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A Gershwin Rhapsody

February 9, 2008

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 [...]

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An Interview with Vladimir Lande

February 6, 2008

Conductor and oboist Vladimir Lande talks with Professor Carol about the legacy of Evgeny Mravinsky and Soviet composers Shostakovich and Khachaturian, as well as the influence of folklore and the bells of the Orthodox Church on Russian composers. He discusses performances of music by John Corigliano, Gaetano Panariello, and Lorenzo Ferrero and his enthusiasm for [...]

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Young at Heart

January 15, 2008

What’s this program about?
Music – the revitalizing force that keeps life energized, toes tapping, and the soul young at heart.  Young players take the stage as the Dallas Wind Symphony combines forces with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony to perform works by Paul Hindemith, Frank Ticheli, Charles Rochester Young, John Williams, and Percy [...]

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The Keys to Russian Music

December 12, 2007

What’s this program about? 
Russian music has tremendous audience appeal.  Its sources are the very cornerstones of Old Russian Culture: the Orthodox Church, Russian history, Russian fairy tales and folklore, and Russia’s position between West and East.  Liturgical chants and bells reverberate in the music of Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Rachmaninov.  Russian history and literature [...]

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Wagner, the Original Band Geek

November 8, 2007

What’s this program about?
Richard Wagner was, and remains, one of the most intense and controversial figures of all time.  For those who love Wagner’s music, Wagner becomes an obsession.  Wagner understood and glorified the sound of wind instruments, especially brass, and transcriptions of Wagner’s operatic music have made highly effective and enjoyable arrangements for wind [...]

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Commissions, Dedications, and Premieres

October 17, 2007

What’s this program about?
In today’s classical music world, there are not many composers who can stir up the excitement that might have accompanied the premiere of a new work by Brahms.  But John Mackey is a composer who can.  He has a popular following from all over the world.  The Dallas Wind Symphony collaborated with [...]

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What Does “Classical” Mean?

October 9, 2007

 
In popular usage, “classical” means anything that lasts and is passed down from generation to generation.  It also refers to the particular style of music, rich in contrast, that flourished in late 18th-century Vienna.  Professor Carol talks about classicism from Mozart to Brahms to Prokofiev.
 
Works discussed: Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68; [...]

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The Making of a Steinway

October 5, 2007

Professor Carol interviews New York Times veteran reporter James Barron, author of Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand (New York: Times Books, 2006), which tells the story of a single piano (K0862) and its eleven-month journey from its beginnings as raw lumber to the concert stage at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
 
The 9-part [...]

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The Music of Magic

September 27, 2007

What’s this program about?
Can musical works actually paint magic into sound? Or are the sounds magical only because we know the stories behind them? Professor Carol looks at magic in music, from E.T.A. Hoffmann to John Williams’ Harry Potter score.

Works discussed: Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique; Manuel de Falla’s El Amor Brujo; Dukas’ Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Saints Seans’ [...]

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Respighi’s Roman Festivals

September 14, 2007

What’s this program about?
Ottorino Respighi was not at war with tonality or tradition, and his works have consequently been denigrated at times as “crowd pleasers.”  Although he wrote successful concertos, operas, and ballets that were widely performed in his day, he is known primarily for his Roman trilogy: Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, and [...]

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