View by:

688 results


Piece image
Some orchestras stake their reputation and trademark on a certain sound. Others rely on their celebrity conductor. (The Chicago Symphony Orchestr...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :34
Piece image
At one time, Hungary was one of the leading cultural centers in the world, much like Paris, Vienna and New York. Hungary was occupied by many diff...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :25
Caption: Ivan Fischer, Credit: Courtesy of the Budapest Festival Orchestra
Who knows where inspiration truly comes from? It's different for anyone, but inspiration can strike anytime. Conductor Ivan Fischer says Mahler o...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :32
Piece image
America is the great melting pot -- it's true. But so is Hungary, which has the historical distinction of being occupied by many different countri...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :29
Piece image
Antonin Dvorak's 9th Symphony (the "New World") is at the top of nearly everyone's hit list - and his other big symphonies are not that far behind....

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :27
Piece image
Gustav Mahler was, without question, a gifted melody writer with the ability to get every possible sound and color out of the orchestra. In additi...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :32
Piece image
One of the most frequently asked questions of musicians is, what does "interpretation" mean: how do you "interpret" music? For pianist Andre Watts,...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :29
Piece image
Riccardo Muti is the new (named May 2008) Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Previously he led the Philadelphia Orchestra and (the)...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :31
Piece image
Knowing the story or its inspiration is one way to get inside the music, but conductor Riccardo Muti says there's a more basic approach. Use this ...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :23
Piece image
There's often a story to the music you hear on your station. Conductor Riccardo Muti says you don't have to know the story to hear and feel what t...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :24
Caption: Emmanuel Pahud, Credit: Photo by Shelia Rock
When the soloist and orchestra are playing a concerto, who's in charge? Is it the soloist, the conductor - the orchestra? Someone has to make sur...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :20
Caption: Emmanuel Pahud, Credit: Photo by Shelia Rock
There are two types of people; those who go on vacation and take their work; and those who leave their lap top at home. Composer Carl Nielsen wrot...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :29
Caption: Emmanuel Pahud, Credit: Photo by Shelia Rock
Carl Nielsen's music is filled with great sweetness and sweep, but the composer also liked to insert conflict and drama into the music by pitting i...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :25
Caption: Emmanuel Pahud, Credit: Photo by Shelia Rock
Back in the early 1990's, a French researcher introduced a theory known as the "Mozart Effect." It advanced the idea that listening to Mozart's mu...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :23
Piece image
In classical music, labels and categories can provide a helpful context and entry point to enjoying a composer or composition. But they can also b...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :29
Piece image
The soloist faces a number of temptations in the Sibelius Violin Concerto, especially the magical moments at the beginning. For Hilary Hahn, the t...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :27
Piece image
Arnold Schoenberg pioneered a composition method and style known as "12-tone music". Melodies and harmonies were created from a predetermined sequ...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :23
Piece image
When violinist Hilary Hahn recorded the Paganini Violin Concerto No. 1, she went against a long standing tradition with the concerto. Most violini...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :28
Piece image
Something unthinkable and unimaginable recently occurred in the classical music world. The Violin Concerto by the often maligned Arnold Schoenberg...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :25
Caption: Orli Shaham, Credit: Photo by Christian Steiner
Being a jack of all trades has its advantages, but as the saying goes, it doesn't necessarily make you a master of anything. A musical exception t...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :22
Piece image
Sergei Prokofiev has no bigger fans than Gil and Orli Shaham. Though Prokofiev's place in musical history is guaranteed by a relatively small numb...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :24
Caption: Orli Shaham, Credit: Photo by Christian Steiner
When it comes to talking to members of your immediate family, can you be direct, or do you need to walk on egg shells? Brother and sister musician...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :18
Piece image
From a bone chilling graveyard scene, to the sound of a heart beat that slows down and finally stops beating, Prokofiev's First Violin Sonata has j...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :23
Piece image
Like many Russian musicians in the 20th century, Sergei Prokofiev's music was under the direct supervision of the Russian government. Pianist Orli...

  • Added: May 31, 2008
  • Length: :24
Piece image
The young Dutch violinist Janine Jansen is getting a lot of attention for her recordings and concert performances. Riccardo Chailly conducted her ...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2008
  • Length: :26