Classical Music

Interlochen Public Radio is your gateway to news and classical music from Interlochen Center for the Arts. Learn about new music, upcoming performances and more.

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Kids Commute - Summer Week! Monday

By • May 21, 2018
Astor Piazzolla (left, as the paperboy), starred in small part in a 1935 movie featuring his idol, tango legend Carlos Gardel.
Movie still, El Día que me Quieras, 1935

Happy Monday! Welcome to the final week of IPR's Kids Commute for this school year!

It's SUMMER WEEK on IPR's Kids Commute - we're going to play you some music to get you inspired for the season!

Today, we'll hear some, "upside-down," summer music as we spend the warm days and nights with the people of Buenos Aires in music by Astor Piazzolla.

Monday, May 21, 2018 (Ep. 160)
Estaciones Porteñas - Verano Porteño (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires - Summer)
Astor Piazzolla

Here's today's Kids Commute:


In Studio A with flutist Lauren Whitaker

By • May 19, 2018
Lauren Whitaker

Flutist Lauren Whitaker is a senior at Interlochen Arts Academy, and she is a student of Nancy Stagnitta. Lauren is also the winner of the Encore Winds Youth Artist Competition, and she will perform with Encore Winds on their spring concert this Sunday. 

Music by Request playlist for May 19, 2018

By • May 19, 2018
Fine Art America

Thanks to listeners in Irons, Kaleva, Branch, Northport and many other places for your requests this week.

1. Felix Mendelssohn, Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra

2. Sir William Walton, excerpts from Henry V; Andrew Litton/Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

3. Martin Luther, A Mighty Fortress is Our God; James Litton/American Boy Choir

4. Benech & Dumont, Du gris; Baguette Quartette

5. Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah; Renee Fleming

James Levine Accused Of Sexual Misconduct By 5 More Men

By • May 19, 2018

In a suit filed Friday by the Metropolitan Opera, five men have made newly public accusations against conductor and pianist James Levine, who was closely associated with the Met for four decades. In total, nine men have now come forward, either by name or anonymously, with accusations against Levine.

Classical new release: Grieg and Delius Piano Concertos

By • May 18, 2018

Premiered in 1869, Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor is one of the most popular piano concertos ever written. Grieg was just 24 years old when he wrote it. The month after the concerto's premiere, his toddler daughter died of viral meningitis, and his wife miscarried what would have been their second child. The Griegs would not have any more children.

Grieg's publisher asked him for another piano concerto for years, but the composer simply couldn't write one. All that he wrote was a fragment about 150 measures in length.

Kids Commute - Jingle Week! Friday

By • May 18, 2018
Today's music, "Perpetuum Mobile," is used in an ad for technology. Interlochen Public Radio - classical music for kids!

Happy Friday! Welcome to the last day of JINGLE WEEK on IPR's Kids Commute - classical music for kids!

This week, we're listening to music you might have heard featured in a commercial - but only in a tiny snippet. What was that music you heard, and what does the rest of it sound like? Let's find out!

Today, we're hearing music by composer Simon Jeffes, and the delightfully quirky Penguin Cafe Orchestra. The piece is called, "Perpetuum Mobile," which means, "Perpetual Motion" (always moving). This is music that makes variations (changes) on a repetitive pattern. You'll hear this piece in a lot of places - in this instance, it was used in an advertisement for technology.

Friday, May 18, 2018 (Ep. 159)
Perpetuum Mobile
Simon Jeffes/Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Here's today's Kids Commute:


Remembering The Soprano Who Sang Like A Laser Beam

By • May 17, 2018

The myriad stories about Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson usually fall into two groups: the ones about her enormous, laser-focused voice and those about her rapier-sharp wit.

Kids Commute - Jingle Week! Thursday

By • May 17, 2018
Today, we'll hear a celebratory anthem by Handel used to advertise wireless services. Interlochen Public Radio - classical music for kids!

Welcome to Day Four of JINGLE WEEK on IPR's Kids Commute!

This week, we're listening to music you might have heard featured in a commercial - but only in a tiny snippet. What was that music you heard, and what does the rest of it sound like? Let's find out!

Today, we'll hear music by a German composer who wrote a lot of his most famous work while he was living in England - George Frideric Handel. Handel wrote the celebratory anthem, "Zadok the Priest," with words that had been used for coronations in England for a very long time. Today, we'll hear it used in an advertisement for wireless services.

Thursday, May 17, 2018 (Ep. 158)
Zadok the Priest
George Frideric Handel
 

Here's today's Kids Commute:


A Vibraphone Workout With A Tinfoil Twist

By • May 16, 2018

Call it a percussionist's answer to Flight of the Bumblebee — with a twist. "Filigree," by composer Robert Honstein, is a rapid-fire workout for solo vibraphone. The instrument's bars, however, are partly covered in tinfoil, which adds a unique layer of color to the music.

Kids Commute - Jingle Week! Wednesday

By • May 16, 2018
Today, we'll hear the, "Flower Duet," from LAKME, used in a series of British Airways commercials.

Welcome to Day Three of JINGLE WEEK on IPR's Kids Commute!

This week, we're listening to music you might have heard featured in a commercial - but only in a tiny snippet. What was that music you heard, and what does the rest of it sound like? Let's find out!

Today, we'll hear music by French composer Leo Delibes featured (in a remixed, techno style) in a series of commercials for an airline. Super cool thing about this - apparently, it was this ad that inspired South African soprano Pretty Yende to go into the opera world!

Wednesday, May 16, 2018 (Ep. 157)
Lakme; "Flower Duet"
Leo Delibes

Here's today's Kids Commute:


In Studio A with double bassist Gary Gatzke

By • May 15, 2018
Photo by Karin Willman

Gary Gatzke is the principal double bassist of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra. He is also the interim Executive Director of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. Gatzke will be one of several soloists featured this weekend in the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra’s Bach Family Festival.

Gary Gatzke recently visited Studio A at Interlochen Public Radio to play music by Dittersdorf, Handel and Saint-Saens. Hear the entire performance and interview below. 

Composer And Leading Avant-Garde Guitarist Glenn Branca Has Died At 69

By • May 15, 2018

Kids Commute - Jingle Week! Tuesday

By • May 15, 2018
Today, we'll hear music featured in a commercial for a GPS system - "In a Persian Market," by Albert Ketelbey. Interlochen Public Radio - classical music for kids!
Ken Ohyama

Welcome to Day Two of JINGLE WEEK on IPR's Kids Commute!

This week, we're listening to music you might have heard featured in a commercial - but only in a tiny snippet. What was that music you heard, and what does the rest of it sound like? Let's find out!

Today, we're hearing music that was featured in a GPS commercial, with a really catchy whistling flute. That tune is, "In a Persian Market," by English composer Albert Ketelbey.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018 (Ep. 156)
In a Persian Market
Albert Ketelbey
 

Here's today's Kids Commute:


Matt Marks, Versatile Composer And Musician, Dies At 38

By • May 14, 2018

Matt Marks, a young composer, musician and founding member of the contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, died suddenly Friday, May 11. The group made an announcement Saturday on Twitter, with no cause of death given. Marks was 38.

Lyric Opera of Chicago: 'Rigoletto'

By • May 14, 2018

This Saturday at 1 p.m., Classical IPR presents Lyric Opera of Chicago's recent production of Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto." 

This production stars Matthew Polenzani, Mario Rojas, Whitney Morrison and Quinn Kelsey.

Music by Request playlist for May 12, 2018

By • May 12, 2018
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Thanks to listeners in Wolverine, Cedar, Manistee, Ludington and many other places for your requests this week. 

1. Paul Dukas, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra

2. Dietrich Buxtehude, Prelude and Fugue in F major; Hans Helmut Tillmanns

3. Peter Schickele, music from the original motion picture soundtrack of “Silent Running”

4. Victor Herbert, “Ah, sweet mystery of life”; Beverly Sills

5. Philip Sparke, Music of the Spheres; Kazufumi Yamashita/Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band

'Something Develops Onstage Called Love': Baltimore Symphony's Bernstein Centennial

By • May 12, 2018

It's the Leonard Bernstein centennial this year and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has been celebrating.

In conversation with Judy Rumelhart - the music of Sweeney Todd

By • May 11, 2018
Judy Rumelhart, Associate Producer of the original Broadway run of Sondheim's, SWEENEY TODD.
Interlochen Center for the Arts

Interlochen Arts Academy's production of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET opens this weekend.

Judy Rumelhart, an Associate Producer of the Sondheim classic's original Broadway run, will be watching the production with great love. Judy joined IPR's Kate Botello in the studio to discuss her memories of the first SWEENEY TODD - and selected a few of her favorites to share with us!

Judy selected the following pieces: 

  • Prologue/The Ballad of Sweeney Todd
  • The Worst Pies in London
  • Pretty Women
  • Not While I'm Around


Baroque Choral Festival Encore Broadcast - Tonight!

By Nancy Deneen • May 11, 2018
Karin Willman

Classical IPR brought you the Baroque Choral Festival live from Corson Auditorium last month. The concert included the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and soloists, choral ensembles from Northwestern Michigan College, and the Interlochen Arts Academy Choir. Together the groups performed Dettingen Te Deum and Zadok the Priest by Handel, and Vivaldi's Gloria. Listen to our encore broadcast of this concert tonight at 8 p.m.

Kids Commute - Haydn Week! Friday

By • May 11, 2018
Today, we say, "Farewell," to Franz Josef "Papa" Haydn! Interlochen Public Radio - classical music for kids!

Happy Friday! Welcome to the last day of HAYDN WEEK on IPR's Kids Commute - classical music for kids!

This week, we've been listening to the music of one of the most beloved composers of all time - Franz Josef Haydn!

Today, we'll hear Haydn's cheeky (but diplomatic) way to ask his boss, Esterhazy, if he and the orchestra could pretty-please go home for summer vacation.

Friday, May 11, 2018 (Ep. 154)
Symphony No. 45, 4th Movement (Farewell)
Franz Josef Haydn

Here's today's Kids Commute:


Classical new release: 'Michael Torke: Unconquered'

By • May 10, 2018

The premiere recording of Michael Torke's "Unconquered" celebrates the United States, the ideals of the Revolutionary War and the city of Saratoga, FL. The Saratoga Performing Arts Center commissioned the piece to celebrate its 50th anniversary. In response, Torke composed a piece inspired by the Battle of Saratoga.

In Studio A with Manitou Winds

By • May 10, 2018
Manitou Winds

The members of the chamber group Manitou Winds each play multiple instruments, which means that their concerts offer an infinite number of different combinations of sounds. Members Anne Bara, Sam Clark, Christina Duperron, Laura Hood and Jason McKinney recently visited Studio A at Interlochen Public Radio to perform some music and talk about their upcoming concert this weekend. Hear the entire performance and conversation below.

Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions

By • May 10, 2018

After many months of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, five singers have been named as the winners of the nation’s most prestigious vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and the exposure that comes with winning the competition that launched the careers of many of opera’s biggest stars.

Kids Commute - Haydn Week! Thursday

By • May 10, 2018
Haydn's, "The Miracle," Symphony No. 96. Watch out for falling chandeliers!
Kroonluchteresnoga Amsterdam

Welcome to Day Four of HAYDN WEEK on IPR's Kids Commute!

This week, we're listening to the music of beloved 18th Century German composer, Franz Josef Haydn.

Today, we'll hear about how Haydn's, "rock star," status saved lives at a concert!

Thursday, May 10, 2018 (Ep. 153)
Symphony No. 96, 4th Movement (The Miracle)
Franz Josef Haydn

Here's today's Kids Commute:


Violinist Er-Gene Kahng in conversation with Classical IPR

By • May 9, 2018

Violinist Er-Gene Kahng is a professor at the University of Arkansas and concertmaster of both the Fort Smith Symphony and the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also taught and performed at the Bay View Music Festival in northern Michigan.

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