Thursday, July 3, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, July 6, at 10:00 pm
Tchaikovsky: The Voyevode
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2
(Hans Graf, conductor; Ingrid Fliter, piano)
Friday, July 4, at 6:00 pm
After turning down requests to be Hillary Clinton's campaign accountant and Barbara Walters' personal fact checker, the Capitol Steps did finally achieve a lifelong dream - an invitation to Jenna Bush's wedding as Dick Cheney's date. It's all been a whirlwind, and it'll all be on the July 4th edition of Politics Takes a Holiday! Tune in for brand new songs about Hillary and Obama ("Ebony and Ovaries") and John McCain ("When I m 84"). Who knows, we may throw some super delegates into the mix to, you know, just to keep it confusing. Help celebrate your country by helping us make fun of it. It's Politics Takes a Holiday with the Capitol Steps!
(Pre-empts Georgia Gazette)
Friday, July 4, at 8:00 pm
Jimmy Smits hosts the annual broadcast of America's biggest birthday party, A Capitol Fourth, airing live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The concert includes performances by Huey Lewis and the News, Taylor Hicks, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Hayley Westenra, Harolyn Blackwell, and the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Erich Kunzel. The program features a selection of patriotic and celebratory music, concluding with Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," complete with live cannons. This special is a simulcast with GPB television.
(Pre-empts Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz and first hour of The Jazz Spot)
Saturday, July 5, at 1:30 pm
George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
In celebration of Independence Day weekend, this week's program presents a splendid production of the great American opera 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 conducts.
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 5, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 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, July 6, 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, July 6, at 1:00 pm
From the Top helps celebrate the 100th anniversary of the historic Chandler Music Hall nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The program features teenage violinist Dorothea Talento from nearby Woodstock performing the music of Fritz Kreisler, and young pianist Alvin Zhu from Pittsburgh who is carrying on his grandfather's musical legacy. We'll also hear performances by French horn player Katie Jordan, age 17, from Charlotte, Vermont; clarinetist Christopher Pell, 16, from the Bronx, New York; and the Cerberus Trio from the Chicago area (Kevin Hu, 14, violin; Ophelia Hu, 17, cello; and Mira Luxious, 17, piano).
Thursday, July 10, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, July 13, at 10:00 pm
Berlioz: Requiem
(Donald Runnicles, conductor; Atlanta Symphony Chorus)
Friday, July 11, at 8:00 pm
Guest Ray Charles
Ray Charles was one of those rare musicians whose music transcended genre and category. His unique approach integrated the various strains of American popular music, from jazz and blues to western swing and rock and roll. On this encore program, Charles demonstrates his trademark style, performing a rollicking version of "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" before joining McPartland for "The Man I Love."
Saturday, July 12, at 1:30 pm
Giuseppe Verdi: I Due Foscari
One of Verdi's darkest dramas, I Due Foscari is also one of his most striking - a compelling story of deadly intrigue and political treachery set against the vivid historical backdrop of 15th-century Venice. Bertrand de Billy conducts the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in this production from the Vienna Konzerthaus.
Leo Nucci (Francesco Foscari); Francisco Casanova (Jacopo Foscari); Manon Feubel (Lucrezia Contini); Dan Paul Dumitrescu (Jacopo Loredano); Jorg Schneider (Barbarigo); Nina Bernsteiner (Pisana)
Saturday, July 12, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 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, July 13, at 12:00 noon
Guests Dale Warland Singers
J. S. Bach: Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4: excerpt
James Walker: Electronic Alice, Part One
Eric Whitacre: Lux Aurumque
Wilhelm Stenhammer: Three Choral Ballads: The Garden of Seraglio
Herbert Howells: Requiem: movement III
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Three Shakespeare Songs: The Cloud-capp’d Towers
Veljo Tormis: Jannilul (St. John’s Song)
Nikolai Golovanov: Ochte Nash (Our Father)
Traditional English, arranged Gail Kubik: Oh dear! What can the matter be?
Sunday, July 13, at 1:00 pm
We head out to Big Sky Country for our first show from Montana, helping the Classics for Kids Foundation celebrate its 10th anniversary. The program, from the Wilson Auditorium in Bozeman, includes teenage flutist Lauren Osaka playing Copland, and Roving Reporter Tajah Coleman-Jones reports on a story of mayhem in the home of 12-year-old harpist Tess Michel. Our other young performers are: the Werner Cello Quartet (Helene, 18; Lucien, 16; Mariel, 15; and Andree, 13) from Belgrade, Montana; pianist Emily Stearns, 18, from Butte, Montana; and violinist Francisco Garcia Fullana, 17, from Spain, now studying in New York.
Thursday, July 17, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, July 20, at 10:00 pm
Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)
Brahms: Symphony No. 3
(Donald Runnicles, conductor; Christine Brewer, soprano)
Friday, July 18, at 8:00 pm
Guest Sarah Vaughan
The Divine One, Sarah Vaughan, possessed one of the legendary voices in jazz. With a multi-octave range and a luscious, supple sound, she was celebrated by critics, fans, and fellow musicians alike. In this encore program, Vaughan's lively and sassy personality is on display along with her amazing vocals. She accompanies herself on "East of the Sun" and McPartland joins in on "My Funny Valentine."
Saturday, July 19, at 1:30 pm
Christoph Willibald Gluck: Iphigenie en Tauride
Gluck's 18th-century "reform operas" were an entirely new breed of musical drama - compact and straightforward, with every note intended to precisely express the intense emotions of the characters. Premiered in Paris in 1779, Iphigenie en Tauride is one of his finest. We'll hear a production from the Opera Garnier in Paris, with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Ivor Bolton.
Mireille Delunsch (Iphigenie); Stephane Degout (Orestes); Yann Beuron (Pylades); Franck Ferrari (Thoas); Salome Haller (Diana)
Saturday, July 19, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 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, July 20, at 12:00 noon
Guests Belcea Quartet
Benjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 1: movements III & IV
Franz Joseph Haydn: Quartet in C major, Op. 20, No. 2: movement IV
Thomas Adès: Arcadiana: O Albion
Johannes Brahms: Quartet in c minor, Op. 51, No. 1: movement I
Hugo Wolff: Italian Serenade in G major
Sunday, July 20, at 1:00 pm
Historic Mechanic's Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, celebrates its 150th anniversary by hosting From the Top. This week's show features young violinist Elizabeth Basoff-Darskaia from Philadelphia playing Brahms, and a wind quintet from all over the country who met at Tanglewood's summer music camp. And we'll hear trumpet player Kyla Moscovich, age 15, from Tarrytown, New York; pianist Andy Zhou, 16, from Andover, Massachusetts; and cellist Patrick McGuire, 17, from Westford, Massachusetts.
Thursday, July 24, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, July 27, at 10:00 pm
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 (Classical)
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1
Dvorak: Symphony No. 6
(Laura Jackson, conductor; Sarah Chang, violin)
Friday, July 25, at 8:00 pm
Guest Dizzy Gillespie
The name Dizzy perfectly described the playful personality and adventurous musical style of John Birks Gillespie - one of the most celebrated jazz musicians of the 20th century. In this encore presentation, Gillespie talks about the origin of the term bebop and how he came to love Cuban music. McPartland performs an impromptu musical "Portrait of Diz" and the two get together for Gillespie's composition "A Night In Tunisia."
Saturday, July 26, at 1:30 pm
George Frederick Handel: Julius Caesar in Egypt
There was a time when people were surprised to learn that Handel was among the most acclaimed opera composers of his time. Now, he's quickly becoming a favorite of our own time, as well. This production of Handel's Julius Caesar stars one of the world's foremost countertenors, Andreas Scholl, in the title role. Ottavio Dantone conducts the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne from the Metropolitan Theatre of Lausanne.
Andreas Scholl (Julius Caesar); Stephanie d'Oustrac (Cornelia); Elena de la Merced (Cleopatra); Max Emanuel Cencic (Sextus); Christophe Dumaus (Ptolemy); Riccardo Novaro (Achillas)
Saturday, July 26, at 8:00 pm
Dick Wallace hosts this locally produced folk music show. Playlists are available at the Music Americana archive page.
Saturday, July 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, July 27, at 12:00 noon
Guests Nobilis
Franz Schubert: Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Op. 100, D 929: movements I & II
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Ne Poi Krasavitsa (Oh, never sing to me again)
Arno Babadjanyan: Trio: Allegro vivace
Robert Schumann: Piano Trio No. 2 in F Major, Op. 80: movements I & II
Sunday, July 27, at 1:00 pm
The Hawaii Theater in Honolulu hosts this week's outstanding teenage musicians, including 16-year-old pianist Irwin Jiang from Honolulu playing Prokofiev, the Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus, and young tuba player Ibanda Ruhumbika from Athens, Georgia. Also featured are violinist Asia Doike, 17, from Honolulu, and oboist Melissa Hooper, 18, from Portland, Texas.
Thursday, July 31, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, August 3, at 10:00 pm
An evening of musical Shakespeare. Selections from:
Berlioz: Beatrice and Benedict
Cole Porter: Kiss Me Kate
Walton: As You Like It
Sibelius: The Tempest
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
(Nicholas McGegan, conductor; Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano; actors from Georgia Shakespeare Theatre)
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Page updated 7/2/08