Stories of obsession in today's show. A conductor who obsesses over every detail of every performance, who says there's no room for democracy in his musical world. A composer so obsessed with his unfaithful wife that he murdered her and her lover, and spent the rest of his life anguishing over what he had done. And finally, a slightly manic piece for solo violin by Eugene Ysaye (pictured), aptly titled "Obsession."
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Robert Schumann: Scherzo, Op. 52
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Christian Thielemann, conductor
Leonard Bernstein: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
Bil Jackson, clarinet, John Novacek, piano
Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Francesco Canova da Milano: La Spanga, Canon from Cavalcanti Lute Book
Arianna Savall, harp, Rolf Lislevand, lute
Schwetzingen Festival, Schwetzingen, Germany
Traditional Norwegian: Den Signede Dag (the Day of Joy)
Trio Mediaeval
La Folia Early Music Festival, Rougemont, Switzerland
Max Reger: A Romantic Suite, Op. 125
Dresden Staatskapelle, Christian Thielemann, conductor
Semperoper, Dresden, Germany
Hour 2
Erich Korngold: Prelude and Serenade from Der Schneemann (The Snowman)
Lajos Farkas, violin, the Northwest German Philharmonic Orchestra, Werner Andreas Albert, conductor
Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa: Excerpt from Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Saturday
The Sydney Chamber Choir, Paul Stanhope, director
Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney, Australia
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: Three movements from Violin Sonata No. 6 in C Minor, C.143
Meret Luthi, violin, Felix Knecht, cello, Ieva Saliete, harpsichord, Jonathan Rubin, lute
Lucerne Summer Festival, Lucerne, Switzerland
Franz Liszt: Nuages Gris (Gray Clouds), S. 199, R. 78
Lise de la Salle, piano
Broadcasting Hall, Bremen, Germany
Erich Korngold: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35
Hyeyoon Park, violin, the Central German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Markus Poschner, conductor
Kurt Weill Festival, Dessau, Germany
Eugene Ysaye: Prelude (Obsession), from Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 27, No. 2
Hyeyoon Park, violin
Kurt Weill Festival, Dessau, Germany
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