Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, was an avid music-lover, and a fine flutist. He even wrote a few respectable flute concertos. Which presented a dilemma for his court composer, CPE Bach. Bach was obligated to write concertos for Frederick the Great, but could his be *better* than the King's own concertos? (Never wise to show up the King!) The answer, apparently, was yes. The Flute Concerto in D minor by CPE Bach combines elegance, wit, and virtuosity in a piece that the King found eminently play-able. Fred Child takes us to a concert performance in Regensburg, Germany, on Tuesday's Performance Today.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Gabriel Faure: A Lady in Her Tower, Op. 110
Susann McDonald, harp
Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Violin and Piano in E-Flat Major, Op. 11, No. 1
Midori, violin; Robert McDonald, piano
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul, MN
Johann Sebastian Bach: Sarabande, from Partita No. 1 in b minor, BWV 1002
Midori, violin; North German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Laeiszhalle, Hamburg
Edward Elgar: Serenade for Strings in e minor, Op. 20
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra; Christian Zacharias, conductor
Gabriel Faure: Piano Trio in d minor, Op. 120
Gabriele Carcano, piano; Scott St. John, violin; Matthew Zalkind, cello
Concert Hall, Marlboro, VT
Hour 2
Frederick the Great: Flute Concerto in C Major - iii. Allegro assai
Manfred Friedrich, flute; CPE Bach Chamber Orchestra; Hartmut Haenchen, conductor
Joseph Haydn: Keyboard Concerto in D Major, Hob. XVIII:11 - 2. Un Poco Adagio, 3. Rondo
Emanuel Ax, piano; Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra; Stefan Asbury, director
Koussevitzky Music Shed, Tanglewood Music Festival, Lenox, MA
Frederic Chopin: Scherzo No. 1 in b minor, Op. 20 (excerpt)
Glass duo: Anna Szafraniec, glass harp; Arkadiusz Szafraniec, glass harp
Chopin Manor, Duszniki Zdroj, Poland
Frederic Chopin: Etude, Op. 10, No. 3 (arr. Phil Snyder)
Georgia Guitar Quartet - Kyle Dawkins, guitar; Brian Smith, guitar; Phil Snyder, guitar; Jason Solomon, guitar
Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Flute Concerto in d minor, Wq. 22
Alexis Kossenko, flute; Holland Baroque Society; Stefano Rossi, director
St. Oswald's Church, Regensburg, Germany
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About Performance Today®
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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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