Saturday, July 1, at 1:30 pm
George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
To help celebrate the Independence Day weekend it's an encore presentation of the Great American Opera, in a splendid production originally heard live from the Washington National Opera. A stellar cast brings us all the hits, from "Summertime" straight through to "I'm On My Way" from the Kennedy Center Opera house on the banks of the Potomac in the nation's capital. Wayne Marshall is the conductor.
Gordon Hawkins (Porgy); Indira Mahajan (Bess); Terry Cook (Crown); Angela Simpson (Serena); Laquita Mitchell (Clara); Marietta Simpson (Maria); Eric Greene (Jake); Jermaine Smith (Sportin' Life)
Saturday, July 1, at 6:00 pm, and Sunday, July 2, at 3:00 pm
A Prairie Home Companion visits the Tanglewood Festival, with special guest star Meryl Streep. The good people of Lake Wobegon celebrate Independence Day with great American songs and stories, including Garrison Keillor's annual Lake Wobegon Fourth of July speech. The show features private eye Guy Noir, cowboys Dusty and Lefty, the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, the Wailin' Jennys, and the Guys All-Star Shoe Band. You can also watch this program on Great Performances on GPB Television, on Sunday, July 2, at 9:00 pm!
Saturday, July 1, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 1, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Sunday, July 2, at 12:00 noon
Guests: Jacques Ogg, harpsichord; Wilbert Hazelzet, flute
Tafelmusik originally meant "music composed for a banquet," and this week we'll sample a feast of music, including some of Georg Phillipp Telemann's own Tafelmusik, with flutist Wilbert Hazelzet and harpsichordist Jacques Ogg. This remarkable Dutch duo brings a lively sensibility to its chosen repertoire, adding gusto or delicacy as required. They'll also bring us lovely works by J.S. Bach and his son C.P.E. Bach.
Sunday, July 2, at 1:00 pm
This week, From the Top brings you an exciting program from the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, featuring award-winning group The Alisier Trio. Other young artists we'll hear include: violinist Caeli Smith, age 13, from Pennsylvania; soprano Sarah Shafer, 16, from Pennsylvania; cellist Oliver Aldort, 11, from Massachusetts; and the Tuzforro Trio from Illinois.
Thursday, July 6, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, July 9, at 10:00 pm
Messiaen: Trois Petites Liturgies
Mozart: Mass in c-minor (Great)
(Donald Runnicles, conductor; Atlanta Symphony Chorus)
Friday, July 7, at 3:00 pm
Host Mike Savage is joined by Secretary of State Cathy Cox, Public Service Commission Chairman Robert Baker, and a representative from the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs, to answer listeners' consumer questions. The number to call is 1-866-RADIO-GA (1-866-723-4642).
Friday, July 7, at 8:00 pm
Guest Arturo Sandoval
Ever since trumpeter and pianist Arturo Sandoval fled his native Cuba in 1990, he's been wowing audiences with his abilities to play Latin jazz, bebop, ballads, and even classical music. In this program from 1993, Sandoval sits down with McPartland for a piano duet of "Autumn Leaves," before heating things up on the flugelhorn with "Mack The Knife."
Saturday, July 8, at 1:30 pm
Ambroise Thomas: Hamlet
Successful dramas based on Shakespeare are a true rarity in the opera house. With this setting of Hamlet, Thomas became one of the few composers who ever pulled it off, and he's in good company; among the few others who managed the feat are Verdi, Gounod and Britten. Michel Plasson conducts the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in this production from the Grand Theater of Geneva.
Annick Massis (Ophelia); Jean-Francoise Lapointe (Hamlet); Nadine Denize (Gertrude); José van Dam (Claudius); Christophe Fel (Polonius)
Saturday, July 8, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 8, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Sunday, July 9, at 12:00 noon
Guests: The FOG Trio
To San Francisco’s endless charms, fog has always lent a special magic. This week on Saint Paul Sunday, Bill welcomes three close friends who met in San Francisco and whose initials aptly reflect its gauzy bayside air. The FOG Trio - violinist Jorja Fleezanis, pianist Garrick Ohlsson, and cellist Michael Grebanier - will bring us great piano trios of Haydn and Dvorak, along with the opening Allegro of Schubert’s second piano trio, the composer’s own favorite of his ventures in the form.
Sunday, July 9, at 1:00 pm
From the Top heads down south to the Alys Stephens Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham for a special show featuring a behind-the-scenes look at Christopher O'Riley coaching a chamber music session with two young performers. The show features: alto saxophonist Walter Nichols, age 15, from Texas; cellist Molly Goforth, 17, from Birmingham; pianist Kevin Li, 10, from Pennsylvania; bassoonist Megan Schlie, 17, from North Carolina; and violinist Heather Engebretson, 15, and cellist Rachel Gawell, 17, perform with Christopher O'Riley.
Sundays at 4:00 pm, beginning July 9
This new GPB program is a weekly showcase for contemporary music featuring artists recorded in performance at the historic Morton Theatre in Athens, Georgia. Host JoE Silva presents an eclectic selection of local and national touring musicians in a broad range of styles, including country, folk, indie rock, swing, and electronica. Named for the US Highway that provides Athens' main entry and exit point, Athens 441 offers a taste of the Classic City's rich and diverse musical heritage.
(Replaces Evening Star, which ended its broadcast season)
Sunday, July 9, at 6:00 pm
Before the Georgia state primaries, the Atlanta Press Club presents debates among candidates for statewide office. GPB will simulcast live coverage over radio and television, as part of our public service mission. GPB reporters will be included among the panel of journalists asking questions of the candidates. The scheduled debates this week are:
6:00-6:30, the Democratic candidates for State School Superintendent
6:30-7:00, the Republican candidates for State School Superintendent
7:00-8:00, the Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor
8:00-9:00, the Republican candidates for Lieutenant Governor
(Pre-empts Latino USA, Agenda Hispana, The Infinite Mind and The Spoken Word)
Thursday, July 13, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, July 16, at 10:00 pm
Sibelius: Kullervo
(Robert Spano, conductor; Nathan Gunn, baritone)
(Final concert of Atlanta Symphony broadcast season)
Friday, July 14, at 8:00 pm
Guest Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood is best known for his spectacular acting roles and directing credentials, but he's also a composer and a true jazz aficionado. He takes host McPartland behind the scenes of such films as Bird and The Bridges of Madison County to discuss the musical heart of these movies. She in turn gives beautiful treatments of Eastwood's own tunes, "Claudia's Theme" and "Doe Eyes," capping an intriguing hour with one of the most gifted artists of our time.
Saturday, July 15, at 1:30 pm
Jules Massenet: The Portrait of Manon
Francis Poulenc: La Voix Humaine
Ever wonder what happened to poor old Des Grieux, after he lost the love of his life so tragically in Massenet's Manon? The first work in this double-bill answers the question. It's followed by a dramatic and vocal tour de force for a single singer - Poulenc's emotional roller-coaster, The Human Voice. Andrew Bisantz conducts the Glimmerglass Opera in the Massenet, and Stewart Robertson conducts the Poulenc.
Kristine Winkler (Aurore); Theodore Baerg (Des Grieux); Colin Ainsworth (Jean); Bruce Reed (Tiberge); Amy Burton (Elle, in Poulenc)
Saturday, July 15, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 15, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Saturday, July 15, at 11:00 pm
This week's program features a performance by Grammy-winning blues artist Pat Donohue, recorded recently at the Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival in Thomson, Georgia.
Sunday, July 16, at 12:00 noon
Guests: Gil Shaham, violin; Akira Eguchi, piano
Though in life he encountered one "ism" of the times after another, Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) sustained throughout a compositional voice distinctly his own, leaving us some of the most beguiling chamber works of the past two centuries. This week on Saint Paul Sunday, M. Fauré finds his perfect interpreter in Gil Shaham. With the sensitive collaboration of pianist Akira Eguchi, he brings us the composer's first violin sonata and several beautiful shorter works. Mr. Shaham calls his affinity for the composer "Fauré Fever." Under the spell of his masterful playing, you'll catch it too.
Sunday, July 16, at 1:00 pm
This week's show features a cello/violin duo of brothers performing a piece written by the 15-year-old cellist, and introduces From the Top's first two Cooke Young Artist winners, who receive $10,000 scholarships to further their musical educations. We'll hear cellist Todd Kramer, 15, and violinist Bennett Kramer, 17; cellist Rachel Gawell, 17; pianist Felix Zhang, 15; flutist Cristina Vigilante, 18; and the Project STEP String Quartet.
Sunday, July 16, at 6:00 pm
Before the Georgia state primaries, the Atlanta Press Club presents debates among candidates for statewide office. GPB will simulcast live coverage over radio and television, as part of our public service mission. GPB reporters will be included among the panel of journalists asking questions of the candidates. The scheduled debates this week are:
6:00-7:00, the Democratic candidates for Secretary of State
7:00-8:00, the Republican candidates for Secretary of State
8:00-9:00, the Democratic candidates for Governor
(Pre-empts Latino USA, Agenda Hispana, The Infinite Mind and The Spoken Word)
Friday, July 21, at 8:00 pm
Guest Elvis Costello
Adopting the King's name and Buddy Holly's look, Elvis Costello is known as one of the most original performers in the world of pop music. Over the past 25 years, Costello has experimented with edgy rock, new wave punk, and tender love ballads. More recently, he's found himself collaborating with such artists as Burt Bacharach, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and the Mingus Big Band. Costello joins McPartland and bassist Gary Mazzaroppi to perform "At Last" and picks up the guitar to sing "Gloomy Sunday."
Saturday, July 22, at 1:30 pm
Gaetano Donizetti: Lucie de Lammermoor
With Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti translated a celebrated - and sensational - tragedy by Sir Walter Scott into Italian, and came up with one of bel canto opera's greatest hits. He also translated it into French, and that's the version we hear this summer from the Glimmerglass Opera. Beatrice Jona Afron conducts.
Sarah Coburn (Lucie); Chad A. Johnson (Arthur); Earle Patriarco (Henri); Raúl Hernández (Edgard); Craig Phillips (Raymond); Bryon Grohman (Gilbert)
Saturday, July 22, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 22, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Sunday, July 23, at 12:00 noon
Guests: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
A constellation of six stars from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center visits Saint Paul Sunday this week to illumine seldom-heard music by Mozart and Dvorak - sextets that mine a richness and force of expression unavailable to smaller ensembles. We'll also hear Derek Bermel's Soul Garden, a work based on the composer’s own experience in the African-American gospel tradition and written for violist Paul Neubauer, who takes its lead role this Sunday. Joining him are violinists Ida Kavafian and Joseph Silverstein, violist Toby Appel, and cellists Fred Sherry and Ronald Thomas.
Sunday, July 23, at 1:00 pm
In this edition of From the Top, host Christopher O'Riley catches up with some of the show's favorite musicians to see what they have been doing since their appearance on the program. They include 12-year-old violinist Nicole Ali from Minnesota; guitarist Rebecca Brown, age 9, from Chicago; clarinetist Jeffrey Brooks, 16; and pianist Stephen Beus, 18, both from Washington state.
Friday, July 28, at 8:00 pm
Guest Alicia Keyes
Grammy award winning vocalist Alicia Keyes has rocked the pop and R&B worlds with her velvet voice and soulful piano playing. This New York native brings the influences of jazz greats such as Fats Waller and Oscar Peterson to the piano, while her vocal and songwriting style is inspired by her love of Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, and Donna Hathaway. Keyes plays one of her signature tunes, "Fallin'," and joins McPartland on "Good Morning Heartache."
Saturday, July 29, at 1:30 pm
Benjamin Britten: Death in Venice
Few 20th-century composers mastered opera as thoroughly as Benjamin Britten, and this Glimmerglass production brings us one of the his finest efforts - a bleak, beautiful, and extremely moving work based on the short novel by Thomas Mann. Stewart Robertson conducts.
William Burden (Aschenbach); David Pittsinger (The Traveller/Fop/Manager/Barber/Leader of the Players/Dionysus); Bruce Reed (Hotel Porter); Craig Phillips (Clerk); John Gaston (Apollo); Nicola Bowie (Lady of the Pearls)
Saturday, July 29, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 29, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Sunday, July 30, at 12:00 noon
Guests: Chanticleer
In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer dubs a rooster "Chanticleer" for his clear and beautiful singing: "There was not his equal in all the land. His voice was merrier than the merry organ that plays in church, and his crowing from his resting place was more trustworthy than a clock." Some six centuries later, twelve singers from San Francisco aspired to the name themselves and soon set a gold standard for transporting vocal music. This week Chanticleer brings us music from Chaucer's time up to our own - from early sacred works of Dufay and Purcell to Australian composer Sarah Hopkins's hypnotic Past Life Melodies. The hour comes to a rousing close with the African-American gospel song "My Soul is a Witness" as arranged by music director Joseph Jennings, who joins in the fun.
Sunday, July 30, at 1:00 pm
The RiverCenter for Performing Arts in Columbus, Georgia, is the stage for this week's edition of From the Top. Musical highlights include the BAM string quartet from the Chicago area playing Shostakovich, and very young pianist Megan Ruan from Minnesota playing Haydn. We'll also hear clarinetist Conor Brown, age 17, Colorado; harpist Kerry Watson, 17, from Marietta, Georgia; and bassoonist Mary House, 17, from Midland, Georgia.
Sunday, July 30, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, August 6, at 10:00 am
On this month's program, Clark Atlanta University professor Daniel Omotosho Black joins host St. John Flynn to talk and take listener calls about his debut novel They Tell Me of a Home (St. Martin's Press, 2005). After a ten year absence, Tommy Lee "T.L." Tyson comes home to Swamp Creek, Arkansas - a place he left when he was eighteen, vowing never to return. Yet fate and a Ph.D. in black studies force him back to his rural origins as he seeks to understand himself and the black community that produced him. Over the course of a week riddled with tension, heartache, and revelation, T.L. discovers truths about his family, his community, and his undeniable connection to rural Southern black folk and their ways. The toll-free number to call during the program is 1-866-RADIO-GA (866-723-4642).
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Page updated 6/29/06