On Demand
Evening Music Archive
November 2004
What’s in a name?
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Don't judge a book by its coveror that music by its title, either! Some of the most emotive works of music have been saddled with the least affecting names. We’ll try and decipher a few of them for you tonight.
Raves for Ravel!
Monday, November 29, 2004
Raves for Ravel! “M. Ravel refuses the Legion of Honour, but all his music accepts it,” said Erik Satie, obviously a fan. We are too, and so we bring you two (Ravels, that is).
How About Conducting?
Sunday, November 28, 2004
We’ve all heard of high-risk professions, but how about conducting? Well, it certainly proved fatal for one of tonight's birthday celebrants. Also, hear how Mozart's papa (Leopold, that is) liked to get an extra "bang" out of his symphonies...
Great Music, Hard Times
Saturday, November 27, 2004
It's a story as old as the hills: the "starving artist" who creates great art while languishing in poverty. Tonight we’ll hear some great music that was inspired by hard times.
In the Shape of a Pear
Friday, November 26, 2004
Satie's "Trois morceaux en forme de poire" should be three pieces (in the shape of a pear), right? Wrong. Tyically en forme himself, Satie gives us seven short pieces. But who's counting?
Gobble, Gobble!
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Gobble, gobble! It’s turkey day, and there is plenty of American or Thanksgiving-related music on this evening’s plate, so join us in celebration...
Alfred Schnittke
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998) would have been seventy today. We salute this Russian composer in our last hour, so stay tuned and get ready for some birthday cake.
Camerata Bariloche
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
The Camerata Bariloche, based in Buenos Aires, a leading Latin-American chamber ensemble and the first Argentine orchestra to achieve international renown, will be heard from throughout this evening.
Joaquin Rodrigo
Monday, November 22, 2004
Joaquin Rodrigo (1901–1999) would have been ninety-seven today. Blind since the age of three, he enriched Spanish music and the ears of all who love to listen to it!
The Maturity of Man: a Child at Play
Sunday, November 21, 2004
“The maturity of man? That means, to have reacquired the seriousness one had as a child at play.” When Nietzche wrote those words, was he thinking of Mozart’s String Quintet in C?
Travel to the Auvergne
Saturday, November 20, 2004
We travel to south-central France this evening, to the Auvergne, land of mountains and high plateaus, where those lovely old songs set by Cantaloube were spawned.
Pélléas et Mélisande
Friday, November 19, 2004
Maurice Maeterlinck’s story of Pélléas and Mélisande has inspired a number of composers, and we will hear two takes on the symbolist drama this evening.
An Evening for Strings
Thursday, November 18, 2004
It’s an evening for strings (and other things). The violin is featured in three of our major offerings in the evenings first hours. Don’t fiddle with that dial! Stay tuned.
Withered Flowers
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Wilhelm Müller's "Trockne Blumen" (Withered Flowers) gave Schubert the words for a song from his cycle “Die schöne Müllerin"; the melody then gave rise to flute variations...
A Nod to Nordic Lands
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
As the weather turns colder and we don woolly gloves and mufflers, it seems appropriate that some of our music give a nod to Nordic lands.
Cuba Libre
Monday, November 15, 2004
Fill a nice tall glass with ice; squeeze a lime to add some spice; some Coca-cola, just a tad! Top off with rum; now that ain’t bad! Cuba Libre!!!
4-Birthday-Cake Evening
Sunday, November 14, 2004
It’s a four-birthday-cakes evening, so get out a large plate and prepare to feast—on music by Leopold Mozart, Fanny Mendelssohn, Aaron Copland, and Johann Nepomuk Hummel!
Featuring Van Cliburn
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Featured this evening: legendary pianist, Van Cliburn, winner of the first Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1958) and honored in the U.S. by an international competition bearing his name.
Bernstein Conducts Copland
Friday, November 12, 2004
Aaron Copland said that Leonard Berstein’s “conducting of the Third Symphony is closest to what I had in mind when composing the piece.” We hear the New York Philharmonic under Lennie this evening.
Mahler's Life in Symphony
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Gustav Mahler said of his first two symphonies: “My whole life is contained in them; I have set down in them all my experience.” We hear the first this evening.
Mysterious Numbers
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
William Duckworth engaged in an experiment in which he collaborated with an ensemble to create a new work while an audience watched. The result? “Mysterious Numbers.”
Green
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Who said it’s not easy being green? We’re going to have a very green evening, traveling from green mountains, to green gardens, and even soaring heavenward...
With Simplicity
Monday, November 08, 2004
Aaron Copland: “Music that is born complex is not inherently betteror worse than music that is born simple.” Interestingly, a first-movement episode of his Violin Sonata is marked “with simplicity.”
Schubert's Wonderful Rosamunde
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Resurrected in 1867 from a publisher’s storeroom cupboard, the score for Schubert’s 1823 incidental music to “Rosamunde” was “black with the undisturbed dust of nearly half a century.”
Instruments of the Orchestra
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Airs weekdays at 7PM on 93.9 FM
In 1946, the Crown Film Unit asked a famous British composer to write some music for their documentary, “Instruments of the Orchestra.” Who was it, and what did he write?
Piano for Left Hand
Friday, November 05, 2004
It’s an evening for the left-handed. A number of piano works have been written for the left hand alone; we enjoy two this evening, an original and an arrangement.
Apple Waltzes
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Golden Delicious, Cortland, McIntosh, Harvest Hymn, Baldwin, Macoun, Pippin. Apples, you say? Nope, not today! Rather, seven movements in an orchestral suite by Morton Gould.
Sobriety and Dolor
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
“You will find sobriety and dolor in French music just as in German or Russian. But the French...realize that somberness and good humor are not mutually exclusive.” Francis Poulenc
What Would Confucius Deduce?
Monday, November 01, 2004
Confucius said: “Wouldst thou know if a people be well governed, if its laws be good or bad, examine its music.”
Music Playlists
View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast).
More
Festivals and Specials
Listen on demand to our online archive of music festivals and specials, where you'll find a treasure-trove of stimulating conversations, opinions, reflections, and of course, great music!
More
Ear to Ear
Ear to Ear takes innovative musicians off the New York stages and into the studio for relaxed, insightful conversation, as they share their personal recordings with host David Garland.
More
