Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchRameau's 'Pygmalion'
Synopsis
Around this time in 1956, the hot ticket on Broadway was for a musical based on the old Greek legend of Pygmalion, a sculptor so good that he…
1 month ago
Martinu's 'Frescoes'
Synopsis
Piero della Francesca was a 15th century Renaissance painter, whose series of frescoes, Legend of the True Cross, inspired one of the best or…
1 month ago
Bernstein asks a musical question in Moscow
Synopsis
On today’s date in 1959, Leonard Bernstein celebrated his 41st birthday in Moscow. The New York Philharmonic was embarked on an extensive wor…
1 month ago
Claude Goudimel, Huguenot
Synopsis
We tend to think our time has had a monopoly on bitter religious conflicts, but on today’s date in 1572, which happened to be St. Bartholomew…
1 month ago
Hadley, Thompson, et al. in the Berkshires
Synopsis
Tanglewood is one of America’s most famous summertime classical music festivals and can boast a long and impressive list of premieres and per…
1 month ago
Libby Larsen’s Trio
Synopsis
Angel Fire is a village in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, home to ski slopes and hiking trails, plus a summer mountain-bike park and zip …
1 month ago
Bingham's Secret Garden
Synopsis
At the BBC Proms on today’s date in 2004 Proms a new piece by the British composer Judith Bingham was premiered by the BBC Chorus. The Secret…
1 month ago
Jacopo Peri and early opera
Synopsis
Details on the lives and careers of composers born before 1700 tend to be a bit skimpy, at best. For example, we know Italian Baroque compose…
1 month, 1 week ago
Edward Collins escapes to Wisconsin
Synopsis
In the 19th century, anybody who had the means would flee the stifling heat of the cities and head for someplace green and shady and cool: a …
1 month, 1 week ago
Monteverdi gets mugged (and a new job)
Synopsis
August 1613 proved to be an especially eventful month in the life and career of Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. The previous summer his …
1 month, 1 week ago