Ovation Notation
Ovation brings you your daily dose of favorite classics… and the best lesser-known music you haven’t heard yet. Host Ken Zahnle has been hand-crafting themed classical music programs for Tri States Public Radio since 1987. Whether he’s featuring a composer for the morning, exploring the musical history of the day’s date, rhapsodizing about rhapsodies, taking requests on Fridays, or just reaching into his Classical Music Grab-Bag, he’s ready to take you on an art music adventure every weekday morning from 8:59 to noon.
Earth!
In 1970, thanks to efforts by San Francisco activist John McConnell and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day was established as a yearly April 22nd occurrence, and is now observed by 193 countries around the—what else? Earth. Here are some classical works inspired by features of our favorite planet.
Let’s start with the creation of the earth. That’s exactly what French composer Darius Milhaud did with his La creation du monde. His ballet for small orchestra was loosely based on African folk mythology--- and loosely based on American jazz of the 1920’s. Milhaud was eager to employ rhythms and tone colors--- especially the saxophone--- he heard while traveling in the U.S. The ballet is rarely staged, but the music has found a permanent home in the concert hall.
Bedrich Smetana is considered to be the father of Czech nationalist music, and no better description of that landscape is to be found than his own cycle of six tone-poems Ma Vlast--- ‘My Homeland.’ In ‘The Moldau’ we follow the title river from its roots as bubbling springs, flowing into rapids, through the city of Prague and on to the river Elbe. In ‘From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields’ no program is needed--- it’s purely an impression of the Czech countryside.
American composer Alan Hovhaness was known for his musical interest in mountains--- in fact, his breakout work of 1955 was his Symphony No.2, ‘Mysterious Mountain.’ That work may have represented a spiritual mountain rather than a physical one, but Hovhaness went on to write many works featuring very real chunks of geography. His Symphony No.50--- Mount St. Helens--- had a personal connection. He wrote, ‘When Mount St. Helens erupted on the morning of May 18, 1980, the sonic boom struck our south windows. Ashes continued to travel all around the world, landing lightly on our house a week later, after their journey all around our planet.’
The earth is three-quarters water, and Benjamin Britten addressed four aspects of the ocean between the scenes of his opera Peter Grimes. The Four Sea Interludes have since become one of his most popular orchestral works. ‘Dawn’ reveals a grey fishing village on England’s eastern coast, ‘Sunday Morning’ features the peal of church bells, ‘Moonlight’ is a creative realization of lapping waves reflecting the night sky, and ‘Storm’ is a stunning representation of wind, surge--- and fleeting moments of clarity. In these four portraits Britten, a composer mainly of abstract music, may have written some of the greatest descriptive music of the last century.
You can hear some of this music… and so much more… on Ovation, Tuesday morning April 22 starting at 9:00 a.m., or on-demand for 2 weeks here.
Classical music can be classically black... again!
Black classical musicians have been composing substantial music for centuries. And so this February we are once again shining the spotlight on a score… one every weekday… of great composers with roots in Africa.
We’ll once again meet Le Mozart Noir… the man who not only was a world-famous swordsman, but an acknowledged master of the violin bow and the composing quill, playing duets with Queen Marie Antoinette. We’ll visit a city of Creole musical dynasties, when New Orleans was home to the finest orchestras in the new world. We’ll rediscover a woman tirelessly composing in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, many of whose works were likewise rediscovered: in a dilapidated downstate summer house, leading to a worldwide wave of interest in her music. And we’ll hear a sinfonietta by a 2oth century New York composer… who himself was named after an Afro-English composer whose interest in American music made him a 19th century fan favorite in the U.S.
Listen in for Classically Black… Every weekday during February at 7:19 during Morning Edition, or at 5:48 during All Things Considered, as TSPR Music Director Ken Zahnle introduces you to our composer of the day… and at 11:00 a.m. during Ovation for a featured work by our featured classical master.
Miss any? No problem! Follow the link at our web page TSPR.org, or at our Ovation on-demand page.
The December Holidays...
Let us humbly gift you our version of door-to-door caroling--- here is our schedule of holiday music specials for 2024:
Wednesday December 18:
9:00 a.m. – A Chanticleer Christmas: Holiday favorites, new and old, presented live in concert by the superb 12-man ensemble known as ‘an orchestra of voices.’
10:00 a.m. – Three Tales of Christmas with Cantus: Cantus weaves together three holiday stories with time-honored carols and new classics: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Christine Lê’s The Hawai’i Snowman, alongside Mark Twain’s “A Letter from Santa Claus.”
11:00 a.m. – Carols, Customs and Candlelight: A Celtic Christmas Celebration: Songs and carols from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and other Celtic nations, by classical ensembles and soloists including Apollo’s Fire and Bryn Terfel.
Thursday December 19:
9:00 a.m. – All Is Bright: One hour of gorgeous, contemplative music related to the Christmas season and its symbolism. Hosted by Lynne Warfel.
10:00 a.m. – Gaudete! Early Music for the Christmas Season: A mixture of joyful and contemplative sounds of the season including a Byzantine chant by Kassiani, selections from Missa Puer natus est nobis by Thomas Tallis, plus hymns and motets from Spain, Germany, and France.
11:00 a.m. – A Handel & Haydn Society Christmas: Christmas choral music from America’s oldest continuously performing ensemble, Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society, founded in 1815.
Monday December 23:
9:00 a.m. – A Latin American Christmas: Warm and sunny music of the season and a lot of good cheer from many lands south of the border and even the equator. Feliz Navidad!
10:00 a.m. – Carols As Home with Imani Winds: A modern take on classic Christmas carols, hosted by Imani Winds, with intimate stories of Christmas memories from the members of the ensemble, and why these classic carols are still essential today.
11:00 a.m. – Vamos a Belen! With The Rose Ensemble: Festive and evocative music from early Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, and beyond. The Rose Ensemble is joined by special guests, Piffaro, The Renaissance Band.
Tuesday December 24:
9:00 am - Christmas with the Morehouse & Spelman Glee Clubs: The choirs of two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation get together. This year's program features the best works of the last several years.
10:00 a.m. – – St. Olaf Christmas Festival: A service in song and word that has become a holiday tradition. Hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs, and the St. Olaf College Orchestra.
Wednesday December 25:
9:00 a.m. – Welcome Christmas: The perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups. An hour of traditional carols and new discoveries.
10:00 a.m. – Your Classical Christmas Favorites: An hour holiday special highlighting the top carols based on listener votes, hosted by Tom Crann and Valerie Kahler.
11:00 a.m. – Christmas On the Air: In the spirit of The Lone Ranger… Our Miss Brooks… My Favorite Husband… and Lux Radio Theater…it’s Christmas On the Air from the Orpheum Theater in downtown Galesburg! It’s an original live-acted holiday play in the style of radio’s Golden Age. Presented by members of Playhouse on the Air, it’s complete with comedy, drama, music… and sound effects, of course.
Thursday December 26:
9:00 a.m. – Winter Holidays Around the World: Bill McLaughlin’s spirited selections takes you on a personal tour, including medieval Italian music, jazz, selections by Vaughan Williams and Debussy, a Polynesian hymn, and an excerpt from Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors from the original television production.
10:00 a.m. – In Winter’s Glow: A winter solstice program, with modern classical sounds chosen especially to compliment the chilly, starry nights of the season
11:00 a.m. – Candles Burning Brightly: A delightful hour for everyone to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights! Music from Jewish communities around the world, plus a hilarious lesson on how to prepare a classic Chanukah dish.
Sunday December 29:
7:00 p.m. – Christmas On the Air: catch a repeat broadcast of the old-time-radio-style holiday play.
The November Holiday…
Thursday November 28th
9:00 am Every Good Thing
Join Andrea Blain as she takes some time to give thanks and celebrate one of life's most meaningful gifts: music. It's "Every Good Thing” — an hour of stories and music to celebrate Thanksgiving.
10:00 am Songs of Thanks
An innovative new production by Cantus. Through their signature narrative programming, the acclaimed octet will weave together stories and songs celebrating gratitude and community. A special broadcast designed to uplift the human spirit and honor the season.
11:00 am This Land: Thanksgiving with the American Sound
This land, the physical land called the United States of America, is home to people of a wide range of ethnicities, cultures, races, creeds and genders. This Thanksgiving Day join host Jennifer Hambrick for a musical celebration of the diversity of this land – the varied natural topographies and biospheres, and the many communities that make this land exceptionally rich.
Go Hometown Teams!
It’s Fall, so it’s time to take stock of our hometown teams! Not the ones on the gridiron, there’s plenty of talk about those teams elsewhere. No, we’re talking about the impending 2024-2025 seasons of our favorite hometown orchestras!
The Knox-Galesburg Symphony’s Head Coach--- er, Principal Conductor--- Kedrick Armstrong takes the podium with the KGS Saturday, September 28th at 7:30 pm in the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Galesburg. The programming for this year’s four-concert Symphony Series is eclectic, and opening night is no exception: “Romantic Era Masterpieces” couples a Brahms piano concerto with a symphony by his underappreciated elder, Emelie Mayer. More information at kgsymphony.org.
The Quincy Symphony Orchestra leads off this year’s campaign--- it’s 77th season--- on Sunday, September 29th at 2:30 pm at the Quincy Junior High School Morrison Auditorium. Music Director Bruce Briney leads the QSO in a spectacular program of “Natural Wonders.” A contemporary fanfare for the end of the summer season opens the music, followed by an ascending songbird, and Antonin Dvorak’s exploration of America: his “New World” symphony More information at qsoa.org.
The Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra is dedicating this season’s Masterworks Concert Series to the familiar and the enjoyable--- of season of, say, Greatest Hits. Music Director Robert McConnell leads SEISO’s first program, featuring two beloved Debussy works and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, on October 12th at 7:30 pm at Burlington’s Capitol Theatre, 2:00 pm October 13th at Ottumwa’s Bridge View Center, and at 6:30 that evening at Chapel Auditorium in Mount Pleasant. More information at seiso.us.
One more thing--- all these orchestras can also be heard on our own little radio show of concerts from our hometowns--- Music from the Tri States--- every Sunday morning at 11:00!
Repercussions of the Guns of August
110 years ago this month the European brew of simmering nationalism, designs of empire, secret treaties and inherited power came to a boil. Four years later no aspect of western civilization remained untouched by the War to End All Wars--- including music. Here are five examples of music eventually influenced by the events of August 1914.
France: Maurice Ravel. There is a French tradition of composers writing works in honor of passed predecessors, under the title “Le tombeau de (Composer)”--- literally, the tomb of (Name). Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin seems at first glance to be a tribute to the baroque composer. In reality, each of the 6 movements is a remembrance of friends Ravel lost in the war--- including Joseph de Marliave, whose widow premiered the original piano version in 1919.
Russia: Igor Stravinsky. Begun in 1918 and based on the folk tale The Runaway Soldier and the Devil, Histoire du soldat is a work “to be read, played and danced.” A Russian soldier on leave during the Great War runs across the Devil and unwittingly swaps his violin (and soul) for a book that tells the future. He also loses three years in the process--- his prewar life--- but uses the book to amass wealth and fortune--- a postwar life that he also loses (a twist oddly prescient of the coming worldwide depression).
Austria: Paul Wittgenstein. This famed concert pianist literally lost his right arm in combat, but refused to allow such a career-ending disaster end his career. Blessed by being a member of the second wealthiest family in Austria, he proceeded to solicit piano works for the left hand only--- from every major composer in Europe: Britten, Hindemith, Korngold (a fellow Austrian veteran), Prokofiev, Ravel, Schmidt, and Richard Strauss, among others.
United States: David Diamond. In 1917 poet e.e. cummings was serving as a French ambulance driver when he and a friend were arrested by the French censors for suggesting that the war was not a good thing. Before being released (after intervention by the White House), he spent four months in a large common room at a military detention center. Cummings wrote about the experience in his first published book, The Enormous Room. In 1948, following yet another World War, composer Diamond translated the story into a free-form tone poem for orchestra.
England: George Butterworth. Butterworth, an avid folk song collector and former President of the Oxford University Music Society, did not survive to write about Great Britain’s Lost Generation--- he was part of it. Only two weeks after actions that earned Temporary Lieutenant Butterworth the Military Cross, he was killed in action in the Battle of the Somme. His charming pastoral orchestral works, though, showed great promise--- The Banks of Green Willow being a notable precursor to what was lost to the world.
May Flowers
Well, you know the old saying--- April eventually becomes May, which brings May flowers. In that spirit, we bring you a botanical park of classical music flora.
England’s Henry VIII was not only a man of the renaissance--- he was a Renaissance Man. King, athlete, huntsman, jouster, biblical scholar, poet--- and musician. Even though this Tudor Rose had a thorny side (ask two of his six wives), he left us the flowery song of pining Whereto should I express, describing ‘The daisy delectable, The violet wan and blo.’
In Leo Delibes’ opera Lakme, the title character and her servant gather a veritable florist’s shop of blooms as they glide along the flowering banks of a river. The famed Flower Duet describes blue lotuses under a canopy of white jasmine.
Giacomo Puccini also wrote an operatic flower duet for his Madame Butterfly--- but it is from his rarely heard instrumental side that we find the elegy Chrysanthemums for string quartet (often played in an expanded arrangement for string orchestra). The little bouquet was written in a single night in 1890 as a heartfelt response to the death of his friend the Count of Savoy.
Joachim Rodrigo’s Per la flor del lliri blau (Flower of the Blue Lily) is an early symphonic poem by the composer of the popular Concierto de Aranjuez. It’s based on a medieval Valencian legend wherein three competitive princes embark on a quest for the titular magical flower, which has the power to revive their dying father.
Here’s a whole flower bed provided by Benjamin Britten in his Five Flower Songs for a cappella chorus. The texts, drawn from three centuries of English poets, feature daffodils, marsh flowers (nightshade & nettle), evening primrose and green broom. The song The Succession of the Four Sweet Months is a miniature suite-within-the-suite, mentioning the flowering of ‘smiling May, In a more rich and sweet array.’
Happy gardening!
p.s. – No apologies to Puccini, here’s Scott Joplin’s ‘Afro-American Intermezzo’ The Chrysanthemum.
p.p.s. – An operatic flower quiz!
Synchronicity
When I put together an episode of Ovation that is related to a date in history, some interesting intersections often occur. Here are two trifectas from the same date in April… April 23rd, to be precise.
The first meeting of minds is a linear chain of events: On April 23rd of 1756, English-born Scotsman-turned-American Alexander Reinagle (one of George Washington’s favorite composers… no joke!) was born. Half-Scots, half Hungarian, the second-generation musician went to London as a lad to train. There, in 1764, he met a young fellow the same age: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (along with Mozart’s father and sister). As it turns out, the Mozarts arrived in London on… April 23rd of that same year. Now back to the subject of the Americas: on April 23rd of 1924 American composer and arranger Arthur Frackenpohl was born. Frackenpohl may be best known among musicians for his many transcriptions of classical works for wind instruments… including many by… Mozart.
Now let’s put three events in once place: a record album. Chandos Records No. 20160, features Irish piano virtuoso Barry Douglas, who was born on April 23rd, 1960. On the album he plays a work by Sergei Prokofiev, who was born on… April 23rd, 1891. The piece he plays? Excerpts from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet, which is based on the play by William Shakespeare, who’s 1616 date of birth is traditionally celebrated on… you guessed it… April 23rd.
If only all coincidences were happy ones!
Classical Music’s History includes Composing… Women!
You may have noticed that this month we are shining the spotlight on a score-plus-one great composers… one every weekday… who also happen to be women.
If you hadn’t, it’s not too late!
First, you can tune in every weekday during March at 7:19 a.m. during Morning Edition, or at 5:48 p.m. during All Things Considered, as we introduce you to our special composer of the day… and also at 11:00 a.m. during Ovation, our locally-programmed classical music show, when we’ll also feature a substantial work or works by the day’s classical Maestra.
Since we’re travelling along in chronological order you may have missed St. Hildegard von Bingen, who parlayed her religious visions into music, female-led convents, and advising the Pope--- or missed the daughter of a Venetian playwright who lived on the proceeds of publishing 8 volumes of her compositions—- or missed the Viennese girl who was supported by the Austrian Poet Laureate, taught piano by Haydn, and learned composition from the official Court Composer… all in the same apartment house! But never fear, they’re all still waiting for you at our world wide web site. Just visit tspr.org and click on “Composing Women” and you’ll find every installment so far, in both audio and text. And the episodes are being added daily.
This month… and every month… classical music should be everyone’s birthright.
Classically Black--- Revisited
Here's a repost of sorts, to leave you a backdoor to our 2023 series Classically Black... a 20-part series of 2-minute programs about 20 great composers with African roots. Enjoy!
That Modern Music!
As we start the new year, I’ve been ruminating over the new music of ’24… 1924, that is. A century has a way of creeping up on you, and things that were oh-so-modern Twentieth-Century not that long ago are now oh-so-… well… last century. So, let’s raise a glass to 100 years ago in classical music by remembering a few ground-breaking anniversaries.
On February 12, at Aeolian Hall in Manhattan, orchestra leader Paul Whiteman (the so-called ‘King of Jazz”) presented a concert entitled An Experiment in Modern Music. Many a jazzy large band and small vocal ensemble ditty was performed, but the big-ticket item on the bill was a new work for piano and jazz orchestra by none other than the world’s most famous pop song writer… George Gershwin.
Yes, this marks the 100th year of Rhapsody in Blue, though the first performance didn’t sound like what we’re used to hearing: Gershwin, pressed for time, whipped it together out of unused tunes in his notebooks, gave the orchestration duties to composer (and Whiteman Band member) Ferde Grofe, and improvised the solo piano parts on-the-spot that night. He would later write it all down for posterity (and publication), and that score became synonymous with the “Jazz Age.”
March 7 brought the premiere of the 7th… and final… symphony of the musical patron saint of Finland, Jean Sibelius (though he would live for another 34 years!). The 7th was daring in structure… a one-movement continuous stream that remains exclusively in C Major and c minor, relying on a myriad of tempo changes for development. On that first night, Sibelius himself had not even quite decided it was actually a symphony… it was presented as a “Fantasia sinfonica…” but it became a new milestone of the genre for a worshipping younger generation of British and American composers.
Newness was definitely the point of Francis Picabia’s ballet Relache, with music by belle epoque nonconformist Erik Satie. It’s very name reflected its Dadaist influences (“released…” or, when on a theater poster or marquee, “canceled”), and the content made that influence plain… with random dances, a fireman emptying buckets of water into other buckets, and an avant-garde silent film (with live music composed by Satie) as the prologue and the intermission. Some critics railed about the “stupidity of the staging and the inanity of the musical score,” but it certainly was… new. Relache was first performed on December 4 because, due to the illness of its main dancer, the November 29th premiere had to be… canceled!
One more. Ottorino Respighi’s beloved orchestral suite The Pines of Rome would hardly seem to be a controversial or revolutionary work… but controversial and revolutionary it was on December 14th because of one detail: near the end of the third movement, a depiction of the pines along Rome’s Janiculum hill, Respighi introduced a new instrument to the orchestra… the phonograph… playing a recording of the birdsong of a nightingale.
Seasonal Radio!
Let us humbly gift you our version of door-to-door caroling--- our schedule of holiday music specials for 2023.
Monday, December 11
11:00 a.m. – Candles Burning Brightly: A delightful hour for everyone to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights! Lots of music from Jewish communities around the world, plus a hilarious lesson on how to prepare a classic Chanukah dish, and a timeless and touching holiday story that brings light into every home.
Monday, December 18
9:00 a.m. – A Latin American Christmas: One-hour special of warm and sunny holiday music from many latin-american locales
10:00 a.m. – In Winter's Glow: A winter solstice program, with modern classical sounds for the longest night of the year, chosen especially to compliment the chilly, starry nights of the season.
11:00 a.m. – The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays: The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays is an hour-long special devoted to holiday and wintertime movie music. In addition to beloved standards (“White Christmas” from “Holiday Inn” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from “Meet Me in St. Louis”), Michael shares an eclectic mix of wintry film scores, ranging from “It Happened in Sun Valley” (from “Sun Valley Serenade”) to Alexandre Desplat’s folk-inspired score for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” to Bernard Herrmann’s bracing sleigh ride accompaniment composed for the Orson Welles drama “The Magnificent Ambersons.” Bundle up and enjoy The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays!
Tuesday, December 19th
9:00 a.m. – Christmas with the Morehouse & Spelman Glee Clubs: One of the great holiday traditions in America, the choirs of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges -- two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation -- get together to present a spine-tingling concert program. This year's program features the best works of the last several years. It's a joyous celebration of the schools' tradition of singing excellence, with their trademark.
10:00 a.m. – Carols At Home with the Imani Winds: Join us for a new Christmas special featuring the Imani Winds.
11:00 a.m. – The Ballad of the Brown King & Other Music for Christmas: Dr. Louise Toppin, a preeminent performer and scholar specializing in the concert repertoire of African American composers, presents the world premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’s The Ballad of the Brown King (Avie Records, 2018). With a libretto by Langston Hughes, this Christmas cantata focuses on Balthazar, the dark-skinned king who journeyed to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus Christ. This gorgeous work is beautifully interpreted by New York City-based The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra, soloists soprano Laquita Mitchell, mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford, and tenor Noah Stewart with Malcolm J. Merriweather at the podium.
In this special, we are especially honored to share two exclusive world premiere recordings of Margaret Bonds’s arrangements of the spirituals Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow, and Go Tell It on the Mountain. Generously provided by Dr. Toppin, these exceptional performances were recorded earlier this year at the University of Michigan and are presented by soprano Amber Merritt and tenor Tyrese Byrd, with Dr. Toppin at the piano
Wednesday, December 20
9:00 a.m. – Harmonia Early Music: A Medieval Christmas: Tired of jingle bells yet? This time of year, we are surrounded by Christmas music. On this special holiday edition of Harmonia, join us for something a little different, as we explore Christmas music of another age – the medieval! We’ll hear music from the Tallis Scholars, the Boston Camerata, and more
10:00 a.m. – A Handel & Haydn Society Christmas: Celebrate the season with this hour-long special featuring Christmas choral music from America’s oldest continuously performing ensemble, Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society.
11:00 a.m. – All is Bright: All Is Bright, with host Lynne Warfel, offers an hour of gorgeous, contemplative choral music that tells the traditional Christmas story with songs about angels, the star and the manger scene.
Thursday, December 21
9:00 am – Winter Holiday Around the work with Bill McLaughlin: Winter holidays are celebrated around the world, and their music is wonderful to hear, regardless of which tradition you observe. Bill’s spirited selection starts in the 12th century with Nova Stella, medieval Italian Christmas music from Saint Francis of Assisi’s staging of the nativity; jazz pianist Dave Brubeck’s classical composition La Fiesta de la Posada, evoking a Mexican Christmas celebration; and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols. We will enjoy this time of year in Paris with music from Debussy, then travel to Polynesia for a traditional hymn, Anau Oia Ea. And then ends with an excerpt from Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors from the original television production. Turn on your speakers, pour a cup of tea, cozy up to a warm fire, and enjoy the music!
10:00 a.m. – St. Olaf Christmas Festival: The St. Olaf Christmas Festival has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. Started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department, the festival includes hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity. It features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers and the Viking Chorus, performing as individual groups and as a massed ensemble. (2 hours)
Friday, December 22
9:00 a.m. – Ovation: Celebrate Christmas with Ken Zahnle.
Monday, December 25
9:00 a.m. – Welcome Christmas: There’s no better way to welcome Christmas than Welcome Christmas!, the VocalEssence holiday concert. It’s an hour of joyful, classic holiday music from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, singing traditional carols and new discoveries.
10:00 a.m. – Your Classical Christmas Favorites: Join us this holiday season as we count down the top Christmas songs as voted by you in a two-hour special.
Monday, January 1
9:00 a.m. – The Sounds of Kwanzaa: In this program, Garrett McQueen offers a background on the history of Kwanzaa and its guiding principles, alongside musical selections that highlight the spirit of the celebration. The show features the compositions of Florence Price, Duke Ellington, Sean O’Loughlin, and special performances by Imani Wind.
10:00 a.m. – Minnesota Orchestra’s New Year’s Celebration: Ring in the new year with the Minnesota Orchestra! The program opens with Bernstein’s animated Overture to Candide. Awadagin Pratt performs the Minnesota premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds for Piano and Orchestra, a work written for him. A New Year’s celebration wouldn’t be complete without adventure and passion, and the Orchestra brings that in multitudes in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s beloved Scheherazade.
Public Radio Music Day!
From NPR News:
“Wednesday, October 25, 2023; Washington, D.C .- The U.S. Senate unanimously passed S. Res. 425, a bipartisan resolution honoring the incomparable service of public radio music stations to American audiences across all 50 states and U.S. territories. The resolution marks October 25, 2023, as Public Radio Music Day, thus recognizing the impact of public radio music stations to local artists, listeners, and communities nationwide. Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives also recognized this day through a bipartisan resolution.”
The fourth annual Public Radio Music Day celebrated contributions public radio music stations make to the arts and culture of local communities, including artist discovery and music education.
Here at TSPR, a participating station, we celebrated during our live-hosted morning classical music show Ovation, with a genre-crossing program featuring guest co-host Kedrick Armstrong. Maestro Armstrong is Principal Conductor and Creative Partner of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony Orchestra, and we had a great conversation about classical music’s modern role, under-appreciated American composers, and how the contemporary classical music scene is influenced by all the genres of music you hear on TSPR… including Jazz and Folk/Americana.
If you missed it, check out the October 25th episode of Ovation on Ovation on Demand. But hurry… we can only keep it around for you for another week!
Kid's Music Day
The 8th annual Kid’s Music Day is October 6th. Scheduled on the first Friday of every October, it’s a big partnership with music schools, stores, and other music organizations to help focus attention on the importance of including music as part of children's education.
Over 1,200 locations in all 50 states plus a dozen other countries are holding some sort of tie-in festivity… from free group guitar lessons, to instrument donation drives, to band and orchestra instrument “petting zoos.”
There aren’t any officially registered events happening within an hour and a half of our radio signal’s epicenter this year, but we’re trying to do our part. We’ll be marking this year’s Public Radio Music Day on October 25th with a theme of “Building Community Though Music” (especially music education), and this past Wednesday’s Ovation was a Kid’s Music Day preview, as we played classical masters playing around with music for kids.
Check it out by putting one of our new features to work, “Ovation On Demand!” Just follow the link (or go to www.tspr.org and look at the “Music” pull-down menu), and look for “Ovation October 4” (there is a 48-hour delay before each program is available online).
Keep an eye out for a couple of follow-up posts on classical music for children… and classical music by children.
Singing Songs of Six (pence optional)
...A few six packs. That's what we've got going today.
Since I've brought out the six-string guitar, let's start with a set of six dances that the the first family of the classical guitar, the Romeros, recorded in the late '50's on the sonically ground-breaking Mercury label. The stars must have been aligned... the 16th century dances they chose were by Vincenzo Galilei, none other than the father of ground-breaking astronomer Galileo Galilei.
Epigraphs... those little pithy quotations sometimes used as a subtitle for a chapter in a bookor article. Claude Debussy published a half dozen piano miniatures inspired by the concept, Six épigraphes antiques. Ernst Ansermet made a popular orchestration of them, but you may want to chase down a (nifty) rarer small orchestra version scored by Rudolph Escher.
Another uncommon artistic term... bozzetti. That's plural for a small proof-of-concept sculpture... essentially, an artist's 3-D sketch. Italian romantic composer Antonio Scontrino wrote six tuneful impressions of such figurines in his Sei Bozzetti for clarinet and piano.
Sir Edward Elgar wasn't always Mr. Pomp and Circumstance... he began his professional career as a young twenty-something in his family's music shop in Worcester. Whilst he was peddling violin strings and sheet music, he composed a series of woodwind quintets for just his own little circle of friends (teaching himself the bassoon so he could cover the part). But wait... quintet? Isn't that Five? yes, but one of those pieces was actually a set six quick promenades, with a few quirky titles: Madame Taussaud's (referencing the famed wax museum); Somniferous; and Hell and Tommy !
Welcome to Classical Music Month!
SInce 1994, September has contained the pair of fortnights designated to celebrate the ars antiqua and nova, the renaissance, the baroque, the classical, the romantic, the impressionist, the expressionist, the minimalist, and more. Don’t just take MY word for it…. I’ll let our friend Bill explain:
“This month we exalt the many talented composers, conductors, and musicians who bring classical music to our ears. These artists carry on a great tradition of musical achievement, and we are proud of their outstanding accomplishments. Whether in new American works or in the masterpieces of the great composers of old, music is a unifying force in our world, bringing people together across vast cultural and geographical divisions. Classical music speaks both to the mind and to the heart, giving us something to think about as well as to experience.
Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September… as Classical Music Month. I urge all Americans to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
So let’s celebrate with psaltery and harp, timbrel and dance, stringed instruments and organs, loud and high-sounding cymbals… and FM Radio (with apologies to King James & Co.).
We can help with that last part: Every weekday at 9:00 a.m. to noon on Ovation, every weeknight at 7:00 p.m. on Performance Today; weeknights at 10:00 p.m. with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, SymphonyCast, and Concierto; Sunday at 11:00 a.m. on Music from the Tri States; and at noon on Sunday Baroque.
Go ahead… make some joyful noise!