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Compact Discoveries Program Descriptions
in numerical order as of June 25, 2009
Click on the title to link to the complete script.
Click on LISTEN NOW! to listen to the program at PRX.org. All programs
are not yet available for streaming on demand, but we're working towards
that goal!
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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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. [You'll find another hour of this composer's
music on Program 142.]
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!
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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!
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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!
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19 Aaron Copland: 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. Listen
Now!
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. Listen
Now!
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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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." Listen
Now!
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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!
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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. Listen
Now!
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. Listen
Now!
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.
Listen Now!
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. Listen
Now!
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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.
Listen Now!
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.
Listen Now!
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.
Listen Now!
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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.
Listen Now!
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.
Listen Now!
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.
Listen Now!
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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 and, so far, only 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.
Listen Now!
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. Listen
Now!
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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. Listen
Now!
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). Listen
Now!
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. Listen
Now!
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49 Opus 1
A program of first published compositions by Rachmaninov, Chopin, Grieg
and others -- their Opus 1. Listen
Now!
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. Listen
Now!
51 Vocalise Variations
Fred Flaxman presents vocal, instrumental, choral and orchestral
transcriptions of one of Rachmaninov's most beautiful melodies. Listen
Now!
52 Tyzen Hsiao, the Chinese Rachmaninov
The highly romantic violin and cello concertos of the contemporary
Taiwanese composer Tyzen Hsiao successfully mix Chinese folk melodies
with Western classical music. Listen
Now!
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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.
Listen Now!
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56 Symphonic Klezmer
Producer/presenter 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 -- and "Klezmers"
from the Vaudeville suite by
the American composer Paul Schoenfield. Listen
Now!
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
Producer/guide Fred Flaxman presents the music of Richard Strauss for
people who don't like the music of Richard Strauss. The music includes
early piano pieces played by Glenn Gould and the orchestral waltzes from
Der Rosenkavalier. Listen
Now!
59 Richard Strauss, Orchestrator
Producer/guide Fred Flaxman presents some of Richard Strauss' greatest
tunes: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Don Juan, and
Burleske. Listen
Now!
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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. Listen
Now!
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.
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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!
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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!
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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. Listen
Now!
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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. Listen Now!
75 Catchy Khachaturian, Part 2
This hour includes Khachaturian's ballet suites Gayne and
Spartacus. Listen Now!
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! Listen Now!
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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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!
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!
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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!
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!
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!
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92 A Musical Feast
Religion inspired some great music, but food fed the creative juices of
several composers who are featured on this hour. Fred Flaxman brings you
first an appetizer on a public radio budget:
Raisins and Almonds, the
traditional Yiddish song. Then comes
La Revue de Cuisine by Martinu, peas by Rossini and a last meal
by Jacques Brel. For drinks, Tea for
Two as arranged for large orchestra by Shostakovich and
Rootbeer Rag by Billy
Joel. Desserts include French Pastry
by Hayman and Wedding Cake by
Saint-Saëns. Listen
Now!
93 Beethoven at His Happiest
This serious composer's lighter side is featured in this hour. Music
includes a bagatelle, the scherzo movements from three trios, the rondo
movements from two piano concertos, excerpts from two violin sonatas,
and the "Ode to Joy" ending from his Ninth Symphony.
Listen Now!
94 Classic Happiness
Includes Al Fresco, Intermezzo
by Victor Herbert; "For He's Going to Marry Yum-Yum" from
The Mikado by Gilbert and
Sullivan; a movement from Haydn's
Symphony No. 88 in G and his
Gypsy Rondo; Smiles and
Chuckles and The Laughing Vamp
by the Six Brown Brothers, and an excerpt from Schubert's
Octet
in F for Strings and Winds, Op. 166,
D. 803.
Listen Now!
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95 The Sound of Trees
Music inspired by nature's tallest living creatures includes Ottorino
Respighi's The Pines Of Rome, Trees
by Jean Sibelius, Larch Trees
by Malcolm Arnold and The Happy Forest
by Arnold Bax.
Listen Now!
96 Classically Irish
Irish folk tunes turned into orchestral music by Leroy Anderson, Victor
Herbert, Frank Bridge and Hamilton Harty. Pleasant listening for St.
Patrick's Day or any day.
Listen Now!
97 Classically Scottish
Music inspired by Scotland and Scottish folk-music. Featured are Max
Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, Scottish
Dances by Ronald Binge, Four
Scottish Dances by Malcolm Arnold, and Leroy Anderson's Blue
Bells of Scotland from his Scottish
Suite. The program also includes brief clips from Mendelssohn's Scottish
Symphony, Dvorak's Scottish
Dances, Ted Health's big band version of Night
Train to Scotland and Frederic Lamond's From
the Scottish Highlands. Of all the composers represented in this
program, only Lamond was Scottish.
Listen Now!
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98 Two Stravinsky Ballets in One Hour
Robert Craft conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in music from
Pulcinella and the London
Symphony Orchestra in music from The
Fairy's Kiss. The former is based on music by Pergolesi and
others; the latter is a homage to Tchaikovsky.
Listen Now!
99 Music by the Numbers
Music which begins with a number, including the 20th
Century Fox Fanfare, The 12th
Street Rag, Tchaikovsky's 1812
Overture, Hsiao's 1947 Overture,
music from Rota's filmscore to Fellini's 8
& 1/2, Nin's 1830 Variations on
a Frivolous Theme, and Meredith Wilson's 76
Trombones from The Music Man.
Listen Now!
100 Carnival Classics
The 100th "Compact Discoveries" program is a musical carnival,
presenting three composers' variations on "Carnival of Venice," two
interpretations of "Carnival of Rio," Berlioz's "Roman Carnival" and
"The Carnival of the Animals" -- not the famous piece by Camille
Saint-Saens, but a much more recent set of musical animals by British
composer Malcolm Arnold.
Listen Now!
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101 More Carnival Classics
Fred Flaxman presents three more tuneful, happy pieces inspired by
carnivals: Alfred Hill's Symphony No.
5 in A Minor (“The Carnival”), performed by the Queensland
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Wilfred Lehmann; Liszt's
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in E-flat
(“Carnival at Pest”), performed by Georgia & Louise Mangos, piano
four-hands; and Mikis Theodorakis's
Carnaval: Ballet Suite for Orchestra, performed by the St.
Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer.
Listen Now!
102 Even More Carnival Classics
The final program in this trilogy devoted to music inspired by carnivals
features piano and orchestral versions of Schumann's
Carnaval, the
Vienna Carnival Waltz by Johann
Strauss I and Cuban composer Rene Touzet's
Carnival Bells.
Listen Now!
103 Classical Disney
Favorite melodies from Disney films in the style of great classical
composers.
Listen Now!
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104 More Classical Disney
More favorite melodies from Disney films in the style of great classical
composers.
Listen Now!
105 The Dream of America
Peter Boyer's Ellis Island: The Dream
of America is featured, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra
conducted by the composer with a cast of well-known actors reading texts
from the Ellis Island Oral History Project. The hour concludes with
Belgian composer Henri Vieuxtemps'
Yankee Doodle Variations and James Raphael's piano arrangement of
John Philip Sousa's The Stars and
Stripes Forever. Although this program was designed for use on or
around July 4, it can be used anytime as Independence Day is not
actually mentioned.
Listen Now!
106 Two Unknown Romantic Gems
Producer/presenter Fred Flaxman brings you two of his most recent
"Compact Discoveries" -- the Quartet
in E-flat Major for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 1 by
Walter Rabl and the Quintet in D Major
for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano, Op. 11 by Josef
Labor. Both are performed by the Orion Ensemble and both come from a
Cedille compact disc called "Twilight of the Romantics."
Listen Now!
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107 The Color of Music, Part 1: Blue
Fred Flaxman presents music with the color blue in the title: Leroy
Anderson's Blue Tango, Johann
Stauss's Blue Danube Waltz,
Ernesto Nazareth's Gold on Blue,
George Gershwin's Jazzbo Brown Blues
and a clarinet quartet version of his
Rhapsody in Blue called Little
Rhapsody in Blue, an excerpt from Humperdinck's The
Blue Bird, Savino's A
Study in Blue, Tchaikovsky's Valse
bluette, Dave Brubeck's Blue
Rondo à la Turk, The Bull Frog
Blues by the Six Brown Brothers, and
From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water
by Cadman.
Listen Now!
108 The Color of Music, Part 2: The
Competition
Host Fred Flaxman serves as judge and jury for a mock competition to
find the best compositions in his personal collection with colors in
their titles. The colors include black, white, gray, brown, green, red,
pink, silver and gold. The "winning" works are by Frederic Chopin,
Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Haydn Wood, Stephen Foster, Ralph Vaughan
Williams, Leroy Anderson, Reinhold Glière, Victor Herbert, Henry
Mancini, and Dmitri Shostakovich.
Listen Now!
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109 On the Right Track
Classical, popular and jazz music inspired by railroad trains.
Train conductor, Fred Flaxman, ends the hour in England with the short,
light, tuneful pieces that 20th Century British composers were so good
at turning out, but he begins the program with classical pieces by
Heitor Villa-Lobos, Arthur Honegger and Gioacchino Rossini. In the
middle is a French song sung by Jacques Douai and train music by Percy
Grainger, Duke Ellington and Ted Heath.
Listen Now!
110 A CATalog of Music,
Part 1
Music inspired by our feline friends from the Baroque period through the
beginning of the 20th Century. Includes: Aaron Copland's The
Cat and the Mouse; The Cat Came
Back and Eine Kleine Kat
by Garrison Keillor; Cat's Serenade
by Razek; Sauget's Le Chat;
Satie's Song of the Cat;
Bizet's Puss in the Corner;
Ravel's Cat Duet; Fauré's
Mi-a-ou and
Kitty-Valse; Tchaikovsky's
Puss-in-Boots and
The White Cat; Rossini's
Cat Duet; Chopin's
Cat Waltz;
Miau! Miau! by Mozart; Biber's
The Cat; Scarlatti's
Cat Fugue; and other pieces.
Listen Now!
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111 A CATalog of Music, Part 2
Music from the 20th Century inspired by our feline friends: Aroon
Copland's arrangement of I Bought Me a
Cat; Garrison Keillor's The
Grandmother's Cat; Kitten on
the Keys by Confrey; Gato
by Gustavino; Cat Dreaming by
Hohvaness; Piece for Piano, Four Paws
by Ketzel the Cat; March of the Cats
on the Midnight Solstice by Martinu; the Dog-Cat
Polka by Antheil; Our Cat
by Siegmeister; Leroy Anderson's Waltzing
Cat and The Pussy Foot;
the overture to Kern's The Cat and the
Fiddle; Lecuona's Black Cat; Cat
Miaow and The Cat by
Villa-Lobos; The Jellicle Ball
and Memory from the Broadway
musical Cats by Andrew
Lloyd-Webber; and What Kind of Cat Are
You? by Billy Jonas.
Listen Now!
112 Romantic Reinecke
The German composer Carl Reinecke, who lived from 1824 until 1910, is
remembered today mainly as an educator, pianist, and conductor of the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was the teacher of Sullivan of Gilbert
and Sullivan, as well as of Weingartner and Grieg. But he has a long and
varied list of compositions to his name, including operatic, vocal and
choral works, three symphonies, and concertos for piano, harp and flute.
Host Fred Flaxman presents the beautiful harp and flute concertos, his
latest compact discoveries, during this hour.
Listen Now!
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113 A Bouquet of Roses
Host Fred Flaxman guides listeners through a selection of classical,
popular, French, Big Band and ragtime music all connected to roses --
one way or another. The hour begins and ends with Edward MacDowell's To
a Wild Rose. Other works include the waltzes from Der
Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, Haydn Wood's Roses
of Picardy, Leroy Anderson's orchestration of The
Last Rose of Summer, Scott Joplin's Rose
Leaf Rag, La Vie en Rose
sung by Edith Piaf, and two selections performed by Michael Rose and His
Orchestra, including Rosebud vocalist Evelyn Russell singing Tenderly.
Listen Now!
114 Noël with Noel
The “Noël” part consists of unfamiliar Christmas music and very familiar
Christmas music in unfamiliar piano concert arrangements. The “Noel”
part of the theme title comes from Noel Lester, the pianist for the
entire hour.
Listen Now!
115 Don Gillis
Host Fred Flaxman spends the hour presenting two very American, jazzy
symphonic pieces by a very American composer: Don Gillis. Featured are
his ballet Shindig and his
Star Spangled Symphony.
Listen Now!
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116 Cartoon Classics
Classical music as used in Bugs Bunny
cartoons of the 1940s and 50s. These are cuts from the 1991 Warner Bros.
compact disc called "Bugs Bunny on Broadway," with material recorded in
stereo in 1990 by the Warner Brothers Symphony Orchestra conducted by
George Daugherty. The CD was taken from a production at the Gershwin
Theatre in New York in which new prints of the classic cartoon films
were accompanied by the live orchestral music.
Listen Now!
117 The Sweet Sounds of Suk, Part 1
Host Fred Flaxman begins the hour with Suk’s very successful opus one,
his Quartet for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello. Then, in case you
think that was just beginner’s luck, he’ll move on to Suk's equally
beautiful opus two, the Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello. After
that Fred presents Suk's romantic, melodic Elegy for Piano, Violin
and Cello. And he concludes the hour with the scherzo movement from
Suk’s Quintet for Piano, two violins, viola and cello.
Listen Now!
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118 The Sweet Sounds of Suk, Part 2
In this second hour host Fred Flaxman presents Suk's most famous
orchestral piece, his Serenade for
Strings. James Brooks-Bruzzese conducts a stunning performance by
the Cappella Istropolitana from Bratislava, Slovakia. Also, pianist
Antonin Kubalek performs Song of Love
and Idyl in F Minor, both from
the composer's opus 7. Two pieces for violin and piano are heard next,
with the composer's namesake grandson, Josef Suk, as violinist, and Jan
Panenka at the piano. The Finnish pianist, Risto Lauriala, concludes the
hour with Humoreske and Recollections.
Listen Now!
119 Tantalizing Thuille
Ludwig Thuille, who lived his short life from 1861 until 1907, is host
Fred Flaxman's latest compact discovery. Folksy parts of his "Piano
Sextet" sound as though they might have been written by Dvorak, while
his "Piano Quintet in G Minor" sounds very much like Brahms. These two
works are featured, the first as performed by the Appalachian Wind
Quintet with Noel Lester at the piano; the second by the Falk Quartet
with Tomer Lev, pianist.
Listen Now!
120 More Tantalizing Thuille
In this second hour of music by Ludwig Thuille, Fred Flaxman presents
the Sonata for Cello and Piano
, performed by Antony Cooke, cello, and Armin Watkins, piano; and the
last movement of the Piano Concerto in
D Major, with the Haydn Orchester von Bozen und Trient, conducted
by Alun Francis, with Oliver Triendl at the piano.
Listen Now!
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121 Morricone's Memorable Melodies
On Feb. 25, 2007, Italian composer Ennio Morricone received a special
lifetime achievement Oscar award from the National Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences for his tremendous output of filmscores. In
this hour, host Fred Flaxman presents various interpretations of some of
Morricone's most famous scores. Included is music from Cinema
Paradiso, The Mission, Once
Upon a Time in America, and For
Love One Can Die. Morricone conducts his own arrangements of
these tunes. Then there are interpretations by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist
Michael Chertock, violinists Angele Dubeau and Gil Shaham, an Austrian
trio called Triology, and the Hollywood Bowl and Rome Sinfonietta
orchestras.
Listen Now!
122 In the Beginning...
In the beginning, there are pieces that just start out with some
notes played by some instruments. But once in a while a composer starts
off his composition with something really original and interesting. Such
is the case with every selection in this hour of Compact
Discoveries, which includes the openings to Kodaly's Hary
Janos Suite, with its big orchestral sneeze, Beethoven's Third
and Fifth Symphonies, Richard
Strauss' Burleske, Grieg's Piano
Concerto, and Gershwin's Rhapsody
in Blue.
Listen Now!
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123 Spring
Fred Flaxman presents an hour's worth of uninterrupted music inspired by
this season, including a humorous piece by Tom Lehrer called
Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,
It Might as Well Be Spring by
Rodgers and Hammerstein; With a Song
in My Heart by Rodgers and Hart from the 1929 Broadway show
Spring is Here;
April in Paris as performed by
violinists Stéphan Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin; a concert rag by
contemporary composer Brian Dykstra called
Spring Beauties as performed by
pianist Noel Lester; a beautiful but rarely heard serious piece by Leroy
Anderson called The First Day of
Spring, conducted by the composer; Mendelssohn’s
Spring Song; another
Spring Song by Frank Bridge;
April, May and
June from
The Seasons by Tchaikovsky as
transcribed for violin and orchestra by Peter Breiner;
The Last Spring by Grieg;
excerpts from Beethoven’s Spring
Sonata as performed by Yehudi and Jeremy Menuhin; and
Spring from
The Four Seasons by Vivaldi.
Listen Now!
124 Music to Die For
Beethoven called Luigi Cherubini "the greatest living composer."
Berlioz, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Wagner all admired his Requiem
in C Minor. Beethoven said that if he were to write a requiem,
this would be his only model. And yet this beautiful work has fallen
into undeserved obscurity. Discover it for yourself now on this edition
of Compact Discoveries!
Listen Now!
125 Classic Beatles
Producer/presenter Fred Flaxman introduces four famous Beatles tunes,
each one played in very different versions by Ofra Harnoy and the Orford
String Quartet, the Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, the King's
Singers, the Cincinnati and Boston Pops, and, in one case, by a Chinese
guitarist. The tunes are Michelle, Yesterday, Eleanor
Rigby, and Here, There and
Everywhere.
Listen Now! Back
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126 More Classic Beatles
In this second hour devoted to classical interpretations of Beatles
songs, producer/presenter Fred Flaxman presents movements from four Beatles
Concertos Grosso by Peter Breiner -- one each in the styles of
Handel and Vivaldi and two in the style of J.S. Bach. The hour concludes
with four different interpretations of Hey
Jude by five different musical groups: Ofra Harnoy and the Orford
String Quartet, the Cincinnati Pops with the King's Singers, the
Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Listen Now!
127 Pleasures of Pierné
Producer/Presenter Fred Flaxman recently discovered the beautiful,
melodic, romantic and impressionistic music of the French composer,
conductor and organist, Gabriel Pierné, who lived from 1863 until 1937.
In this first of two programs featuring Pierné's music, Fred shares his
love of Pierné's Piano Concerto,
Canzonetta for Clarinet and Piano, the March of the Little Lead
Soldiers, the Fantaisie-Impromptu for Violin and Piano, the Pastoral for
Wind Quintet, the Serenade for Oboe and Harp, and the mini-ballet
Giration/Gyration.
Listen Now!
128 More Pleasures of Pierné
This second hour of melodious, very French romantic and impressionistic
music includes Pierné's
Scherzo-Caprice in D for Piano and Orchestra,
Suite No. 1 from his ballet
Cydalise et le Chèvre-pied / Cydalise
and the Faun, excerpts from his
Ballet de Cour / Royal Court Ballet, and his
Solo de Concert for bassoon and
piano. Listen
Now!
129 Arriaga
Chances are, no matter how well you know classical music, that you are
not familiar with the works of Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga. He was a Spanish
child prodigy who didn't live long enough to become an adult, but you
would never guess that by listening to his string quartets, two of which
producer/host Fred Flaxman presents in this hour. Also presented is an
overture to an opera Arriaga wrote at the age of 13, before he even had
formal lessons in harmony.
Listen Now!
130 Bloch-Busters
The best of Ernst Bloch, including his
Concerto Grosso No. 1,
Schelomo, and the final movement from his
Suite Modale. Dalea Atlas
conducts the Atlas Camerata Orchestra in two of these three works.
Schelomo features cellist
Rocco
Filippini with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by
Alexander Vedernikov. Listen Now!
131 A Classical Christmas
Producer/presenter Fred Flaxman brings you an hour of lesser known but
beautiful Christmas compact disc discoveries, including Victor Hely-Hutchinson's
A Carol Symphony, Philip Lane's
Wassail Dances,
Sleigh Ride by Frederick
Delius, La Peregrinacion from
Navidad Nuestra/Our Nativity by
Ariel Ramirez, the Swedish carol
Ritsch, Ratsch, Filibom!, Ave Maria by Charles Gounod (with a
little help from J.S. Bach), and
Christmas Dance and Carol
by Vaughan Williams, performed by the Auréole Trio.
Listen Now!
132 Melodious MacDowell
Once one of the warhorses of the repertoire, Edward MacDowell's
Piano Concerto No. 2 has been
unjustly neglected in recent years. In this program, this great romantic
American work is performed by Thomas Tirino with the Bulgarian Radio
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vassil Kazandjiev. Also in this hour is
MacDowell's Suite No. 1 for Orchestra,
Op. 42, with the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Takuo Yuasa, and
the composer's most famous piano piece,
To a Wild Rose, performed by James Barbagallo.
Listen Now!
133 More Melodious MacDowell
Producer/presenter Fred Flaxman brings you the Romantic American
composer's Piano Concerto No. 1,
played by Thomas Tirino with the Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Vassil Kazandjiev. Also in this hour is the
Étude de Concert, Op. 36; three
excerpts from the Second Modern Suite,
Op. 14; Serenata, Op. 16; Hexentanz from
Two Fantasy Pieces, Op. 17; and
the Hungarian Étude from
Twelve Études, Op. 39.
Listen Now!
134 Even More Melodious MacDowell
Producer/host Fred Flaxman presents MacDowell's Second
Piano Sonata as performed by Charles Fierro on a Delos compact
disc; and the final movement of his Fourth
Piano Sonata, three of four Forgotten
Fairy Tales, and six of Twelve
Virtuoso Studies, all performed by James Barbagallo on a Naxos
CD. This is the last of three programs devoted to the music of this
Romantic Period American composer.
Listen Now!
135 Score 2 for Virgil
The American composer Virgil Thomson wrote the scores for two Great
Depression-era U.S. government propaganda films:
The Plow that Broke the Plains
and The River. Fred Flaxman
presents the first complete recordings made of this award-winning film
music since the soundtracks were created in 1936 and 1937. The new
all-digital Naxos CD is by Washiington, D.C.'s Post-Classical Ensemble
conducted by Angel Gil-Ordóñez. Listen
Now!
136 Introducing Sandrine
Fred Flaxman's latest compact discoveries include the three CDs of
the talented young French-American pianist Sandrine Erdely-Sayo. This
hour will include works by Poulenc, Scriabin, Piazzolla, Debussy,
Thalberg and Lázaro. Listen
Now!
137 Americans in Paris
An hour of music devoted to Americans who were influenced by or studied
music in the City of Light, including George Gershwin, Walter Piston and
Aron Copland. The music includes An
American in Paris, The Incredible Flutist and
Rodeo.
Listen Now!
138 Classic Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was known for his scores for several famous
Hollywood movies. But he also excelled at creating romantic, melodious
symphonic and chamber music. This hour will include his beautiful
Violin Concerto, his incidental
music to Shakespeare's Much Ado About
Nothing, and his Trio in D
Major.
Listen Now!
139 Glitzy Glazunov
In this first of two hours devoted to the music of this Russian
composer, producer/guide Fred Flaxman presents
The Seasons, Concert Waltz No. 1,
and Minstrel's Song, Op. 71.
Listen Now!
140 More Glitzy Glazunov
In this second of two hours devoted to the music of this Russian
composer, producer/guide Fred Flaxman presents his
Violin Concerto, his
Five Novelettes and the
"Polonaise" from his Ballet Scenes,
Op. 52.
Listen Now!
141 Fire and Smoke
They say that where there's smoke, there's fire, but in music there is a
lot more fire than smoke. Producer/presenter Fred Flaxman brings you
examples of both. Music includes the
Ritual Fire Dance by de Falla, the
Firebird Suite by Stravinsky,
Dance of Spirits of Fire by
Holst, Magic Fire Music by
Wagner, Addinsell's Fire Over England
Suite, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
by Kern as arranged by Frolov, and
Smoke Rings sung by the Mills Brothers.
Listen Now!
142 More Leroy Anderson
The composer was born on June 29, 1908, making 2008 the 100th
anniversary of his birth. To mark the occasion, producer/host Fred
Flaxman presents a second hour devoted completely to this composer's
tuneful miniature orchestral pieces, without repeating any of the works
heard in Program 13. Selections include
Bugler’s Holiday, A Trumpeter’s
Lullaby, Saraband, The Phantom Regiment, Serenata, Forgotten Dreams,
Song of the Bells, The Sandpaper Ballet, The Penny Whistle Song,
Mother’s Whistler, Promenade, Horse and Buggy,
Home Stretch,
Old MacDonald Had a Farm and
Anderson's Sousa-esque rendition of Meredith Wilson’s
Seventy-Six Trombones from the
Broadway musical The Music Man.
Listen Now!
143 Moonlight
For hundreds of years, moonlight has served as inspiration for many
composers. In this hour producer/host Fred Flaxman presents
moonlight-inspired music by Glenn Miller, Beethoven, Debussy, Robin
Milford, Charles Lucièn Lambert Sr., Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Hamilton Harty,
and Charles Davidson, as well as a Russian folk song called
Such a Moonlit Night.
Listen Now!
144 More Moon Music
So much music has been inspired by the moon that Producer-Host Fred
Flaxman decided to present a second hour of the best of it. He draws on
classical music, popular classics and jazz to do so. The composers
include everyone from Elgar and Tchaikovsky to Irving Berlin. The
entertaining hour even includes a spiritual and a couple of quizes for
the listeners.
Listen Now!
145 Sunrise, Sunshine, Sunset
Producer/Guide Fred Flaxman presents a wide variety of classical music,
semi-classical and jazz inspired by sunrise, sunshine and sunset.
Selections include Glenn Miller's Sunrise
Serenade, with which the hour begins and ends, Sunrise
and Sunset from Ferde
Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite, Here
Comes the Sun by George Harrison of the Beatles, performed by
cellist Ofra Harnoy with the Armin Electric Strings, Irving Berlin's I've
Got the Sun in the Morning and the Moon at Night sung by Dean
Martin, Cloud and Sunshine by
the English composer Frederic Cliffe, Fritz Kreisler's transcription of
Rimsy-Korsakov's Hymn to the Sun,
Lennon and McCartney's I'll Follow the
Sun performed by The King's Singers, On
the Sunny Side of the Street played by the Michael Rose Orchestra
with the Rosebuds, Irving Berlin's Some
Sunny Day sung by Bing Crosby, and English composer Roger
Quilter's Summer Sunset.
Listen Now!
146 A Leroy Anderson Christmas
This hour features recordings issued by Naxos in celebration of the
100th anniversary in 2008 of the birth of this American master of the
short-form orchestral piece. Leonard Slatkin conducts the BBC Concert
Orchestra in Anderson's A Christmas
Festival, Suite of Carols for Brass Choir, Suite of Carols for String
Orchestra and Suite of Carols
for Woodwind Ensemble. The hour ends with two versions of
Anderson's Sleigh Ride. The
first is with lyrics added by Mitchell Parish as sung by Johnny Mathis.
The second is Anderson's original version for orchestra alone.
Listen Now!
147 Classic Dreams
Throughout the ages composers have been inspired by dreams to write
music. This hour opens and closes with Leroy Anderson's
Forgotten Dreams and includes
the first movement of Tchaikovsky's
Winter Dreams symphony, Liszt's
Liebesträume No. 3, Schumann's
Träumerei, Dykstra's Sweet
Daydreams, Joyce's Dreaming
and Dream of Autumn, and three
dream songs sung by Bing Crosby.
Listen Now!
148 Classical Reveries
Dreams take place when you're sleeping; reveries when you're awake. Both
have inspired composers. In this hour producer/host Fred Flaxman
presents musical daydreams by Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Schütt,
Rubinstein, Moszkowski, Mason, Leoncavallo, and Hill. WARNING: Listening
to classical reveries while driving may be hazardous to your health!
Listen Now!
149 The Maltese Composer
The tuneful, folk-music influenced music of Maltese composer Charles
Camilleri. Works presented include the
Malta Suite, Concertino No. 4 ("Summer Nights in Malta"), Four Legends,
and the Overture to the
Knights of Malta Ballet Suite.
Listen Now!
150 Tuneful Contemporaires
This is the program for those who think that modern music is all atonal
and tuneless. It includes immediately enjoyable, melodious pieces by
American composers G. Bush (Geoffrey, not George), Joseph Horovitz, and
William Bland (who does not live up to his name), and British composer
Howard Blake. These are true compact discoveries!
Listen Now!
151 Famous Lovers: Romeo & Juliet
In this first of two programs devoted to "Famous Lovers" in classical
music, producer/guide Fred Flaxman presents the love scene from
Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette and
Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet
Fantasy-Overture, both performed by the Oregon Symphony conducted
by James DePreist, and two pieces from Prokofiev's three
Romeo and Juliet suites
performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pavo Järvi.
Listen Now!
152 More Famous Lovers Producer/guide Fred Flaxman presents music from Tristan and Isolde by Wagner, Orpheus and Euridyce by Gluck, Pelléas and Mélisande by Fauré and Daphnis and Chloé by Ravel.
Listen Now!
153 Winter Producer/Guide
Fred Flaxman uses a big mixture of styles, periods and instrumentation
to illustrate "Winter" in music. Included is music by Lully, Johnny
Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael, Julie Styne and Sammy Cahn, Ronald Binge,
Franz Liszt, William Alwyn, Selim Palmgren, Claude Debussy, Felix
Bernard and Richard B. Smith, Antonio Vivaldi, Astor Piazzolla, and
Ernst von Dohnanyi. Performing artists include Daniel Barenboim, Bing
Crosby with Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Jordan,
Chanticleer, Natalie Cole with the Vienna Symphony, and bamboo flutist
Chen Yue. Songs include In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening; Baby, It's Cold Outside; Let It Snow!; and Winter Wonderland.
Listen Now!
154 The Pleasures of Ponce Although
Mexican composer Manuel Ponce was a 20th Century composer, dying in
1948, his music is romantic and tuneful to the core, reminiscent of his
19th Century predecessors. In this hour Fred Flaxman presents Ponce's Piano Concerto, Balada Mexicana, Gavota, Dance of the Ancient Mexicans, Estrelita, Mazurca No. 23, Juventud, Souvenir and Quimera.
Performers include pianists Jorge Federico Osorio and Eva Suk, and the
State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra conducted by Enrique Bátiz. Listen Now!
155 The Romantic Piano An
hour of uninterrupted, beautiful, romantic piano music by Chopin,
Scriabin, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Rubinstein, MacDowell, Ravel, Debussy,
Gershwin, Ginestera, Lai, Suk, Touzet and Villa-Lobos. Click on the
program's title to access the playlist with performers' names. Listen Now!
156 Independence Day Designed
for broadcast on or shortly before July 4, this program features
off-the-beaten-track music for the occasion, including Morton Gould's American Salute and his "Star-Spangled Overture" from American Ballads, "Celebration - Fourth of July" from Star-Spangled Symphony by Don Gillis, Henri Vieuxtemps' Yankee Doodle Variations, Leoncavallo's Yankee March, Three American Dances by Henry Gilbert, The Union by Gottschalk, and America Medley by Leonard Bernstein. Listen Now!
157 A Frankly Franck Sampler Producer/presenter
Fred Flaxman selected his picks for the very best music by the
Belgian/French composer César Franck for this hour. The program
includes a complete performance of Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra, and movements from the Violin Sonata in A Major, Psyché, and the Symphony in D Minor.
Performers include pianist François-Joël Thiollier, the Arnhem
Philharmonic, violinist Sergey Khachatryan, pianist Lusine Khachatryan,
and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg. Listen Now!
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