Compact Discoveries Radio Programs
as of April 19, 2007

1 Brazilian Beats
The catchy tunes and foot-stompin, rhythms of Brazilian tangos, waltzes and other dances composed by Nazareth, da Arbeau, Villa-Lobos and even Frenchman Darius Milhaud. Performances by Brazilian pianist Arthur Moreira Lima, classical flutist Paula Robison, guitarist Michael Cedric Smith, and Leonard Bernstein conducting the French National Orchestra.  Listen Now!

2 Discs for Dishwashing
Fred Flaxman attempts to turn dishwashing from a chore into, well, almost a pleasure, with his selection of appropriate music which can be enjoyed to the accompaniment of the rattle of pots and pans. The program includes Handel's Water Music, "Mack the Knife" from Kurt Weil's The Threepenny Opera, Victor Herbert's Pan Americana, and other tunes which relate by a very far stretch of the imagination to that necessary daily task. This is definitely a light approach to serious music! Listen Now!

3 The Tune That Drove Composers Wild (Part 1)
In 1820 an Italian violinist, unknown outside of his native country at the time, published a tune that was destined to drive audiences -- and composers -- wild ever since. His name: Niccolo Paganini. The piece: the last of 24 caprices for solo violin. In this hour Fred Flaxman plays the original Paganini caprice plus variations on the theme by Liszt, Brahms, Szymanowski and Rachmaninov. Listen Now!

4 The Tune That Drove Composers Wild (Part 2)
So many variations by so many composers were written on Paganini's original theme, Fred Flaxman couldn't fit even the most famous such works in one hour. So the theme continues in this program with very interesting, unusual, tuneful variations by Boris Blacher, Witold Lutoslowski, and Cats composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Listen Now!

5 The First Gershwin
The 19th Century Creole New Orleans composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk -- not George Gershwin -- was the first American composer to combine Afro-American rhythms with classical European forms. His delightful Creole- and Caribbean-influenced fantasies for piano and orchestra are featured. Performances by pianists Philip Martin and Eugene List, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maurice Abravanel. Listen Now!

6 The French Gershwin
The jazz-classical suites of Claude Bolling, featuring flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, guitarist Alexandre Lagoya, violinist Pinchas Zukerman, pianist Emmanuel Ax, cellist Yo Yo Ma and trumpeter Maurice André accompanying Bolling's jazz trio. Listen Now!

7 The Cuban Gershwin
Virtually everyone 60 years or older has heard of the piano piece Malagueña, but not one out of 100 could name the composer. Well, it's by Ernesto Lecuona. The Cuban composer, like his contemporary, George Gershwin, wrote popular music and tried his hand successfully at longer forms. Thanks to the Swedish company, BIS, several volumes of Ernesto Lecuona: the Complete Piano Music, are now available. Fred Flaxman presents highlights from these albums as well as an historical release on RCA Victor which features the composer playing his own compositions. Listen Now!

8 The Next Gershwin?
Paul Schoenfield's music mixes Broadway with Jewish folk, jazz, blues, Dixieland, contemporary, classical, romantic and circus styles. This program features recordings of his exciting, melodious, highly charged, rhythmic pieces: Vaudeville, Four Parables and Café Music.  Listen Now!

9 Best Music for Back Rubs
The music selected should reflect the type and style of backrub desired, the mood of the back rubber and rubbee, and the time of day that it is to be administered. This program's different strokes for different folks includes Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (for those who like to be sat on, pounded with fists and pushed in with great force from above) and Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee (for those who prefer more of a tickle than a rub).  Listen Now!

10 Fauré's Fiascoes
Did Fauré have any idea how to play his own Barcarolle No. 1 in A Minor? This gem is followed by the composer's Elégie for Cello and Orchestra, Pavane and his Sonata in A for Violin and Piano. The program's title refers not to Fauré's music, but to his love life. Listen Now!

11 Radio Revisited
A return to the yesteryears of radio, when a generation of Americans was introduced to classical music via the theme songs of The Lone Ranger, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, The Shadow and other programs. Clips from the original radio programs show how the music was used. The music includes Rezniceck's Donna Diana Overture, Rossini's William Tell Overture and Lizst's Les Préludes.  Listen Now!

12 Crazy about Kalinnikov
Kalinnikov's two symphonies should be as popular as those of Tchaikovsky. But they are not. You'll want to correct this situation, at least in your own home, when you hear these performances by the Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi and the USSR Symphony conducted by Evgueni Svetlanov.  Listen Now!

13 Leroy Anderson's Clever Musical Miniatures
Live long enough and the popular music of your youth becomes the classical music of today. Witness the clever orchestral miniatures of Leroy Anderson, the once-popular American composer who is now listed in the classical music catalogs. This program takes a new look at The Syncopated Clock, Sleigh Ride, The Typewriter Song and other Anderson favorites, as well as his rarely-performed Concerto in C for Piano & Orchestra. Listen Now!

14 All About Alkan
A search for the theme song to Alfred Hitchcock Presents leads by mistake to the discovery of the French composer Charles Valentin Alkan. The music includes his parody, the Funeral March on the Death of a Parrot, as well as Charles Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette (the actual Hitchcock theme). Also featured are excerpts from the Concerto for Solo Piano performed by Marc-André Hamelin.  Listen Now!

15 Favorite Funeral Music
Music lovers can make the task of writing their last will and testament far more interesting by naming the musical selections they would like to be played at their funeral. Schubert's Death and the Maiden string quartet might be appropriate for some, but Fred Flaxman chooses piano pieces he never managed to play well while still alive, played (by more gifted pianists) as he would have liked to play them. Listen Now!

16 Hats Off to Coates
The music of English composer Eric Coates, including movements from The London Suite, The London Again Suite, and The Three Bears Fantasy. The program also includes the Forsyte Saga theme from The Three Elizabeths Suite and By the Sleepy Lagoon, the theme song of the BBC's "Desert Island Discs." Listen Now!

17 Music for Halloween (Pledge Event Version)
Host Fred Flaxman attempts to scare listeners into contributing to their local public radio station during their Fall membership drives. Music includes "Fossils" from The Carnival of the Animals and Danse macabre by Saint-Saëns; A Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky; The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Dukas and a snippet of The Isle of the Dead by Rachmaninov.  Listen Now!

18 In Praise of Poulenc
Was Francis Poulenc a great composer? If, by great, you mean a composer who creates a significant body of music which is truly original, full of memorable melodies, with unique harmonies and colorful, captivating orchestration, the French composer would certainly qualify. Examples of his art presented here include "Le Lion Amoureux" from Les Animaux Modèles; his piano concerto; and his Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra. Listen Now!

19 The Brooklyn Cowboy
Aaron Copland talked with a Brooklyn accent and composed with a Western touch. In addition to Appalachian Spring, El Salon Mexico, and Fanfare for the Common Man, this program includes an excerpt from an interview with the composer.

20 Controversial Comrade Kabalevsky
With the fall of communism in the Soviet Union and the demise of atonal elitism in the West, Fred Flaxman takes a new look at this major 20th Century Russian composer, and a new listen to his music. Compositions played include his romantic and tuneful first violin concerto, the Overture to Colas Breugnon, and the Comedians.

21 Viva Villa-Lobos!
The Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos was so prolific, one needs a guide to pick out the real gems of his output. Fred Flaxman volunteers and presents his listeners with the hauntingly lyrical Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for soprano and cellos; the melodious, rhythmic, catchy, unforgettable, Brazilian-to-the-core Choros No. 1 for guitar, and the dynamic, tuneful, rhythmic First Piano Concerto.

22 Music for Hanukkah?
What is appropriate music for Hanukkah? Host Fred Flaxman chooses Ravel's Chanson hébraïque; "This Land is Mine" from the movie Exodus; the "Finale" from Live in the Fiddler's House, with Itzhak Perlman as the violinist; harpist Rachel Van Voorhees playing My Little Dreydl, Candles Burning, Hanukkah, and Rock of Ages; Krein's Esquisses hébraïques; Levenson's Two Jewish Folk Songs; and klezmer music by Klezamir. Listen Now!

23 Schubert's Tuneful Chamber Music
Schubert was one of the greatest melody writers of all time. If you don't believe that, just tune in for this hour of proof. It includes the Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A Minor. As an additional bonus, you'll find out what an arpeggione is and why you'll hear this piece played on a cello instead.

24 Wagner Without Words
This program is aimed particularly at people who enjoy classical music, but who don't care for opera and can't stand, in particular, the long, heavy, highly Germanic operas of Richard Wagner. The overtures, preludes and incidental music to those operas contain many of the best melodies from those works without any of the words. The program will include the "Prélude & Liebestod" from Tristan und Isolde, the "Prélude to Act III" of Lohengrin and some music Wagner wrote that wasn't for any of his operas.

25 A Symphony for Santa Claus
Featured is the Santa Claus Symphony by William Henry Fry, the first native-born American to compose for large symphonic forces. Tony Rowe conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in this world-premiere recording. Listen Now!

26 Neglected Saint-Saëns
It is ironic that the most famous piece written by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns was his musical joke, The Carnival of the Animals. Ironic because, except for the section called "The Swan," he withdrew the piece after just a few performances and wouldn't allow it to be published until after his death. He didn't want this auditory burlesque to interfere with his reputation as a serious composer. Unfortunately, some of the composer's most beautiful works are still rarely heard by comparison to The Carnival. But they will be featured in this hour, including the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, the Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, and the symphonic poem Phaëton.  Listen Now!

27 Love Music, Part 1
Classical love music includes Josef Suk's "Song of Love," Prokofiev's march from "The Love for Three Oranges," Khrennikov's "Love for Love" ballet suite, and Grieg's song "Jeg elsker Dig." Love music by George Gershwin concludes the program. Gershwin himself tells the story behind the failure-turned-success of "The Man I Love." Listen Now!

28 Love Music, Part 2
Fred Flaxman presents popular love music by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, the theme from "Love Story" by Francis Lai, Sammy Fain's "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," "Creole Love Call" with the Comedy Harmonists, and more. Artists include Michael Rose and the WXEL Orchestra, Christiane Noll, Kiri Te Kanawa, Ivy Austin, and the Cincinnati Pops conducted by Erich Kunzel.  Listen Now!   

29 Variations on Very Familiar Tunes
Fred Flaxman brings you "Happy Birthday Variations" by Peter Heidrich, "Variations on Auld Lang Syne" by Franz Waxman, "Variations on a Nursery Song" ("Twinkle Twinkle Little Star") by Ernst von Dohnányi, and "McMozart's Eine Kleine Bricht Moonlicht Musik" by Teddy Bor. Listen Now!

30 Ravel: The Composer as Pianist and Conductor
Maurice Ravel plays his own compositions: "Valses nobles et sentimentales," "Sonatine," "Pavane pour une infante défunte," and conducts his most famous piece, "Boléro."

31 A Gershwin Tribute
Fred Flaxman takes us back in time to July 10, 1938, and we listen to a memorial broadcast honoring George Gershwin on the eve of the first anniversary of his death. It features Jane Froman, Felix Knight, Sonny Schuyler and the Victor Salon Group, conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret. We also hear Al Jolson singing Gershwin's first hit, "Swanee," and an excerpt from Gershwin himself playing his "Rhapsody in Blue" with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra.  Listen Now!

32 Movie Concertos
Fred Flaxman presents the most famous of the mini piano concertos written especially for the movies, mostly in the 1940s: Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto, the Cornish Rhapsody by Hubert Bath, the Swedish Rhapsody by Charles Wildman, Miklos Rozsa's Spellbound Concerto, George Gershwin's New York Rhapsody, and others. The Cuban-American pianist Santiago Rodriguez performs with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra conducted by William Hudson. Listen Now!

33 One-Hit American Composers
Fred Flaxman presents the biggest hits of four American composers who only had one big hit: Morton Gould's American Salute, Edward MacDowell's Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Walter Piston's The Incredible Flutist, and an excerpt from Virgil Thomson's The Plow that Broke the Plains.

34 More One-Hit American Composers
Howard Hanson's Romantic Symphony, Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, and excerpts from Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite are featured.

35 One-Hit French Composers
Featured are Emmanuel Chabrier's España, Vincent d'Indy's Symphony on a French Mountaineer's Song, and an excerpt from Canteloube's one masterwork, Songs of the Auvergne.

36 Good Old-Time Music by Vieuxtemps
Vieuxtemps means "old times" in French, and the 19th Century Belgian violinist Henri Vieuxtemps composed seven old-time romantic violin concertos worthy of his name. Fred Flaxman features the fourth and fifth concertos in this program, both performed by Itzhak Perlman with the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Daniel Barenboim, plus Vieuxtemps, humorous variations on Yankee Doodle.

37 The Birds and the Bees
Fred Flaxman,s sexiest program yet. It includes The Birds by Respighi; The
Wasps and The Lark Ascending by Vaughan-Williams; The Bees by Barrios, and
two versions of The Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov.

38 Summer Music
Cool off with Summer Nights (Les Nuits d,Été) by Berlioz, Summertime by Gershwin, "Summer" from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi (in a version for harp and orchestra), Alvén's Midsummer Vigil (in a version by the composer for piano, four hands), the theme from Summer of '42 by Michel Legrand, and the theme from A Summer Place by Max Steiner.

39 Leftover Birds
Fred Flaxman's previous program on "The Birds and the Bees" turned up so much terrific bird music, he decided to do another hour of "Leftover Birds." Included: At the Chicken Chaser's Ball with the Royal City Saxophone Quartet... hens, roosters, cuckoos and aviaries from The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns (Program 41 is devoted entirely to "Swan Songs"!)... Dave Brubeck's Strange Meadow Lark...Tchaikovsky's Song of the Lark...Hoagie Carmichael's Skylark... and music by Glinka, Liszt, Mouquet and others.

40 Music of "Rospighi"
To create the ballet music for La Boutique Fantasque (The Fantastic Toyshop), Ottorino Respighi orchestrated piano pieces written by the famous opera composer Giacomo Rossini as part of his Sins of Old Age. Respighi orchestrated other Rossini piano pieces into a suite called Rossiniana. These delightful combinations of compositions by Rossini and Respighi constitute what Fred Flaxman calls the music of "Rospighi." The pianist is Paolo Giacometti, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra is led by Antonio Janigro.

41 Swan Songs
This hour, devoted entirely to music inspired by swans, includes a suite from the ballet Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, The Swan of Tuonela by Sibelius, and several versions of "The Swan" from The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns.

42 Sullivan Without Gilbert
Sir Arthur Sullivan is famous for his collaborations with W.S. Gilbert on a series of highly successful operettas. But he did write other music as well. Fred Flaxman presents Sullivan's Overture di Ballo, his Cello Concerto and excerpts from his ballet, L'Ile Enchantée.

43 From Borodin to Broadway
The Broadway musical Kismet was based on themes of the Russian composer Alexandr Borodin. In this hour Fred Flaxman presents songs from the musical paired with the Borodin originals.  Listen Now!

44 Name That Tune! [no script available to prevent cheating!]
This is the first Compact Discoveries quiz, so get out your pen and paper and try to name the composer and composition for each of the ten delightful selections you will hear in this hour. Compact discs will be awarded to the winners.

45 Musical Gardens
Fred Flaxman presents In a Monestary Garden by Ketèlbey, Country Gardens by Grainger, The Flowers by Sibelius, and Chrysanthemums by Pucinni, along with butterflies by Grieg and Lavallée and bees by Mendelssohn and Rimsky-Korsakov.

46 Music for Insomniacs
Pieces selected to help people fall asleep. WARNING: Do not drive and listen to this program at the same time! Music includes Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1, Vaughan-Williams' Fantasia on Greensleeves, Albinoni's Adagio for Strings, and Tchaikovsky's Andante Cantabile.

47 Classical Kids
Piano music inspired by children, including Debussy's Children's Corner Suite, Schumann's Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Fauré's Dolly Suite, and Poldini's Poupée valsante (Waltzing Doll).

48 The End
Fred Flaxman presents particularly interesting, exciting and unusual endings of classical music pieces. These include the final moments of Mahler's Song of Lament and his Symphony No. 6, Malcolm Arnold's A Grand, Grand Overture, Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 and his Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Ives' Symphony No. 2, and Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites.

49 Opus 1
A program of first published compositions by Rachmaninov, Chopin, Grieg and others -- their Opus 1.

50 Joaquín Nin
The father of writer Anaïs Nin was a modern day "Don Juan" whose scandal-plagued life eclipsed his melodic, rhythmic, folksy piano compositions. Pianist Thomas Tirino's new CD of Nin's complete works for solo piano is featured.

51 Vocalise Variations
Fred Flaxman presents vocal, instrumental, choral and orchestral transcriptions of one of Rachmaninov's most beautiful melodies.

52 Tyzen Hsiao
The highly romantic concertos of the contemporary Taiwanese composer Tyzen Hsiao successfully mix Chinese folk melodies with Western classical music.

53 Chamber Music Palm Beach 
Highlights from the group's first four compact discs. Music include's Poulenc's Perpetual Motion, Turina's Toreador's Prayer, Lalo's Aubade No. 2, the third movement from McAlister's Lou's Mountain Bread, the opening movement from Malcolm Arnold's Trio, Paladilhe's Danse noble, the allegretto movement from Martinu's Nonet, two movements from Pierné's Royal Court Ballet, a Divertissement by Samazeuilh, and Deux Mouvements by Ibert.  Listen Now!

54 From Norway to Broadway
The music of Edvard Grieg as turned into the Broadway musical "Song of Norway." The Grieg originals include Norwegian Dance No. 2, the Waltz from Lyric Pieces, Book 1, Notturno from the Lyric Suite, and To Spring from Lyric Pieces, Book 3. The Broadway songs include Strange Music, Hymn of Betrothal, and Freddy and His Fiddle.  Listen Now!

55 James Brooks-Bruzzese
The recordings of the conductor of the Symphony of the Americas, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are featured. Maestro Brooks-Bruzzese conducts the Hungarian Virtuosi in Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances, and Elgar's Serenade for Strings. He conducts the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra of Mexico for Gershwin's I Got Rhythm and Kander and Ebb's Cabaret.

56 Symphonic Klezmer
Fred Flaxman presents two lively, tuneful, fun works by Canadian composers: the Suite for Klezmer Band and Orchestra by Sid Robinovitch and The Old Toronto Klezmer Suite by Srul Irving Glick.

57 The Buster Walk Jamboree
A personal look at melodious memories from an imaginary radio series. Music includes a suite from Oklahoma! and easy-to-play piano pieces by Clementi and Kuhlau. The program opens with an essay on what Fred Flaxman learned about life from his childhood dog.  Listen Now!

58 Richard Strauss, Homebreaker
R. Strauss for people who don't like R. Strauss. The music includes piano pieces played by Glenn Gould and the orchestral waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier.

59 Richard Strauss, Orchestrator
R. Strauss for people who do like R. Strauss. The music includes Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Don Juan, and Burleske.

60 How to Get Kids into Classical
Strictly forbid it in your home and they'll listen to it in secret every chance they get. If that doesn't work, Fred Flaxman has some suggestions for classical music that might appeal to them.

61 Swingin' Classics
Fred Flaxman explores Big Band-era music based on classical themes. Works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian, Rimsky-Korsakoff and Weber are interpreted by Glenn Miller, Freddy Martin, Alvino Rey, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.

62 From Classics to Carmen Cavallaro
Original and jazz interpretations of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Badarzewska and Sarasate.  Listen Now!

63 Classic Ellington
Duke Ellington's jazz interpretations of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 are interposed with the Tchaikovsky and Grieg originals.

64 Music for Autumn
The program includes "Autumn" from The Seasons by Glazunov, "Autumn" from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, "Autumn Song" from The Seasons by Tchaikovsky, Autumn Colors by Zamfir, and Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma, as interpreted by Richard Hayman and his Orchestra, jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli with classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, and French singer Jacques Douai.

65 Chanticleer
Fred Flaxman plays excerpts from this extraordinary male choir's latest release, "How Sweet the Sound," as well as from three previous albums: "Wondrous Love," "Where the Sun Will Never Go Down," and "Our American Journey." Songs include Camptown Races, Love Walked In, Old Time Religion, Deep River, Keep Your Hand on the Plow, Nelly Bly and many others.

66 Dracula
Music from the ballet by Anthony DeLorenzo, performed by Proteus 7. Listen Now!

67 Cécile Chaminade, Part 1
Fred Flaxman's latest compact discoveries are CDs of music by an extraordinarily talented French woman composer and pianist who lived from 1857 until 1944. The program starts with two very different versions of her most famous piano piece, the Scarf Dance, and goes on to include her strikingly melodious Trio No. 1 in G Minor performed by the Tzigane Piano Trio, her Sérénade espagnole as transcribed by Fritz Kreisler and played by Itzhak Perlman on one of his "Greatest Hits" CDs, and her Concertstück for Piano and Orchestra with Rosario Marciano and the Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg conducted by Louis de Froment. The hour concludes with a beautiful piano piece by this master of the keyboard. Listen Now!

68 Cécile Chaminade, Part 2
This second hour of music by Chaminade includes 11 of her best piano pieces, three of her songs, and her Concertino for Flute and Orchestra. Performers include pianists Enid Katahn, Eric Parkin and Bengt Forsberg, soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, and flutist Marilyn Maingart with the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra conducted by James Brooks-Bruzzese. Listen Now!

69 Classical Tango
A fun-filled hour of familiar and unfamiliar tangos by classical and popular composers from Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Denmark, England and the United States. Listen Now!

70 A Russian Winter
Experience a Russian winter with Fred Flaxman the warm and cozy, easy way -- through music by Tchaikovsky, Glazunov and Prokofiev. No need for a down coat or gloves; just your ears and your imagination. Listen Now!

71 Tarantellas
Originally created as a dance to keep the poisonous bite of the tarantula from killing its victims, this infectious, increasingly rapid music has inspired composers from many different countries. Fred Flaxman brings you an hour of melodious examples.

72P Hidden Treasures [a pledge program for use in fund-raising by local public radio stations]
Fred Flaxman unearths gorgeous music by composers you may not have heard of: Jaromir Weinberger, Franz Xaver Scharwenka, Karl Goldmark, Ivan Laskovsky, Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, and Grigoras Dinicu.

73P Favorite French Waltzes
When you think waltz, Johann Strauss comes to mind, as does Vienna. But French composers have come up with their own unique concept of this famous dance form. Fred Flaxman presents some favorite examples.

74 Catchy Khachaturian, Part 1
This hour includes Khachaturian's Violin Concerto and the suite from Masquerade. The composer himself conducts the latter, from an EMI Classics recording.

75 Catchy Khachaturian, Part 2
This hour includes Khachaturian's ballet suites Gayne and Spartacus.

76 Musical Beasts
The ferocious musical animals include a glowworm, a bullfrog, two little bullfinches, two pigeons, a turkey, a tiger, a parade of elephants and the entire gang from Noah's Ark!

77 More Musical Beasts
Fred Flaxman presents real beasts this time, including a wolf, a lion, an elephant, kangaroos, a bear, and -- most frightening of all -- two pianists. Music is by Prokofiev, Saint-Saëns and Poulenc.

78 A Musical Voyage with Camille Saint-Saëns
Although Saint-Saëns was born in Paris, he died in Algiers -- one of the many places in North Africa which fascinated him and which influenced his music. He wrote an Algerian suite, an Arab caprice, an African fantasy, and a piano concerto which is called "The Egyptian." All of these pieces are included in this program.

79 Clara Schumann
The music of a superwoman who gave birth to eight children, played the piano on the level of Franz Liszt, and supported her family, including footing the bills for a private insane asylum for her husband, the composer Robert Schumann. Included are Clara's Piano Concerto in A Minor and her Piano Trio in G Minor.

80 Orchestral Paris
This is the first in a series of programs devoted to music inspired by major cities. This hour includes Gershwin's An American in Paris, the Paris Suite by Haydn Wood, and excerpts from the ballet music for Gaité parisienne, based on the music of Jacques Offenbach. Listen Now!

81 Orchestral London
The second program in a series devoted to music inspired by major cities. This hour includes the London Cameos Suite by Haydn Wood, the London Suite and London Again Suite by Eric Coates, and the minuet movement from the Symphony No. 104 ("The London") by Franz Joseph Haydn.  Listen Now!

82 Symphonic Rome
The third program in a series devoted to music inspired by major cities. This hour includes the Roman Carnival Overture by Berlioz, and the Pines of Rome, the Fountains of Rome, and the final section of Roman Festivals, all by Respighi.  Listen Now!

83 New York, New York
Music inspired by the city of New York, including selections from the film score to the Woody Allen movie, Manhattan, with music by George Gershwin; Gershwin's New York Rhapsody; Rodgers and Hart's song, Manhattan; and New York-inspired music by American composers John Kander, Vernon Duke, and John Philip Sousa. The program concludes with New York Skyline by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.

84 More Musical Cities
In this final "musical cities" hour, Fred Flaxman presents works inspired by the cities of Vienna, Warsaw, Moscow, Québec, Londonderry and Brussels.

85 Bernstein for Orchestra
Fred Flaxman presents his favorite Bernstein pieces for orchestra: the Overture to Candide, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, and excerpts from Fancy Free, On the Town, Mass, On the Waterfront and Chichester Psalms.  Listen Now!

86 Latin-American Rhythms by Jewish-American Composers
South-of-the-border-inspired pieces by George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Morton Gould and Leonard Bernstein. Listen Now at PRX.org!

87 Latin-American Rhythms by Latin-American Composers
This hour features tuneful, rhythmic, appealing music from Cuba, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Argentina. Artists featured include violinist Jorge Saade Scaff, flutist Paula Robison and guitarist David Burgess.  Listen Now at PRX.org!

88 René Touzet

The popular songs of this Cuban composer were recorded by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Desi Arnaz, but it took Maria Letona to bring attention to Touzet's melodious jazz-inspired art music for the piano.  Listen Now at PRX.org!

89 The Romantic Patent Officer Manager

Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg combined an almost life-long career in the patent office with an equally lifelong career as a musician, composer, conductor, music administrator and critic. Fred Flaxman introduces his piano concerto, featuring Dan Franklin Smith, and several chamber music selections.  Listen Now at PRX.org!

90 Thomas of Nazareth

The Brazilian composer sounds like a cross between Frederic Chopin and Scott Joplin, as demonstrated by pianist Thomas Tirino on a new Koch International release. The music includes exciting, melodious Brazilian tangos, waltzes and polkas. Two world-premiere recordings are featured, plus the story of how host Fred Flaxman managed to get his name in the CD's program notes.  Listen Now at PRX.org!

91 Nazareth Encore!

More tuneful gems from this Brazilian composer, including side-by-side recordings of his original piano music and contemporary transcriptions for guitar, flute and Brazilian band. Performances by pianists Thomas Tirino, Maria José Carrasqueira and Iara Behs, flutist Paula Robison and guitarist David Burgess.   Listen Now at PRX.org!

108 The Color of Music, Part 2: The Competition