Photo: Johann Sebastian Hänel
In the Spotlight
Sir Simon Rattle
The Berlin Philharmonic Playing Mahler at the Proms Earlier this month, Sir Simon Rattle led the Berlin Philharmonic at the Promenade Concerts in a short work by the late Pierre Boulez, plus Mahler’s Symphony #7, often called Song of the Night. This work was completed in 1906 and premiered two years later in Prague, under the composer’s direction, at a concert honoring a jubilee for the Austrian emperor, Franz Joseph. Like several other Mahler works, it created some bewilderment at its premiere and took some time to achieve the admiration it enjoys today. Expansive opening and closing movements surround three evocations of night. Mahler compared the atmosphere of the first Nachtmusik movement to the famous Night Watch painting by Rembrandt. The symphony’s central movement is a Scherzo labeled Schattenhaft, or Shadowy. Then the second Nachtmusik, labeled Amoroso, has been compared to a serenade. The constantly shifting moods of the Symphony #7 are articulated by a very large orchestra, including extra woodwinds and brass, a fully-staffed string section, extra percussionists who play bells as well as drums, a mandolin, a guitar, and two harps.
Wednesday, September 21, 8:00 pm
p; Gidon Kremer, v; Mischa Maisky, vc. DG 4778847 (6). [47:33] Tchaikovsky Chorus, The Angel Cried – Corydon Singers/Matthew Best. Hyperion CDA-66948. [3:27]
Friday 16 12:00 Through the Night with Peter Van De Graaff 6:00 Mornings with Carl Grapentine 9:00 News Summary 26
SEPTEMBER
2016
10:00 Midday with Lisa Flynn, including new releases this hour 11:00 Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet Suite: Montagues and Capulets, The Young Juliet, Madrigal, Minuet, Masks, Romeo and Juliet – Chicago Sym/ Riccardo Muti. CSO ReSound CSOR-9011402. [26:05] 12:00 Newscast • Music in Chicago 1:00 Afternoons with Kerry Frumkin • Beethoven String Quartet #9 in C, Op 59/3, Rasumovsky – Cypress Quartet. Avie AV-2318 (3). [31:46] 2:00 Bach Keyboard Concerto #1 in d, BWV 1052 – St. Martin’s Academy/Murray Perahia, p. Sony 82429-2 (3). [20:39] Gershwin Second Rhapsody – Orion Weiss, p; Buffalo Phil/JoAnn Falletta. Naxos 8.559705. [15:54] 3:00 Fine Arts Calendar • Delius Brigg Fair – Boston Pops/John Williams. Philips 420946-2. [15:47] Williams Three pieces from Schindler’s List – Gil Shaham, v; Orli Shaham, p. Canary Classics CC-10. [12:29] Tchaikovsky ValseScherzo – Gil Shaham, v; Russian National Orch//Mikhail Pletnev. DG 457064-2. [9:02] 4:00 Music with Candice Agree, including a newscast at 4:00 pm and The Unrush Hour between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm 7:00 Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin 8:00 From Carnegie Hall: The Bavarian Radio Symphony conducted by Mariss Jansons – Shostakovich: Symphony #7, Leningrad. 10:00 Relevant Tones with Seth Boustead: New music recently released on vinyl; Seth asserts that old is new again. 11:00 Best of Studs Terkel: El Grito de Dolores, or Shout from Dolores, commemorates an event on September 16, 1810, that precipitated the war for Mexican independence from Spain.
Saturday 17 12:00 Through the Night with Peter Van De Graaff 7:00 Weekend Mornings with Dennis Moore 10:00 Fine Arts Calendar 11:00 Introductions: Spotlighting the Chicago area’s young musicians 12:00 From the San Francisco Opera: Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” – Lucas Meachem (Figaro); Daniela Mack (Rosina); René Barbera (Count Almaviva); Alessandro Corbelli (Bartolo); Andrea Silvestrelli (Basilio); San Francisco Opera Cho & Orch/Giuseppe Finzi. 2:55 PoetryNow with the Poetry Foundation: Nick Twemlow reads and discusses Wide
Awake in A Field of Deadbolts. 3:00 Mozart Piano Concerto #23 in A, K 488 – Alicia de Larrocha, p; English Chamber Orch/Sir Colin Davis. RCA 60989-2. [26:46] Mendelssohn Symphony #4 in A, Op 90, Italian – Berlin Phil/Claudio Abbado. Sony SK-62826. [28:46] 4:00 Puccini Capriccio sinfonico – La Scala Phil/Riccardo Muti. Sony SK-63025. [13:08] Verdi Macbeth: Ballet music – Met Orch/James Levine. Sony SK-52489. [9:56] 4:30 Arias and Songs with Larry Johnson: Gone Too Soon 5:00 Korngold The Sea Hawk film music: Suite – London Sym/ André Previn. DG 471347-2. [17:17] Various Film music from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl & Dead Man’s Chest – Cincinnati Pops/Erich Kunzel. Telarc CD-80682. [10:16] Korngold Violin Concerto in D, Op 35 – Jascha Heifetz, v; Los Angeles Phil/Alfred Wallenstein. RCA 61752-2. [21:39] Gershwin Seven Virtuoso Etudes: Liza; Somebody Loves Me; The Man I Love; Embraceable You – Xiayin Wang, p. Chandos CHAN-10626. [12:15] Torke Bright Blue Music – Baltimore Sym/David Zinman. Argo 433071-2. [9:07] Higdon Blue Cathedral – Atlanta Sym/Robert Spano. Telarc CD-80596. [12:19] C Porter So in Love; Begin the Beguine – Jenny Lin, p. Steinway 30011-A. [8:26] 7:00 Fiesta! with Elbio Barilari: Homenaje a Manuel de Falla 8:00 Folkstage hosted by Rich Warren: Roy Zimmerman live from Levin Studio 9:00 The Midnight Special with Rich Warren
Sunday 18 12:00 Through the Night with Peter Van De Graaff 6:00 With Heart and Voice: To celebrate Back to School, Peter DuBois features collegiate choirs and organists. 7:00 Weekend Mornings with Dennis Moore 10:00 Fine Arts Calendar 12:00 Brahms Double Concerto in a, Op 102 – David Oistrakh, v; Mstislav Rostropovich, vc; Cleveland Orch/George Szell. EMI CDM5-66219-2. [33:28] Dvorak Slavonic Dances in D, e, C – Jon Kimura Parker & Wu Han, p. Music@Menlo 2011 (7). [13:19] Dvorak From the Bohemian Forest, Op 68: #5, Silent Woods (Klid) – Mstislav Rostropovich, vc; Vladimir Yampolsky, p. EMI CDZM5-72016-2 (13). [5:20] 1:00 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Radio Broadcasts: Riccardo Muti, conductor;
Rudolf Buchbinder, piano – Wagner: Siegfried’s Rhine Journey and Funeral Music fr Götterdämmerung. Beethoven: Piano Concerto #4. Bruckner: Symphony #1 in c. 3:00 Prokofiev Visions fugitives, Op 22: Ten excerpts – Sviatoslav Richter, p. London 4758130 (2). [9:36] Massenet Hérodiade: Aria, Vision fugitive – Robert Merrill, br; Rome Opera Orch/ Vincenzo Bellezza. RCA LSC-2780. [4:05] Fauré Violin Sonata #1 in A, Op 13 – Joshua Bell, v; JeanYves Thibaudet, p. London B0013372-02 (3). [24:03] Fauré Clair de lune; Après un Rêve – Renée Fleming, s; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, p. London 467697-2. [6:15] 4:00 Brahms Piano Concerto #1 in d, Op 15 – Daniel Barenboim,
In the Spotlight
Yuja Wang
From Carnegie Hall: Yuja Wang Pianist Yuja Wang’s spring 2016 recital at Carnegie Hall featured Beethoven’s monumental Hammerklavier Sonata plus two Ballades by Brahms and the evocative Kreisleriana Suite by Schumann. The Chinese native, just 29 years old, studied first in Beijing, then in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and at the age of 15 entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her many prizes include the 2006 Gilmore Young Artist award and a 2010 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Well known especially through her recordings, she’s performed internationally as a recitalist and an orchestral soloist. Her New York recital is part of the syndicated Carnegie Hall Live series spotlighting performances from the 2015-16 season.
Friday, September 23, 8:00 pm