Join us on Sunday, August 30th at 12 PM on WRTI 90.1 to hear the final episode of “This Week with Yannick,” an eight-week radio series, hosted and curated by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
The series offers listeners an intimate radio experience through music and storytelling. Each episode centers around a singular theme, and explores the myriad ways that the deepest connections in our lives can be expressed through music. More about the series.
Episode 8: Grand Finales
This week, Yannick Nézet-Séguin concludes and celebrates his summer series with Grand Finales—a selection of the final works written by composers, as well as bittersweet songs of farewell. From Schubert’s cheerful swan song, “Abschied,” to Liù’s heartbreaking self-sacrifice in Puccini’s Turandot; from the elegaic Adagio from Elgar’s Cello Concerto to Rachmaninoff’s vibrant final notes, these pieces reflect what was on the minds and in the hearts of these composers in the last stages of their careers and lives. Join Yannick as he reflects back at the end of this season, and as he looks forward to all of the music still ahead.
Part 1:
Schubert: Schwanengesang, “Abschied”; Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) and Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Brahms: String Quartet Op. 111, III. Un poco allegretto; Belcea Quartet
Elgar: Cello Concerto, III. Adagio; Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle
Mahler: Symphony 10, III. Purgatorio, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Verdi: Falstaff, “Tutto nel mondo è burla”; The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Richard Farnes, featuring Ambrogio Maestri, Ailyn Pérez, Juan-Jesús Rodriguez, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Golda Schultz, Francesco Demuro, and Jennifer Johnson Cano
Part 2:
Debussy: Violin Sonata, I. Allegro vivo, Ani Kavafian (violin) and Anne-Marie McDermott (piano)
Puccini: Turandot, “Tu che di gel sei cinta,” The Metropolitan Opera and Chorus Yannick Nézet-Séguin, featuring Eleanora Buratto, Riccardo Massi, and James Morris
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, III. Lento assai – Allegro vivace, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra
Stay tuned for The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert on WRTI 90.1 at 1 PM
"This Week with Yannick" airs Sundays from 12 noon to 1 PM, July 12th to August 30th on WRTI 90.1, and is presented by WQXR, New York City's classical music station and WRTI. The series is produced by Merrin Lazyan, producer of the critically acclaimed podcast Aria Code.