Music

Classical Music

Upstaged at the White House

June 26, 2020 - 11:30pm

The playing was some of the finest in the world. But on this particular occasion in 1986, Vladimir Horowitz was to be upstaged by the President and first lady of the United States.

The East Room of the White House was packed with musicians and political figures. Horowitz was being...

The 38-year-old composer was gambling that his new opera would succeed where others were failing. Gaetano Donizetti was pinning his hopes on a hastily written opera based not on an Italian subject but on a Scottish novel.

The Riot

May 29, 2020 - 11:30am

The Champs-Elysees Theater. May 29th, 1913. One of the most notorious premieres in classical music is about to occur. Pierre Monteux is about to conduct the first performance of Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring.

The wife of dancer and choreographer Vaslev Nijinksy has heard bits of the music...

Bruckner's Clutter

May 22, 2020 - 11:30am

He wrote vast dramatic symphonies but Anton Bruckner led a life that tended to be prosaic and more than a little cluttered. He didn’t look like other musicians of the 1880's. He kept his hair cut so short that many people remembered him as being bald.

He wore a short...

The Man I Was Looking For

May 21, 2020 - 3:05pm

He ‘s generally thought of as a singularly English composer, but early in his career, Ralph Vaughan Williams had trouble developing his style in England. He needed the right teacher and he found him in an unexpected place. One of Vaughan Williams' first teachers was Charles Villiers Stanford, who favored...

Dangerous Disobediance

May 15, 2020 - 11:30am

Vienna in 1787. It could be a risky place and time for a composer to make a living. And Antonio Salieri took a big risk. He disobeyed the Emperor.

Salieri had recently returned from Paris where his opera Tarare had been produced. Emperor Joseph the Second ordered Salieri and his...

Toscanini and the Fascists

May 14, 2020 - 11:30am

You might think that conducting an orchestra would be a safe profession, but at times a conductor can fall into a life-threatening situation. So it was with Arturo Toscanini in Bologna,Italy on May 14th, 1931.

Toscanini had accepted an invitation to conduct two concerts in Bologna. The purpose was to...

Richard Strauss and the Yanks

May 8, 2020 - 11:30am

May 8th, 1945 -- V.E. Day. Germany surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe. Composer Richard Strauss was among the many who were glad that the war was over regardless of who had won. He and his family had been suffering under the Nazi regime while living...

WPR Hosts Share Music Of Gratitude And Hope

May 7, 2020 - 5:00am

At a recent music staff meeting we talked about the many ways music can unite us, and about how music can express the gratitude we feel for people and things that are important to us, often much better than words. That discussion led to this collection of music which we wanted...

Happy Passover From Members Of The Israel Philharmonic

April 10, 2020 - 8:50am

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed our daily lives. Social distancing has become the new normal, and makes group music performance challenging. With the help of the internet, classical musicians are showcasing their creativity.

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Upstaged at the White House

Scottish Novel, Italian Opera

The Riot

Bruckner's Clutter

The Man I Was Looking For

Dangerous Disobediance

Toscanini and the Fascists

Richard Strauss and the Yanks

WPR Hosts Share Music Of Gratitude And Hope

Happy Passover From Members Of The Israel Philharmonic

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