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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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