Richard Wagner's operas are so over-the-top, they're sometimes an inch away from being self-parodies. On Friday's Performance Today we'll hear the Cleveland Orchestra give a serious (and seriously great) performance of the Ride of the Valkyries, plus a bit of humor courtesy of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
John Adams
: Two Fanfares for Orchestra: 1. Tromba Lontana
San Francisco Symphony; Edo De Waart, conductor
The John Adams Earbox
Nonesuch 79453
Richard Wagner
: Die Walkure, Act III: Ride of the Valkyries
The Cleveland Orchestra; Franz Welser-Most, conductor
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH
Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder Preludes & Overtures
Deutsche Grammophon 4778773
Ludwig van Beethoven
: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2
Alina Ibragimova, violin; Cedric Tiberghien, piano
Wigmore Hall, London, England
Beethoven Violin Sonatas 2
Wigmore Hall Live 41
Charles Ives
: Symphony No. 2: 4. Lento, 5. Allegro molto vivace
New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY
Charles Ives (orch. Henry Brant)
: A Concord Symphony: 3. The Alcotts
San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA
Hour 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
: La Clemenza di Tito, Overture
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
The Mozart Experience
Conifer 55031
Percy Grainger
: English Morris Dance, "Shepherd's Hey"
United States Marine Band; Major Jason K. Fettig, conductor
Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria, VA
Ralph Vaughan Williams
: The Turtle Dove
Choir of Clare College; Tim Brown, director
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
: Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425
Academy Festival Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Music Academy of the West, Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
Jacques Ibert
: Hommage a Mozart
Music Academy of the West, Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
Brad Richter
: Starry Night on the Beach (with Federales)
Brad Richter, guitar
Enid Arts and Humanities Council, Enid, OK
