Composer Kian Ravaei was captivated by a simple melody by Dvorak. He wrote it down in his sketchbook and returned to it when asked to write his own new piece. We'll hear the world premiere of the Fantasy Variations (on a theme by Dvorak) by Kian Ravaei on today's episode.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet No. 54 in B Flat Major: II. Adagio
Maxwell Quartet
Album: Haydn: String Quartets Op. 71
Linn Records

Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 117
Maxwell Quartet
Bay Chamber Concerts, Bay Chamber Concerts, Rockport Opera House, Rockport, ME

Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 in G, Op. 88: Movement 4
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande | Jonathan Nott, conductor
Ascona Music Weeks, St. Francis' Church, Locarno, Switzerland

Kian Ravaei: Fantasy Variations (on a Theme by Dvorak) for Violin, Viola, and Piano
Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin | David Samuel, viola | Drew Petersen, piano
Emerging Composers Intensive at the Hidden Valley Music Seminars, Walden Theater, Hidden Valley Music Seminars, Carmel Valley, CA

Hour 2

Robert Schumann: Carnaval Movement 1 and 2 Preambule and Pierrot
Kirill Gerstein, piano
Album: Kirill Gerstein: Imaginary Pictures
Myrios 13

Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
Schumann Quartet
Music@Menlo, The Center for Performing Arts at Menlo-Atherton, Atherton, CA

Luigi Boccherini: Flute Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 19 No. 5
Tara Helen O’Connor, flute | Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violins | Daniel Phillips, viola | Christopher Costanza, cello
Bank of America Chamber Music Series, Spoleto Festival USA, South Carolina Public Radio, Dock Street Theater, Charleston, SC

Clara Schumann: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op.20
Michelle Cann, piano
Geneva Music Festival, Froelich Hall Gearan Center for the Performing Arts, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY