http://odeo.com/channels/126789-The-Concert Gardnergal no Classical Music Podcasts from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Classical Music Podcasts from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Classical Music Podcasts from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum en 40 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Music http://odeo.com/episodes/25392481-Wunderkind Works for violin and piano and for piano trio performed by Nicola Benedetti, violin; Katya Apekisheva, piano; and the Claremont Trio. - Brahms: Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8 - Brahms: Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 Throughout the history of music, society has been fascinated by the idea of the wunderkind, the child prodigy. Many of us think of Mozart as the archetypal wunderkind, but the subject of today’s podcast is not Mozart but Brahms, a wunderkind of a different sort. Brahms didn’t begin studying composition until age 13, but within seven years he was pronounced one of the most important composers of his generation, the heir to Beethoven. The piano trio that we’ll hear today is one of relatively few early Brahms works that remain. The composer was an infamous perfectionist, and he destroyed many early works that he didn’t think were up to snuff. We’ll begin today’s program, though, with a piece written much later in Brahms’ career, his second sonata for vi... Works for violin and piano and for piano trio performed by Nicola Benedetti, violin; Katya Apekisheva, piano; and the Claremont Trio. - Brahms: Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8 - Brahms: Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 Throughout the history of music, society has been fascinated by the idea of the wunderkind, the child prodigy. Many of us think of Mozart as the archetypal wunderkind, but the subject of today’s podcast is not Mozart but Brahms, a wunderkind of a different sort. Brahms didn’t begin studying composition until age 13, but within seven years he was pronounced one of the most important composers of his generation, the heir to Beethoven. The piano trio that we’ll hear today is one of relatively few early Brahms works that remain. The composer was an infamous perfectionist, and he destroyed many early works that he didn’t think were up to snuff. We’ll begin today’s program, though, with a piece written much later in Brahms’ career, his second sonata for violin and piano. This piece was also somewhat atypical for the perfectionist Brahms, in that it was dashed off rather quickly, much more like the traditional wunderkind. Brahms was in his fifties at the time, but the trip that yielded this work was colored by a flurry of youthful inspiration. Brahms proclaimed the vacation spot where he wrote the pieces “so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on any.” Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for violin and piano and for piano trio performed by Nicola Benedetti, violin; Katya Apekisheva, piano; and the Claremont Trio. - Brahms: Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8 - Brahms: Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 Throughout the history of music, society has been fascinated by the idea of the wunderkind, the child prodigy. Many of us think of Mozart as the archetypal wunderkind, but the subject of today’s podcast is not Mozart but Brahms, a wunderkind of a different sort. Brahms didn’t begin studying composition until age 13, but within seven years he was pronounced one of the most important composers of his generation, the heir to Beethoven. The piano trio that we’ll hear today is one of relatively few early Brahms works that remain. The composer was an infamous perfectionist, and he destroyed many early works that he didn’t think were up to snuff. We’ll begin today’s program, though, with a piece written much later in Brahms’ career, his second sonata for violin and piano. This piece was also somewhat atypical for the perfectionist Brahms, in that it was dashed off rather quickly, much more like the traditional wunderkind. Brahms was in his fifties at the time, but the trip that yielded this work was colored by a flurry of youthful inspiration. Brahms proclaimed the vacation spot where he wrote the pieces “so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on any.” Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-10-31,25392481 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/25289181-Pictures-in-Sound Works for solo piano performed by Alexander Ghindin. -Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition -Liszt/Schubert: Der Müller und der Bach, Op. 25, No. 19 -Liszt/Schubert: Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, D. 774, Op. 72 -Liszt: Concert paraphrase of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto This week’s program features several works that conjure visual images. First up is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, based on artwork by Viktor Hartmann. Even without seeing those paintings, it’s not hard to imagine the depictions of the dim Parisian catacombs and the majestic gates of Kiev that inspired Mussorgsky’s music. We then get two very different depictions of flowing water, in a set of Franz Liszt arrangements of Schubert songs. The first song, the sorrowful final movement of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, changes character entirely when the voice of the brook enters, bringing with it flowing sextuplets and a major tonality shift. The second work, loosely translated as “To be sung upon the water,” is perhaps a ... Works for solo piano performed by Alexander Ghindin. -Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition -Liszt/Schubert: Der Müller und der Bach, Op. 25, No. 19 -Liszt/Schubert: Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, D. 774, Op. 72 -Liszt: Concert paraphrase of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto This week’s program features several works that conjure visual images. First up is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, based on artwork by Viktor Hartmann. Even without seeing those paintings, it’s not hard to imagine the depictions of the dim Parisian catacombs and the majestic gates of Kiev that inspired Mussorgsky’s music. We then get two very different depictions of flowing water, in a set of Franz Liszt arrangements of Schubert songs. The first song, the sorrowful final movement of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, changes character entirely when the voice of the brook enters, bringing with it flowing sextuplets and a major tonality shift. The second work, loosely translated as “To be sung upon the water,” is perhaps a more obvious depiction of water, with a fluid triple meter throughout, the undulating water a constant beneath the singer’s description of a glowing sunset. Finally, we hear Liszt’s concert paraphrase of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto, specifically an arrangement of the famous Act 3 quartet. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for solo piano performed by Alexander Ghindin. -Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition -Liszt/Schubert: Der Müller und der Bach, Op. 25, No. 19 -Liszt/Schubert: Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, D. 774, Op. 72 -Liszt: Concert paraphrase of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto This week’s program features several works that conjure visual images. First up is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, based on artwork by Viktor Hartmann. Even without seeing those paintings, it’s not hard to imagine the depictions of the dim Parisian catacombs and the majestic gates of Kiev that inspired Mussorgsky’s music. We then get two very different depictions of flowing water, in a set of Franz Liszt arrangements of Schubert songs. The first song, the sorrowful final movement of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, changes character entirely when the voice of the brook enters, bringing with it flowing sextuplets and a major tonality shift. The second work, loosely translated as “To be sung upon the water,” is perhaps a more obvious depiction of water, with a fluid triple meter throughout, the undulating water a constant beneath the singer’s description of a glowing sunset. Finally, we hear Liszt’s concert paraphrase of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto, specifically an arrangement of the famous Act 3 quartet. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-10-14,25289181 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/25213630-Not-Just-for-Singers Works for solo piano and for voice and piano performed by Gleb Ivanov, piano, Randall Scarlata, baritone, Jennifer Aylmer, soprano, and Laura Ward, piano. -Rachmaninoff: Vocalise -Rachmaninoff: Etudes Nos. 8 and No. 9, Op. 39 -Songs from Tin Pan Alley This week we’ll bring you a few works that started off as songs, but have had great success instrumentally. Rachmanioff’s lyrical Vocalise is undoubtedly one of the best-known melodies in the canon. Originally the last of his opus 34 set of songs, the gorgeous tune seems to have been a more or less immediate hit. Rachmaninoff himself wrote several arrangements, augmented over the years by dozens more. Today, we’ll hear Rachmaninoff’s own arrangement for piano. The Vocalise will be followed by more Rachmaninoff, Etudes nos. 8 and 9 from opus 39. Then, we’ll move to the popular end of the spectrum, with a set of songs from the Gardner’s Tin Pan Alley series. Today’s selections range from the traditional Danny Boy to the marching band hit... Works for solo piano and for voice and piano performed by Gleb Ivanov, piano, Randall Scarlata, baritone, Jennifer Aylmer, soprano, and Laura Ward, piano. -Rachmaninoff: Vocalise -Rachmaninoff: Etudes Nos. 8 and No. 9, Op. 39 -Songs from Tin Pan Alley This week we’ll bring you a few works that started off as songs, but have had great success instrumentally. Rachmanioff’s lyrical Vocalise is undoubtedly one of the best-known melodies in the canon. Originally the last of his opus 34 set of songs, the gorgeous tune seems to have been a more or less immediate hit. Rachmaninoff himself wrote several arrangements, augmented over the years by dozens more. Today, we’ll hear Rachmaninoff’s own arrangement for piano. The Vocalise will be followed by more Rachmaninoff, Etudes nos. 8 and 9 from opus 39. Then, we’ll move to the popular end of the spectrum, with a set of songs from the Gardner’s Tin Pan Alley series. Today’s selections range from the traditional Danny Boy to the marching band hits You’re A Grand Old Flag and When Johnny Comes Marching Home to the ballad Shine On, Harvest Moon. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for solo piano and for voice and piano performed by Gleb Ivanov, piano, Randall Scarlata, baritone, Jennifer Aylmer, soprano, and Laura Ward, piano. -Rachmaninoff: Vocalise -Rachmaninoff: Etudes Nos. 8 and No. 9, Op. 39 -Songs from Tin Pan Alley This week we’ll bring you a few works that started off as songs, but have had great success instrumentally. Rachmanioff’s lyrical Vocalise is undoubtedly one of the best-known melodies in the canon. Originally the last of his opus 34 set of songs, the gorgeous tune seems to have been a more or less immediate hit. Rachmaninoff himself wrote several arrangements, augmented over the years by dozens more. Today, we’ll hear Rachmaninoff’s own arrangement for piano. The Vocalise will be followed by more Rachmaninoff, Etudes nos. 8 and 9 from opus 39. Then, we’ll move to the popular end of the spectrum, with a set of songs from the Gardner’s Tin Pan Alley series. Today’s selections range from the traditional Danny Boy to the marching band hits You’re A Grand Old Flag and When Johnny Comes Marching Home to the ballad Shine On, Harvest Moon. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-09-30,25213630 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/25126735-Two-Keyboard-Masters Works for cello and piano played by cellist Laurence Lesser and pianists Yunjie Chen and Russell Sherman -Bach: Partita for keyboard No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829 -Beethoven: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 Today, we’ll hear pieces by two great composers that reflect instrumental developments in their time. Bach was a dedicated keyboardist and composed for nearly every keyboard instrument. His Partita No. 5 in G Major was written specifically for a single-manual harpsichord; therefore, there are very few sustained notes. Instead, Bach uses intricate counterpoint and fugal relationships between the voices to create a densely textured and swirling set of dance movements. Beethoven, a gifted keyboard player himself, was also a pioneer in utilizing the cello as a solo instrument. In his Cello Sonata in G minor – one of the very first cello sonatas ever written – we hear the young composer beginning to realize the full potential of both instruments. He skillfully matches the sustained ... Works for cello and piano played by cellist Laurence Lesser and pianists Yunjie Chen and Russell Sherman -Bach: Partita for keyboard No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829 -Beethoven: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 Today, we’ll hear pieces by two great composers that reflect instrumental developments in their time. Bach was a dedicated keyboardist and composed for nearly every keyboard instrument. His Partita No. 5 in G Major was written specifically for a single-manual harpsichord; therefore, there are very few sustained notes. Instead, Bach uses intricate counterpoint and fugal relationships between the voices to create a densely textured and swirling set of dance movements. Beethoven, a gifted keyboard player himself, was also a pioneer in utilizing the cello as a solo instrument. In his Cello Sonata in G minor – one of the very first cello sonatas ever written – we hear the young composer beginning to realize the full potential of both instruments. He skillfully matches the sustained tones of the cello with rhythmic articulation and cascading notes in the piano. And in the final Rondo-Allegro, the piano and cello take turns carrying the lyrically playful melody and adding sparkling embellishment. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for cello and piano played by cellist Laurence Lesser and pianists Yunjie Chen and Russell Sherman -Bach: Partita for keyboard No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829 -Beethoven: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 Today, we’ll hear pieces by two great composers that reflect instrumental developments in their time. Bach was a dedicated keyboardist and composed for nearly every keyboard instrument. His Partita No. 5 in G Major was written specifically for a single-manual harpsichord; therefore, there are very few sustained notes. Instead, Bach uses intricate counterpoint and fugal relationships between the voices to create a densely textured and swirling set of dance movements. Beethoven, a gifted keyboard player himself, was also a pioneer in utilizing the cello as a solo instrument. In his Cello Sonata in G minor – one of the very first cello sonatas ever written – we hear the young composer beginning to realize the full potential of both instruments. He skillfully matches the sustained tones of the cello with rhythmic articulation and cascading notes in the piano. And in the final Rondo-Allegro, the piano and cello take turns carrying the lyrically playful melody and adding sparkling embellishment. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-09-14,25126735 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/25053765-Why-Do-They-Do-It Works for bassoon, chamber orchestra, and piano quartet played by bassoonist Elah Grandel and the Gardner Chamber Orchestra (Paula Robison, director), and Musicians from Marlboro. -Vivaldi: Concerto for bassoon, strings, and continuo in A minor -Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 While the bassoon was hardly a common solo instrument at the turn of the 18th century, Vivaldi clearly took it seriously. He wrote over 39 concertos for the instrument, including the Bassoon Concerto in A minor that we’ll hear today. Why was Vivaldi so drawn to the bassoon? Theories abound: perhaps he was inspired by a well-known Venetian master of the dulcian (an early version of the bassoon) or by an accomplished bassoonist at the girls’ school where he taught. Robert Schumann wrote his Piano Quartet in E-flat Major in 1842, a year known as his “Chamber Music Year” for the abundance of chamber works he composed during that time. Why so much chamber music all at once? Part of the answer lies i... Works for bassoon, chamber orchestra, and piano quartet played by bassoonist Elah Grandel and the Gardner Chamber Orchestra (Paula Robison, director), and Musicians from Marlboro. -Vivaldi: Concerto for bassoon, strings, and continuo in A minor -Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 While the bassoon was hardly a common solo instrument at the turn of the 18th century, Vivaldi clearly took it seriously. He wrote over 39 concertos for the instrument, including the Bassoon Concerto in A minor that we’ll hear today. Why was Vivaldi so drawn to the bassoon? Theories abound: perhaps he was inspired by a well-known Venetian master of the dulcian (an early version of the bassoon) or by an accomplished bassoonist at the girls’ school where he taught. Robert Schumann wrote his Piano Quartet in E-flat Major in 1842, a year known as his “Chamber Music Year” for the abundance of chamber works he composed during that time. Why so much chamber music all at once? Part of the answer lies in the genre itself, representing an ideal middle ground between private and public entertainment. This piano quartet has moments of quiet intimacy; yet the overall texture is thick with activity and grand gestures, melding an older chamber music model with a new impulse towards soloistic virtuosity. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for bassoon, chamber orchestra, and piano quartet played by bassoonist Elah Grandel and the Gardner Chamber Orchestra (Paula Robison, director), and Musicians from Marlboro. -Vivaldi: Concerto for bassoon, strings, and continuo in A minor -Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 While the bassoon was hardly a common solo instrument at the turn of the 18th century, Vivaldi clearly took it seriously. He wrote over 39 concertos for the instrument, including the Bassoon Concerto in A minor that we’ll hear today. Why was Vivaldi so drawn to the bassoon? Theories abound: perhaps he was inspired by a well-known Venetian master of the dulcian (an early version of the bassoon) or by an accomplished bassoonist at the girls’ school where he taught. Robert Schumann wrote his Piano Quartet in E-flat Major in 1842, a year known as his “Chamber Music Year” for the abundance of chamber works he composed during that time. Why so much chamber music all at once? Part of the answer lies in the genre itself, representing an ideal middle ground between private and public entertainment. This piano quartet has moments of quiet intimacy; yet the overall texture is thick with activity and grand gestures, melding an older chamber music model with a new impulse towards soloistic virtuosity. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-08-31,25053765 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24964625-On-Either-Side-of-the-Heiligenstadt-Testament Works for violin and piano played by violinist Corey Cerovsek and pianist Paavali Jumppanen. -Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”) After Beethoven’s death, a curious document was found among his belongings. In this highly personal letter, labeled the “Heiligenstadt Testament,” Beethoven admitted that he was going deaf and revealed the agony that his condition had caused him. Indeed, the loss of his hearing was Beethoven’s greatest fear realized. Beethoven wrote the Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 just four months before the Heiligenstadt Testament. The Adagio movement holds a beautifully deep sense of melancholy and pathos, perhaps reflecting the composer’s growing despair. By contrast, his ambitious Piano Sonata in C Major, op. 53, nicknamed the “Waldstein Sonata,” was composed a year after the Heiligenstadt Testament. By this time, Beethoven had moved beyond his anxiety and depression into a phas... Works for violin and piano played by violinist Corey Cerovsek and pianist Paavali Jumppanen. -Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”) After Beethoven’s death, a curious document was found among his belongings. In this highly personal letter, labeled the “Heiligenstadt Testament,” Beethoven admitted that he was going deaf and revealed the agony that his condition had caused him. Indeed, the loss of his hearing was Beethoven’s greatest fear realized. Beethoven wrote the Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 just four months before the Heiligenstadt Testament. The Adagio movement holds a beautifully deep sense of melancholy and pathos, perhaps reflecting the composer’s growing despair. By contrast, his ambitious Piano Sonata in C Major, op. 53, nicknamed the “Waldstein Sonata,” was composed a year after the Heiligenstadt Testament. By this time, Beethoven had moved beyond his anxiety and depression into a phase of intense productivity. Featuring compelling motives and strong characters, this sonata is a clear reflection of Beethoven’s personal determination and commitment to his life and music. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for violin and piano played by violinist Corey Cerovsek and pianist Paavali Jumppanen. -Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”) After Beethoven’s death, a curious document was found among his belongings. In this highly personal letter, labeled the “Heiligenstadt Testament,” Beethoven admitted that he was going deaf and revealed the agony that his condition had caused him. Indeed, the loss of his hearing was Beethoven’s greatest fear realized. Beethoven wrote the Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 just four months before the Heiligenstadt Testament. The Adagio movement holds a beautifully deep sense of melancholy and pathos, perhaps reflecting the composer’s growing despair. By contrast, his ambitious Piano Sonata in C Major, op. 53, nicknamed the “Waldstein Sonata,” was composed a year after the Heiligenstadt Testament. By this time, Beethoven had moved beyond his anxiety and depression into a phase of intense productivity. Featuring compelling motives and strong characters, this sonata is a clear reflection of Beethoven’s personal determination and commitment to his life and music. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-08-14,24964625 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24883233-An-Ambitious-Octet Schubert’s Octet in F Major played by Musicians from Marlboro. -Schubert: Octet in F Major, D. 803 (Op. 166) Schubert’s Octet in F Major, the centerpiece of today’s program, is an ambitious piece in every way. Its broad instrumentation—string quartet plus double bass, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn—provides a richness of texture and timbre that is unusual in a chamber work. Moreover, Schubert gives each instrument a place of honor within the piece. Melodies are shared and swapped, making the octet a rich and respectful conversation between eight individuals, where the expressive whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. The octet was commissioned by the Archbishop Rudolph of Olomutz, Beethoven’s former patron, who asked Schubert for a work that would complement Beethoven’s 1799 septet. Schubert followed Beethoven’s model closely in the number and structure of the movements as well as in the instrumentation. And indeed, this octet is marked by the strength and fieriness t... Schubert’s Octet in F Major played by Musicians from Marlboro. -Schubert: Octet in F Major, D. 803 (Op. 166) Schubert’s Octet in F Major, the centerpiece of today’s program, is an ambitious piece in every way. Its broad instrumentation—string quartet plus double bass, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn—provides a richness of texture and timbre that is unusual in a chamber work. Moreover, Schubert gives each instrument a place of honor within the piece. Melodies are shared and swapped, making the octet a rich and respectful conversation between eight individuals, where the expressive whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. The octet was commissioned by the Archbishop Rudolph of Olomutz, Beethoven’s former patron, who asked Schubert for a work that would complement Beethoven’s 1799 septet. Schubert followed Beethoven’s model closely in the number and structure of the movements as well as in the instrumentation. And indeed, this octet is marked by the strength and fieriness that we associate with Beethoven. But the elegance and lyricality, as well as the intimacy of emotions expressed, are quintessentially Schubert. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Schubert’s Octet in F Major played by Musicians from Marlboro. -Schubert: Octet in F Major, D. 803 (Op. 166) Schubert’s Octet in F Major, the centerpiece of today’s program, is an ambitious piece in every way. Its broad instrumentation—string quartet plus double bass, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn—provides a richness of texture and timbre that is unusual in a chamber work. Moreover, Schubert gives each instrument a place of honor within the piece. Melodies are shared and swapped, making the octet a rich and respectful conversation between eight individuals, where the expressive whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. The octet was commissioned by the Archbishop Rudolph of Olomutz, Beethoven’s former patron, who asked Schubert for a work that would complement Beethoven’s 1799 septet. Schubert followed Beethoven’s model closely in the number and structure of the movements as well as in the instrumentation. And indeed, this octet is marked by the strength and fieriness that we associate with Beethoven. But the elegance and lyricality, as well as the intimacy of emotions expressed, are quintessentially Schubert. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-07-28,24883233 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24808031-Integration-with-an-Intention Works for flute, harp, and piano played by Paula Robison, flute; Mariko Anraku, harp; and Jeremy Denk, piano.. -Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (excerpt) -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 106 “Hammerklavier” Today’s podcast features works by two composers who were committed to devising integrated musical forms in order to create compelling musical experiences. In his opera Orpheus and Eurydice, Christoph Willibald Gluck wanted to unify all elements of the work to create dramatic momentum. By simplifying flashy vocal techniques and making skillful use of orchestration, harmonies, and plot, he created a work that flows smoothly, allowing the audience to become thoroughly absorbed in the music and drama. We’ll hear a selection from the opera, arranged for flute and harp. Monumental in its structure, length, and sheer amount of musical material, Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata is considered one of the most challenging in the piano repertoire. Though each movement has a distinctl... Works for flute, harp, and piano played by Paula Robison, flute; Mariko Anraku, harp; and Jeremy Denk, piano.. -Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (excerpt) -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 106 “Hammerklavier” Today’s podcast features works by two composers who were committed to devising integrated musical forms in order to create compelling musical experiences. In his opera Orpheus and Eurydice, Christoph Willibald Gluck wanted to unify all elements of the work to create dramatic momentum. By simplifying flashy vocal techniques and making skillful use of orchestration, harmonies, and plot, he created a work that flows smoothly, allowing the audience to become thoroughly absorbed in the music and drama. We’ll hear a selection from the opera, arranged for flute and harp. Monumental in its structure, length, and sheer amount of musical material, Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata is considered one of the most challenging in the piano repertoire. Though each movement has a distinctly different mood, Beethoven too was focused on creating an integrated musical form. Through skillful variation and fugal development, he was able to take a few small melodic units and spin them into a massive, yet elegant, musical structure. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for flute, harp, and piano played by Paula Robison, flute; Mariko Anraku, harp; and Jeremy Denk, piano.. -Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (excerpt) -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 106 “Hammerklavier” Today’s podcast features works by two composers who were committed to devising integrated musical forms in order to create compelling musical experiences. In his opera Orpheus and Eurydice, Christoph Willibald Gluck wanted to unify all elements of the work to create dramatic momentum. By simplifying flashy vocal techniques and making skillful use of orchestration, harmonies, and plot, he created a work that flows smoothly, allowing the audience to become thoroughly absorbed in the music and drama. We’ll hear a selection from the opera, arranged for flute and harp. Monumental in its structure, length, and sheer amount of musical material, Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata is considered one of the most challenging in the piano repertoire. Though each movement has a distinctly different mood, Beethoven too was focused on creating an integrated musical form. Through skillful variation and fugal development, he was able to take a few small melodic units and spin them into a massive, yet elegant, musical structure. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-07-14,24808031 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24755998-From-the-Periphery-to-the-Center Works for violin and piano played by violinist Nick Kendall and pianists Jonathan Biss, Gleb Ivanov, and Robert Koenig. -Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat Major, Op. 61 -Chopin: Nocturne-Waltz-Scherzo -Grieg: Violin Sonata in C minor, Op. 45 Frederic Chopin and Edvard Grieg came from the periphery of Europe to become two of the most celebrated 19th century composers. Chopin was born in Poland but spent most of his life in Paris. After the Polish uprising against the Russian empire in 1830, he realized that he could use his music to raise awareness of Polish culture. The polonaise - the quintessential Polish dance form - thus played an important role in his compositions. His Polonaise-Fantasy incorporates the polonaise’s martial rhythm while maintaining an organic spontaneity and sustained intensity. An early Nocturne, Waltz, and Scherzo illustrate Chopin’s ability to compose emotional and innovative pieces in a range of genres. Committed to being a Norwegian nationalist composer, ... Works for violin and piano played by violinist Nick Kendall and pianists Jonathan Biss, Gleb Ivanov, and Robert Koenig. -Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat Major, Op. 61 -Chopin: Nocturne-Waltz-Scherzo -Grieg: Violin Sonata in C minor, Op. 45 Frederic Chopin and Edvard Grieg came from the periphery of Europe to become two of the most celebrated 19th century composers. Chopin was born in Poland but spent most of his life in Paris. After the Polish uprising against the Russian empire in 1830, he realized that he could use his music to raise awareness of Polish culture. The polonaise - the quintessential Polish dance form - thus played an important role in his compositions. His Polonaise-Fantasy incorporates the polonaise’s martial rhythm while maintaining an organic spontaneity and sustained intensity. An early Nocturne, Waltz, and Scherzo illustrate Chopin’s ability to compose emotional and innovative pieces in a range of genres. Committed to being a Norwegian nationalist composer, Grieg drew on a range of influences, from the intense romanticism of Schumann to the angular rhythms and unusual intervals of Norwegian folk song. His Violin Sonata in C minor displays Grieg’s Scandinavian roots alongside the wider aesthetic influences that affected his music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for violin and piano played by violinist Nick Kendall and pianists Jonathan Biss, Gleb Ivanov, and Robert Koenig. -Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat Major, Op. 61 -Chopin: Nocturne-Waltz-Scherzo -Grieg: Violin Sonata in C minor, Op. 45 Frederic Chopin and Edvard Grieg came from the periphery of Europe to become two of the most celebrated 19th century composers. Chopin was born in Poland but spent most of his life in Paris. After the Polish uprising against the Russian empire in 1830, he realized that he could use his music to raise awareness of Polish culture. The polonaise - the quintessential Polish dance form - thus played an important role in his compositions. His Polonaise-Fantasy incorporates the polonaise’s martial rhythm while maintaining an organic spontaneity and sustained intensity. An early Nocturne, Waltz, and Scherzo illustrate Chopin’s ability to compose emotional and innovative pieces in a range of genres. Committed to being a Norwegian nationalist composer, Grieg drew on a range of influences, from the intense romanticism of Schumann to the angular rhythms and unusual intervals of Norwegian folk song. His Violin Sonata in C minor displays Grieg’s Scandinavian roots alongside the wider aesthetic influences that affected his music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-06-30,24755998 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24706293-A-Baroque-Master-and-a-Romantic-Disciple Works for solo flute and piano trio played by flutist Paula Robison and the Claremont Trio. -Bach: Partita for solo flute in A minor, BWV 1013 -Schumann: Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor, Op. 110 The first piece on today’s program is Bach’s Partita in A minor, made up of four movements that constitute a typical baroque dance suite. Because the work is for solo flute, with no accompanying instrument to provide the harmonic bass figures, Bach had to conjure meter, harmony and counterpoint in one solo melodic instrument. The result is a challenging piece, demanding frequent leaps between registers to create the effect of multiple voices in just one instrument. Robert Schumann idolized Bach. Throughout his life he collected and studied Bach’s works, especially the Well-Tempered Clavier, which greatly influenced his own keyboard compositions. Even within Schumann’s lush and romantic Piano Trio No. 3, the flowing lines and densely layered voices mask a carefully refined structure, a rigor of f... Works for solo flute and piano trio played by flutist Paula Robison and the Claremont Trio. -Bach: Partita for solo flute in A minor, BWV 1013 -Schumann: Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor, Op. 110 The first piece on today’s program is Bach’s Partita in A minor, made up of four movements that constitute a typical baroque dance suite. Because the work is for solo flute, with no accompanying instrument to provide the harmonic bass figures, Bach had to conjure meter, harmony and counterpoint in one solo melodic instrument. The result is a challenging piece, demanding frequent leaps between registers to create the effect of multiple voices in just one instrument. Robert Schumann idolized Bach. Throughout his life he collected and studied Bach’s works, especially the Well-Tempered Clavier, which greatly influenced his own keyboard compositions. Even within Schumann’s lush and romantic Piano Trio No. 3, the flowing lines and densely layered voices mask a carefully refined structure, a rigor of form and development that hints at Bach’s central role in Schumann’s musical world. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for solo flute and piano trio played by flutist Paula Robison and the Claremont Trio. -Bach: Partita for solo flute in A minor, BWV 1013 -Schumann: Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor, Op. 110 The first piece on today’s program is Bach’s Partita in A minor, made up of four movements that constitute a typical baroque dance suite. Because the work is for solo flute, with no accompanying instrument to provide the harmonic bass figures, Bach had to conjure meter, harmony and counterpoint in one solo melodic instrument. The result is a challenging piece, demanding frequent leaps between registers to create the effect of multiple voices in just one instrument. Robert Schumann idolized Bach. Throughout his life he collected and studied Bach’s works, especially the Well-Tempered Clavier, which greatly influenced his own keyboard compositions. Even within Schumann’s lush and romantic Piano Trio No. 3, the flowing lines and densely layered voices mask a carefully refined structure, a rigor of form and development that hints at Bach’s central role in Schumann’s musical world. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-06-14,24706293 Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24633932-Beginning-and-Ending-in-Vienna Works for piano and string quintet performed by pianist Paavali Jumppanen and Musicians from Marlboro. -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3 -Mozart: Viola Quintet in E-flat Major, K. 614 Beethoven wrote his Op. 10, No. 3 piano sonata in 1798, six years after moving to Vienna. In its elegance, structure, and charm, Beethoven’s early music is certainly indebted to the work of Haydn and Mozart. Yet the underlying drama and urgency that eventually became the hallmarks of Beethoven’s music can be detected even in the Classical style of this early piano sonata. Mozart’s Viola Quintet in E-flat Major was written in 1791. The viola was Mozart’s favorite string instrument, so writing for an ensemble that had two violas must have satisfied him. The work’s deft combination of virtuosity and melodiousness demonstrate Mozart’s compositional maturity. Sadly, this is the last chamber work the composer was to write; he died later that year. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleas... Works for piano and string quintet performed by pianist Paavali Jumppanen and Musicians from Marlboro. -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3 -Mozart: Viola Quintet in E-flat Major, K. 614 Beethoven wrote his Op. 10, No. 3 piano sonata in 1798, six years after moving to Vienna. In its elegance, structure, and charm, Beethoven’s early music is certainly indebted to the work of Haydn and Mozart. Yet the underlying drama and urgency that eventually became the hallmarks of Beethoven’s music can be detected even in the Classical style of this early piano sonata. Mozart’s Viola Quintet in E-flat Major was written in 1791. The viola was Mozart’s favorite string instrument, so writing for an ensemble that had two violas must have satisfied him. The work’s deft combination of virtuosity and melodiousness demonstrate Mozart’s compositional maturity. Sadly, this is the last chamber work the composer was to write; he died later that year. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for piano and string quintet performed by pianist Paavali Jumppanen and Musicians from Marlboro. -Beethoven: Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3 -Mozart: Viola Quintet in E-flat Major, K. 614 Beethoven wrote his Op. 10, No. 3 piano sonata in 1798, six years after moving to Vienna. In its elegance, structure, and charm, Beethoven’s early music is certainly indebted to the work of Haydn and Mozart. Yet the underlying drama and urgency that eventually became the hallmarks of Beethoven’s music can be detected even in the Classical style of this early piano sonata. Mozart’s Viola Quintet in E-flat Major was written in 1791. The viola was Mozart’s favorite string instrument, so writing for an ensemble that had two violas must have satisfied him. The work’s deft combination of virtuosity and melodiousness demonstrate Mozart’s compositional maturity. Sadly, this is the last chamber work the composer was to write; he died later that year. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-05-31,24633932 Sun, 31 May 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24553732-Musical-Recycling Works for strings and piano performed by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra, Paula Robison, flute and director; and pianist Jeremy Denk. -Vivaldi: Concerto for Orchestra in C Major, FXI No. 25 -Ives: Sonata No. 2, “Concord Sonata” Today’s program begins with Antonio Vivaldi’s very short Concerto for Orchestra in C Major. A prolific composer, Vivaldi often re-used part of one piece in another work – and indeed the second movement of this piece was repurposed in his Double Trumpet Concerto. This borrowing of musical material is a common compositional practice, but no composer is more famous for the quotation and recycling of musical snippets than Charles Ives. The piano sonata that we’ll hear next, officially titled “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860,” recalls the 19th century Transcendentalists. Each movement of the sonata represents one of the great thinkers of the time: Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and Thoreau. Throughout the piece, Ives draws on a range of musical styles and sounds, from fo... Works for strings and piano performed by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra, Paula Robison, flute and director; and pianist Jeremy Denk. -Vivaldi: Concerto for Orchestra in C Major, FXI No. 25 -Ives: Sonata No. 2, “Concord Sonata” Today’s program begins with Antonio Vivaldi’s very short Concerto for Orchestra in C Major. A prolific composer, Vivaldi often re-used part of one piece in another work – and indeed the second movement of this piece was repurposed in his Double Trumpet Concerto. This borrowing of musical material is a common compositional practice, but no composer is more famous for the quotation and recycling of musical snippets than Charles Ives. The piano sonata that we’ll hear next, officially titled “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860,” recalls the 19th century Transcendentalists. Each movement of the sonata represents one of the great thinkers of the time: Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and Thoreau. Throughout the piece, Ives draws on a range of musical styles and sounds, from folk songs and austere hymns to ragtime melodies and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, to create these musical portraits. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for strings and piano performed by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra, Paula Robison, flute and director; and pianist Jeremy Denk. -Vivaldi: Concerto for Orchestra in C Major, FXI No. 25 -Ives: Sonata No. 2, “Concord Sonata” Today’s program begins with Antonio Vivaldi’s very short Concerto for Orchestra in C Major. A prolific composer, Vivaldi often re-used part of one piece in another work – and indeed the second movement of this piece was repurposed in his Double Trumpet Concerto. This borrowing of musical material is a common compositional practice, but no composer is more famous for the quotation and recycling of musical snippets than Charles Ives. The piano sonata that we’ll hear next, officially titled “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860,” recalls the 19th century Transcendentalists. Each movement of the sonata represents one of the great thinkers of the time: Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and Thoreau. Throughout the piece, Ives draws on a range of musical styles and sounds, from folk songs and austere hymns to ragtime melodies and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, to create these musical portraits. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-05-14,24553732 Thu, 14 May 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24518854-Mendelssohn%E2%80%99s-Intentions Works for piano and string octet performed by pianist Vassily Primakov and Musicians from Marlboro. -Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words -Mendelssohn: Octet for strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20 First on this program is a selection of short piano pieces from Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words.” Mendelssohn wrote eight volumes of these songlike works between 1830 and 1845. Typical of Mendelssohn, every song is carefully structured and elegantly refined. Even without words, each short piece has a very definite character and temperament, ranging from triumphal to nostalgic. Mendelssohn composed his string octet in 1825, when he was only sixteen years old. This work is considered his first great masterpiece. Scored for a double quartet, Mendelssohn specified that the octet should be played with the dynamics, strength and style of a symphony. Mendelssohn considered the octet to be one of his favorite works. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The... Works for piano and string octet performed by pianist Vassily Primakov and Musicians from Marlboro. -Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words -Mendelssohn: Octet for strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20 First on this program is a selection of short piano pieces from Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words.” Mendelssohn wrote eight volumes of these songlike works between 1830 and 1845. Typical of Mendelssohn, every song is carefully structured and elegantly refined. Even without words, each short piece has a very definite character and temperament, ranging from triumphal to nostalgic. Mendelssohn composed his string octet in 1825, when he was only sixteen years old. This work is considered his first great masterpiece. Scored for a double quartet, Mendelssohn specified that the octet should be played with the dynamics, strength and style of a symphony. Mendelssohn considered the octet to be one of his favorite works. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for piano and string octet performed by pianist Vassily Primakov and Musicians from Marlboro. -Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words -Mendelssohn: Octet for strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20 First on this program is a selection of short piano pieces from Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words.” Mendelssohn wrote eight volumes of these songlike works between 1830 and 1845. Typical of Mendelssohn, every song is carefully structured and elegantly refined. Even without words, each short piece has a very definite character and temperament, ranging from triumphal to nostalgic. Mendelssohn composed his string octet in 1825, when he was only sixteen years old. This work is considered his first great masterpiece. Scored for a double quartet, Mendelssohn specified that the octet should be played with the dynamics, strength and style of a symphony. Mendelssohn considered the octet to be one of his favorite works. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-04-30,24518854 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24518855-Paradoxes-of-Music-and-Life Works for cello and piano performed by cellist Laurence Lesser and pianists Yunjie Chen and Russell Sherman. -Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 11 -Beethoven: Cello Sonata in D Major, Op. 102, No. 2 Robert Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1 is a beautifully structured series of emotional contradictions, from the impish and dark Allegro Vivace to the brooding yet ethereal Finale. It was written at a time of similarly mixed emotions in Schumann’s life: the period in which he experienced his first severe bouts of depression, but also when he began his romance with the brilliant pianist Clara Wieck, whose own compositions inspired this piece. When Beethoven wrote his Sonata in D Major for cello and piano, he was enjoying great acclaim as a composer, but his growing deafness meant the end of his career as a pianist. In this sonata, Beethoven takes full advantage of the instruments’ sonorous possibilities, coupling his characteristic musical strength with rich melodic lines an... Works for cello and piano performed by cellist Laurence Lesser and pianists Yunjie Chen and Russell Sherman. -Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 11 -Beethoven: Cello Sonata in D Major, Op. 102, No. 2 Robert Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1 is a beautifully structured series of emotional contradictions, from the impish and dark Allegro Vivace to the brooding yet ethereal Finale. It was written at a time of similarly mixed emotions in Schumann’s life: the period in which he experienced his first severe bouts of depression, but also when he began his romance with the brilliant pianist Clara Wieck, whose own compositions inspired this piece. When Beethoven wrote his Sonata in D Major for cello and piano, he was enjoying great acclaim as a composer, but his growing deafness meant the end of his career as a pianist. In this sonata, Beethoven takes full advantage of the instruments’ sonorous possibilities, coupling his characteristic musical strength with rich melodic lines and moments of intimacy and delicacy. This is most clearly heard in the final fugue, where the forthright emotions and unusual harmonies seem to foreshadow Romantic music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Works for cello and piano performed by cellist Laurence Lesser and pianists Yunjie Chen and Russell Sherman. -Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 11 -Beethoven: Cello Sonata in D Major, Op. 102, No. 2 Robert Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1 is a beautifully structured series of emotional contradictions, from the impish and dark Allegro Vivace to the brooding yet ethereal Finale. It was written at a time of similarly mixed emotions in Schumann’s life: the period in which he experienced his first severe bouts of depression, but also when he began his romance with the brilliant pianist Clara Wieck, whose own compositions inspired this piece. When Beethoven wrote his Sonata in D Major for cello and piano, he was enjoying great acclaim as a composer, but his growing deafness meant the end of his career as a pianist. In this sonata, Beethoven takes full advantage of the instruments’ sonorous possibilities, coupling his characteristic musical strength with rich melodic lines and moments of intimacy and delicacy. This is most clearly heard in the final fugue, where the forthright emotions and unusual harmonies seem to foreshadow Romantic music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-04-14,24518855 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24385938-The-Integrity-of-Dvo-%C3%A1k Today, we will hear two pieces by the Czech composer Antonin Dvo?ák, beginning with his Terzetto for two violins and viola from 1887. Besieged with commissions after several very successful trips to England, Dvo?ák wrote this piece in just one week! Unapologetically melodic, the Terzetto’s themes dovetail and layer between the instruments, always containing a hint of wistfulness. The piece is far more rich, dramatic, and complex than either its title or its simple instrumentation would indicate. One of Dvo?ák’s earlier works, his Serenade for Winds and Strings, was written over the course of two weeks in 1879, during another period of increased demand for his compositions. Scored for a large ensemble of winds, brass, cello and bass, it nonetheless maintains a simplicity of line and texture. The work’s solidity of sound and honesty of expression convey an integrity that is present in much of Dvo?ák’s music, especially fitting for a composer who always placed family, homeland, nature,... Today, we will hear two pieces by the Czech composer Antonin Dvo?ák, beginning with his Terzetto for two violins and viola from 1887. Besieged with commissions after several very successful trips to England, Dvo?ák wrote this piece in just one week! Unapologetically melodic, the Terzetto’s themes dovetail and layer between the instruments, always containing a hint of wistfulness. The piece is far more rich, dramatic, and complex than either its title or its simple instrumentation would indicate. One of Dvo?ák’s earlier works, his Serenade for Winds and Strings, was written over the course of two weeks in 1879, during another period of increased demand for his compositions. Scored for a large ensemble of winds, brass, cello and bass, it nonetheless maintains a simplicity of line and texture. The work’s solidity of sound and honesty of expression convey an integrity that is present in much of Dvo?ák’s music, especially fitting for a composer who always placed family, homeland, nature, and music above all else. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Today, we will hear two pieces by the Czech composer Antonin Dvo?ák, beginning with his Terzetto for two violins and viola from 1887. Besieged with commissions after several very successful trips to England, Dvo?ák wrote this piece in just one week! Unapologetically melodic, the Terzetto’s themes dovetail and layer between the instruments, always containing a hint of wistfulness. The piece is far more rich, dramatic, and complex than either its title or its simple instrumentation would indicate. One of Dvo?ák’s earlier works, his Serenade for Winds and Strings, was written over the course of two weeks in 1879, during another period of increased demand for his compositions. Scored for a large ensemble of winds, brass, cello and bass, it nonetheless maintains a simplicity of line and texture. The work’s solidity of sound and honesty of expression convey an integrity that is present in much of Dvo?ák’s music, especially fitting for a composer who always placed family, homeland, nature, and music above all else. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-03-31,24385938 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24307711-Vienna-Beethoven-Brahms Beethoven called his Sonata No. 25 a ‘sonatine facile’—a simple, or easy, little sonata—and its three compact movements comprise one of his shortest works. Throughout the varying moods of the three movements, this work maintains an air of freedom and innocence. But the readily apparent thematic clarity and easy spirit of this little sonata belie its compositional sophistication and elegant structure. Johannes Brahms moved to Vienna, Beethoven’s adopted hometown, in 1862, seventy years after Beethoven’s death. Brahms idolized Beethoven and was deeply influenced by his work. Upon arriving in Vienna, Brahms was hailed as Beethoven’s musical successor. And Brahms’ very first pieces to be performed in that city were his first two piano quartets, completed the previous year. His second piano quartet, a lyrical counterpart to the muscular first, is quintessential Brahms in its rich and expansive nature, with a still, stationary quality that underlies even the moments of dark rumbling and p... Beethoven called his Sonata No. 25 a ‘sonatine facile’—a simple, or easy, little sonata—and its three compact movements comprise one of his shortest works. Throughout the varying moods of the three movements, this work maintains an air of freedom and innocence. But the readily apparent thematic clarity and easy spirit of this little sonata belie its compositional sophistication and elegant structure. Johannes Brahms moved to Vienna, Beethoven’s adopted hometown, in 1862, seventy years after Beethoven’s death. Brahms idolized Beethoven and was deeply influenced by his work. Upon arriving in Vienna, Brahms was hailed as Beethoven’s musical successor. And Brahms’ very first pieces to be performed in that city were his first two piano quartets, completed the previous year. His second piano quartet, a lyrical counterpart to the muscular first, is quintessential Brahms in its rich and expansive nature, with a still, stationary quality that underlies even the moments of dark rumbling and playful intensity. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Beethoven called his Sonata No. 25 a ‘sonatine facile’—a simple, or easy, little sonata—and its three compact movements comprise one of his shortest works. Throughout the varying moods of the three movements, this work maintains an air of freedom and innocence. But the readily apparent thematic clarity and easy spirit of this little sonata belie its compositional sophistication and elegant structure. Johannes Brahms moved to Vienna, Beethoven’s adopted hometown, in 1862, seventy years after Beethoven’s death. Brahms idolized Beethoven and was deeply influenced by his work. Upon arriving in Vienna, Brahms was hailed as Beethoven’s musical successor. And Brahms’ very first pieces to be performed in that city were his first two piano quartets, completed the previous year. His second piano quartet, a lyrical counterpart to the muscular first, is quintessential Brahms in its rich and expansive nature, with a still, stationary quality that underlies even the moments of dark rumbling and playful intensity. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-03-14,24307711 Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24235989-Biography-and-Music When trying to understand a composer’s music, we often turn to his or her life to learn more about what biographical events might have influenced a particular work or period. Sometimes, though, what we know about a composer’s life and what we hear in a piece seem to be diametrically opposed. Mozart’s Trio in C Major was written in 1788, at a time when Mozart’s wife was battling a serious illness and just a year after his father’s death. Already under financial pressure, Mozart quickly wrote three piano trios in order to secure funds. The C Major trio is short but sophisticated, with a lighthearted spirit that belies the financial and psychological duress that Mozart was under at the time. In contrast, his String Quartet in D minor, written five years earlier when Mozart was recently married and enjoying great popularity and success in Vienna, opens with a melody that is deeply haunting and unsettled. And while Mozart does introduce sunnier themes, he always returns to a dark and bro... When trying to understand a composer’s music, we often turn to his or her life to learn more about what biographical events might have influenced a particular work or period. Sometimes, though, what we know about a composer’s life and what we hear in a piece seem to be diametrically opposed. Mozart’s Trio in C Major was written in 1788, at a time when Mozart’s wife was battling a serious illness and just a year after his father’s death. Already under financial pressure, Mozart quickly wrote three piano trios in order to secure funds. The C Major trio is short but sophisticated, with a lighthearted spirit that belies the financial and psychological duress that Mozart was under at the time. In contrast, his String Quartet in D minor, written five years earlier when Mozart was recently married and enjoying great popularity and success in Vienna, opens with a melody that is deeply haunting and unsettled. And while Mozart does introduce sunnier themes, he always returns to a dark and brooding atmosphere. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. When trying to understand a composer’s music, we often turn to his or her life to learn more about what biographical events might have influenced a particular work or period. Sometimes, though, what we know about a composer’s life and what we hear in a piece seem to be diametrically opposed. Mozart’s Trio in C Major was written in 1788, at a time when Mozart’s wife was battling a serious illness and just a year after his father’s death. Already under financial pressure, Mozart quickly wrote three piano trios in order to secure funds. The C Major trio is short but sophisticated, with a lighthearted spirit that belies the financial and psychological duress that Mozart was under at the time. In contrast, his String Quartet in D minor, written five years earlier when Mozart was recently married and enjoying great popularity and success in Vienna, opens with a melody that is deeply haunting and unsettled. And while Mozart does introduce sunnier themes, he always returns to a dark and brooding atmosphere. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-02-28,24235989 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:00:00 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24102350-Bach-and-Beethoven First on today’s program is the Andante movement from Bach’s Italian Concerto. Surprisingly, while the piece is called a concerto, it is only played by one instrument: the harpsichord. Bach took the popular Italian concerto style—usually used for instrumental soloists and an orchestra—and transcribed it for harpsichord. Here, however, the piece is not performed by a keyboard player at all, but a harpist. Our second piece is Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet in A minor. The second of Beethoven’s famous late quartets, it is particularly well-known for its third movement, the “Heiliger Dankgesang,” which Beethoven composed just after recovering from a serious illness. The quartet as a whole is alternately fiery and charming—almost schizophrenic in its quick changes of tonality and temperament. But the “Heiliger Dankgesang” is of another character entirely: simple and austere, with incredible harmonies emerging as the instruments slowly move in unison. Recorded live in the Tapestry ... First on today’s program is the Andante movement from Bach’s Italian Concerto. Surprisingly, while the piece is called a concerto, it is only played by one instrument: the harpsichord. Bach took the popular Italian concerto style—usually used for instrumental soloists and an orchestra—and transcribed it for harpsichord. Here, however, the piece is not performed by a keyboard player at all, but a harpist. Our second piece is Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet in A minor. The second of Beethoven’s famous late quartets, it is particularly well-known for its third movement, the “Heiliger Dankgesang,” which Beethoven composed just after recovering from a serious illness. The quartet as a whole is alternately fiery and charming—almost schizophrenic in its quick changes of tonality and temperament. But the “Heiliger Dankgesang” is of another character entirely: simple and austere, with incredible harmonies emerging as the instruments slowly move in unison. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. First on today’s program is the Andante movement from Bach’s Italian Concerto. Surprisingly, while the piece is called a concerto, it is only played by one instrument: the harpsichord. Bach took the popular Italian concerto style—usually used for instrumental soloists and an orchestra—and transcribed it for harpsichord. Here, however, the piece is not performed by a keyboard player at all, but a harpist. Our second piece is Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet in A minor. The second of Beethoven’s famous late quartets, it is particularly well-known for its third movement, the “Heiliger Dankgesang,” which Beethoven composed just after recovering from a serious illness. The quartet as a whole is alternately fiery and charming—almost schizophrenic in its quick changes of tonality and temperament. But the “Heiliger Dankgesang” is of another character entirely: simple and austere, with incredible harmonies emerging as the instruments slowly move in unison. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-02-14,24102350 Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:00:00 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/24008530-Admiration-and-Rivalry Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel are held today as two icons of French classical music. Both were prominent in fin-de-siecle Parisian culture, associating closely with writers, poets, and painters. Both attended the 1889 Paris Exhibition and were fascinated by the musical cultures they encountered there, particularly the Javanese gamelan. Working in almost parallel fashion, both actively sought to create a fluid new sound world, rich in texture and color, and each emerged with a distinctive musical idiom. The two pieces we’ll hear today were written within a year of one another, in the midst of World War I. Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano was composed in 1915, three years before his death. Within its irregular phrasing and rubato, every gesture in the cello conjures a speaking voice, urgently trying to communicate. Ravel’s 1914 Trio is especially notable for its narrative quality, as if a story or panorama were slowly unfolding as the three instruments weave in and out of each ... Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel are held today as two icons of French classical music. Both were prominent in fin-de-siecle Parisian culture, associating closely with writers, poets, and painters. Both attended the 1889 Paris Exhibition and were fascinated by the musical cultures they encountered there, particularly the Javanese gamelan. Working in almost parallel fashion, both actively sought to create a fluid new sound world, rich in texture and color, and each emerged with a distinctive musical idiom. The two pieces we’ll hear today were written within a year of one another, in the midst of World War I. Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano was composed in 1915, three years before his death. Within its irregular phrasing and rubato, every gesture in the cello conjures a speaking voice, urgently trying to communicate. Ravel’s 1914 Trio is especially notable for its narrative quality, as if a story or panorama were slowly unfolding as the three instruments weave in and out of each other, layering and disassembling strata of sound. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel are held today as two icons of French classical music. Both were prominent in fin-de-siecle Parisian culture, associating closely with writers, poets, and painters. Both attended the 1889 Paris Exhibition and were fascinated by the musical cultures they encountered there, particularly the Javanese gamelan. Working in almost parallel fashion, both actively sought to create a fluid new sound world, rich in texture and color, and each emerged with a distinctive musical idiom. The two pieces we’ll hear today were written within a year of one another, in the midst of World War I. Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano was composed in 1915, three years before his death. Within its irregular phrasing and rubato, every gesture in the cello conjures a speaking voice, urgently trying to communicate. Ravel’s 1914 Trio is especially notable for its narrative quality, as if a story or panorama were slowly unfolding as the three instruments weave in and out of each other, layering and disassembling strata of sound. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-01-31,24008530 Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:00:00 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23879247-Emblems Though disparate in sound and style, today’s three pieces are similar in that each can be considered emblematic of its composer’s sound and approach. Chopin, frequently discussed as a nationalist composer, expressed allegiance with his Polish homeland by returning to the form of the mazurka, a quintessential Polish folk dance, throughout his career. His Three Mazurkas contain the composer’s hallmark elegance, virtuosity, and structural sophistication. Webern’s Variations for Piano exemplify the twelve-tone row compositional technique to which Webern strictly adhered throughout his life, along with the pointillistic texture, complex rhythm, and sharply disjointed lines that illustrate his sound world. Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in A Major is emblematic in that it captures much of the composer’s dedication to a ‘heroic spirit.’ The opening theme contains a fiercely majestic quality and Beethoven’s expansive and demanding use of the cello and piano creates a fullness of sound that surpas... Though disparate in sound and style, today’s three pieces are similar in that each can be considered emblematic of its composer’s sound and approach. Chopin, frequently discussed as a nationalist composer, expressed allegiance with his Polish homeland by returning to the form of the mazurka, a quintessential Polish folk dance, throughout his career. His Three Mazurkas contain the composer’s hallmark elegance, virtuosity, and structural sophistication. Webern’s Variations for Piano exemplify the twelve-tone row compositional technique to which Webern strictly adhered throughout his life, along with the pointillistic texture, complex rhythm, and sharply disjointed lines that illustrate his sound world. Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in A Major is emblematic in that it captures much of the composer’s dedication to a ‘heroic spirit.’ The opening theme contains a fiercely majestic quality and Beethoven’s expansive and demanding use of the cello and piano creates a fullness of sound that surpasses usual expectations for two instruments. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Though disparate in sound and style, today’s three pieces are similar in that each can be considered emblematic of its composer’s sound and approach. Chopin, frequently discussed as a nationalist composer, expressed allegiance with his Polish homeland by returning to the form of the mazurka, a quintessential Polish folk dance, throughout his career. His Three Mazurkas contain the composer’s hallmark elegance, virtuosity, and structural sophistication. Webern’s Variations for Piano exemplify the twelve-tone row compositional technique to which Webern strictly adhered throughout his life, along with the pointillistic texture, complex rhythm, and sharply disjointed lines that illustrate his sound world. Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in A Major is emblematic in that it captures much of the composer’s dedication to a ‘heroic spirit.’ The opening theme contains a fiercely majestic quality and Beethoven’s expansive and demanding use of the cello and piano creates a fullness of sound that surpasses usual expectations for two instruments. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2009-01-14,23879247 Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:00:00 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23818955-The-Piano-Trio The development of the piano trio is inextricably linked to the evolution of the piano as an instrument. Because the piano’s precursors, such as the harpsichord, had little dynamic range and were unable to sustain notes, composers often used the strings as accompaniment to balance the volume of the three instruments. As the piano’s volume and richness of tone increased, string parts became increasingly substantial and melodic. Written in 1827, Schubert’s intricate and expansive B-flat Major trio is arguably the first piano trio where the cello truly becomes an equal musical partner in the ensemble. Kreisler’s early 20th-century Miniature Viennese March is playful and jazzy, with the violin and cello sharing the lively, sometimes sultry, melody while the piano acts as accompaniment, providing a dissonant offbeat rhythm clearly influenced by popular American music of the time. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing L... The development of the piano trio is inextricably linked to the evolution of the piano as an instrument. Because the piano’s precursors, such as the harpsichord, had little dynamic range and were unable to sustain notes, composers often used the strings as accompaniment to balance the volume of the three instruments. As the piano’s volume and richness of tone increased, string parts became increasingly substantial and melodic. Written in 1827, Schubert’s intricate and expansive B-flat Major trio is arguably the first piano trio where the cello truly becomes an equal musical partner in the ensemble. Kreisler’s early 20th-century Miniature Viennese March is playful and jazzy, with the violin and cello sharing the lively, sometimes sultry, melody while the piano acts as accompaniment, providing a dissonant offbeat rhythm clearly influenced by popular American music of the time. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. The development of the piano trio is inextricably linked to the evolution of the piano as an instrument. Because the piano’s precursors, such as the harpsichord, had little dynamic range and were unable to sustain notes, composers often used the strings as accompaniment to balance the volume of the three instruments. As the piano’s volume and richness of tone increased, string parts became increasingly substantial and melodic. Written in 1827, Schubert’s intricate and expansive B-flat Major trio is arguably the first piano trio where the cello truly becomes an equal musical partner in the ensemble. Kreisler’s early 20th-century Miniature Viennese March is playful and jazzy, with the violin and cello sharing the lively, sometimes sultry, melody while the piano acts as accompaniment, providing a dissonant offbeat rhythm clearly influenced by popular American music of the time. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-12-31,23818955 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:00:00 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23752755-An-English-Musical-Renaissance British composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar were the first since Henry Purcell (1659-1695) to have a major impact on British classical music. They, in turn, paved the way for later British composers, leading to a 20th century musical renaissance in England. Vaughan Williams attended some of the best institutions in England, and received instruction from very prominent composers, yet he became best known for his appreciation and use of British folk songs. These three pieces--“The Vagabond,” “The Fireside,” and “Whither Must I Wander”--are taken from his song cycle “Songs of Travel” which uses poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. Elgar, a generation older than Vaughan Williams, was largely self-taught as a composer and gained much of his knowledge by studying scores in his father’s music shop. After his first major success with “The Enigma Variations,” Elgar became known as the greatest English composer since Purcell. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewar... British composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar were the first since Henry Purcell (1659-1695) to have a major impact on British classical music. They, in turn, paved the way for later British composers, leading to a 20th century musical renaissance in England. Vaughan Williams attended some of the best institutions in England, and received instruction from very prominent composers, yet he became best known for his appreciation and use of British folk songs. These three pieces--“The Vagabond,” “The Fireside,” and “Whither Must I Wander”--are taken from his song cycle “Songs of Travel” which uses poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. Elgar, a generation older than Vaughan Williams, was largely self-taught as a composer and gained much of his knowledge by studying scores in his father’s music shop. After his first major success with “The Enigma Variations,” Elgar became known as the greatest English composer since Purcell. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. British composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar were the first since Henry Purcell (1659-1695) to have a major impact on British classical music. They, in turn, paved the way for later British composers, leading to a 20th century musical renaissance in England. Vaughan Williams attended some of the best institutions in England, and received instruction from very prominent composers, yet he became best known for his appreciation and use of British folk songs. These three pieces--“The Vagabond,” “The Fireside,” and “Whither Must I Wander”--are taken from his song cycle “Songs of Travel” which uses poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. Elgar, a generation older than Vaughan Williams, was largely self-taught as a composer and gained much of his knowledge by studying scores in his father’s music shop. After his first major success with “The Enigma Variations,” Elgar became known as the greatest English composer since Purcell. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-12-14,23752755 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:00:00 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23687806-The-Drama-of-Beethoven Both of the pieces on today’s podcast were written by the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the early years of his career. Beethoven was a virtuosic pianist who often impressed patrons and audiences by performing his own compositions and then improvising extensively upon them. Today, his Fifteen Variations and a Fugue for solo piano is often nicknamed “The Eroica Variations” because Beethoven re-used the main theme of this piece for the finale of his Eroica Symphony. The String Quartet in C Minor, one of Beethoven’s first string quartets, is elegant and agile, while still displaying strong marks of the composer’s famously dramatic temperament. Right from the opening of the first movement, we hear a stormy melodic line over driving bass notes. The line rises and increases in intensity, spilling over into an abrasive and disruptive series of chords. Even in his early works, Beethoven chose confrontation over simple closure. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewa... Both of the pieces on today’s podcast were written by the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the early years of his career. Beethoven was a virtuosic pianist who often impressed patrons and audiences by performing his own compositions and then improvising extensively upon them. Today, his Fifteen Variations and a Fugue for solo piano is often nicknamed “The Eroica Variations” because Beethoven re-used the main theme of this piece for the finale of his Eroica Symphony. The String Quartet in C Minor, one of Beethoven’s first string quartets, is elegant and agile, while still displaying strong marks of the composer’s famously dramatic temperament. Right from the opening of the first movement, we hear a stormy melodic line over driving bass notes. The line rises and increases in intensity, spilling over into an abrasive and disruptive series of chords. Even in his early works, Beethoven chose confrontation over simple closure. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Both of the pieces on today’s podcast were written by the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the early years of his career. Beethoven was a virtuosic pianist who often impressed patrons and audiences by performing his own compositions and then improvising extensively upon them. Today, his Fifteen Variations and a Fugue for solo piano is often nicknamed “The Eroica Variations” because Beethoven re-used the main theme of this piece for the finale of his Eroica Symphony. The String Quartet in C Minor, one of Beethoven’s first string quartets, is elegant and agile, while still displaying strong marks of the composer’s famously dramatic temperament. Right from the opening of the first movement, we hear a stormy melodic line over driving bass notes. The line rises and increases in intensity, spilling over into an abrasive and disruptive series of chords. Even in his early works, Beethoven chose confrontation over simple closure. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-11-30,23687806 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23626101-Human-and-Divine The two composers that we’ll hear today draw on very different textual materials for their work. Nicolaus Bruhns, a seventeenth century German composer, set Biblical Psalms in his two sacred concerti. Arnold Schoenberg’s string sextet Verklärte Nacht, or “Transfigured Night,” is based on a poem which describes a man and woman talking in moonlit woods. Containing daring erotic and social themes, it was considered risqué even to the modernist circles in turn-of-the century Vienna. Yet despite the historical and textual gap, both composers used their music to link the human and the divine. While the text of Bruhn’s concerti is directed towards the divine, the expressive quality of the gestures and melodies are very human. And although the emotional journey of Verklärte Nacht seems to be entirely of this world, the sustained pure chords in the last measures of the piece indicate that the human element can finally be transcended for the clarity of the night. Recorded live in the Tapestry... The two composers that we’ll hear today draw on very different textual materials for their work. Nicolaus Bruhns, a seventeenth century German composer, set Biblical Psalms in his two sacred concerti. Arnold Schoenberg’s string sextet Verklärte Nacht, or “Transfigured Night,” is based on a poem which describes a man and woman talking in moonlit woods. Containing daring erotic and social themes, it was considered risqué even to the modernist circles in turn-of-the century Vienna. Yet despite the historical and textual gap, both composers used their music to link the human and the divine. While the text of Bruhn’s concerti is directed towards the divine, the expressive quality of the gestures and melodies are very human. And although the emotional journey of Verklärte Nacht seems to be entirely of this world, the sustained pure chords in the last measures of the piece indicate that the human element can finally be transcended for the clarity of the night. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. The two composers that we’ll hear today draw on very different textual materials for their work. Nicolaus Bruhns, a seventeenth century German composer, set Biblical Psalms in his two sacred concerti. Arnold Schoenberg’s string sextet Verklärte Nacht, or “Transfigured Night,” is based on a poem which describes a man and woman talking in moonlit woods. Containing daring erotic and social themes, it was considered risqué even to the modernist circles in turn-of-the century Vienna. Yet despite the historical and textual gap, both composers used their music to link the human and the divine. While the text of Bruhn’s concerti is directed towards the divine, the expressive quality of the gestures and melodies are very human. And although the emotional journey of Verklärte Nacht seems to be entirely of this world, the sustained pure chords in the last measures of the piece indicate that the human element can finally be transcended for the clarity of the night. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-11-15,23626101 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:07:19 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23564501-The-Sopranos Today we will be listening to three pieces written for soprano instruments in the late 19th century by two French composers – Camille Saint-Saens and Claude Debussy. Saint-Saens’ Romance for the flute, with its elegant and soaring melodic lines, is the perfect showcase for this quintessential soprano woodwind. “Chansons de Bilitis,” written for high voice and piano, is a set of three poems that tell a mythic tale of lust, betrayal and abandonment. The last piece, Saint-Saens’ Violin Sonata in D minor, is written for the highest member of the string family. In this fiery sonata, the atmosphere is dark and brooding, interspersed with moments of beauty and playfulness. These three pieces demonstrate that soprano instruments not only embody refinement and beauty, but they can manifest a passion and ferocity that reflect the richness of human emotions. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to shar... Today we will be listening to three pieces written for soprano instruments in the late 19th century by two French composers – Camille Saint-Saens and Claude Debussy. Saint-Saens’ Romance for the flute, with its elegant and soaring melodic lines, is the perfect showcase for this quintessential soprano woodwind. “Chansons de Bilitis,” written for high voice and piano, is a set of three poems that tell a mythic tale of lust, betrayal and abandonment. The last piece, Saint-Saens’ Violin Sonata in D minor, is written for the highest member of the string family. In this fiery sonata, the atmosphere is dark and brooding, interspersed with moments of beauty and playfulness. These three pieces demonstrate that soprano instruments not only embody refinement and beauty, but they can manifest a passion and ferocity that reflect the richness of human emotions. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Today we will be listening to three pieces written for soprano instruments in the late 19th century by two French composers – Camille Saint-Saens and Claude Debussy. Saint-Saens’ Romance for the flute, with its elegant and soaring melodic lines, is the perfect showcase for this quintessential soprano woodwind. “Chansons de Bilitis,” written for high voice and piano, is a set of three poems that tell a mythic tale of lust, betrayal and abandonment. The last piece, Saint-Saens’ Violin Sonata in D minor, is written for the highest member of the string family. In this fiery sonata, the atmosphere is dark and brooding, interspersed with moments of beauty and playfulness. These three pieces demonstrate that soprano instruments not only embody refinement and beauty, but they can manifest a passion and ferocity that reflect the richness of human emotions. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-10-31,23564501 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23491991-A-Young-Brahms Brahms played chamber music from a young age, and these compositions demonstrate a deep commitment to and love of the music created by a small number of players. Whether he wrote for two instruments, or for six, Brahms gave each part its own unique character, so that each voice contributes to the structural and emotional integrity of the music. The Sonatensatz was originally the scherzo movement of a sonata that Brahms wrote with his friends, Albert Dietrich and Robert Schumann. It is a true collaboration between the violin and piano, demanding full emotional intensity from both instruments. In the string sextet, Brahms takes full advantage of each member of the ensemble. It is lushly textured; rich in the bass register; and ethereal in the high violin lines. Each voice—whether it is interrupting, sympathizing, questioning or supporting—has an important place within the larger conversation. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons... Brahms played chamber music from a young age, and these compositions demonstrate a deep commitment to and love of the music created by a small number of players. Whether he wrote for two instruments, or for six, Brahms gave each part its own unique character, so that each voice contributes to the structural and emotional integrity of the music. The Sonatensatz was originally the scherzo movement of a sonata that Brahms wrote with his friends, Albert Dietrich and Robert Schumann. It is a true collaboration between the violin and piano, demanding full emotional intensity from both instruments. In the string sextet, Brahms takes full advantage of each member of the ensemble. It is lushly textured; rich in the bass register; and ethereal in the high violin lines. Each voice—whether it is interrupting, sympathizing, questioning or supporting—has an important place within the larger conversation. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Brahms played chamber music from a young age, and these compositions demonstrate a deep commitment to and love of the music created by a small number of players. Whether he wrote for two instruments, or for six, Brahms gave each part its own unique character, so that each voice contributes to the structural and emotional integrity of the music. The Sonatensatz was originally the scherzo movement of a sonata that Brahms wrote with his friends, Albert Dietrich and Robert Schumann. It is a true collaboration between the violin and piano, demanding full emotional intensity from both instruments. In the string sextet, Brahms takes full advantage of each member of the ensemble. It is lushly textured; rich in the bass register; and ethereal in the high violin lines. Each voice—whether it is interrupting, sympathizing, questioning or supporting—has an important place within the larger conversation. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-10-14,23491991 Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23430875-Innovation-in-Music To our modern ears, innovation in music composed centuries ago is hard to detect. But both of the pieces in today’s podcast use innovation in instrumentation and style to create a sound that was new for the audiences of their time. Vivaldi’s Concerto is one of many that he wrote for various groups of instruments - in this case, violins, oboes, recorders and a bassoon, accompanied by a small orchestra. While this might not sound unusual, the bassoon was actually a new instrument in the early 18th century, and its prominent inclusion would have been a pleasant novelty for Vivaldi’s audience. This piece also differs from the standard Baroque concerto form by fluidly weaving the solo instrumental parts in with the larger ensemble. Schubert’s Cello Quintet also contains an unusual instrument - a second cello! The standard string quintet uses an extra viola, so this is an unexpected combination. Sadly, this quintet was Schubert’s last instrumental composition. While many of the melodies a... To our modern ears, innovation in music composed centuries ago is hard to detect. But both of the pieces in today’s podcast use innovation in instrumentation and style to create a sound that was new for the audiences of their time. Vivaldi’s Concerto is one of many that he wrote for various groups of instruments - in this case, violins, oboes, recorders and a bassoon, accompanied by a small orchestra. While this might not sound unusual, the bassoon was actually a new instrument in the early 18th century, and its prominent inclusion would have been a pleasant novelty for Vivaldi’s audience. This piece also differs from the standard Baroque concerto form by fluidly weaving the solo instrumental parts in with the larger ensemble. Schubert’s Cello Quintet also contains an unusual instrument - a second cello! The standard string quintet uses an extra viola, so this is an unexpected combination. Sadly, this quintet was Schubert’s last instrumental composition. While many of the melodies are lilting and joyful, harmonic shadows are constantly emerging. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. To our modern ears, innovation in music composed centuries ago is hard to detect. But both of the pieces in today’s podcast use innovation in instrumentation and style to create a sound that was new for the audiences of their time. Vivaldi’s Concerto is one of many that he wrote for various groups of instruments - in this case, violins, oboes, recorders and a bassoon, accompanied by a small orchestra. While this might not sound unusual, the bassoon was actually a new instrument in the early 18th century, and its prominent inclusion would have been a pleasant novelty for Vivaldi’s audience. This piece also differs from the standard Baroque concerto form by fluidly weaving the solo instrumental parts in with the larger ensemble. Schubert’s Cello Quintet also contains an unusual instrument - a second cello! The standard string quintet uses an extra viola, so this is an unexpected combination. Sadly, this quintet was Schubert’s last instrumental composition. While many of the melodies are lilting and joyful, harmonic shadows are constantly emerging. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-09-30,23430875 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23348555-Structure-and-Simplicity When Leopold Godowsky, a virtuosic pianist and famous pedagogue, transcribed and arranged themes from Strauss’ operetta “Die Fledermaus” in 1912, he had two goals—to capture the charming and humorous spirit of Strauss' operetta and to extend the limits of pianistic technique. The result is a piece so difficult that it is rarely heard in live performance! Schoenberg's Six Short Pieces, also written in 1912, have a very different sound. The composer was just beginning to experiment with atonality and in these little piano pieces, Schoenberg creates succinct microcosms of music that truly are so short that they have no formal structure. The last selection is Mozart's Quartet in A Major. An original manuscript indicates that this quartet actually caused Mozart more trouble than his others. There are alterations, changes and musical fragments that are unusual for his composing style. The quartet itself, however, flows with so much lyricism and beauty that it is impossible to hear any hin... When Leopold Godowsky, a virtuosic pianist and famous pedagogue, transcribed and arranged themes from Strauss’ operetta “Die Fledermaus” in 1912, he had two goals—to capture the charming and humorous spirit of Strauss' operetta and to extend the limits of pianistic technique. The result is a piece so difficult that it is rarely heard in live performance! Schoenberg's Six Short Pieces, also written in 1912, have a very different sound. The composer was just beginning to experiment with atonality and in these little piano pieces, Schoenberg creates succinct microcosms of music that truly are so short that they have no formal structure. The last selection is Mozart's Quartet in A Major. An original manuscript indicates that this quartet actually caused Mozart more trouble than his others. There are alterations, changes and musical fragments that are unusual for his composing style. The quartet itself, however, flows with so much lyricism and beauty that it is impossible to hear any hint of this compositional struggle. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. When Leopold Godowsky, a virtuosic pianist and famous pedagogue, transcribed and arranged themes from Strauss’ operetta “Die Fledermaus” in 1912, he had two goals—to capture the charming and humorous spirit of Strauss' operetta and to extend the limits of pianistic technique. The result is a piece so difficult that it is rarely heard in live performance! Schoenberg's Six Short Pieces, also written in 1912, have a very different sound. The composer was just beginning to experiment with atonality and in these little piano pieces, Schoenberg creates succinct microcosms of music that truly are so short that they have no formal structure. The last selection is Mozart's Quartet in A Major. An original manuscript indicates that this quartet actually caused Mozart more trouble than his others. There are alterations, changes and musical fragments that are unusual for his composing style. The quartet itself, however, flows with so much lyricism and beauty that it is impossible to hear any hint of this compositional struggle. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-09-14,23348555 Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23236151-Two-Frenchmen The pieces on this podcast were written by two of the most renowned French composers, Claude Debussy and Gabriel Faure. First is a selection of Debussy's piano preludes, some of the most magical and effervescent music ever written. Each can be heard as a small vignette. The first, “Voiles,” evokes a calm evening at the ocean, white sails floating over the sea. Another, “Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest,” is a stormy reflection of the west wind. And “La puerta del vino” is a sensual Habanera dance inspired by a picture postcard from the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. Faure’s Sonata in A Major is romantic and lush, and sounds much more traditional than Debussy's modal and quixotic piano pieces. But like the Preludes, each movement of Faure's sonata has a distinct personality. The first movement is excited, if bittersweet; the second, dark and yearning. The third movement is quirky and humorous; and the finale closes the sonata with a flowing, sometimes fiery character. Recorded live in t... The pieces on this podcast were written by two of the most renowned French composers, Claude Debussy and Gabriel Faure. First is a selection of Debussy's piano preludes, some of the most magical and effervescent music ever written. Each can be heard as a small vignette. The first, “Voiles,” evokes a calm evening at the ocean, white sails floating over the sea. Another, “Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest,” is a stormy reflection of the west wind. And “La puerta del vino” is a sensual Habanera dance inspired by a picture postcard from the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. Faure’s Sonata in A Major is romantic and lush, and sounds much more traditional than Debussy's modal and quixotic piano pieces. But like the Preludes, each movement of Faure's sonata has a distinct personality. The first movement is excited, if bittersweet; the second, dark and yearning. The third movement is quirky and humorous; and the finale closes the sonata with a flowing, sometimes fiery character. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. The pieces on this podcast were written by two of the most renowned French composers, Claude Debussy and Gabriel Faure. First is a selection of Debussy's piano preludes, some of the most magical and effervescent music ever written. Each can be heard as a small vignette. The first, “Voiles,” evokes a calm evening at the ocean, white sails floating over the sea. Another, “Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest,” is a stormy reflection of the west wind. And “La puerta del vino” is a sensual Habanera dance inspired by a picture postcard from the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. Faure’s Sonata in A Major is romantic and lush, and sounds much more traditional than Debussy's modal and quixotic piano pieces. But like the Preludes, each movement of Faure's sonata has a distinct personality. The first movement is excited, if bittersweet; the second, dark and yearning. The third movement is quirky and humorous; and the finale closes the sonata with a flowing, sometimes fiery character. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-08-31,23236151 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23181358-Stormy-Weather Both of the pieces on today’s program come from the period of Beethoven’s life when he was beginning to seriously lose his hearing, and both bear the sorts of titles you might expect of music written during this time. Certainly a sort of emotional unrest is evident in both pieces, but just as notable are the musical innovations at work here, as we hear Beethoven moving towards the sort of harmonic and structural creativity that would characterize his later works, in spite of his deafness. In the “Tempest” sonata Beethoven takes a very simple idea—an arpeggio—and transforms it into a sort of backbone for the piece, creating structure and cohesiveness. The use of motive was one of Beethoven’s trademarks. In the second piece Beethoven plays with both tonality and meter, two other areas of experimentation in his music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative C... Both of the pieces on today’s program come from the period of Beethoven’s life when he was beginning to seriously lose his hearing, and both bear the sorts of titles you might expect of music written during this time. Certainly a sort of emotional unrest is evident in both pieces, but just as notable are the musical innovations at work here, as we hear Beethoven moving towards the sort of harmonic and structural creativity that would characterize his later works, in spite of his deafness. In the “Tempest” sonata Beethoven takes a very simple idea—an arpeggio—and transforms it into a sort of backbone for the piece, creating structure and cohesiveness. The use of motive was one of Beethoven’s trademarks. In the second piece Beethoven plays with both tonality and meter, two other areas of experimentation in his music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Both of the pieces on today’s program come from the period of Beethoven’s life when he was beginning to seriously lose his hearing, and both bear the sorts of titles you might expect of music written during this time. Certainly a sort of emotional unrest is evident in both pieces, but just as notable are the musical innovations at work here, as we hear Beethoven moving towards the sort of harmonic and structural creativity that would characterize his later works, in spite of his deafness. In the “Tempest” sonata Beethoven takes a very simple idea—an arpeggio—and transforms it into a sort of backbone for the piece, creating structure and cohesiveness. The use of motive was one of Beethoven’s trademarks. In the second piece Beethoven plays with both tonality and meter, two other areas of experimentation in his music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-08-14,23181358 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23236152-Stormy-Weather Both of the pieces on today’s program come from the period of Beethoven’s life when he was beginning to seriously lose his hearing, and both bear the sorts of titles you might expect of music written during this time. Certainly a sort of emotional unrest is evident in both pieces, but just as notable are the musical innovations at work here, as we hear Beethoven moving towards the sort of harmonic and structural creativity that would characterize his later works, in spite of his deafness. In the “Tempest” sonata Beethoven takes a very simple idea—an arpeggio—and transforms it into a sort of backbone for the piece, creating structure and cohesiveness. The use of motive was one of Beethoven’s trademarks. In the second piece Beethoven plays with both tonality and meter, two other areas of experimentation in his music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative C... Both of the pieces on today’s program come from the period of Beethoven’s life when he was beginning to seriously lose his hearing, and both bear the sorts of titles you might expect of music written during this time. Certainly a sort of emotional unrest is evident in both pieces, but just as notable are the musical innovations at work here, as we hear Beethoven moving towards the sort of harmonic and structural creativity that would characterize his later works, in spite of his deafness. In the “Tempest” sonata Beethoven takes a very simple idea—an arpeggio—and transforms it into a sort of backbone for the piece, creating structure and cohesiveness. The use of motive was one of Beethoven’s trademarks. In the second piece Beethoven plays with both tonality and meter, two other areas of experimentation in his music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Both of the pieces on today’s program come from the period of Beethoven’s life when he was beginning to seriously lose his hearing, and both bear the sorts of titles you might expect of music written during this time. Certainly a sort of emotional unrest is evident in both pieces, but just as notable are the musical innovations at work here, as we hear Beethoven moving towards the sort of harmonic and structural creativity that would characterize his later works, in spite of his deafness. In the “Tempest” sonata Beethoven takes a very simple idea—an arpeggio—and transforms it into a sort of backbone for the piece, creating structure and cohesiveness. The use of motive was one of Beethoven’s trademarks. In the second piece Beethoven plays with both tonality and meter, two other areas of experimentation in his music. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-08-14,23236152 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23135580-Signature Perhaps Bach’s best-known orchestral works, the Brandenburg concertos are performed often in concert, but this final concerto is not quite as famous as some of its predecessors. Bach chooses a mellow instrumentation for this concerto—all low strings, from viola down to cello and violone, an early bass instrument. But even with the unusual instrumentation, the piece is still signature Bach, with wonderful counterpoint, dance rhythms and variations. Next is Schumann’s famous song cycle “Dichterliebe.” In typical German Romantic fashion, the topic at hand is love, in this case the love of a poet. Our poet starts out optimistic, if not entirely secure, in the first song. But as the cycle progresses, the narrator becomes increasingly disenchanted, going from denial to overt sorrow in the final song, in which he longs to bury his songs, his dreams and his love The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details s... Perhaps Bach’s best-known orchestral works, the Brandenburg concertos are performed often in concert, but this final concerto is not quite as famous as some of its predecessors. Bach chooses a mellow instrumentation for this concerto—all low strings, from viola down to cello and violone, an early bass instrument. But even with the unusual instrumentation, the piece is still signature Bach, with wonderful counterpoint, dance rhythms and variations. Next is Schumann’s famous song cycle “Dichterliebe.” In typical German Romantic fashion, the topic at hand is love, in this case the love of a poet. Our poet starts out optimistic, if not entirely secure, in the first song. But as the cycle progresses, the narrator becomes increasingly disenchanted, going from denial to overt sorrow in the final song, in which he longs to bury his songs, his dreams and his love The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Perhaps Bach’s best-known orchestral works, the Brandenburg concertos are performed often in concert, but this final concerto is not quite as famous as some of its predecessors. Bach chooses a mellow instrumentation for this concerto—all low strings, from viola down to cello and violone, an early bass instrument. But even with the unusual instrumentation, the piece is still signature Bach, with wonderful counterpoint, dance rhythms and variations. Next is Schumann’s famous song cycle “Dichterliebe.” In typical German Romantic fashion, the topic at hand is love, in this case the love of a poet. Our poet starts out optimistic, if not entirely secure, in the first song. But as the cycle progresses, the narrator becomes increasingly disenchanted, going from denial to overt sorrow in the final song, in which he longs to bury his songs, his dreams and his love The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-07-31,23135580 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23079230-Schumann-and-Brahms Johannes Brahms came to Robert and Clara Schumann’s home on September 30th of 1853, as a young composer just 20 years old, and remained a close friend of both for the rest of their lives. The Schumann’s provided the young Brahms with emotional, professional and musical support, and they were instrumental in his early successes. The trios we’ll hear today are among the shortest these composers wrote. First is Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 88. Written just after Robert Schumann’s happy marriage to Clara, the work is generally light in tone, and contains wonderfully catchy melodies. Next we’ll listen to Brahms’s Trio in C minor, a mature work written well after Schumann’s death. In his earlier work, Brahms paid more literal homage to Schumann. In this trio, Brahms is a more established composer, and speaks with his own voice, but his ongoing interest in chamber music was undoubtedly influenced by Schumann. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Bost... Johannes Brahms came to Robert and Clara Schumann’s home on September 30th of 1853, as a young composer just 20 years old, and remained a close friend of both for the rest of their lives. The Schumann’s provided the young Brahms with emotional, professional and musical support, and they were instrumental in his early successes. The trios we’ll hear today are among the shortest these composers wrote. First is Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 88. Written just after Robert Schumann’s happy marriage to Clara, the work is generally light in tone, and contains wonderfully catchy melodies. Next we’ll listen to Brahms’s Trio in C minor, a mature work written well after Schumann’s death. In his earlier work, Brahms paid more literal homage to Schumann. In this trio, Brahms is a more established composer, and speaks with his own voice, but his ongoing interest in chamber music was undoubtedly influenced by Schumann. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Johannes Brahms came to Robert and Clara Schumann’s home on September 30th of 1853, as a young composer just 20 years old, and remained a close friend of both for the rest of their lives. The Schumann’s provided the young Brahms with emotional, professional and musical support, and they were instrumental in his early successes. The trios we’ll hear today are among the shortest these composers wrote. First is Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 88. Written just after Robert Schumann’s happy marriage to Clara, the work is generally light in tone, and contains wonderfully catchy melodies. Next we’ll listen to Brahms’s Trio in C minor, a mature work written well after Schumann’s death. In his earlier work, Brahms paid more literal homage to Schumann. In this trio, Brahms is a more established composer, and speaks with his own voice, but his ongoing interest in chamber music was undoubtedly influenced by Schumann. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-07-14,23079230 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/23079231-Under-The-Influence At age 19, Alban Berg began studying composition with Arnold Schoenberg, and his sonata shows the influence of Schoenberg’s teaching in its adventurous use of extended harmony and his insistence on a clear and coherent structure in which each of the sonata’s ideas is based on a single, central motive. Of course, the idea of using a motive to structure a piece was one which Schoenberg himself borrowed from the next composer on today’s program, Beethoven. The Appassionata Sonata was composed during one of the most difficult, but productive, periods of Beethoven’s life. During this time Beethoven began to display bold new harmonic ideas, as in the opening of this sonata, in which the phrase is repeated just a half-step higher, placing the sonata suddenly in ambiguous harmonic territory. He also increasingly used these motives to structure longer pieces of music, the idea that so influenced Schoenberg and, in turn, Berg. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner... At age 19, Alban Berg began studying composition with Arnold Schoenberg, and his sonata shows the influence of Schoenberg’s teaching in its adventurous use of extended harmony and his insistence on a clear and coherent structure in which each of the sonata’s ideas is based on a single, central motive. Of course, the idea of using a motive to structure a piece was one which Schoenberg himself borrowed from the next composer on today’s program, Beethoven. The Appassionata Sonata was composed during one of the most difficult, but productive, periods of Beethoven’s life. During this time Beethoven began to display bold new harmonic ideas, as in the opening of this sonata, in which the phrase is repeated just a half-step higher, placing the sonata suddenly in ambiguous harmonic territory. He also increasingly used these motives to structure longer pieces of music, the idea that so influenced Schoenberg and, in turn, Berg. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. At age 19, Alban Berg began studying composition with Arnold Schoenberg, and his sonata shows the influence of Schoenberg’s teaching in its adventurous use of extended harmony and his insistence on a clear and coherent structure in which each of the sonata’s ideas is based on a single, central motive. Of course, the idea of using a motive to structure a piece was one which Schoenberg himself borrowed from the next composer on today’s program, Beethoven. The Appassionata Sonata was composed during one of the most difficult, but productive, periods of Beethoven’s life. During this time Beethoven began to display bold new harmonic ideas, as in the opening of this sonata, in which the phrase is repeated just a half-step higher, placing the sonata suddenly in ambiguous harmonic territory. He also increasingly used these motives to structure longer pieces of music, the idea that so influenced Schoenberg and, in turn, Berg. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-06-30,23079231 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/22615297-The-Chameleon-Clarinet The clarinet is a bit of a chameleon. Equally at home as a woodwind section member in Mozart’s classical symphonies or playing solo in Gershwin’s famous glissando at the start of “Rhapsody in Blue,” the clarinet can switch settings with ease. Even within a single piece, the differences in timbre—dusky at the bottom and piercingly bright at the top—can make a single clarinet seem like several different instruments. This week we’ll listen to a couple of different pieces that feature the clarinet, and all its many colors. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. The clarinet is a bit of a chameleon. Equally at home as a woodwind section member in Mozart’s classical symphonies or playing solo in Gershwin’s famous glissando at the start of “Rhapsody in Blue,” the clarinet can switch settings with ease. Even within a single piece, the differences in timbre—dusky at the bottom and piercingly bright at the top—can make a single clarinet seem like several different instruments. This week we’ll listen to a couple of different pieces that feature the clarinet, and all its many colors. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. The clarinet is a bit of a chameleon. Equally at home as a woodwind section member in Mozart’s classical symphonies or playing solo in Gershwin’s famous glissando at the start of “Rhapsody in Blue,” the clarinet can switch settings with ease. Even within a single piece, the differences in timbre—dusky at the bottom and piercingly bright at the top—can make a single clarinet seem like several different instruments. This week we’ll listen to a couple of different pieces that feature the clarinet, and all its many colors. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-06-14,22615297 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/22572855-From-Florence-with-love We often think of classical music as having a specific geographic origin, and indeed there are a lot of generalizations that can be made about the classical traditions of different countries. The French we often think of as expert colorists, the Germans as very structural in approach, and the Italians as melodic masters. But with a piece like Souvenir de Florence, a Russian composer’s memory of Florence, Italy, presented under a French title, those generalizations won’t help you much. Before the sextet, we’ll hear a set of three songs by Russian composers, starting with Glinka’s “Train Song” and ending with Mussorgsky’s famous “Song of the Flea.” In the middle is Tchaikovsky’s aria “Don Juan’s Serenade.” In fact, this song was part of a set begun during one of Tchaikovsky’s trips to Florence. In “Don Juan’s Serenade” we have Spanish character, a Russian poem and an Italian vacation. You definitely can’t pin it down by geography, but when the music is this enjoyable, who cares? Recor... We often think of classical music as having a specific geographic origin, and indeed there are a lot of generalizations that can be made about the classical traditions of different countries. The French we often think of as expert colorists, the Germans as very structural in approach, and the Italians as melodic masters. But with a piece like Souvenir de Florence, a Russian composer’s memory of Florence, Italy, presented under a French title, those generalizations won’t help you much. Before the sextet, we’ll hear a set of three songs by Russian composers, starting with Glinka’s “Train Song” and ending with Mussorgsky’s famous “Song of the Flea.” In the middle is Tchaikovsky’s aria “Don Juan’s Serenade.” In fact, this song was part of a set begun during one of Tchaikovsky’s trips to Florence. In “Don Juan’s Serenade” we have Spanish character, a Russian poem and an Italian vacation. You definitely can’t pin it down by geography, but when the music is this enjoyable, who cares? Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. We often think of classical music as having a specific geographic origin, and indeed there are a lot of generalizations that can be made about the classical traditions of different countries. The French we often think of as expert colorists, the Germans as very structural in approach, and the Italians as melodic masters. But with a piece like Souvenir de Florence, a Russian composer’s memory of Florence, Italy, presented under a French title, those generalizations won’t help you much. Before the sextet, we’ll hear a set of three songs by Russian composers, starting with Glinka’s “Train Song” and ending with Mussorgsky’s famous “Song of the Flea.” In the middle is Tchaikovsky’s aria “Don Juan’s Serenade.” In fact, this song was part of a set begun during one of Tchaikovsky’s trips to Florence. In “Don Juan’s Serenade” we have Spanish character, a Russian poem and an Italian vacation. You definitely can’t pin it down by geography, but when the music is this enjoyable, who cares? Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-05-31,22572855 Sat, 31 May 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/22516904-Not-Exactly-What-I-Expected This week, we’re listening to a couple pieces that challenge expectations a little. Some of us start to get a little anxious when we hear those second Viennese school names—Schoenberg, Berg, Webern. But this Webern quartet, an early work written in the first blush of love, is much more late Romantic than early modern. It gets chromatic, but still—if you didn’t already know the piece, you’d be hard-pressed to identify it as Webern. Next we’ll hear Schubert’s “Trout” quintet, one of the composer’s best-known chamber music works that has a pretty unique point of inspiration. After a performance of his charming song “Die Forelle” about the battle between a fisherman and a trout, Schubert was approached by a business man and amateur cellist who commissioned him to write a quintet based on the song. The fact that Schubert could translate his song from a short narrative piece about a trout fisherman into a full-blown chamber music work speaks to the musical strength of his vocal compositio... This week, we’re listening to a couple pieces that challenge expectations a little. Some of us start to get a little anxious when we hear those second Viennese school names—Schoenberg, Berg, Webern. But this Webern quartet, an early work written in the first blush of love, is much more late Romantic than early modern. It gets chromatic, but still—if you didn’t already know the piece, you’d be hard-pressed to identify it as Webern. Next we’ll hear Schubert’s “Trout” quintet, one of the composer’s best-known chamber music works that has a pretty unique point of inspiration. After a performance of his charming song “Die Forelle” about the battle between a fisherman and a trout, Schubert was approached by a business man and amateur cellist who commissioned him to write a quintet based on the song. The fact that Schubert could translate his song from a short narrative piece about a trout fisherman into a full-blown chamber music work speaks to the musical strength of his vocal compositions, and his standing as one of the true revolutionaries of lieder. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. This week, we’re listening to a couple pieces that challenge expectations a little. Some of us start to get a little anxious when we hear those second Viennese school names—Schoenberg, Berg, Webern. But this Webern quartet, an early work written in the first blush of love, is much more late Romantic than early modern. It gets chromatic, but still—if you didn’t already know the piece, you’d be hard-pressed to identify it as Webern. Next we’ll hear Schubert’s “Trout” quintet, one of the composer’s best-known chamber music works that has a pretty unique point of inspiration. After a performance of his charming song “Die Forelle” about the battle between a fisherman and a trout, Schubert was approached by a business man and amateur cellist who commissioned him to write a quintet based on the song. The fact that Schubert could translate his song from a short narrative piece about a trout fisherman into a full-blown chamber music work speaks to the musical strength of his vocal compositions, and his standing as one of the true revolutionaries of lieder. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-05-14,22516904 Wed, 14 May 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/22483031-Celebrations Music is often written in celebration-of an emotion, an event, a rite of passage-and today we'll listen to pieces written to celebrate these occasions. When you talk about Italian vocal music, you are almost always dealing with love. The first song in the set, "Me voglio fa' 'na casa" by Donizetti, captures the free spirit of a sailor's love. The poetry, written in the Neopolitan dialect, adds a folk sensibility to this as well as the next song, "A' Vucchella" by Tosti. In the last song in the set, "Musica Proibita" by Stanislao Gastaldon, we get perhaps the lustiest declarations, in words so provocative that a mother forbids her young daughter to sing them! After that, a celebration of a very different sort. Mozart wrote this Divertimento in D Major for horns and strings, in part, to mark the graduation of his friend Sigmund Robinig from law school, according to the All Music Guide. The work's substantial instrumentation-with bass in addition to cello-and its larger-than-average pr... Music is often written in celebration-of an emotion, an event, a rite of passage-and today we'll listen to pieces written to celebrate these occasions. When you talk about Italian vocal music, you are almost always dealing with love. The first song in the set, "Me voglio fa' 'na casa" by Donizetti, captures the free spirit of a sailor's love. The poetry, written in the Neopolitan dialect, adds a folk sensibility to this as well as the next song, "A' Vucchella" by Tosti. In the last song in the set, "Musica Proibita" by Stanislao Gastaldon, we get perhaps the lustiest declarations, in words so provocative that a mother forbids her young daughter to sing them! After that, a celebration of a very different sort. Mozart wrote this Divertimento in D Major for horns and strings, in part, to mark the graduation of his friend Sigmund Robinig from law school, according to the All Music Guide. The work's substantial instrumentation-with bass in addition to cello-and its larger-than-average proportions for a divertimento make it a particularly satisfying sample of Mozart's work in this genre. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Music is often written in celebration-of an emotion, an event, a rite of passage-and today we'll listen to pieces written to celebrate these occasions. When you talk about Italian vocal music, you are almost always dealing with love. The first song in the set, "Me voglio fa' 'na casa" by Donizetti, captures the free spirit of a sailor's love. The poetry, written in the Neopolitan dialect, adds a folk sensibility to this as well as the next song, "A' Vucchella" by Tosti. In the last song in the set, "Musica Proibita" by Stanislao Gastaldon, we get perhaps the lustiest declarations, in words so provocative that a mother forbids her young daughter to sing them! After that, a celebration of a very different sort. Mozart wrote this Divertimento in D Major for horns and strings, in part, to mark the graduation of his friend Sigmund Robinig from law school, according to the All Music Guide. The work's substantial instrumentation-with bass in addition to cello-and its larger-than-average proportions for a divertimento make it a particularly satisfying sample of Mozart's work in this genre. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-04-30,22483031 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/22483032-The-Unknowns Classical music definitely has its stars, and Beethoven is arguably the biggest. But classical music has its lesser-knowns, too. In this program we'll listen to two composers who may not have achieved Beethoven's fame, but who have nonetheless earned a lasting place in the chamber music repertory. Sometimes writing for an instrument that doesn't have a big repertoire can earn a non-celebrity composer a permanent place on the recital stage. Such is the case with Tournier's Sonatine. A harpist married to another harpist, Tourier knew the instrument well and had a major hand in developing new techniques and expanding its repertoire. The Arensky Trio is one of this little-known Russian composer's most-performed works. The New Grove dictionary calls it one of his best, too, and notes the influence of Mendelssohn's own piano trio, as well as the work's elegiac third movement, written in homage to the cellist Davidov. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museu... Classical music definitely has its stars, and Beethoven is arguably the biggest. But classical music has its lesser-knowns, too. In this program we'll listen to two composers who may not have achieved Beethoven's fame, but who have nonetheless earned a lasting place in the chamber music repertory. Sometimes writing for an instrument that doesn't have a big repertoire can earn a non-celebrity composer a permanent place on the recital stage. Such is the case with Tournier's Sonatine. A harpist married to another harpist, Tourier knew the instrument well and had a major hand in developing new techniques and expanding its repertoire. The Arensky Trio is one of this little-known Russian composer's most-performed works. The New Grove dictionary calls it one of his best, too, and notes the influence of Mendelssohn's own piano trio, as well as the work's elegiac third movement, written in homage to the cellist Davidov. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Classical music definitely has its stars, and Beethoven is arguably the biggest. But classical music has its lesser-knowns, too. In this program we'll listen to two composers who may not have achieved Beethoven's fame, but who have nonetheless earned a lasting place in the chamber music repertory. Sometimes writing for an instrument that doesn't have a big repertoire can earn a non-celebrity composer a permanent place on the recital stage. Such is the case with Tournier's Sonatine. A harpist married to another harpist, Tourier knew the instrument well and had a major hand in developing new techniques and expanding its repertoire. The Arensky Trio is one of this little-known Russian composer's most-performed works. The New Grove dictionary calls it one of his best, too, and notes the influence of Mendelssohn's own piano trio, as well as the work's elegiac third movement, written in homage to the cellist Davidov. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-04-14,22483032 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/22483033-Artist-Diploma-Edition Boston , where the Gardner Museum is located, is a big college town. And so every April, we tip our hats to Boston's student population with a series of concerts by some of the top young musicians enrolled in New England Conservatory's Artist Diploma program, one of the most prestigious music training programs in the country. This week on the podcast we will listen to two Artist Diploma violinists who have performed here in recent years. First, we'll hear Bach's third partita for solo violin. Though neither as virtuosic nor as familiar as the second partita, the third has all the sprightly energy of a dance, with its menuets, gigues and bourées. Next is Schumann's Violin Sonata No. 1. The sonata was written relatively late in Schumann's compositional career, after the bulk of his chamber music works, and it is evident upon listening that, though it is his first work for this particular instrumentation, the music is written by a more experienced hand. Recorded live in the Tapest... Boston , where the Gardner Museum is located, is a big college town. And so every April, we tip our hats to Boston's student population with a series of concerts by some of the top young musicians enrolled in New England Conservatory's Artist Diploma program, one of the most prestigious music training programs in the country. This week on the podcast we will listen to two Artist Diploma violinists who have performed here in recent years. First, we'll hear Bach's third partita for solo violin. Though neither as virtuosic nor as familiar as the second partita, the third has all the sprightly energy of a dance, with its menuets, gigues and bourées. Next is Schumann's Violin Sonata No. 1. The sonata was written relatively late in Schumann's compositional career, after the bulk of his chamber music works, and it is evident upon listening that, though it is his first work for this particular instrumentation, the music is written by a more experienced hand. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. Boston , where the Gardner Museum is located, is a big college town. And so every April, we tip our hats to Boston's student population with a series of concerts by some of the top young musicians enrolled in New England Conservatory's Artist Diploma program, one of the most prestigious music training programs in the country. This week on the podcast we will listen to two Artist Diploma violinists who have performed here in recent years. First, we'll hear Bach's third partita for solo violin. Though neither as virtuosic nor as familiar as the second partita, the third has all the sprightly energy of a dance, with its menuets, gigues and bourées. Next is Schumann's Violin Sonata No. 1. The sonata was written relatively late in Schumann's compositional career, after the bulk of his chamber music works, and it is evident upon listening that, though it is his first work for this particular instrumentation, the music is written by a more experienced hand. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-03-31,22483033 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/22483034-Practice-Makes-Perfect For most contemporary composers, writing a dozen string quartets would be a fairly large feat. Since about Beethoven's time, and since composers have been writing more for themselves than for a patron or church, the sheer volume of individual compositional output has, for the most part, shrunk. Today, we take a listen to a few pieces from before that time: Mozart's 23rd violin sonata and Haydn's 59th string quartet. Haydn wrote 68 numbered string quartets. As a court-employed musician, he composed new pieces for every house concert, soiree and dance party the count cared to throw. Before the Haydn, we'll hear Mozart's 23rd violin sonata. In this later sonata, Mozart began to branch out a bit, abandoning the short, two-movement form in use in earlier classical music, and instead writing a more expansive, three-movement piece. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a ... For most contemporary composers, writing a dozen string quartets would be a fairly large feat. Since about Beethoven's time, and since composers have been writing more for themselves than for a patron or church, the sheer volume of individual compositional output has, for the most part, shrunk. Today, we take a listen to a few pieces from before that time: Mozart's 23rd violin sonata and Haydn's 59th string quartet. Haydn wrote 68 numbered string quartets. As a court-employed musician, he composed new pieces for every house concert, soiree and dance party the count cared to throw. Before the Haydn, we'll hear Mozart's 23rd violin sonata. In this later sonata, Mozart began to branch out a bit, abandoning the short, two-movement form in use in earlier classical music, and instead writing a more expansive, three-movement piece. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. For most contemporary composers, writing a dozen string quartets would be a fairly large feat. Since about Beethoven's time, and since composers have been writing more for themselves than for a patron or church, the sheer volume of individual compositional output has, for the most part, shrunk. Today, we take a listen to a few pieces from before that time: Mozart's 23rd violin sonata and Haydn's 59th string quartet. Haydn wrote 68 numbered string quartets. As a court-employed musician, he composed new pieces for every house concert, soiree and dance party the count cared to throw. Before the Haydn, we'll hear Mozart's 23rd violin sonata. In this later sonata, Mozart began to branch out a bit, abandoning the short, two-movement form in use in earlier classical music, and instead writing a more expansive, three-movement piece. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-03-14,22483034 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 21:00:00 -0700 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/22483035-Schumann-at-the-Piano All at once, in 1840, Robert Schumann began writing songs by the dozen. Later called the "Liederjahr," or "year of song," this period of extraordinary productivity was brought on, many have speculated, by the composer's joy in finally winning the hand of his new wife, Clara. In this week's installment of "The Concert," we'll hear a couple of examples of Schumann's music for his wife's instrument, the piano. Perhaps these pieces were also inspired, in a different way, by Clara. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. All at once, in 1840, Robert Schumann began writing songs by the dozen. Later called the "Liederjahr," or "year of song," this period of extraordinary productivity was brought on, many have speculated, by the composer's joy in finally winning the hand of his new wife, Clara. In this week's installment of "The Concert," we'll hear a couple of examples of Schumann's music for his wife's instrument, the piano. Perhaps these pieces were also inspired, in a different way, by Clara. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. All at once, in 1840, Robert Schumann began writing songs by the dozen. Later called the "Liederjahr," or "year of song," this period of extraordinary productivity was brought on, many have speculated, by the composer's joy in finally winning the hand of his new wife, Clara. In this week's installment of "The Concert," we'll hear a couple of examples of Schumann's music for his wife's instrument, the piano. Perhaps these pieces were also inspired, in a different way, by Clara. Recorded live in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to share this concert under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. For details see www.gardnermuseum.org. tag:odeo.com,2008-02-29,22483035 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:00:00 -0800 no The Concert podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/16630553-Anniversary-Program-Bookends tag:odeo.com,2007-09-15,16630553 Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:00:00 -0700 no The Concert http://odeo.com/episodes/16630523-The-Great-American-Songbook tag:odeo.com,2007-09-01,16630523 Sat, 01 Sep 2007 05:00:00 -0700 no The Concert http://odeo.com/episodes/16370803-Showing-Off tag:odeo.com,2007-08-15,16370803 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:00:00 -0700 no The Concert http://odeo.com/episodes/16370763-The-shadow-of-Mozart tag:odeo.com,2007-08-01,16370763 Wed, 01 Aug 2007 05:00:00 -0700 no The Concert http://odeo.com/episodes/15252213-A-different-kind-of-Romance tag:odeo.com,2007-07-15,15252213 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 05:00:00 -0700 no The Concert http://odeo.com/episodes/14491203-Classical-Comedy-by-Mozart-and-Haydn tag:odeo.com,2007-07-02,14491203 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 05:00:00 -0700 no The Concert http://odeo.com/episodes/13845313-Early-Beethoven tag:odeo.com,2007-06-15,13845313 Fri, 15 Jun 2007 05:00:00 -0700 no The Concert http://odeo.com/episodes/12827283-Trip-to-Italy-and-Germany tag:odeo.com,2007-06-01,12827283 Fri, 01 Jun 2007 05:00:00 -0700 no The Concert