good for a start. Free podcasts of classical music make the Cheap Jacqui™ happy.

Source: http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/1/5/6490

BBC Proms

BBC Proms News – Thursday 21 December

Welcome to a special festive edition of the BBC Proms newsletter.  If you’ve been suffering from Proms deprivation since the 2006 season ended in September, we have good news! Tune in to Radio 3 over the holidays to catch repeat broadcasts of selected highlights from this year. And don’t forget that each programme will be available for 7 days after broadcast via the BBC Radio Player.

———————————-
LINKS
Proms website: www.bbc.co.uk/proms
Radio 3: www.bbc.co.uk/radio3
www.bbc.co.uk/music
Keep in touch with the Proms on the move. Join our text club and visit the Proms WAP site:
more details at www.bbc.co.uk/proms/textclub

———————————-
PROMS REPEATS
24 December 2006: 1830-2015
Handel, arr. Mozart: Alexander’s Feast
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0108.shtml#prom24
English Concert, Andrew Manze

25 December 2006: 2200-2400
Mozart: Violin Concertos, Sinfonia Concertante, Symphony No. 29
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/1308.shtml#prom40
UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Maxim Vengerov

26 December 2006: 2315-2400
Mozart: Rondo, Sonata in A, Fantasia in D minor
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/1708.shtml#prom46
András Schiff

27 December 2006: 1930-2130
Shostakovich: The Golden Age, Schnittke: Viola Concerto, Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 ‘Pathétique’
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/1808.shtml#prom47
Yuri Bashmet, LSO, Valery Gergiev

27 December 2006: 2200-2400
Michael Haydn: Requiem, Mozart: Mass in C minor
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0708.shtml#prom33
King’s Consort, Robert King

28 December 2006: 1930-2130
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1, Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0209.shtml#prom65
Frank Peter Zimmermann, Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle

28 December 2006: 2200-2400
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 34 & 38, Piano Concerto No. 24
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/2808.shtml#prom59
Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Ivor Bolton

29 December 2006: 1930-2130
Debussy: Preludes, Kyburz: Noesis, Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 25 & 40
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0109.shtml#prom64
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle

31 December 2006: 2145-2400
Last Night of the Proms – Prokofiev, Elgar, Wood, Parry
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0909.shtml#prom73
Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Viktoria Mullova, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Mark Elder

1 January 2007: 1930-2145
Rossini, Donizetti, Falla, Chabrier and Latin American songs
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/2507.shtml#prom15
Juan Diego Flórez, BBC Concert Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth

1 January 2007: 2215-2400
The Great Venetians
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/2607.shtml#prom17
Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner

2 January 2007: 1930-2130
Henze: Five Messages for the Queen of Sheba, Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/2908.shtml#prom60
Orchestre National de France, Kurt Masur

2 January 2007: 2200-2400
Late Night Steve Reich, including Drumming
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/1008.shtml#prom37
Colin Currie, Richard Benjafield, Sam Walton, Joby Burgess, Antoine Bedewi, Adrian Spillett, Dave Jackson, Owen Gunnell, Andrew Cottee, Rowland Sutherland, Synergy Vocals

3 January 2007: 1930-2130
Ives: Symphony No. 2, Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/3008.shtml#prom61
Lang Lang, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin

3 January 2007: 2200-2400
Henze: Voices
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0108.shtml#prom25
London Sinfonietta, Oliver Knussen

4 January 2007: 1930-2130
Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D major ‘Haffner’, Mass in C minor
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0809.shtml#prom72
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Sir Charles Mackerras

4 January 2007: 2200-2400
Mozart: Serenade ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’, Thamos, King of Egypt
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0209.shtml#matinee
OSJ Voices, Orchestra of St. John’s, John Lubbock

5 January 2007: 1930-2130
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0409.shtml#prom67
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach

8 January 2007: 1930-2105
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10, Bruch: Violin Concerto
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0709.shtml#prom71
Joshua Bell, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniele Gatti

9 January 2007: 1930-2110
Stravinsky: Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/2608.shtml#prom56
Gil Shaham, NDR Symphony Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi

10 January 2007: 1930-2105
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’
www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/0609.shtml#prom70
London Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Bernard Haitink

Next year’s Proms season will be announced on Wednesday 25 April.
BBC Proms website: www.bbc.co.uk/proms

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at the BBC Proms team.

(Posted by Scott Gowans)

Sir Paul

Paul McCartney’s Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart)
U.S. Broadcast Exclusive Live from Carnegie Hall

On November 14th, at 7:30 PM, NPR and WNYC present a live special broadcast of the only U.S. performance of Ecce Cor Meum, a work written by Sir Paul McCartney in the style of sacred English choral music, a tradition going back 500 years. It’s spiritual music, written in part right after the passing of McCartney’s wife Linda, and is the first piece of choral music McCartney has written to include a children’s chorus. It’s a new direction for him, and public radio listeners will have a chance to hear it live from America’s premier concert venue, Carnegie Hall. The special will also include an interview with Paul McCartney during the intermission.

NPR’s Fred Child and WNYC’s John Schaefer host.

 

The Program:

I. McCartney Songs performed in classical style

• “My Love” – featuring Kate Royal and the Loma Mar Quartet
• “Warm and Beautiful” – featuring Kate Royal and the Loma Mar Quartet
• “Calico Skies” – featuring Kate Royal, Andy Staples and the Loma Mar Quartet
• “Golden Earth Girl” – Andy Staples and the Loma Mar Quartet
• “Some Days” – featuring Andy Staples and the Loma Mar Quartet
• “Junk” – featuring Kate Royal, Andy Staples and the Loma Mar QuartetII.

  Classical pieces by Paul McCartney

• “Nova” – performed by the small Chamber Orchestra
• “The World Your Coming Into” – Featuring Kate Royal
• “Ghost Suite” – featuring Kate Royal and Andy Staples
• “Celebration” – featuring Kate Royal and Andy Staples

  Intermission – featuring an interview with Sir Paul McCartneyIII.

  II. American premiere of Paul McCartney’s Ecce Cor Meum
  Gavin Greenaway, conductor
  Kate Royal, soprano
  Orchestra of St. Luke’s
  Concert Chorale of New York (about 60 performers)
  American Boy Choir (about 35 performers)
  Colm Carey, organ

This program will on on WOSU 89.7 on November 14 at 7:30 PM.

(posted by Scott Gowans)

Contemporary Composers

Delve into the minds of contemporary music composers as they explain the ideas that fuel their sound.  For example, how do they use a flute to convey the frustration of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict or a violin to describe an ice skater gliding across a pond?  Visit the Public Arts section of our website to find out how musicians channel thoughts into sounds as composers explain their compositions.