Conductors Christoph Eschenbach and Marin Alsop, plus 2009-10 season overview - March 2009

Summary: Welcome to the London Philharmonic Orchestra's March 2009 podcast. Conductor Christoph Eschenbach talks to Edward Seckerson about his early career as a pianist, the heritage of the London Philharmonic Orchestra's sound, and his two concerts on 11 and 14 March 2009. Marin Alsop shares the reasons she loves working with the Orchestra, her passion for new music, the importance Leonard Bernstein played as her mentor, and looks ahead to her concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010. The new season of concerts from September 2009 has recently been announced, and Timothy Walker, the Orchestra's Chief Executive and Artistic Director, gives an overview and picks his highlights. This month's CD release is Vladimir Jurowski conducting three early works by Benjamin Britten: Double Concerto (soloists Pieter Schoeman and Alexander Zemtsov), Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, and Les Illuminations (with soprano Sally Matthews). Music clips featured on the podcast: Clip 1: Brahms Symphony No 1 LPO conducted by Marin Alsop. Naxos 8.55748. Used by kind permission of Naxos. Clip 2: Schubert Symphony No 9 Clip 3: Bernstein Age of Anxiety. New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein, piano: Philippe Entremont. Used by kind permission of Sony Music. Clip 4: Higdon Percussion Concerto. LPO conducted by Marin Alsop. Percussion Colin Currie. LPO-0035 Clip 5: Sibelius Symphony No 2. LPO conducted by Paavo Berglund. LPO-0005 Clip6: Britten Les Illuminations. LPO conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. Soprano Sally Matthews. LPO-0037