Professor Carol’s Podcasts

What’s this program about?

Major Jim Keene took his musical training and talents into the Army, becoming conductor of the premier Army musical ensembles and now commanding the U.S. Army School of Music in Little Creek, Virginia.  Professor Carol spoke with her former graduate student when he returned to Dallas to conduct the Dallas Wind Symphony’s Fourth of July concert.  Major Keene talks about musical life in the military, performances at state events, and the role of musical ensembles in supporting the troops and representing the United States throughout the world.

 Interview with Major Keene: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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 Special Features of the Starlight Symphony [15:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What’s this program about?

Enter the musical world of Sir Malcolm Arnold, a world of brisk expression and energy, evocative soundscape, precise instrumentation, and winsome melody.  A world of richly colored, well crafted, deeply satisfying sound.

Many people discover Malcolm Arnold through his sets of appealing dances and through his film scores, especially Bridge on the River Kwai.

Technorati Profile

 Musical World of Malcolm Arnold [13:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Weimar. This former East German city (that seems so pastoral and peaceful) is actually a bubbling caldron for the arts and culture! Designated in 1999 as UNESCO’s Cultural Capital of Europe, Weimar is a small but unbelievably beautiful and famous city where virtually every movement in German and European cultural history seems to have left its mark.

Weimar combines the cultures of the Reformation (Luther), European Baroque (Bach and Herder), Classicism (Goethe and Schiller), and Romanticism (Liszt) with modern movements in the arts (Bauhaus), politics (Weimar Republic), and military history (Napoleon, Hitler and World War II).

After discovering Weimar in 1998, I helped create SMU’s Summer in Weimar program and co-directed the program for many years.  During that time, I developed a deep admiration for one of our German guides, Dieter Kunkel.  I asked Dieter to help me explain what makes Weimar so special.

 Dieter Kunkel Interview [18:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What’s this program about? 

We think of West Side Story as Bernstein’s musical, but it needed director and choreographer Jerome Robbins, scriptwriter Arthur Laurents, and lyricist Stephen Sondheim to bring all of the elements together.  West Side Story was a dividing line in each of the collaborators’ lives.  It launched Sondheim’s career.  Bernstein never again wrote anything like it.

“The chief problem,” Bernstein wrote, was “to tread the fine line between opera and Broadway, between realism and poetry, ballet and ‘just dancing,’ abstract and representational.”  Featuring jazz and Latin forms, and songs too operatic for actors without trained voices, the collaborators agreed to preserve the “kid” quality by casting teens rather than seasoned professionals.

Works discussed: Bernstein, West Side Story

 West Side Story [14:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What’s this program about?

We forget how young the idea of a public concert is.  Until around 1700, the idea of people assembling to play music not as part of a theatrical presentation or church service, but rather purely for listening, was almost unknown.

Concerts in the 19^th Century included a lot of eating and drinking, gossip, and press reports on the personalities similar to today’s tabloids.  Concerts were occasions for the hippest people to hear the newest, edgy music, filled with surprises and musical special effects.

Works discussed: Rimsky-Korsakov, Capriccio Espagnole; Sarasate, Zigeuenerweisen; Turrin, Fandango; Williams, Cowboys Overture; Brahms, Academic Festival Overture; Fauré, Elegie

 Rediscovering the Showcase Concert [10:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Popcorn and high C’s? At the same time? Want to find out what really goes on backstage? Then let’s go to the movies – at theaters across America – to see Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, March 15 and 16, live via HD satellite transmission from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

If you think opera is silly and outdated, you’ll have to rethink when the gavel smashes to open Peter Grimes. It’s a searing story of a rugged fisherman pitted against his community. The HD feed from The Met includes backstage interviews where you’ll meet key people and watch how talent and technology come together to create an unforgettable show.

Photo: Hastings Net Huts, FreeFoto.com

 Peter Grimes at The Met [11:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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I enjoyed my interview with conductor and virtuoso oboist Vladimir Lande so much, I decided to present highlights of it in a shorter program. Listen and enjoy as Maestro Lande talks about the legendary conductor Evgenii Mravinsky and about the powerful influence of the Russian Bells.  Lande’s upbringing in the Soviet musical system, his many achievements, and his rich opportunity to learn from the greatest of Russian musicians, have given him wonderful insights into music and life. 

 Lande Interview Highlights [12:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What’s this program about?
Vienna drew musicians from all over Europe, luring them with Imperial support for the arts and a public eager for music.  Mozart and Mahler came to work in Vienna more than a century apart, and both experienced success and frustrations in this opera-loving city so rich in architectural and cultural splendors.  From the Turkish cultural influence to the passion of the waltz and operetta, Professor Carol surveys the musical history of Vienna and talks about Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, Marriage of Figaro, and Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

Works discussed: Mozart Violin Concerto in A Major, K. 219, Overture to Marriage of Figaro; Mahler, Symphony No. 5

 The Vienna of Mozart and Mahler [14:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What’s this program about?

Was it the great tunes, the snappy lyrics, or both?  George Gershwin’s fabulous songs are a treasured part of American music.  His Rhapsody in Blue, theater works American in Paris and Porgy and Bess, brought him celebrity status and changed the course of American music.  After his premature death, his brother Ira carried on the legacy working with the Library of Congress to ensure that these musical treasures are ours today.  Professor Carol surveys the life and works of Gerswhin.

Works discussed: Rhapsody in Blue, Songs, Three Preludes for Piano

 A Gershwin Rhapsody [10:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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