Maestro Classical podcast - episode 006: Johann Sebastian Bach feat. Lara St. John & Trevor Pinnick Johann Sebastian Bach: (from Wikipedia.org) (31 March 1685 â 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation in composition for diverse musical forces, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France. Lara St. John "Bach: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo" (Ancalagon) ALBUM NOTES Sei Solo a Violino senza Basso accompagnatoââ(Six Solos for Violin without accompanying Bass)ââCompleted: CÃthen, 1720ââAccording to the date he inscribed on the title page of the manuscript, Johann Sebastian Bach completed his Six Solos for Violin without accompanying Bass sometime in 1720. On 21 March of that year, he turned 35. Already a father of four, for the past two and a half years Bach had been harpsichordist and director of the elite chamber orchestra at the court of the Prince of CÃthen. Bach reportedly "dearly loved" his employer, the young Prince Leopold (1694-1728), who was not only a committed music-lover but himself a keen amateur performer, and even occasionally a composer, who, according to Bach, "loved and understood" the art. And, as one of Leopold's best-paid court functionaries, Bach was highly valued in return. In May of that year, when the prince set out for his annual summer "rest cure" in the Bohemian spa town of Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary), his harpsichordist Bach, went with him, along with five other leading members of the court band. Away from his home, young family, and usual court responsibilities for almost two months at a time, Bach evidently made good compositional use of such relatively carefree summers as that of 1720, as he did of his time at CÃthen. In the space of less than six years residence at the court (from December 1717 to May 1723), Bach rolled out a dazzling stream of masterpieces across a no less amazing range of instrumental genres. The six Brandenburg Concerti (BWV 1046-1051), the crÃme of his new orchestral compositions for the CÃthen band, were finished in fair copy on 24 March 1721. The first volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846-869) was probably largely completed during 1722. The parallel sets of 15 Inventions (BWV 772-786) and 15 Sinfonias (BWV 787-801) date, like the violin Solos, from the very middle of his CÃthen stay, flanked in the years on either side, respectively, by the six English Suites (BWV 806-811) and six French Suites (BWV 812-817). From CÃthen, too, came the only other set of instrumental pieces that challenges the violin Solos on the grounds of sheer oddity: the Six Suites for Solo Cello (BWV 1007-1012), likewise scored without accompanying Bass. 1. Lara St. John "Partita No. 1 in B minor BWV 1002 (Corrente/Double)" (mp3) from "Bach: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo" (Ancalagon LLC) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album 2. Lara St. John "Partita No. 2 In D minor, BWV 1004 (Sarabanda)" (mp3) from "Bach: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo" (Ancalagon LLC) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album 3. Lara St. John "Partita No. 3 In E Major, BWV 1006 (Preludio)" (mp3) from "Bach: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo" (Ancalagon LLC) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album Trevor Pinnick "Bach: Six Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg" ALBUM NOTES The Brandenburg ConcertosââWhile we know that Bach finished a sumptuous manuscript of six concertos (for 'plusieurs Instruments', as he titled it) in March 1721 for presentation to the Margrave of Brandenburg, it is not certain when Bach actually composed these works. Some might date from the weeks immediately preceding the dedication, but the existence of early versions of some pieces suggests that Bach may have compiled much of the set from a pool of existing works. His aims in revision and compilation seem to have been to present six entirely disparate solutions to the instrumental concerto genre, a genre which was by no means fixed and which could imply many instrumental combinations. This attitude of attempting an encyclopaedic survey of a musical genre and also of perfecting and refining the best of what he had already written became a major compositional concern for Bach over the last three decades of his life; the Brandenburg dedication may well mark the beginning of this process.â4. Trevor Pinnock "Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046 (IV. Menuetto-Trio I-Polacca-Trio II)" (mp3) from "Bach: Six Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg" (AVIE Records) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Puretracks Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album 5. Trevor Pinnock "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048 (I. [Allegro]" (mp3) from "Bach: Six Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg" (AVIE Records) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Puretracks Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album 6. Trevor Pinnock "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047 (I. [Allegro]" (mp3) from "Bach: Six Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg" (AVIE Records) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Puretracks Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album

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Maestro Classical Podcast: episode 5 feat. Ludwig van Beethoven, movements from Symphonies No. 1, 5, & 9. Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 â 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most respected and influential composers of all time. Born in Bonn, he moved to Vienna in his early twenties and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Beethoven's hearing gradually deteriorated beginning in his twenties, yet he continued to compose, and to conduct and perform, even after he was completely deaf. This is Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Opus 21. It was written in 1799 - 1800 and was premiered April 2, 1800 in Vienna, and is dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. Here, the 3rd movement is performed by the USSR State Symphony, conducted by Konstantin Ivanov. Konstantin Ivanov "Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21" (mp3) from "Beethoven: Symphony No. 1, The Creatures of Prometheus Overture" (MUSIC ONLINE) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster More On This Album Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 was written in 1804Â - 08. This symphony is one of the most popular and well-known compositions in all of European classical music, and is also one of the most often-played symphonies. First performed in Vienna's Theater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterwards.âThe symphony, and the four-note opening motif in particular, are well known worldwide, with the motif appearing frequently in popular culture, from disco to rock and roll, to appearances in film and television.âThe Fifth stands with the Third Symphony and Ninth Symphony as the most revolutionary of Beethoven's compositions. Here, the first movement is performed by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andreas Delfs. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra & Andreas Delfs "Beethoven: Symphony No. 5" (mp3) from "Beethoven: Symphony No. 5" (MSO Classics) Buy at iTunes Music Store Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral" is the last complete symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, it is considered both an icon and a forefather of Romantic music, and one of Beethoven's greatest masterpieces. It incorporates part of the poem "Ode to Joy" by Friedrich Schiller, written in 1785, with text sung by soloists and a chorus in the last movement. It is the first example of a major composer using the human voice on the same level with instruments in a symphony, creating a work of a grand scope that set the tone for the Romantic symphonic form. Further testament to its prominence is that an original manuscript of this work sold in 2003 for $3.3 million USD at Sotheby's, London. Stephen Roe, the head of Sotheby's manuscripts department, described the symphony as "one of the highest achievements of man, ranking alongside Shakespeare's Hamlet and King Lear." Here, the final movement is performed by Ama Deus Ensemble, conducted by Valentin Radu. Ama Deus Ensemble, Valentin Radu "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 - "Choral"" (mp3) from "Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 & Die Ruinen von Athen" (Lyrichord) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster Stream from Rhapsody More On This Album

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Maestro Classical Podcast: Episode 4 feat. Mozart's "Requiem" and Shostakovich's "Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47". 1. Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra "Requiem" (mp3) from "Mozart: Requiem" (LSO Live) Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This Album 2. Chicago Symphony Orchestra "Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47" (mp3) from "CSO Resound / Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5" (CSO Resound) Buy at iTunes Music Store Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon More On This Album

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Austrian composers part 1: Anton Bruckner. 1. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra & Andreas Delfs "Bruckner: Symphony No. 4" (mp3) from "Bruckner: Symphony No. 4" (MSO Classics) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Buy at Amazon More On This Album 2. Carl Schuricht "Symphony No. 9 D minor" (mp3) from "Anton Bruckner: Symphony No.8 / No.9" (haenssler CLASSIC) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon More On This Album

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1. Sviatoslav Richter, Kirill Kondrashin, Camille Saint-SaÃns, Moscow Youth Orchestra "Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103" (mp3) from "Saint-SaÃÂns: Piano Concerto No. 5" (MUSIC ONLINE) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster Buy at Amazon More On This Album 2. Jean-Pierre Ferey, Laurent Boukobza "Ãmes d'enfant (Children's Souls)" (mp3) from "Ladmirault, FaurÃÂ, Cras, Ravel: Piano Works for Four Hands" (SKARBO) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album

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1. Elaine Comparone, Marsha Heller, Peter Seidenberg "Concert 1 - La Coulicam" (Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pieces de Clavicin en Concert) [Lyrichord Early Music Series] Elaine Comparone, Marsha Heller, Peter Seidenberg "Concert 1- La Coulicam" (mp3) from "Jean-Philippe Rameau 1683-1764: Pieces de Clavicin en Concert (1741)" (Lyrichord Early Music Series) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon Buy at GroupieTunes Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album 2. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons "La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques"[RCO Live] Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons "La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques" (mp3) from "Debussy: La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques - Dutilleux: L'Arbre des songes - Ravel: La valse, poÃÂme chorÃÂgraphique" (RCO Live) Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This Album

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