Music by Request

Featured on today's playlist was a recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's Tocatta and Fugue in D minor by E. Power Biggs.   Known for his dignified manner and witty conversation, Biggs aroused interest in serious organ music  in the U.S. beginning in the 1930's.   A renowned expert on the older organs of Europe, he was very serious about the encroaching of electronic organs in churches and concert halls. When an electronic organ was installed in the 1970's at Carnegie Hall, he stated, "The present device cheapens the hall and ruins its image as a place of excellence."

Today's playlist featured a recording of Licia Albanese as Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme.  Albanese's rich soprano range thrilled audiences during her long spanning career.  She brought passion and committment to each performance.  In a 2004 interview with Allan Ulrich of the San Francisco Chronicle, "I always changed every performance.  I was never boring, and I'm against copying. What I learned from the great singers was not to copy, but that the drama is in the music."  

1.      Claude Debussy, Estampes, Jean Yves Thibaudet

Featured on today's program were the Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahams.  A set of 21 pieces composed originally for piano, four hands, they are based on Hungarian themes.  

1.      George Frederick Handel, Concerto Grosso No. 11, Boston Baroque, Martin Pearlman

2.     Antonin Dvorak, O Silver Moon from Rusalka, Renee Fleming, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti

3.     Philip Sparke, Strathcarron-Sword Dance from Hymn of the Highlands, Brass Band Froschl Hall, Hannes Buchegger

Happy Swiss National Day! Featured on today's program was the William Tell Overture from Gioacchino Rossini's opera, William Tell.   This popular work features a depiction of a storm and viviacious finale "The March of the Swiss soldiers".  William Tell is a legenday folk hero of Switzerland who symbolizes the struggle for political and individual freedom. 

1.     Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata in F major, Andre Watts

2.    Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring, New York Philharmonic Leonard Bernstein

Today's playlist consisted of many works composed for film and television.  Composers included Ramin Djawadi, Elmer Bernstein, Maurice Jarre, John Wiliams, Ennio Morricone, Thomas Newman, Howard Shore, John Barry and Michael Legrand.  

1.     Charles Ives, Hymns from Symphony No. 4, Richard Webster, Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus

2.     George Frederick Handel, Eternal Source Light Divine from Ode to the Birthday of Queen Anne, Kathleen Battle and Wynton Marsalis, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, John Nelson

Featured on today's playlist was Sea Fever by John Ireland  featuring the poetry of John Masefield. 

"I must go down to the seas again: to the lonely sea and the sky, 

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, 

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail shaking, 

And a grey mist on the sea's face , and a grey dawn breaking. "

1.     Leonard Bernstein, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein

Today's featured composer was Ennio Morricone. He will be remembered for being one of the most influential creators of music for modern cinema.  Morricone stated that he was able to hear his music in his mind, and therefore he composed not at the piano, but at his desk.  

1.     George Gershwin, Embraceable You, Katia and Marielle Labeque

2.     George M. Cohen, A Cohen Medley, George M. Cohen

3.     Hector Berlioz, La Marseillaise, Sylvia McNair, Richard Leach, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman

Music written for voice constituted nearly half of today's program.  We heard ensembles VOCES8, Anonymous 4, The London Opera Chorus, Cambridge Singers, and the Robert Shaw Chamber Singers, along with the voices of  Bryn Terfel, Renata Tebaldi, Renee Fleming, Carol Vaness, Jussi Bjoerling, Joan Sutherland, Carlo Bergonzi, Emma Stone, Dawn Upshaw, Peggy Wood, Christopher Plummer, Julie Andrews, and Charmian Carr.

1.     Claude Debussy, Children’s Corner Suite, Yoshiko Okada

The late Vera Lynn was the most requested artist on today's program.  

1.     Johann Sebastian Bach, Goldberg Variation, Glenn Gould

2.     Charles Ives, Variations on America, Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler

3.     George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue, Yuga Wang, Vienna Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel

4.     Fritz Kreisler, Caprice Viennois, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Andre Previn

5.     Hugh Charles and Ross Parker, We’ll Meet Again, Vera Lynn

6.     Nat Burton and Walter Kent, White Cliffs of Dover, Vera Lynn

Today's playlist included The Northern Pines by John Philip Sousa.  The work was composed in 1931 and named for the tall and beautiful pine trees that blanket the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts.  The march was dedicated to the students who attended the camp and Dr. Joseph Maddy

1.     Karl Jenkins, Palladio, London Philharmonic Strings, Karl Jenksin

2.     Peter Tchaikovsky, 1812 Overture, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Erich Kunzel

3.     Percy Grainger, Lincolnshire Posy, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, Frederick Fennel

Today's playlist featured, Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait.  This orchestral work incorporated speeches and letters from President Lincoln.  

Here is  an excerpt included in the compostion, taken from Lincoln's Annual message to Congress in 1862. 

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the story present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise to the occasion.  As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country."

Today's playlist featured music performed and arranged by Sweet Honey in the Rock.  This ensemble was founded by Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973.  The ensemble's messages are proclaimed through a large catalog of songs addressing the world's woes.   Their music combines contemporary rhythms and narratives with a musical style rooted in Gospel music, spirituals and hymns. 

1.     Frederick Chopin, Waltz in C sharp, minor, Van Cliburn

2.     Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata No. 1 F minor, Alfred Brendel

3.     Traditional, African Drum Invocation, Jessye Norman

The Vacant Chair was a Civil War poem written by Henry S. Washburn and set to music by George Root in 1862.  The song mourns the loss of a son during the Battle of Bull Run. The image of ‘the vacant chair’ signifies the empty space Grout’s absence left as the family gathered for Thanksgiving.

1.     Antonin Dvorak, Symphony No. 9, “The New World”, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir George Solti

2.     John Barry, Somewhere in Time, Royal Philharmonia, John Barry

Today's program featured film music from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.   Thank you to listeners from Holland, Cadillac, Buckley, Bear Lake, Frankfort, Petoskey, Cheyboygan, Torch River, Lake City, Honor, Old Mission, Manistee, Lexington KY, Oklahoma City, OK, and Baltimore MD. 

1.      Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, Multinational Orchestra and Chorus, Leonard Bernstein

2.     Greg McCallum, Hymn Quilt, Greg McCallum

3.     Edward Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance: March in D major, London Philharmonic, Daniel Barenboim

Thank you to listeners from Petoskey and Grayling who requested two songs featuring Dame Vera Lynn, a British singer, songwriter and actress who was widely popular during World War II.  At the age of 103, she recently led a rousing rendition of We'll Meet Again outside her home in West Sussex in honor of of the 75th Anniversary of VE Day.   She is quoted in recently saying "I hope today serves as a reminder that no matter how hard things get, we will meet again." 

1.     Aaron Copland, Quiet City, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Berstein

Featured on today's program were excerpts from Camille Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals.  Saint-Saens wrote this work while secluding himself in a small Austrian village after a disastrious concert tour.  He regarded the work as a piece of fun.  It is widely regarded as his best known work and popular with music teachers and young children. 

1.     Edgard Meyer, Sliding Down, Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Bela Fleck

2.     Franz Schubert, Impromptu in G flat major, Kyoko Tabe

3.     Traditional Spiritual, Deep River, Chanticleer

Edward B. Catton served at WIAA/IPR from 1964 - 1997

Ed was known as "the voice of Interlochen Public Radio," and spent his three-decade career at the station as a beloved classical music host, and the creator of Music by Request.  Support this beloved Saturday tradition, and    make a gift to IPR today.  

1.     Aaron Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man, London Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Copland

Today' playlist featured the Concerto In D Major for Guitar and Orchestra by Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. His compositions were banned from radio even before the Italian Government promulgated the Italian Racial Laws.  This convinced him to leave Italy and immigrate to the U.S.  He soon landed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a film composer.  As a teacher, he had a significant influence on major film composers including Henri Mancini, Andre Previn, Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams, all of whom were his pupils. 

Thank you to all the listeners who helped create today's program.  The most requested composer was  Johann Sebastian Bach.   

1.     George Frederick Handel, Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Julius Rudel

2.     Traditional Gospel, Just a closer walk with thee, Bob Snyder and David B. Hooten

3.     Giacomo Puccini, Nessun Dorma from Tosca, Luciano Pavarotti, London Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta

4.     Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, E. Power Biggs

Thank you to listenersr from Mesa, AZ, Baltimore, MD Cincinnati, OH, Oklahoma City, OK, Bear Lake, Prudenville, Honor, Northport, Benzonia, Arcadia, and Cheboygan.  Today's featured work was Largo Al Factotum from Rossini's Barber of Seville.   The title translates to "make way for the factotum" which refers to a general servant who literally does everything. 

1.     Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata in D major for 2 pianos, Patrick and Peter Jablonski

2.     Dmitri Shostakovich, Piano Quintet, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Fitzwilliam String Quartet

Thank you to listeners from Baltimore MD, Sarasota FL, Oklahoma City OK,  Fort Drum NY, Lake Leelanau, Manistee, Petoskey, Traverse City, Cadillac, Honor, Holland, Hersey, Mesick and Northport.  Today's featured piece was On The Trail from Ferde Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite. 

1.      Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Excerpts from the Third Act of the Marriage of Figaro, Nuccia Focile, Carol Vaness, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Charles Mackerras

2.     Robert Schumann, Scenes from Childhood, Annie Fisher

Thank you to listeners from Ann Arbor, Elberta, Higgens Lake, Petoskey, Prudenville, Baltimore, Grand Rapids and Holland.  The music of Aaron Copland received the most requests from listeners today.  

1.     Aaron Copland, Red Pony Suite, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Joann Falletta

2.     Modest Moussorgsky, A Night on Bald Mountain, New York Philharmonic, Giuseppe Sinopoli

3.     Various Artists, Elephant Love Medley from the original motion picture soundtrack, Moulin Rouge, Ewan McGregor, Jaimie Allen, Nicole Kidmn

Classical IPR can be a constant for you in times of uncertainty.  We will continue to bring you the music you expect whenever you tune in.  Thank you to listeners from nearby and across the country, for helping to curate our program.  Featured on today's playlist was the Overture on Themes from the Wizard of Oz.  

Thank you to listeners from Kaleva, Buckley, Traverse City, Petoskey, Onekama, Honor, Omena and Suttons Bay.   

Happy Leap Year Everyone!  Thank you to a listener from Guelph, Ontario, Canada, who requested excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance.  Halfway through the comic opera, Frederick the pirate makes the discovery that his contract as a pirate apprentice lasts not until his 21st year but his 21st birthday. And since he was born in a leap year, that birthday will not occur for another 80 years.