The Berlin Wall falls - and a celebration of Dame Joan too!

This Friday, Vivace begins with a delightful piano quartet by Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia and a symphony by Antonio Rosetti. 

At 7:30 am, we'll do our part to mark the 25th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which occurs next Sunday, including an excerpt from a rare recording of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich playing at the Berlin Wall as it was being hacked down.  (Incidentally, do join my colleague, John Delehanty who will also mark the occasion on Sunday morning 6-9 am)

Just after 8 am, we have another treat for you: a special feature on the great opera singer, Dame Joan Sutherland on the 88th anniversary of her birth. 

Of course, we'll hear Dame Joan singing for us, and my colleague, Tim Snider, host of the Sunday Opera Matinee, will also offer some insights into her magic. 

As ever, I hope you'll join me for an extra-special edition of Vivace, this Friday, 6-9 am, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Your Friday Breakfast Buffet: Enchanting Music!

Nino Rota and Christoph Weyse

We have a superb buffet of Friday morning music for you on this week's Vivace.

We begin with music of Italian composer Nino Rota, his Symphony of Love Songs, followed by the delightful Morning Songs by Danish composer Christoph Weyse. 
 
At 7 am, we'll hear one of those splendid rondos by Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, as well as an enchanting harp sonata by Krumpholz and a symphony by Jan Zach. 

Later in the hour, we'll have another tranquil tunes sequence, and a celebration of two anniversaries from the world of operetta.

Emmerich Kalman: one of our birthday celebrants

At 8 o'clock, we'll make a short visit to the world of opera and we'll end with music of Mozart and Ernst von Gemmingen Hornberg.  Who was he?  Well, tune in and you'll find out!

As ever, I hope you'll join me for Vivace, this Friday, 6-9 am, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

A Morning of Marvelous Musical Treats!

This Friday on Vivace, we have some special musical treats for you. 

We start gently at 6 am with a Sonata for Flute and Piano by Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau and, for viola fans, a viola concerto by Carl Stamitz. We will also salute British composer Herbert Howells on his 122nd birthday - appropriately with his arrangement of Psalm 122.

Herbert Howells and Domenico Zipoli

At 7, we find Franz Schubert in lively mood as we listen to his Five German Dances, and we'll also have a short work by Domenico Zipoli, whose 326th birthday will be on Friday.

      Felix Mendelssohn at 22

On October 17, 1831, the 22 year-old Felix Mendelssohn gave the first performance of his Piano Concerto No. 1 in G, Op. 25 in In Munich. To commemorate the occasion we'll hear it at about 7:30 am, in a sparkling performance by Sir Andras Schiff, who returned to the same hall in Munich to perform it with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. 

The real star of this week's show may well turn out to be the Cello Concerto No.6 by Jean Balthasar Tricklir, which we'll hear just after 8 am. We're anticipating a good audience reaction, so here's a photo of the CD cover, just in case you want to buy it.

We'll round out the show with music of Hummel and Mozart. As ever, I hope you'll join me for Vivace, 6-9 am Friday, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Vivacious music and an interview with Jon Nakamatsu!

This Friday, on Vivace, we'll feature a new recording of Alessandro Rolla's Basset Horn Concerto, a work I played back in April.  This is a great recording and I know you'll enjoy it.

We celebrate the birthdays of pianist Evgeny Kissin and of composer Giuseppe Verdi.

Also, there's plenty of music for Mozart lovers!

At 8 o'clock, we have a short interview with pianist Jon Nakamatsu, who will be appearing in Charlottesville next Tuesday, as part of the Tuesday Evening Concert Series.

As ever, I hope you'll join me for Vivace, this Friday 6-9 am, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Mariann Shirinyan Takes Over Mozart Series

Mozart: Piano Concertos Volume 4
Concertos Nos. 12 and 23
Marianna Shirinyan, piano
Odense Symphony Orchestra
Scott Yoo, conductor
Bridge Records

Although this is the fourth volume of Bridge Records' survey of the Mozart piano concertos, it's actually the first to feature pianist Mariann Shirinyan. She replaces the previous soloist (who has since left the label) to continue the series with Scott Yoo and the Odense Symphony Orchestra.

Not to worry, though. Shirinyan is more than capable of continuing the series. She performs with a light touch, and subtle phrasing that sometimes is only apparent after repeated listening. The liner notes suggest that Shirinyan wrote her own cadenzas. Whether she did or not, Shirinyan seem to take the opportunity to delve deeper into the music rather than dazzle with fireworks, making them sound like organic parts of the movement, rather than the showstoppers they can sometimes become.

All in all, a pleasurable listening experience from start to finish. I look forward to volume five!

Another vivacious double-dose!

Once again this week, I'll have the joy of presenting Classical Cafe, serving up some delicious music to start your Thursday on just the right note.

The first hour features a well-known work, which is not, perhaps, aired quite so often, the Piano Concerto No. 3 by Beethoven: we have a sparkling version from the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg.

 

Haydn and Kozeluch

At 7 am, we'll have an oboe concerto that wasn't written by Joseph Haydn, though many people think it was. It was, in fact, the work of Johann Antonin Kozeluch.

We'll also enjoy a Piano Trio by Josef Rheinberger.

After 8 o'clock, we'll hear a musical parody by Dmitri Shostakovich all about the challenging housing conditions in the Soviet Union of the 1950s in the Cheryomushki Suite, and we'll end with the Concertone, which means big concert or concerto by Mozart.

There are plenty of delicious treats in store in the Classical Cafe, this Thursday morning.  I hope you'll join me.

_____________________________________________________________

On Vivace this Friday, the first hour features some peaceful music:  the String Octet by Mendelssohn and a  symphony by Vanhal.

At 7 am, I'd like to introduce you to the music of Giuseppe Antonio Capuzzi, a largely-forgotten Italian violinist and composer who was born on August 1, 1755.  We'll hear his delightful Concerto for double bass and orchestra in D-Major.

The Capuzzi concerto and Mr. Albrechtsberger

After that, we have another equally delightful work: the Partita in C-Major for harp, flute and cello by Johann-Georg Albrechtsberger, who was a classmate of Michael Haydn, and taught music theory to Johann Hummel, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Xaver Mozart. 

Austrian composer and organist Hans Rott also has a birthday this Friday and of course, we'll celebrate it, with his Pastoral Prelude in F Major.  We'll round out the hour with music of Gottfried Heinrich Stolzel.

The great horn player, Hermann Baumann (right), celebrates his 80th birthday this Friday.  Before the champagne is opened, he will join us to play the Mozart Horn Concerto No. 2.

And we'll end with one of those enchanting guitar and piano duos by Ferdinando Carulli.

I hope you'll join me Thursday and Friday mornings, 6-9 am, to start your days with that touch of je ne sais quoi, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Your usual Friday fun ... on Thursday as well!

If you will honor us with your company on WTJU-91.1 FM, this week and next week, you'll have to put up with me for two morning shows.

Thursday Morning

On Thursday, I'll be hosting Classical Cafe, and to celebrate the birthday of French composer, Adolphe Adam, the first hour will be filled with ballet music: two suites from Giselle.

A short sample of the music you'll be hearing!

After 7 am, we'll hear a Boccherini Symphony and a Bassoon Concerto by Johann Christian Bach, and we'll mark the birthday of the inventive 20th Century Canadian/British composer, Robert Farnon.

Our third birthday of the morning is that of Swiss composer, Ernest Bloch:  we'll listen to his Jewish Poem No. 1, Dancing just after 8 am.  A Quartet by Devienne and a Quintet by Mozart will bring Classical Cafe to a delicious and satisfying conclusion.

 Friday Morning

If you'd like to come back for more vivacious music on Friday, Vivace will feature a flute and clarinet work by Franz Danzi and a harp concerto by the rarely-heard English composer, Elias Parish Alvars, whom Hector Berlioz called "the Franz Liszt of the harp".

At 7 am, we have some delightful music for lute by Haydn, a waltz by Carl Ziehrer and an oboe concerto by Franz Krommer.

After 8 am, we'll hear a concerto by Albinoni and music from two of the Mozart family, a Serenade by Wolfgang and a piano concerto by his son, Franz Xaver Mozart.

Wolfgang ....and Franz Xaver Mozart

I hope you'll join us as you start your day.   I look forward to the pleasure of your company, on Thursday and Friday mornings, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

This week's Vivace: An unusual pot-pourri

This week's Vivace will contain a really unusual pot-pourri.  In the first hour, we'll begin gently with a Sonata for Flute and Piano by Danish composer, Friedrich Kuhlau, followed by the last in our occasional series of the five symphonies of Sir Hubert Parry.

At 7 o'clock, we'll feature the symphony that inspired Samuel Smith to write the lyrics to "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in 1831: the Great National Symphony by Muzio Clementi. 

We'll celebrate the birthday of French composer, Marie Auguste Durand, and just before 8 o'clock, we have a very rare recording of the final work of Claude Debussy, a short piano piece he wrote to thank his coal supplier for keeping his house warm during his final illness, a work that was lost until discovered in a trunk in Paris in 2001.

At 8 o'clock, we'll celebrate the birthday of Czech composer Julius Fucik.

Then, we'll have a short tribute to the great conductor, Lorin Maazel, who passed away earlier this week, featuring two of his own compositions.  And finally, we'll hear one of Mozart's early piano concertos, No 9, which he wrote when he was 19.

Lorin Maazel                              Mozart at 19

As ever, I hope you'll join me for what promises to be a busy and, I hope, interesting edition of Vivace, Friday morning, 6-9 am, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

The Rare and the Familiar

When you start your Friday with Vivace, as we hope you always do, it sometimes means hearing music by rarely-heard composers, and that will certainly be true this week.  We'll start with a symphony by Carl Loewe and a flute quintet by Andreas Romberg. At 7 o'clock, we have a delightful harpsichord concerto by Simon Mayr and a piano fantasy by Franz Schubert ... 

 

... and we'll find out if you know which famous composer wrote the music for the US Marine Corps hymn as we celebrate the 216th anniversary of the US Marine Band, which was established by an act of Congress on July 11, 1798.

After 8 o'clock, we'll have music of Hummel and Mozart and we'll celebrate the 153rd birthday of Russian composer Anton Arensky.

Anton Arensky

As ever, I hope you'll join me for Vivace, Friday morning 6-9 am, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Vivace: Where unknowns mingle with megastars!

On this week's Vivace, we have the normal abnormalities.

At 7 am, we'll have a half-hour of musical megastars: a marvelous Mozart sonata for violin and piano performed by the great Isaac Stern and Yefim Bronfman, followed by a Beethoven work with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzhak Perlman and Lynn Harrell.

Just before 8 am, we'll celebrate the 155th birthday of this good lady, Mildred Hill, a Victorian-era spinster who was a Sunday-school teacher, church organist and pianist.  She didn't have a dazzling career, and she didn't write anything particularly noteworthy or memorable ... except for one short song.

At 8 o'clock, we have a dazzlingly unique version of a well-known favorite, cooked up by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet,

... and we'll round out the show with a Hoffmeister Clarinet Quartet and a sonata by Mendelssohn.

A cheerful start to your Friday is guaranteed, so, as ever, I hope you'll join me for Vivace, this Friday, 6-9 am, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.  I look forward to the pleasure of your company.

This week's Vivace: Not just for humans!

This Friday, Vivace will open with two long works:  Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Beethoven, and the Serenade No. 1 by Mozart. 

At 7 am, we will celebrate the birthday of the German-Swedish composer, Joseph Martin Kraus, with his viola concerto.

At about 7:30 am, we have a special treat for your four-legged furry friends:  It's National Take Your Dog to Work Day, and we'll have almost half an hour of calming music specially designed to please those of a canine or feline persuasion.

Dioji will join me in the studio

After 8 am, we'll celebrate another birthday, that of Jacques Offenbach with a surprising work, one of his Suites for Two Cellos, and we'll end with a rarely-heard piano concerto composed by Beethoven when he was only 13.

Beethoven at about 13 years old

As ever, I hope you (and your four-legged companion) will join me for Vivace, 6-9 am on Friday morning, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Running the European Gamut ... and saluting while we're at it!

This Friday on Vivace, we'll really "run the gamut" of European music, (as it has been said - Book of R. Graves, Chapters 1-1050).

In the first two hours, we'll start with a long work by Mozart, and move on to music by Czech composer Václav Pichl, French composer Francois Devienne (his delightful Bassoon Concerto No.1), Italian composer Ferdinando Carulli, Johann Christian Bach (the London Bach), Austrian composer Ignaz Holzbauer and Czech composer Bedřich Smetana.

After 8 o'clock, we'll celebrate some birthdays including those of the US Army, the Flag of the United States and the Austrian composer, Anton Eberl, who was a student of Mozart.

As ever, I hope you'll allow me to keep you company as you go about your preparations for the day, for Vivace, this Friday, 6-9 am, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Start the week on a lively note!

Start your week on a lively note when I'll be filling in for John on Dawn's Early Light.  As ever the program opens with music of Bach, this week, the English Suite No.1 in A-Major, BWV 806.

They'll both be on the show.

At 7 am, we'll celebrate our first birthday of the day with music by Otto Nicolai, most famous, perhaps, for being the founder of the Vienna Philharmonic. As well as hearing music by Glazunov and Corelli, we'll also celebrate the birthdays of the London Symphony Orchestra, Danish composer Carl Nielsen - and, just before 8 o'clock, the 80th birthday of America's most-beloved Anatine-American.

After 8 o'clock, we'll have a symphony by Johann Stamitz, a piano sonata by Mozart and there's one more birthday to celebrate: that of a great 20th Century American composer.

I hope you'll join me bright and early for Dawn's Early Light, this Monday morning, 6-9 am, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

A gentle end to May

This week's Vivace begins with one of the real classics, the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor by Chopin, composed in 1830 and first performed in Warsaw, with the composer as soloist, during one of his "farewell" concerts before leaving Poland.

At 7 am, we'll enjoy one of those fine oboe concertos of Antonio Rosetti, after which we have an all-star quartet for a Mozart Quartet for flute and strings. 

At 8 o'clock, we'll have an enjoyable, dramatic work by French baroque composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and to conclude the program, a very rarely heard piano work by the Russian conductor, Evgeny Svetlanov.

As ever, I hope you'll join me Friday morning, 6-9 am, for Vivace, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Fidelio turns 200 .. among other birthdays!

This Friday on Vivace, we have some special birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate.  We'll start at 6 am with the Piano Concerto No.2 by Ignaz Moscheles, whose 220th birthday it is.  A Clarinet Concerto by Carl Stamitz rounds out the first hour.

In the second hour, we'll enjoy a cello concerto by Italian composer, Giovanni Viotti, another birthday celebrant. and a harp concerto by Georg Wagenseil, among other works.

At 8 am, the big birthday of the day will be celebrated. Beethoven's Fidelio turns 200.  We'll have the overture.  The full opera can be heard this Sunday on WTJU's Sunday Opera Matinee.

We'll also hear a world premiere recording of a recorder concerto by Johann Fasch, and a string quartet by Brahms which had its premiere on this day in 1876.

There will be much to enjoy and as ever, I hope you'll join me, Friday morning, 6-9 am, for Vivace, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Music for Spring ...for children, and to remember a fine cellist

This week's Vivace offers a wide variety of music. The first hour is filled with guitar music by Scottish composer, James Oswald.

This delightful season is well-represented too: we'll enjoy Beethoven's Spring Sonata at 7 am and the Grand Pastoral Symphony by Justin Knecht at 8 am.

 

At 7:30 am, we'll offer a mini-concert to remember Staunton-based cellist Dmitry Volkov who died last weekend at the age of 26. And at about 8:30 am, we'll have some special music for the children in the University of Virginia Children's Hospital here in Charlottesville.

As ever, I hope you'll join me on Friday, 6-9 am, for Vivace on WTJU-Charlottesville.

A joyful, tuneful way to start your Friday

This week's Vivace begins with another in our occasional series of rarely-heard symphonies by Sir Hubert Parry: the Symphony No. 3 in C-Major, "The English" symphony. 

After 7 o'clock, we'll hear one of those fine flute concertos by Antonio Rosetti, and a Mozart horn concerto - some delightfully tuneful melodies. 

In the 8 o'clock hour, we have a rarely-heard Trumpet and Oboe Concerto by Johann Hertel, as well as music by Salieri and Sarasate, and an unusual arrangement of a well-loved favorite by Johann Sebastian Bach. 

As ever, I look forward to the pleasure of your company on Vivace, 6-9 am, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

You can also replay the program anytime from the WTJU archives. This program will be available for replay through 4/11/14.

Sir Neville Marriner turns 90

Sir Neville Marriner, the world-renowned conductor and founder and Life President of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, turns 90 in April.

He is to be honored with a special - and unique - concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Tuesday, April 1. The concert will consist of three works, performed by each of the Academy's three music directors. 

The current Academy Music Director, Joshua Bell, opens the evening’s program with the Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saens. This is followed by Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.20 played by the recent Music Director and the Academy's Principal Guest Conductor, Murray Perahia. And finally, Sir Neville himself will conduct the orchestra in the Enigma Variations by Sir Edward Elgar, to conclude what will be an evening of joyous celebration of the past, present and future of the Academy. 

If you can't be at the concert in London on Tuesday evening, not to worry! The very next morning, Wednesday, April 2, WTJU's Classical Department will present a special show from 6-9 am: Sir Neville at 90, devoted to works conducted by Sir Neville Marriner, and during which the entire previous evening's concert will be reproduced with recordings by the exact same artists. 

There will also be an interview with Sir Neville just after 8 o'clock. Steve Myers will host this WTJU Special: Sir Neville at 90, Wednesday, April 2, 6-9 am, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.  We hope you'll join us for a very special program.

Vivace! A compilation of celebrations and cheerful classical choices!

The first performance of the String Quartet No. 13 in A Minor, the Rosamunde Quartet, D 804 by Franz Schubert took place on March 14, 1824. On the 190th anniversary of that debut, we'll start this week's Vivace with a sparkling performance of it.

Just after 7 am, we'll hear some music of Ernst Eichner, a rarely heard 18th Century German composer.  We will celebrate the birthdays of two famous composers: Georg Telemann and Johann Strauss 1 ...

... and as mathematicians and scientists celebrate National Pi Day, we'll have some special music for them at 8 o'clock.  Don't forget to eat some pie as you listen!

At about 8:30 am, we'll have a special treat for Gilbert & Sullivan fans as we celebrate the anniversary of The Mikado's first performance in London.

As ever, I look forward to the pleasure of your company this Friday for another fun-filled edition of Vivace, 6-9 am, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Warm, lively and regal!

We'll try to keep you warm and happy this Friday on Vivace.

Much of our first hour is music from nice, warm Spain, the Suite Espanola by Isaac Albeniz.

At 7 o'clock, we'll have a concerto from a popular composer, Josef Fiala, and a light-hearted work by Mozart.

After 8 o'clock, we will be putting on our very best outfits for some very regal music. We'll play a symphony written by a reigning European king, and then an overture conducted by another reigning European king! Music by Bach and Elgar will round out a warm, lively and regal edition of Vivace.

As ever, I look forward to the pleasure of your company, this Friday, 6-9 am, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

You can also replay the program anytime from the WTJU archives. This program will be available for replay through 2/7/14.