The Answered Question

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The Answered Question is a weekly podcast that unlocks the mystery of performing classical music, with the voices of the artists themselves taking you inside the process of making the music.


    • Jan 5, 2018 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 40m AVG DURATION
    • 40 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Answered Question

    Episode 90: Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor and Conductor François-Xavier Roth at the BSO

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2018 36:58


    Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor and conductor François-Xavier Roth preview a Boston Symphony Orchestra program that includes Méhul's Overture toThe Amazons, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

    Episode 89: Kavakos and Nelsons at the BSO, Faust, Melnikov, and A Far Cry at the Gardner

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2017 57:10


    Violinist Leonidas Kavakos previews his Boston Symphony Orchestra performance of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 and describes the "Willemotte" Stradivarius violin he plays, and Andris Nelsons talks about Strauss's An Alpine Symphony. Also, Alan McLellan talks with members of A Far Cry, and violinist Isabelle Faust and pianist Alexander Melnikov talk with Cathy Fuller about Beethoven's violin sonatas.

    Episode 88: Chameleon Arts Ensemble's Deborah Boldin, and Rudolf Buchbinder and Andris Nelsons at the BSO

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2017 49:45


    Deborah Boldin, flutist and founding Artistic Director of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, describes the elements of an All-American program of works by Copland, Beach, and Berger, and pianist Rudolf Buchbinder and conductor Andris Nelsons preview a BSO concert of music by Beethoven and Bruckner.

    Episode 87: Pianist Martin Helmchen and Tanglewood 2018

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2017 44:12


    Pianist Martin Helmchen describes the revolutionary qualities of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, and BSO Artistic Administrator and Director of Tanglewood Tony Fogg previews the 2018 Tanglewood season, the "Bernstein Centennial Summer."

    Episode 86: Conductors Alessandro Quarta and Gil Rose

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2017 24:42


    Alessandro Quarta, the founder and director of Concerto Romano, talks with Alan McLellan about the group's Boston Early Music Festival performance of Pasquini's Il San Vito, and Gil Rose, the founder and director of Odyssey Opera, talks with Chris Voss about Donizetti's L'Assedio di Calais.

    Episode 85: Ken-David Masur, and Members of the Berlin Philharmonic

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2017 45:59


    Boston Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Ken-David Masur describes the characteristics of two sets of incidental music for the theater: Beethoven'sEgmontand Grieg'sPeer Gynt. Also, two members of the Berlin Philharmonic talk about the chamber groups in which they play, including horn player Fergus McWilliam of the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet and Christian Stadelmann of Philharmonia Quartett Berlin.

    Episode 84: Hilary Hahn and David Stern

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2017 29:18


    Violinist Hilary Hahn describes the unique qualities of Dvorák's Violin Concerto, which she performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as the huge range of collaborative projects she's undertaken, and conductor David Stern talks about a new Boston Lyric Opera production of Puccini'sTosca.

    Episode 83: Gil Shaham and Garrick Ohlsson

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2017 31:20


    Violinist Gil Shaham talks with host Brian McCreath about the Violin Concerto by Tchaikovsky, as well as the next chapter in his series of recordings of concertos from the 1930's, and pianist Garrick Ohlsson describes his deep relationship with music by Frederic Chopin.

    Episode 82: Paul Lewis and Andris Nelsons of the BSO, and Artistic Directors Past and Present of Rockport Music

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2017 63:09


    Pianist Paul Lewis talks with host Brian McCreath about Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, and Andris Nelsons reveals two sides of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11, "The Year 1905." Also, Alan McLellan and pianist David Deveau look back on Deveau's 22 years as Artistic Director of the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, and Chris Voss look ahead with Deveau's successor, violist Barry Shiffman.

    Episode 81: The BSO on Bernstein

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2017 54:10


    As the Boston Symphony Orchestra opens its 2017-2018 season, three members of the orchestra recall working with Leonard Bernstein, both as students and as professionals, and Music Director Andris Nelsons describes his discovery of Bernstein following the fall of the Iron Curtain.

    Episode 80: Marc-Andre Hamelin

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2017 32:46


    Pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin talks with WCRB's Cathy Fuller about his May 2017 Celebrity Series of Boston concert, with music by Haydn, Feinberg, Beethoven, Scriabin, and much more.

    Episode 79: Richard Stoltzman, Part 3, and Andrea Avery

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2017 56:07


    WCRB's Cathy Fuller talks with Richard Stoltzman about his father's definition of success, playing with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, and how vibrato has been a mixed blessing, and Andrea Avery, the author of *Sonata: A Memoir of Pain and Piano, *talks with WCRB's Chris Voss about the intersection her life as a musician and rheumatoid arthritis.

    Episode 78: Richard Stoltzman, Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2017 27:16


    Richard Stoltzman continues a conversation with WCRB's Cathy Fuller with a look at what's now known as "crossover" recordings, the beginnings of Stoltzman's career, and the importance of jazz to his artistic identity.

    Episode 77: Richard Stoltzman, and Donald Greig of the Orlando Consort

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2017 38:38


    Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman talks with WCRB's Cathy Fuller about the 40-CD retrospective box set released by Sony, his beginnings as a musician, and why performing Brahms with the Cleveland Quartet was a life-changing experience. Also, Donald Greig of the Orlando Consort describes the challenges and rewards of performing and recording the complete chansons of Machaut.

    Episode 76: Members of Akamus, and Andris Nelsons

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2017 30:55


    Violinist Bernhard Forck and oboist Xenia Loeffler of the Academy for Ancient Music Berlin preview their Boston Early Music Festival program, called "Of Frogs and Men," and Andris Nelsons describes the evolution of his relationship to the four symphonies by Brahms.

    Episode 75: Deborah Boldin and Helene Grimaud

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2017 33:35


    Chameleon Arts Ensemble Artistic Director Deborah Boldin talks about the founding of the group in 1998 and a program of works by Bach and his sons at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, and pianist Hélène Grimaud describes her changing relationship with the two piano concertos by Brahms, which she performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Andris Nelsons.

    Episode 74: Keith Lockhart and Charles Dutoit

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2017 21:06


    Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart describes the importance of John Williams as a composer of film music, as well as highlights of the 2017 Pops season, and Charles Dutoit talks with WCRB's Brian McCreath about his October 2016 Boston Symphony Orchestra All-British program.

    Episode 73: Gil Rose and Andris Nelsons

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2017 20:35


    WCRB's Chris Voss talks with Odyssey Opera Artistic and General Manager Gil Rose about the company's 2016 performance of Dvorák's rarely heard operaDimitrij, and Boston Symphony Music Director Andris Nelsons describes the distinctive sound of the BSO string section in works by Mozart and Bruckner.

    Episode 72: Susan Graham and Javier Perianes

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2017 31:28


    Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham describes the background of "Frauenliebe und -leben Variations," and pianist Javier Perianes talks about performing Falla's "Nights in the Gardens of Spain" with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

    Episode 71: Leif Ove Andsnes, Andris Nelsons, and members of the Boston Chamber Music Society

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2017 42:27


    Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes describes the unique qualities of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4, Andris Nelsons talks about Shostakovich's music for King Lear and Mahler's Symphony No. 4, and Marcus Thompson, Peggy Pearson, and Dimitri Murrath of the Boston Chamber Music Society talk with WCRB's Cathy Fuller about works by Bax and Bliss.

    Episode 70: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Andris Nelsons, and Aisslinn Nosky

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2017 47:12


    Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter draws connections between Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and Takemitsu's Nostalghia, Boston Symphony Music Director Andris Nelsons previews Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6 with WCRB's Brian McCreath, and Handel and Haydn Society Concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky talks with WCRB's Alan McLellan about leading the ensemble and the challenges of Vivaldi and other Italian Baroque masters.

    Episode 69: Gary Dunning of the Celebrity Series, and Catherine Manson of the London Haydn Quartet

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2017 59:24


    Gary Dunning previews the Celebrity Series of Boston 2017-2018 season, and Catherine Manson, First Violinist of the London Haydn Quartet, describes their Boston Early Music Festival program of works by Haydn and Weber.

    Episode 68: Andris Nelsons and Martin Pearlman

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2017 28:07


    Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director Andris Nelsons talks about two programs that include Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 24, Bruckner's Symphony No. 6, and Mozart'sRequiem, and Boston Baroque Music Director Martin Pearlman previews Handel'sAgrippinawith WCRB's Alan McLellan.

    Episode 67: Ryan Turner and Christoph Wolff, and Johannes Moser

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2017 55:29


    Emmanuel Music Artistic Director Ryan Turner and Harvard University's Christoph Wolff describe the creation of a performing edition of Bach's lost St. Mark Passion, and Johannes Moser talks about performing Dvorak's Cello Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

    Episode 66: Alain Altinoglu, Julie Scolnik, and 17-18 at the BSO

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2017 67:07


    Conductor Alain Altinoglu talks about a Boston Symphony Orchestra program of French music by Berlioz, Lalo, Dutilleux, and Roussel, and WCRB's Cathy Fuller talks with Julie Scolnik about 20 years of Mistral, the chamber music group she founded. Also, BSO Artistic Administrator Tony Fogg describes the process of assembling the 2017-2018 BSO season.

    Episode 65: François-Xavier Roth and Thomas Adès

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2017 31:03


    Conductor François-Xavier Roth talks about a Boston Symphony Orchestra program that includes a world premiere by Matthias Pintscher, and BSO Artistic Partner Thomas Adès describes his love of Shakespeare and the limitless possibilities of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players.

    Episode 64: Double Bassist Lawrence Wolfe, and Donald Greig of the Orlando Consort

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2017 36:59


    Boston Symphony Orchestra Assistant Principal Double Bassist Lawrence Wolfe talks with WCRB's Ron Della Chiesa about joining the BSO at age 21, becoming Principal Double Bass of the Boston Pops, and working with Arthur Fiedler, John Williams, and Keith Lockhart, and Donald Greig of the Orlando Consort talks with WCRB's Brian McCreath about singing and recording all of the chansons by Guillaume de Machaut.

    Episode 63: Conductor Sakari Oramo and Edward Dusinberre of the Takacs Quartet

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2017 38:34


    Conductor Sakari Oramo draws connections between the Symphony No. 3 by Sibelius and the Piano Concerto by Busoni, and Edward Dusinberre, violinist with the Takacs Quartet, talks about the variety and strength of Beethoven and the inner workings of the ensemble.

    Episode 62: Simone Dinnerstein, and News from the Boston Symphony

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2017 47:07


    Pianist Simone Dinnerstein describes the impact of Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias on her life and career, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Mark Volpe and Tony Fogg describe an expansion of Tanglewood's facilities and programming, as well as details about the BSO - Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Alliance.

    Episode 61: Skride, Moser, and Krijgh at the BSO, and Boldin from Chameleon Arts Ensemble

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2017 69:41


    The three soloists in Sofia Gubaidulina's Triple Concerto - violinist Baiba Skride, bayan soloist Elsbeth Moser, and cellist Harriet Krijgh - talk about the creation of this new piece of music, their collaboration with the composer, and performing it with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the founder of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Deborah Boldin, describes the group's Rockport Chamber Music Festival program of works by J.S. Bach and three of his sons.

    Episode 60: Emanuel Ax, David Hoose, and Andris Nelsons

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2017 47:17


    Pianist Emanuel Ax previews his performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conductor David Hoose talks with WCRB's Alan McLellan about Brahms'sA German Requiem, and BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons compares the forthright personalities and music of Beethoven and Gunther Schuller.

    Episode 59: Marcus Thompson & Dimitri Murrath, Andris Nelsons, and Andreas Scholl

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2017 32:23


    Previewing a Boston Chamber Music Society All-Dvorák program, Artistic Director Marcus Thompson and violist Dimitri Murrath talk with WCRB's Cathy Fuller, Andris Nelsons previews a Boston Symphony Orchestra program of works by Ravel, Benjamin, and Berlioz, and countertenor Andreas Scholl talks about Bach's cantatas with WCRB's Brian McCreath.

    Episode 58: Ian Bostridge, James Burton, Isabelle Faust, and Alexander Melnikov

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2017 57:16


    Tenor Ian Bostridge describes his relationship with Franz Schubert'sWinterreise, BSO Choral Director James Burton talks about that newly created position, and violinist Isabelle Faust and pianist Alexander Melnikov talk about Beethoven's Sonatas for Violin and Piano.

    Episode 57: Jean-Frederic Neuburger and Masaaki Suzuki

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2017 28:52


    Pianist and composer Jean-Frédéric Neuburger talks with WCRB's Brian McCreath about Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the balance between composing and performing, and conductor Masaaki Suzuki describes the process of working with the young musicians of the Juilliard School and Royal Academy of Music at the Boston Early Music Festival and his 2015 Celebrity Series of Boston program with Bach Collegium Japan.

    Episode 56: Juanjo Mena and Richard Egarr

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2017 35:40


    Conductor Juanjo Mena talks with WCRB's Brian McCreath about a Boston Symphony Orchestra program that includes Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Violin Concerto, as well as Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, and Richard Egarr describes his Handel and Haydn Society program of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3.

    Episode 55: Bramwell Tovey and Murray Perahia

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2017 31:00


    Conductor Bramwell Tovey looks at works by Samuel Barber, Terry Riley, and Edward Elgar - all on his January 2017 Boston Symphony Orchestra program - from the perspective of a composer, and, in a 2014 interview, Murray Perahia describes the magnetic pull of music by Robert Schumann.

    Episode 54: Cynthia Meyers, Thomas Rolfs, and Toby Oft

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2017 57:26


    Three members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra - piccolo player Cynthia Meyers, trumpeter Thomas Rolfs, and trombonist Toby Oft - talk with Ron Della Chiesa and Brian McCreath about their paths to the BSO, what it takes to play in a major orchestra, and the excitement of performing with Music Director Andris Nelsons.

    Episode 53: Billy Joel on "Miami 2017"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 2, 2017 20:23


    As the year 2017 dawns, legendary singer and songwriter Billy Joel talks with WCRB's Tony Rudel about "Miami 2017," released in 1976 on the albumTurnstiles. Better known as "Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway," the lyrics of the song foreshadow a future New York City engulfed in chaos. In the interview, Billy talks about the creative process of songwriting and what's behind the key moments in "Miami 2017."

    Episode 52: Scott Metcalfe of Blue Heron

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2016 21:10


    Scott Metcalfe of early music ensemble Blue Heron previews "Christmas in 15th Century France and Burgundy," and how the creative process works within a group he describes as "pure democracy."

    Episode 51: Harry Christophers and Giancarlo Guerrero

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2016 52:09


    Harry Christophers, the Artistic Director of Boston's Handel and Haydn Society, talks about H+H's season opening program that includes Bach's Magnificat, and Nashville Symphony Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero describes the experience of leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood.

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