Program Guide 12-13-2017
Almanac
December 13
1868 first performance of the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in Paris, conducted by Anton Rubinstein, with the composer as soloist; the work had been written in three weeks, and there was very little time to prepare for the premiere; the piece was not initially successful, but now it is Saint-Saëns’s most popular concerto.
1895 first complete performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’, by Berlin Philharmonic with the composer conducting; in the original program for the work (later withdrawn), the first movement represents a funeral and asks questions such as "Is there life after death?"; the second movement is a remembrance of happy times in the life of the deceased; the third movement presents a view of life as meaningless activity; the fourth movement is a wish for release from that life; and the fifth movement—after a return of the doubts of the third movement and the questions of the first—ends with a fervent hope for everlasting, transcendent renewal.
1913 premiere of Rachmaninoff’s choral symphonic poem The Bells in St. Petersburg with the composer conducting; text from the poem of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, very freely translated into Russian by the symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont; one of the composer’s favorite works; dedicated to Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
1928 first performance of George Gershwin's An American in Paris, at Carnegie Hall, by the New York Philharmonic, Walter Damrosch conducting; scored for a standard orchestra plus celesta, saxophones, and Parisian taxi horns which Gershwin had brought back from France; composer collaborated on the original program notes with critic and composer Deems Taylor: "My purpose here is to portray the impression of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city and listens to various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere."
Recording of the Week
Program Guide
00:00 CLASSICAL MUSIC with Angela Mitchell
00:02:00 00:26:29 Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor Op 57 Evgeny Kissin, piano DeutGram 4797581
00:34:00 00:17:39 George Gershwin An American in Paris Riccardo Chailly Cleveland Orchestra Decca 417326
00:53:00 00:29:10 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Concerto for Flute & Harp in C major Cleveland Orchestra Christoph von Dohnányi Joshua Smith, flute; Lisa Wellbaum, harp Decca 443175
01:25:00 00:38:26 Sergei Rachmaninoff The Bells Op 35 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Robert Shaw Renée Fleming, soprano; Karl Dent, tenor; Victor Ledbetter, baritone; Atlanta Symphony Chorus Telarc 80365
02:06:00 00:24:02 Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op 22 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Yoel Levi André Watts, piano Telarc 80386
02:32:00 01:22:51 Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 2 in C minor Cleveland Orchestra Christoph von Dohnányi Ruth Ziesak, soprano; Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano; Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MAA 1032
03:59:00 00:29:01 Antonín Dvorák Serenade for Strings in E major Op 22 Conrad van Alphen Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra Telarc 80623
04:31:00 00:24:42 Victor Hely-Hutchinson A Carol Symphony Gavin Sutherland City of Prague Philharmonic Naxos 557099
05:00:00 00:24:09 Ernö Dohnányi Variations on a Nursery Song Op 25 Buffalo Philharmonic JoAnn Falletta Eldar Nebolsin, piano Naxos 572303
05:26:00 00:14:04 Georges Bizet Variations chromatiques Martin West San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Reference 131
05:43:00 00:05:25 Francis Poulenc Suite in C major Pascal Rogé, piano Decca 425862
05:49:00 00:07:48 Johann Strauss Jr Fledermaus Quadrille Op 363 Willi Boskovsky Vienna Philharmonic Decca 4785437
06:00 BBC NEWS; CLASSICAL MUSIC with Jacqueline Gerber
06:07:00 00:03:52 Ottorino Respighi Ancient Airs Suite No. 2: Danza rustica Jesús López-Cobos Lausanne Chamber Orchestra Telarc 80309
06:15:00 00:09:19 Gustav Holst A Somerset Rhapsody Op 21 Richard Hickox London Symphony Chandos 9420
06:25:00 00:03:55 Frédéric Chopin Waltz No. 5 in A flat major Op 42 Garrick Ohlsson, piano Arabesque 6669
06:30:00 00:05:57 Maurice Ravel Scherzo from String Quartet in F major Jupiter String Quartet OberlinMus 1304
06:40:00 00:09:33 Johan Svendsen Allegro from Symphony No. 1 Op 4 Mariss Jansons Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra EMI 49769
06:52:00 00:03:52 Felix Mendelssohn Elijah: He Watching Over Israel Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Robert Shaw Atlanta Symphony Chorus Telarc 80119
06:55:00 00:02:33 John Philip Sousa March 'The High School Cadets' Frederick Fennell Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra Brain 7503
07:03:00 00:05:51 Howard Shore The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Nic Raine City of Prague Philharmonic Silva 1160
07:10:00 00:06:32 Luigi Boccherini Symphony No. 1 in D major Chiara Banchini Ensemble 415 Harm Mundi 901291
07:20:00 00:06:01 Cécile Chaminade Etude romantique Op 132 Joanne Polk, piano Steinway 30037
07:25:00 00:02:13 Franz Joseph Haydn Finale from String Quartet No. 53 Op 64 Angeles Quartet Decca 4783695
07:28:00 00:05:44 Giuseppe Verdi Alzira: Prelude Riccardo Muti La Scala Philharmonic Sony 62373
07:40:00 00:04:45 Philip Glass Harpsichord Concerto: Movement III West Side Chamber Orchestra Kevin Mallon Christopher D. Lewis, hc Naxos 573146
07:43:00 00:04:17 Earle Hagen Harlem Nocturne Quartet San Francisco ViolinJazz 105
07:50:00 00:04:44 Traditional Greensleeves Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Alexandre Lagoya, guitar; Michel Legrand, celeste Sony 87771
07:55:00 00:02:58 Kenneth J. Alford Colonel Bogey March John Williams Boston Pops Orchestra Sony 46747
08:07:00 00:06:25 Léo Delibes Coppélia: Prélude & Mazurka Martin West San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Reference 125
08:18:00 00:09:59 Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dance No. 2 Op 45 Vasily Petrenko Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Avie 2188
08:29:00 00:04:21 Antonín Dvorák Slavonic Dance No. 9 in B major Op 72 Christoph von Dohnányi Cleveland Orchestra Decca 430171
08:40:00 00:09:37 Franz Joseph Haydn Minuet & Finale from Symphony No. 100 Marc Minkowski Musicians of the Louvre Naïve 5176
08:50:00 00:03:33 Traditional The First Nowell Eugene Ormandy Philadelphia Orchestra Sony 87771
08:55:00 00:04:25 James Horner Titanic: My Heart Will Go On La Pietà Angèle Dubeau Angèle Dubeau, violin Analekta 8733
09:05:00 00:15:51 Charles Gounod Faust: Ballet Music Sir Georg Solti Orch of the Royal Opera House Decca 4785437
09:21:00 00:03:54 Morton Gould Pavanne from American Symphonette No. 2 David Alan Miller Albany Symphony Orchestra Albany 1174
09:28:00 00:03:34 Alex North Spartacus: Love Theme Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano Decca 455512
09:33:00 00:04:46 Gaetano Donizetti L'elisir d'amore: Una furtiva lagrima Orch del Teatro Regio di Parma Pier Giorgio Morandi Vittorio Grigolo, tenor Sony 775257
09:40:00 00:05:03 Salvatore Lanzetti Finale from Cello Sonata Op 1 Chamber Ensemble Juliana Soltis, cello Acis 72276
09:53:00 00:02:00 Traditional Jolly Old St. Nicholas Canadian Brass Eric Robertson, organ OpeningDay 7345
09:57:00 00:01:25 Lars-Erik Larsson A Winter's Tale: Intermezzo Op 18 Andrew Manze Helsingborg Symphony CPO 777671
10:00 CLASSICAL MUSIC with Mark Satola
10:01:00 00:02:33 Jean Sibelius Pelléas et Mélisande: Entr'acte Horst Stein Orch de la Suisse Romande Decca 4785437
10:04:00 00:03:41 Gabriel Fauré Sicilienne Op 78 Academy St. Martin in Fields Mathias Mönius Albrecht Mayer, oboe d'amore Decca 4782564
10:10:00 00:12:12 Robert Russell Bennett The Many Moods of Christmas: Medley Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Robert Shaw Atlanta Symphony Chorus Telarc 80087
10:24:00 00:06:03 Jean-Philippe Rameau Castor and Pollux: Chaconne Frans Brüggen Orchestra of the 18th Century Philips 426714
10:32:00 00:04:00 John Rutter Candlelight Carol John Rutter Royal Philharmonic Decca 1821
10:40:00 00:06:32 Daryl Runswick Fantasia on 'The Coventry Carol' and Geoffrey Simon London Cello Sound Cala 55003
10:49:00 00:10:16 Ottorino Respighi Fantasia slava BBC Philharmonic Sir Edward Downes Geoffrey Tozer, piano Chandos 9311
11:01:00 00:12:14 Herbert Howells Pastoral Rhapsody Richard Hickox London Symphony Chandos 9410
11:15:00 00:06:16 Claude Debussy Ballade Michel Beroff, piano Denon 18047
11:23:00 00:02:01 Léo Delibes Sylvia: Pizzicato Martin West San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Reference 125
11:25 A CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA CHRISTMAS
11:25:00 00:04:10 John Rutter Nativity Carol Cleveland Orchestra Robert Porco Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MAA 2011
11:29:00 00:02:55 Peter Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker: Miniature Overture Lorin Maazel Cleveland Orchestra Telarc 80068
11:32:00 00:04:01 Bob Chilcott Mid-winter Cleveland Orchestra Gareth Morrell Cleve Orch Children's Chorus MAA 1996
11:36:00 00:02:15 John Frederick Coots Santa Claus is Coming to Town Cleveland Orchestra Robert Page Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MAA 1999
11:41:00 00:02:17 William J. Kirkpatrick Away in a Manger Gareth Morrell Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MAA 1996
11:43:00 00:00:53 Anonymous Gaudete, Christus est natus Gareth Morrell Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MAA 1996
11:44:00 00:03:29 Traditional Deck the Halls Robert Porco Cleveland Orchestra MAA 2005
11:47:00 00:02:26 Anonymous Spiritual 'Go Tell It on the Mountain' Cleveland Orchestra Robert Page Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MAA 1999
11:50:00 00:01:20 Traditional Fum, fum, fum Cleveland Orchestra Robert Porco Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MAA 2011
11:51:00 00:02:47 Traditional Sussex Carol 'On Christmas Night' Cleveland Orchestra Robert Porco Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MAA 2011
12:00 CLASSICAL MUSIC with Mark Satola
12:07:00 00:07:08 Edmund Rubbra Festival Overture Op 62 Vernon Handley New Philharmonia Orchestra Lyrita 235
12:15:00 00:07:58 Philip Lane Wassail Dances Gavin Sutherland City of Prague Philharmonic Naxos 557099
12:26:00 00:04:01 Charles S. Belsterling March of the Steel Men Frederick Fennell Dallas Wind Symphony Reference 85
12:32:00 00:03:33 John Rutter Suite Antique: A Jazz Waltz West Side Chamber Orchestra Kevin Mallon John McMurtery, flute; Christopher D. Lewis, hc Naxos 573146
12:39:00 00:05:26 Claude Bolling Suite No. 1 for Flute & Jazz Piano: Tiempo Libre Sir James Galway, flute; Jorge Gomez, piano RCA 32164
12:48:00 00:09:03 Giacomo Meyerbeer L'étoile du nord: Overture Darrell Ang New Zealand Symphony Naxos 573195
12:58:00 00:01:25 Sergei Rachmaninoff Polka italienne Pierce & Jonas, piano 4 hands MSR 1260
THE BIG WORK AT ONE
13:01:00 00:28:19 Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 5 in E flat major Op 82 Christoph von Dohnányi Cleveland Orchestra MAA 1032
13:30:00 00:17:04 Edvard Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No. 2 Op 55 Bjarte Engeset Malmö Symphony Naxos 503293
13:48:00 00:08:01 Engelbert Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel: Overture Jeffrey Tate Bavarian Radio Symphony EMI 54022
13:58:00 00:01:03 Traditional Boar's Head Carol Robert Shaw Robert Shaw Chamber Singers Telarc 80377
14:00 CLASSICAL MUSIC with Mark Satola
14:00:00 00:02:34 Charles-Valentin Alkan Barcarolle in G minor Op 65 Ronald Smith, piano Arabesque 6523
14:03:00 00:02:53 Frédéric Chopin Waltz No. 9 in A flat major Op 69 Alexandre Tharaud, piano Harm Mundi 2908375
14:07:00 00:12:20 Leroy Anderson Suite of Carols for String Orchestra Leonard Slatkin BBC Concert Orchestra Naxos 559356
14:21:00 00:07:42 Gerald Finzi Romance in E flat major Op 11 Richard Hickox City of London Sinfonia Chandos 9888
14:31:00 00:07:23 Nigel Hess A Christmas Overture John Rutter Royal Philharmonic Collegium 133
14:40:00 00:12:02 Richard Strauss First Waltz Sequence from 'Der Kazuki Yamada Orch de la Suisse Romande PentaTone 518
14:53:00 00:04:59 Antonín Dvorák Silent Woods Op 68 Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Anna Polonsky, piano Decca 19765
15:00:00 00:15:04 Richard Strauss Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks Op 28 Christoph von Dohnányi Cleveland Orchestra Decca 436444
15:16:00 00:09:16 Various 'Songs of Angels' Pt. 2 Robert Shaw Robert Shaw Chamber Singers Telarc 80377
15:27:00 00:03:01 Ralph Vaughan Williams Five Tudor Portraits: My Pretty Bess New Philharmonia Orchestra Sir David Willcocks John Carol Case, baritone; Bach Choir EMI 64722
15:32:00 00:05:35 George Frideric Handel Messiah: Behold, A Virgin shall conceive Apollo's Fire Jeannette Sorrell Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo; Apollo's Singers Avie 2208
15:40:00 00:04:00 George Frideric Handel Messiah: For unto us a Child is born Harry Christophers The Sixteen Choir & Orch Coro 16062
15:47:00 00:09:58 Sir Arnold Bax The Happy Forest John Wilson Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Avie 2194
15:58:00 00:04:10 Arcangelo Corelli Largo pastorale from Concerto Grosso Op 6 Richard Kapp Philharmonia Virtuosi of NY Sony 87771
16:00 CLASSICAL MUSIC with Bill O’Connell; COMPOSERS DATEBOOK: Chopin Is Smitten
16:06:00 00:03:04 Johann Sebastian Bach Magnificat: Magnificat anima mea Bach-Collegium Stuttgart Helmut Rilling Gächinger Kantorei Sony 87771
16:12:00 00:12:12 Craig Courtney A Musicological Journey through 'The Symphony Orchestra Jerold Ottley Mormon Tabernacle Choir Bonneville 9402
16:28:00 00:04:28 Michael Chertock Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Il est ne Michael Chertock, piano Telarc 80485
16:36:00 00:03:24 Johnny Marks Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Michael Chertock, piano Telarc 80485
16:41:00 00:07:42 H. Balfour Gardiner Overture to a Comedy Richard Hickox Royal Northern Sinfonia EMI 49933
16:52:00 00:03:05 Traditional All Sons of Adam, Sing Nowell! Apollo's Fire Jeannette Sorrell Apollo's Singers Avie 2269
16:57:00 00:02:08 Eric Robertson Grand Angelic March Canadian Brass Eric Robertson, organ OpeningDay 7345
17:04:00 00:05:20 Traditional Quelle est cette odeur agréable? Ross Duffin Quire Cleveland Quire 102
17:18:00 00:02:40 Elizabeth Poston Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree Ross Duffin Quire Cleveland Quire 105
17:24:00 00:10:40 Antonio Vivaldi Guitar Concerto in D major Orchestra of St Luke's Eliot Fisk, guitar MusicMast 67097
17:40:00 00:03:18 Traditional Wexford Carol Paul O'Shaughnessy, fiddle Sony 87771
17:45:00 00:03:56 George Frideric Handel Messiah: Hallelujah Philadelphia Orchestra Eugene Ormandy Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sony 87771
17:52:00 00:07:20 Franz Schubert Overture in the Italian Style in C Christian Benda Prague Sinfonia Naxos 570329
18:00 BBC NEWS; DINNER CLASSICS
18:09:00 00:23:44 Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op 22 Norwegian Radio Orchestra Miguel Harth-Bedoya Vadym Kholodenko, piano Harm Mundi 907629
18:35:00 00:03:52 Anonymous Corde natus ex parentis Voces8 Christian Forshaw, saxophone Decca 22601
18:41:00 00:03:22 Franz Biebl Ave Maria Voces8 Decca 4785703
18:45:00 00:07:29 Johann Sebastian Bach Christmas Oratorio: Jauchzet, frohlocket Academy Ancient Music Berlin René Jacobs RIAS Chamber Chorus Harm Mundi 2908304
18:54:00 00:04:22 Morten Lauridsen Lux Aeterna: O nata lux Voces8 Decca 22601
19:00 SYMPHONY AT SEVEN with John Simna
19:02:00 00:18:02 Alfredo Casella Paganiniana Op 65 Riccardo Muti La Scala Philharmonic Sony 53280
19:22:00 00:33:00 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in B flat major Op 60 Mikhail Pletnev Russian National Orchestra DeutGram 4776409
19:57:00 00:02:15 Claude Debussy Preludes Book 2: Hommage à S. Pickwick, Paul Crossley, piano Sony 53111
20:00 CLEVELAND OVATIONS: Oberlin Conservatory
Silvestre Revueltas: Sensemayá—Oberlin Orchestra (recorded September 2017)
Bernard Rands: Concerto for English Horn—Oberlin Orchestra; Robert Walters, English horn (recorded March 2017)
Theophilus Chandler (Oberlin 2014 grad): Cello Concerto--Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble; Amir Eldan, cello (Oberlin faculty)
21:27:00 00:32:11 Peter Tchaikovsky Swan Lake: Act 2 Dmitry Yablonsky Russian State Symphony Naxos 555873
22:00 THE BLACK ARTS with A. Grace Lee Mims: recordings by soprano Kathleen Battle
23:00 QUIET HOUR with Rob Grier
23:01:00 00:06:59 Claude Debussy Pastorale from Sonata for Flute, Viola Joshua Smith, flute; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Yolanda Kondonassis, harp Telarc 80694
23:08:00 00:08:27 Max Bruch Romance for Viola & Orchestra Op 85 Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Riccardo Chailly Janine Jansen, viola Decca 7260
23:12:00 00:04:02 Michael Praetorius Lo, how a rose e'er blooming André Previn Frederica von Stade, mezzo; American Boychoir; Christmas Concert Chorus Sony 87771
23:22:00 00:10:00 Gregorio Allegri Miserere Massimo Palombella Sistine Chapel Choir DeutGram 4795300
23:33:00 00:06:12 John Bull Pavan in the Second Tone Alan Feinberg, piano Steinway 30019
23:40:00 00:02:56 Franz Liszt Consolation No. 4 in D flat major Nelson Freire, piano Decca 4782728
23:43:00 00:09:23 Frédéric Chopin Larghetto from Piano Concerto No. 2 Op 21 Slovak State Philharmonic Robert Stankovsky Idil Biret, piano Naxos 503293
23:53:00 00:02:34 Pauline Viardot-Garcia Berceuse Rachel Barton Pine, violin; Matthew Hagle, piano Cedille 139
23:56:00 00:03:18 Traditional Wexford Carol Paul O'Shaughnessy, fiddle Sony 87771