Thursday, May 3, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, May 6, at 10:00 pm
Mendelssohn: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 (Scottish)
(Nicholas McGegan, conductor; Henning Kraggerud, violin)
Friday, May 4, at 3:00 pm
On the first Friday of the month at 3:00 pm, Georgia Public Broadcasting Radio offers the Consumer Call-in program, a live, one hour call-in where experts take calls and answer questions about consumer issues. The program, hosted by Rickey Bevington, includes experts such as Georgia's Secretary of State, Public Service Commissioner, and representatives from the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. The program covers a wide variety of consumer topics from how to protect your identity to dealing with unfair business practices. You can e-mail your questions and comments to consumer@gpb.org. The number to call is 1-866-RADIO-GA (1-866-723-4642).
Friday, May 4, at 8:00 pm
Guest Jay McShann
Piano Jazz pays tribute to the legendary Kansas City jazz pianist Jay McShann. McShann, nicknamed "Hootie," helped define the Kansas City style of jazz, which mixed blues and boogie woogie. In this program from 1980, McShann talks about his early days in Kansas City and meeting a young sax player named Charlie Parker. He performs his own trademark tune "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do."
Saturday, May 5, at 1:30 pm
Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
The poet and singer Orpheus (Orfeo) is desolated by the death of his young wife, Euridice. He resolves to brave the Furies and enter the Underworld to get her back. Amor, the god of love, appears and tells him that the gods will allow him to do this, but only on condition that he not look at Euridice until they have returned to the normal world. Orpheus promises to obey, and using his lyre to placate the guarding Furies, he enters Hades to search for his wife. At last the Shades present her, veiled, and Orpheus joyfully begins to lead her back to the upper world. But Euridice, not knowing of the gods' command, begins to fear that Orpheus will not look at her because death has spoiled her beauty and pleads with him to prove his love. Weakening, Orpheus embraces her, only to have her fall dead once more. Overcome with grief and remorse, he resolves to join his beloved in death and prepares to kill himself, but then Amor reappears. Orpheus has passed the test of faith and constancy, so the gods restore Euridice to life and send the young couple back to the upper world, amid much rejoicing. James Levine conducts this final program in the Met's broadcast season.
Maija Kovalevska (Euridice); Heidi Grant Murphy (Amor); David Daniels (Orfeo)
Saturday, May 5, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, May 5, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Sunday, May 6, at 12:00 noon
Guests OPUS ONE
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Quartet in g minor, K. 478: third movement
Antonin Dvorak: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 87
Sunday, May 6, at 1:00 pm
This week's From the Top features one of the nation's best collections of young musicians, the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, playing two very different pieces, by Richard Wagner and Don Gillis. Also on the show we'll hear from cellist Gabriel Cabezas, age 15, from Wilmette, Illinois; violinist Stefani Collins, 17, from Summerfield, North Carolina; pianist Yuquing Meng, 16, from Madison, New Jersey; and tenor Jamie Danner, 16, from New York City.
Thursday, May 10, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, May 13, at 10:00 pm
Bach: Concerto in d
Stravinsky: Concerto for Piano and Winds
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)
(Roberto Abbado, conductor; Peter Serkin, piano)
Friday, May 11, at 8:00 pm
Guest Dianne Reeves
Vocalist Dianne Reeves is one of the finest singers on the scene today, with a style that combines brilliant musicality, improvisational expertise, and influences from both jazz and R&B. Her rich voice conveys a broad range and depth of emotion, whether she's singing pop tunes, blues numbers, or improvised vocal works. She and McPartland get together on "Million Dollar Secret" and "Some Other Spring."
Saturday, May 12, at 1:30 pm
The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions program began in 1954. The best young singers from all over the country compete on the district and regional levels, with the winners advancing to the National Semi-Finals in New York. Approximately ten of these singers are selected as National Finalists and compete in the National Grand Finals Concert, where they perform two arias each on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera accompanied by the Met Orchestra in the form of a concert. Up to five equal winners are chosen. Past winners of the Met Auditions include many of today's leading operatic artists, such as Renée Fleming, Hei-Kyung Hong, Deborah Voigt, Grace Bumbry, Susan Graham, Dolora Zajick, Nathan Gunn, Ben Heppner, Thomas Hampson, and Samuel Ramey. During a typical opera season, over one hundred alumni of the Auditions sing in Met performances. This year's competition includes two singers from Georgia. The finalists are:
Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano from Bloomington, Indiana (originally from Rome, Georgia)
Michael Fabiano, tenor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (originally from Hoboken, New Jersey)
Angela Meade, soprano from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (originally from Centralia, Washington)
Alek Shrader, tenor from Oberlin, Ohio (originally from Cleveland, Ohio)
Ryan Smith, tenor from Decatur, Georgia (originally from Los Angeles, California)
Amber L. Wagner, soprano from Phoenix, Arizona (originally from Santa Barbara, California)
Kiera Duffy, soprano from New York, New York (originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Dísella Làrusdóttir, soprano from Levittown, Pennsylvania (originally from Mosfellssveit, Iceland)
Ryan McKinny, baritone from Houston, Texas (originally from Los Angeles, California)
Nicholas Pallesen, baritone from Tallahassee, Florida (originally from Riverside, California)
Matthew Plenk, tenor from Hartford, Connecticut (originally from Lindenhurst, New York)
Saturday, May 12, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, May 12, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Sunday, May 13, at 12:00 noon
Guests Marilyn Horne & Friends: Erica Strauss, soprano; Will Ferguson, tenor; Thomas Bagwell, piano
Joseph Marx: Hat dich die liebe beruhrt
M. Shalit: Eili, Eili
Ben Moore: In the Dark Pine-Wood
Cecile Chaminade: L'Été
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Three Songs
Robert Schumann: Four Songs from Dichterliebe
Charles Ives: Ich grolle nicht
Aaron Copland: The Dodger
Mason Bates: Your Genius Makes Me Shiver
Flanders & Swann: The Warthog
Leonard Bernstein: Rabbit at Top Speed
Sunday, May 13, at 1:00 pm
From the Top's "What The Heck Was That Piece" highlights show celebrates the adventurous spirit of youth with kids who presented extraordinary performances of out-of-the-way music. This week's show features a young pianist playing the quizzical piano music of Polish composer Milos Magin, along with a fabulous and raucous piece written by a 10-year-old boy from New York City, and the dubious super-hero "Viola Man" drops in to bolster the self-esteem of a young violist.
Thursday, May 17, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, May 20, at 10:00 pm
Theofanidis: Rainbow Body
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
(Robert Spano, conductor; Emanuel Ax, piano)
Friday, May 18, at 8:00 pm
Guest Russ Kassoff
Pianist, arranger, and conductor Russ Kassoff may not be a household name - perhaps because he's spent decades at a time playing behind such stars as Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli. His piano playing is elegant and swinging as he performs "Lady Be Good." Kassoff joins McPartland for a piano duet of Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone."
Saturday, May 19, at 1:30 pm
Giuseppe Verdi: Il Trovatore
When it comes to Il Trovatore, opera lovers have long debated the glories of Verdi's music versus the, well, "issues" many have with its less-than-subtle libretto and less-than-coherent plot. Never mind. Any opera that begins with the story of an infant inadvertantly burned alive surely gets your attention! Also, in Azucena, the drama features one of the most compelling characters Verdi ever created. Patrick Summers conducts this production from the Houston Grand Opera.
Sondra Radvanovsky (Leonora); Marcello Giordani (Manrico); Irina Mishura (Azucena); Bruno Caproni (Count di Luna); Daniel Borowski (Ferrando); Marjorie Owens (Ines); Arturo Chacón-Cruz (Ruiz)
(Replaces Metropolitan Opera, which ended its broadcast season)
Saturday, May 19, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, May 19, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Sunday, May 20, at 12:00 noon
Guests REBEL
Alessandro Scarlatti: Sonata Settima in D major: Fuga
Francesco Mancini: Concerto Decima Terza in g minor
Georg Philipp Telemann: Sonate Corellisante III in b minor, TWV 42:h3
Johann Joachim Quantz: Sonata in D major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Adagio and Fuga in g minor, K. 404a
Georg Philipp Telemann: Quartet/Concerto in a minor, TWV 43:a3
Sunday, May 20, at 1:00 pm
A rollicking arrangement of Leonard Bernstein's "America" with six hands on one piano is the highlight of this edition of From the Top, recorded on Florida's Treasure Coast. We'll also hear performances by cellist Anna Litvinenko, age 13, from Miami; guitarist Emmanuel Gray, Jr., 18, from Monument Valley, Utah: pianist Taylor Tyson, 12, from Jupiter, Florida; and violist Matthew Lipman, 15, from University Park, Illinois.
Thursday, May 24, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, May 27, at 10:00 pm
Adams: Violin Concerto
Copland: Quiet City
Adams: On the Transmigration of Souls
(John Adams, conductor; Midori, violin; Gwinnett Young Singers; Atlanta Symphony Chorus)
Friday, May 25, at 8:00 pm
Guest Ann Hampton Callaway
Pianist and singer/songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway is a multi-talented artist who defies categorization. She is equally at home singing jazz, pop, or cabaret. An award-winning songwriter, Callaway's compositions are as impressive as her rich, refined voice and three-octave vocal range. She displays her talents by performing her own tune "Slow," before joining McPartland on "Teach Me Tonight."
Saturday, May 26, at 1:30 pm
Gaetano Donizetti: La Fille du Régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment)
Donizetti was one of the most prolific and versatile opera composers of all time. In this production from Vienna, his genius for comedy is showcased in a brilliant score composed for the Opéra Comique in Paris. Yves Abel conducts the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
Natalie Dessay (Marie); Juan Diego Flórez (Tonio); Carlos Alvares (Sulpice); Montserrat Caballé (speaking role, Duchesse de Crackentorp)
Saturday, May 26, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, May 26, at 9:00 pm
Harry O'Donoghue hosts this locally produced Celtic music program. Playlists are available at the Green Island archive page.
Sunday, May 27, at 12:00 noon
Guest Imogen Cooper, piano
Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI:50
Thomas Adès: Traced Overhead: Chori
Robert Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Sunday, May 27, at 1:00 pm
This week's From The Top celebrates the youngest of the young performers. An "All Pipsqueak" highlights program showcases the tiniest tykes presented over the past couple of seasons in one show. An 11-year-old pianist who can barely reach the pedals conquers Debussy. A 12-year-old violinist makes a show piece by Wieniawsky sound easy. It's superb music-making and lighthearted fun with kids who have yet to see the age of 13. The performers include: cellist Oliver Aldort from Newton, Massachusetts; pianist Kevin Lu from Newport News, Virginia; violinist Eunice Kim from San Bruno, California; flutist Helen McGarr from Lindon, Utah; pianist Sarina Zhang from San Diego; and the Gioco String Quartet.
Sunday, May 27, at 8:00 pm and Sunday, June 3, at 10:00 am
Recorded at the historic Old Opera House in Hawkinsville, this edition of Cover to Cover features bestselling Atlanta author Karin Slaughter on stage with St. John Flynn. They talk and take audience questions about Karin's latest thriller, Triptych (Delacorte Press, 2006). In Atlanta, young women are dying at the hands of a killer who signs his work with a single, chilling act of mutilation. The police hunt that ensues intertwines the lives of three men - an Atlanta cop, a GBI agent, and an ex-con - who become players in a harrowing, unpredictable, and ultimately shocking drama. You're invited to be part of the audience for the live taping of this Cover to Cover on May 20 at 2:00 pm at the Old Opera House in Hawkinsville. For ticket information, call (478) 783-1884.
Thursday, May 31, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, June 3, at 10:00 pm
Bach: St. John Passion
(Robert Spano, conductor; Christine Brandes, soprano; Monica Groop, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Glenn, tenor; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone; Russell Braun, baritone; Atlanta Symphony Chamber Chorus)
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Page updated 5/21/07