WRTI

Violinist Nicola Benedetti: Another Film Music CD? Yes...And No!

Joe Patti and Jill Pasternak — Sat, 25 May 2013 10:50:11 +0000

Violinist Nicola Benedetti's latest CD on the Decca label is "The Silver Violin." The CD contains Ms. Benedetti's take on music used in film by Korngold, Shostakovich, Marianelli, Shore, Mahler and more.

The reaction upon first seeing the CD when it arrived at the station: "Yawn...OK...another film music disc." But! When the disc actually made it into the CD player, the scales fell from both the eyes and the ears, and all one could say was, "Wow." We have no doubt you'll have the same final reaction we did. "Wow."

http://youtu.be/sk1TMnUZxjQ

Leonard Bernstein's 'Rite of Spring' Thrill Ride

Tom Huizenga — Sat, 25 May 2013 10:03:00 +0000

If you think all the twitchy rhythms and random shards of melody flashing through Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring sound complicated, consider the poor musicians who have to learn it.

Then The Curtain Opened: The Bracing Impact Of Stravinsky's 'Rite'

Tom Vitale — Sat, 25 May 2013 09:55:00 +0000

One hundred years ago this week, a ballet premiered that changed the art world. Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps — The Rite of Spring — was first seen by the public on May 29, 1913, in Paris. As the orchestra played The Rite's swirling introduction, the audience at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées began to murmur.

Haydn's The Creation: Symphony In C & The Mendelssohn Club, May 26, 4 PM

Dave Conant — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:44:59 +0000

This Sunday it's Symphony in C with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia in a performance of Haydn’s masterpiece, The Creation. This was the grand closing concert of the ensemble's 60th anniversary season. Rossen Milanov conducts. Join us! Sunday, May 26, 4 to 6 pm.

Program notes here.

The Cocktail Party Guide To Igor Stravinsky

Tom Huizenga — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:41:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46dLl6b-Jx8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF1OQkHybEQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3Z4RPvCTJk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av--HQFxh_U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaHcT70RcsA

Lyric Opera Of Chicago On WRTI: Massenet's WERTHER, May 25 at 1 PM

WRTI Staff — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:05:35 +0000

When it comes to romances that tear at the heartstrings, this one ranks among the best. Goethe’s novel on which it’s based made him the toast of Europe. And Jules Massenet’s emotionally vivid music - sometimes grandiose, sometimes achingly fragile - brilliantly illuminates the complex psychology of its troubled protagonists.

Mythology on Now Is the Time

Kile Smith — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:48:23 +0000

It's three views of mythology on Now Is the Time, Sunday, May 26th at 10 pm. Robert Lombardo brings the sound of the mandolin to the string orchestra with a fascinating result in Orpheus and the Maenads, and Richard Stoltzman brings his clarinet to the music of Jonathan Sacks, whose Portals re-imagines Bacchus and ancient rituals.

Maurice Wright's Mythology is a cycle of songs considering the myths of Orpheus, Lethe, Tantalus, and Medusa, the music swimming in poignant lyricism.

Sidney Insists On Stokowski's Stravinsky

editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:56:00 +0000

Got an idea for a classical cartoon or a reaction to this one? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Pablo Helguera is a New York-based artist working with sculpture, drawing, photography and performance. His new book is Helguera's Artunes. You can see more of his work atArtworld Salon and on his own site.

Miles Davis: Big Band Jazz Style On May 26 At 7 PM

Bob Craig — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:39:52 +0000

Sunday is the 87th anniversary of the birth of Miles Davis. Big Band Jazz has an hour tribute planned featuring songs associated with Miles. Harry James, the GRP All-Star Big Band, and others will take you from Bebop to beyond. Sunday, May 26th, 7 to 8 pm.

http://youtu.be/LVFLYz0SdKg

Igor Stravinsky's 'Rite Of Spring' Counterrevolution

editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:03:00 +0000

As the 100th anniversary of Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring approaches, commentator Miles Hoffman reminds us that — as earthshaking as that infamous debut was — the composer soon branched out into a variety of musical styles that would surprise his fans and critics.

Hoffman says that, up until the infamous (and riotous) Rite of Spring debut — on May 29, 1913 — the public had never heard anything like it