Archive for the “Podcasts” Category

In this exclusive audio podcast Rutter talks to Edward Seckerson about how a confirmed agnostic became immersed in a world of churches and choral paeans of praise. He recalls his gentle childhood, his doodlings at an old upright piano which was only there because the previous occupants couldn’t get it out of the door. He reflects on why he has never written a musical when his love of the genre and his ear for a good tune dictated he should. And on that note, what it was like to be a tunesmith at a time when it was so deeply unfashionable to be one.

The immensely popular choral composer had his first carol – the Shepherd’s Pipe Carol – published when he was still a teenager and went on to compose more than two dozen others. The royalties got bigger and so did the commissions. His reputation quickly spread Stateside where he still conducts every year at Carnegie Hall in New York. His latest recording for Naxos brings together three large-scale compositions spanning almost two decades. His Gloria was a milestone for him, the first of his pieces to open doors in America. Magnificat is a joyous setting, a kind of Latin American fiesta with “hit” numbers for soprano gently drawing sustenance from the world of musical theatre, and Te Deum springs its own big hymnic surprise at the close.

Catalogue No. 8.572653

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The latest instalment in Vasily Petrenko’s highly acclaimed cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies offers a telling flashback to the composer’s youth.

Shostakovich Symphonies 1&3

Symphony No.1 – his sensational symphonic debut – is, according to Petrenko, a whistle-stop tour through revolutionary Petrograd with Shostakovich donning the masks of comedy and tragedy in practical pursuit of his already highly developed sense of irony.

As Petrenko explains to Edward Seckerson, the really big influence here is Stravinsky’s Petrushka, (as witness the devilishly flashy solo piano part) and there is something of the feel of a silent movie in the flickering imagery. Symphony No.3 “The First of May” offers a rather more prescribed view of the Revolution with its brassy choral paean redolent of those striking propaganda posters.

Catalogue No. 8.572396

In 2010 Vasily Petrenko was named Male Artist of the Year at the Classical Brit Awards. His ongoing cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies for Naxos has garnered extraordinary reviews and the latest in the series – the defiant 10th Symphony, regarded by many as the most perfectly balanced of all – represents yet another step forward in this extraordinary symphonic chronicle of Soviet life and times. In this exclusive audio podcast Petrenko talks to Edward Seckerson about the genesis of the cycle in general and the 10th Symphony in particular.

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Catalogue No. Naxos 8.572461

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Jose Serebrier was 16 years old when he wrote his Symphony No. 1, and although he is better known as a conductor, he has been an active composer for more than five decades. This podcast, and this CD, trace his musical journey through music he has composed in four different decades. Included are the Symphony No. 1, composed in 1956, his Double Bass Concerto, composed in 1971, the Violin Concerto, composed in 1991, and three shorter works composed in the past decade. On this CD, Jose Serebrier serves as both composer and conductor, and is joined by a stellar group of musicians – double bass virtuoso Gary Karr, violinist Philippe Quint, actor Simon Callow, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

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Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.559648

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For most of his life, Danish composer Rued Langgaard had great difficulty getting his music performed, and for decades after his death in 1952, his work was all but forgotten. That is now changing, thanks to Langgaard’s amazing music, and thanks to the efforts of people like conductor Thomas Dausgaard, and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, who have been reintroducing this music to modern audiences. As the three works on this disc show, Langgaard was a composer with a unique vision, and exceptional talent. Seen from today’s perspective, it’s hard to believe there was ever any doubt about Langgaard’s music.

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Catalogue No.: Dacapo 6.220535

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Download this Episode: AAC* | MP3

* enhanced version of the podcast contains chapter markers and cover art.