David Soyer played his cello for 37 years as a member of the legendary Guarneri Quartet. He retired from the quartet in 2001, at age 78. But Soyer continued teaching until just before he died last week, at age 87. Guarneri Quartet members Arnold Steinhardt and Peter Wiley join us with fond memories of David Soyer, his remarkable musicianship, and his role as mentor in the lives of so many musicians. And we'll hear from several of Soyer's classic recordings with the Guarneri Quartet, including music by Dvorak, Beethoven, and Grieg.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Ludwig van Beethoven: Fourth movement from Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95 (Serioso)
The Guarneri String Quartet
Mozart Camargo Guarnieri: Encantamento
The Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra with conductor Kazem Abdullah
Troy Music Hall, Troy, New York
The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Audrey Lorden from San Diego, California
Antonin Dvorak: Second movement from String Quartet No. 11 in C, Op. 61
The Guarneri String Quartet
Edvard Grieg: First movement from String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 27
The Guarneri String Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: Cavatina from String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat, Op. 130
The Guarneri String Quartet
Hour 2
Leopold Godowsky: Excerpt from 53 Studies after Chopin, Op. 10, No. 7
Pianist Geoffrey Douglas Madge
Richard Wagner: Overture to Tannhauser
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with conductor Mariss Jansons
The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude No. 3 in C-sharp, from The Well-Tempered Clavier
Pianist Angela Hewitt
Frederic Chopin: Prelude No. 15 in D-flat (Raindrop)
Pianist Haochen Zhang
OK Mozart Festival, Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Alexander Scriabin: Etudes, Op. 8, No. 3 in B Minor, and Op. 8, No. 4 in B
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson
92nd Street Y, New York City
Giuseppe Tartini: Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Continuo (The Devil's Trill)
Violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Jeremy Denk
Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, Texas
Edvard Grieg: Morning, from Peer Gynt
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with conductor Manfred Honeck
Beethoven Hall, Bonn, Germany
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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.
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