Orff's "Carmina Burana"
Carl Orff (1895 - 1982) Carmina Burana Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Donald Runnicles, cond. Telarc 80575
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Musical landscapes by Vaughan Williams and Crumb
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) A Pastoral Symphony (No. 3) London Symphony; André Previn BMG 60583 George Crumb (b. 1929) A Haunted Landscape New York Philharmonic; Arthur Weisberg, cond. New World 326
Shaw on Mozart and Loewe on Shaw
Wolfgang Mozart (1770 - 1791) Don Giovanni Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Sir Charles Mackerras, cond. Telarc 80442 Frederick Loewe (1904 - 1988) My Fair Lady New York City Opera Orchestra; Paul Gemignani, cond. MusicMasters 67099
Beyond Grieg: Geirr Tveitt
Geirr Tveitt (1908-1981) Piano Concerto No. 1 Havard Gimse, piano; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Bjarte Engeset, cond. Naxos 8.555077
Ocean — and urban — music by Sibelius and Danielpour
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) The Oceanides Finnish Radio Symphony; Jukka-Pekka Saraste, cond. RCA/BMG 60401 Richard Danielpour (b. 1956) Urban Dances Philharmonia Orchestra; Zdenek Macal, cond. Sony Classical 60779
Jazz classics by Bolcom and Mingus
William Bolcom (b. 1938) Violin Concerto Sergiu Luca, violin; American Composers Orchestra; Dennis Russell Davies, cond. Argo 433 077 Charles Mingus (1922-1979)/arr. Schuller: Noon Night, from Epitaph jazz ensemble; Gunther Schuller, cond. Sony/Columbia 45428
Manuel Rosenthal's hits and Mrs.
Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880) arr. Manuel Rosenthal (1904-2003) Gaîté Parisienne Monte Carlo Philharmonic; Manuel Rosenthal, cond. Naxos 8.554005
Peter Maxwell Davies in the California sun
Peter Maxwell Davies (b.1934) Ojai Festival Overture BBC Philharmonic; Peter Maxwell Davies, cond. Collins 1524
Melinda Wagner's Pulitzer premiere
Melinda Wagner (b. 1957) Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion Paul Lustig Dunkel, flute; Westchester Philharmonic; Mark Mandarano, cond. Bridge 9098
Bach arrives (literally)
J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750) Cantata No. 73 Leonhardt Consort; Gustav Leonhardt, cond. Teldec 44279
About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.