Podcasts about Cello concerto

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. For this episode of “Obbligato,” a show dedicated to AAPI classical musicians, composers, and scholars, host Isabel Li interviews Indian American composer Reena Esmail, who blends Hindustani musical themes with western classical compositional styles. Music in this episode: – This Love Between Us “Prayers for Unity”: II. [Sikhism] – Lacrimosa (from Malhaar: a Requiem for Water) – Terra infirma: IV. roaming the ghost forest Transcript Isabel Li: I'm Isabel Li, here for a new edition of “Obbligato,” which explores the AAPI community in the classical music world. Today, we're featuring the Indian American composer Reena Esmail and her unique compositions that blend Hindustani music with Western classical styles and how she writes music about religion, spirituality, and even environmentalism. Welcome, Reena, to Apex Express. Reena Esmail: Hey! It's so great to be here. IL: My first question for you is one that's probably a little bit loaded, but how do you identify and what's your story? RE: I don't know, it's interesting because I work in many different situations, and I think I always identify as the thing that isn't whatever the dominant situation is that I work in. Right? So it's like when I'm in America, I identify as an Indian American. When I'm in India, I identify as an American. When I'm working in Western classical music, I'm the person who knows stuff about Hindustani music. When I'm working in Hindustani music, I'm the person who knows stuff about Western music. So really. Actually, I think of identity not as a fixed thing, but as how you, um, delineate yourself, how you're unique in the situation you're in. You know, it's interesting because especially in the case of Asian Americans, Asia is such a broad thing, right? There are so many more East Asians in Western classical music than there are South Asians. Certainly in my generation. You know, I was surrounded by Chinese, Korean, some Japanese people who were always, you know, playing the piano when I was playing the piano. And, um, there really was not many other Indian people. And, you know, I'll, I'll actually say that even within India, um, you know, if you look at me in America, I'm just Indian. If you look at me in India, I have a very unusual lineage, which is that my dad is from the region of Gujarat and his family is Muslim. My mom is from the region of Goa and her family is Catholic. And so because of that, when I was expressing interest in music, My mom was the one who had more of kind of a musical knowledge in her family, even though there's no professional musicians in her family. So because Goa was colonized by Portugal, there is this element of Western classical music in Goan culture. And so because of that, my mom was like, oh, let's give her guitar lessons, let's give her piano lessons. And so that's how I landed up in Western classical music as opposed to doing Indian classical music. Um, so yeah, I kind of went through the Western classical scene. I was very interested in being a pianist. And, you know, I'm glad that I'm glad I'm a failed pianist in all honesty, because I see what my colleagues who are real, you know, professional pianists have to go through. And I just don't think I have what it takes to do that. It's really an intense job. Um, but when I was in high school, um, one of my theory teachers kind of said, hey, you know, you might be a composer. It seems like you think like a composer thinks, why don't you try composing and why don't you try writing things down? and one thing led to another. And basically a year and a half to two years after studying, I got one of a very few spots in the undergrad program in composition at Juilliard. And that was a point where my parents kind of said, okay, you know, we don't know a lot about the music world, but it seems like if she got into Juilliard, she's probably like somewhat good at this. Maybe we should kind of see how this goes. And, you know, from there on, I pursued composition. IL: And when and why did you start to study Indian classical music, which is a big element in your compositions now? RE: Yeah, absolutely. So I think it's interesting because in every generation, I've seen so much change in how the diaspora views itself. And certainly when I was growing up, you know, I know this is hard to believe, but there were not if you were an Indian going to school, you were kind of the only one. If you were an Indian music, you were kind of the only one. So there was this element where when I went to Juilliard, um, there were I to my knowledge, two Indians in the entire school, me and an actress who had actually come from Calcutta. And so people were trying to, you know, make conversation with me and they'd be like, well, you know, do you do stuff with Indian classical music? And I would just be like, no, I'm trying so hard to even write music for orchestra and, you know, string quartet and all the things that my peers are trying to do. Like, is that not enough? Because I'm Indian, I also have to be doing all this other stuff. And so I resisted it for a long time because I was just trying so hard to do one thing well. But then, you know, I think what, what made me kind of unique is that, you know, I stood out, I was Indian and then, you know, when I was young, that felt really cool. The older I got, the more I thought, well, you know, I know I'm from this culture that has incredible music and I know it when I hear it, I know nothing about it, and maybe I should actually pursue it. And so I really separately kind of started meeting Indian musicians who lived in New York, and I would just ask them questions, and I got to know them. And I realized that while we didn't share a type of music, we did share a culture and we did share a love of music because it is interesting that the culture of Indian classical music is actually quite similar to the culture of Western classical music. You know, you study with a teacher over a really long period of time. You're practicing for hours a day. The kind of personality that would love Western classical music would also love Indian classical music. And so I just made friends with some of these Indian classical musicians. And of course, being a composer, I thought, why don't I put them in my music? You know, how do I do that? And so it was really just curiosity that led me down that path. And for many years, that path was very separate. Because again, I know it's very hard to believe now, but there was a time where people really did not want these cultures to be combined, and people just really looked down on cultures that were not, you know, the dominant Western European classical culture. And so I kept them really separate. And even when I started combining them, people were like, oh, that's sweet. She does stuff with Indian music, you know? And it was really not taken seriously. It's only really in the last decade that people have been embracing other musical cultures. And I mean, how glad I am that that's happening. But it was very, very hard fought and very separate at first. IL: And on that note, how do you navigate the unique challenges of composing with both these cultures in mind, but also being situated in the United States, where people come from all different backgrounds? And how do you as a composer approach that in this context? RE: I mean, I think it's interesting because first of all, I am musically bilingual now, so I can. I went to India, I studied Indian classical music. Seriously. I still work with Indian classical musicians very closely. And so, you know, I can be working on a piece that has Indian classical musicians in it, and I can turn to them and immediately speak in their language and their musical language. And then I can turn to the Western musicians and speak in their musical language. So every single piece I write, especially the ones that involve Indian classical musicians. There is a way through those pieces, both through the Western lens and through the Indian lens. And so I think I'm working in a position where I actually do know how to speak both those languages. And when you do speak both those languages, you know, just the way that if you speak any two, you know, verbal languages, you would know that there are sounds that are cognates. And so you're like, oh, I say the sound. So maybe and it means one thing in one culture and one thing in another culture. But you know that that sound is the same. And so with musical language, you can actually use those musical cognates to connect across cultures by saying, just listen for this thing. And when you listen for this thing, interpret it through the lens of your own culture. So that's certainly how I work. But, you know, I mean, again, I want to say that's not the only way to work. I don't think that you have to be, you know, I mean, again, there's probably most people who are listening to this probably have one musical culture and then maybe they know much less about the other musical culture. That is also fine. You know, you don't need to be an expert in order to want to explore and, and love a thing that's just, you know, where I am because it's the, the center of my musical practice. IL: Well, let's hear a selection from Reena Esmail's oratorio, “This Love Between Us.” This is the second movement titled Sikhism. David Hill conducts Juilliard415 with the Yale Schola Cantorum. [MUSIC: This Love Between Us “Prayers for Unity”: II. Sikhism] IL: That was Sikhism, the second movement from the oratorio This Love Between Us by Reena Esmail, who is here in conversation with me today on KPFA for APEX Express. Something that I really found interesting in especially your work — and I'm sure this has been asked many times, but This Love Between Us: Prayers for Unity. This oratorio that you wrote, beautiful work where you use words from the seven major religions of India. And each movement of the choral work is also named after a different religion. In what ways did you adhere to or challenge norms of spiritual music? Because religion is so religion and music are so deeply tied together. How did you challenge those norms or how did you express those norms when you wrote this work? RE: You know, I think it's interesting because my own spiritual background is very kind of multi spiritual multi-faith. But like I said, my, my father is, is my father's side of the family is Muslim. My mom's side of the family is Catholic. My husband is Hindu. All of them grew up in a very singular practice in each of their religions. But for me, I grew up, you know, around my mom and my dad and then, you know, my husband later. And just there's a part of me that takes in the essence of each of these spiritual traditions. And, you know, I'm trying to kind of find what feels true to me in each of those places. And so to me, you know, this love between us is, is a place where I'm trying to essentially say, yes, we express things differently through whatever cultural, uh, history, that language or that that religion emerged through. And yet we're all trying to get at that same numinous thing. And, you know, I mean, I'm not saying, oh, all religions are the same. Definitely not. You know, there's, there's many different ways to practice things. And, you know, your unique way into your spirituality is your own. And that's, that's amazing. But also, we all kind of our cultures form religions for a certain reason, and it's because we want to try to understand things that are beyond ourselves. And so that's essentially what the piece is saying. So I know I'm sure there are purists who are like, you shouldn't be combining these things, but, you know, there's always going to be purists who do that and there's a role for that. But that's not really my role. So, I mean, I picked the pieces and I picked the religion specifically because of the numbers of people who practice that religion currently within India. And so it is like the largest, um, populations, you know, like Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, all, all of those things. And then there's one little tiny religion, Zoroastrianism. And while they are not, there's not many of them within India. They are the ones who are practicing Western classical music in India. So people like Zubin Mehta and all, they are Parsis that are Zoroastrians. So I thought, you know, it's important to include them too, because it's a piece that involves a lot of Western classical musicians. IL: I'm wondering now, as a composer who's working with music of different languages and religions and origins and also evoking a lot of these spiritual truths that are pretty universal in nature. What is your view on the function of music? There's the platitude that music is a universal language. Do you how to what extent do you agree with that? RE: You know, yeah, it's hard to, to, um, to think of music as a universal language. But I think sometimes we, how can I say this? It's such a broad question. When we are working in a form that isn't completely narrative, it gives us a little more chance to get at things that don't have to follow logically after one another. They're just feelings that we're able to feel. And I like working even when there are words, you know, there are certainly words in all of these, these, uh, pieces in this love between us. But I feel like sometimes we just feel something within us. And, you know, I experience this a lot when I have a piece performed, people will come up to me and say like, oh, this made me feel like this. And then the next person will come up to me and say, oh, this made me feel exactly the opposite thing. And I, I really love that we can have those experiences. And, you know, recently it's been really interesting because people have been asking these questions like interviewers, you know, before performances will be like, well, what do you want the audience to feel? And I'm like, oh, I don't want to answer that question. I want you to feel whatever you feel. There's nothing right to feel. And often, I mean, I'm not the one to ask. I'm so close to the music because when I'm listening, I'm thinking like, okay, was that C sharp in tune? Okay, you know, that's what I'm feeling. And I certainly don't want them to feel that. So I don't know. I think it's, it's just exciting to see how when we get out of these, what we should do this and this is the right thing to do. And this is the only way to do it. Um, how do we behave? And there are so few spaces left where if we don't say exactly the right words at the right time to the right people, you know, if we don't have exactly the right opinions that everyone around us has, We are so condemned and music might be one of the last places that we're allowed to feel whatever's inside of us. IL: Mhm. That's really interesting to think about. I think art in general is very beautiful because it allows people to interpret it in many different ways. I think for your music, you really draw on cultural specificity in terms of Hindustani music. What advice would you give to other young composers or also maybe artists of different mediums in creating that balance between specificity and universality? RE: Yeah, I think the thing is that the way into a deep practice is specificity. You know, I know people have asked me like, oh, you've done stuff with Indian music. Are you going to do stuff with other music? And I'm like, gosh, there's still so much to explore. I could have like three lifetimes and still not explore everything I want to explore just in the relationship between Indian and Western classical music. I mean, goodness knows I have four degrees in Western classical music, and I still am barely scratching the surface of it. Right. So I kind of feel like specificity is important because it allows you to access depth. And yet, you know, when you are specific about a certain thing, um, like for instance, like a scholar who only speaks Italian, I mean, they're going to know more than someone who maybe speaks five words of each language, right? So they can transfer over at a higher level and make more sophisticated points and understand the world with a more universal lens if they've gone really deep on one thing. So I would say, you know, to young composers, to young musicians, pick one practice and know it really, really well and deeply become go as far as you possibly can and then, you know, try to see if you can find relations between your primary practice and a different practice. Um, and I mean, some people, you know, I know in this generation that's coming up, that's like in their teens and twenties, there are South Asian, uh, kids who are here whose parents have come from India that are learning Indian and Western classical music side by side. And I think that's great. I mean, that's awesome. But I would also say make sure you don't just learn halfway. Both of those things, you know, if you're going to learn them, if at least with one thing, try to go as absolutely far as you can. IL: Let's hear another example of Reena Esmail's bilingual musicality with her work, Malhaar: A Requiem for Water, which was recorded fairly recently. The vocalist is Graycen Gardner with the choir conducted by Amy Fogerson. [MUSIC: Lacrimosa (from Malhaar: a Requiem for Water)] IL: Composer Reena Esmail used Indian classical instruments in that work, titled Malhaar: A Requiem for water. The vocalist was Graycen Gardner, with the choir conducted by Amy Fogerson. Percussionist was Rohit Panchakshari. I'm Isabel Li in conversation with composer Reena Esmail on this edition of Apex Express here on KPFA 94.1 FM. So when you integrate Hindustani classical Hindustani music, Indian classical music and those instruments into your scores, did you happen to did you have to develop a way to translate the notation of those notes in Western classical music notation, or vice versa? RE: Yeah, it it begs the greater question of what is notation for? Right? Because notation is essentially a way for Western musicians who read notation to look at a thing and be able to associate sounds with that thing. And so when I'm notating for Western classical musicians, I'm saying, okay, what is a cellist typically seeing and what are they doing based on what they're seeing? And then how can I take that language that they know really well that they play in Bach suites, that they play in Elgar, Cello Concerto, whatever it is, how can I take that language and just move it, you know, a couple degrees outward so that they're able to express different things, right? And so it's very much a psychological thing. You know, it's not a science the way that we think of it as and we learn it as this, oh, you know, eighths and sixteenths, and they divide this way. There's a lot you can do just to make someone feel a certain way with notation. On the other hand, if I'm writing for a sitar or tabla, the question is what? What is the role of the notation? Because the role of the notation for tabla player who has only Hindustani training and doesn't read music. It's certainly not for the tabla player that I'm doing the notation. Usually what I'll do is sit down with the tabla player in a, you know, more Hindustani style and say, hey, this is what I want. I want you to have like six overtones of teental. It should be at this tempo, blah, blah, blah. And they're like, oh, got it. I see what you want me to do. Right? And so all you need to figure out is the alignment points with the Western classical musicians. And so then the notation I put in the score is not really for them. It's for a conductor, for the Western musicians to be able to understand what they are doing and to be able to cue them in and help them kind of be in dialogue to one another. So it's interesting because, I mean, these days now I'm finding that there are tabla players who are both Indian and Western classical trained, and they want a part, but parts are not a thing. When I first wrote This Love Between Us, there were no parts for the tabla and sitar player. I actually had a cue sheet that I would actually point to as they were going, so that they knew, you know, what the different cues were because a part, you know, counting rests and stuff is not going to help them at all. So I think it's mostly trying to understand how is someone perceiving something and how can you give them the information they need in the most seamless way possible so that you can express what you want to express? IL: I love how technical that entire rundown was. I also wanted to talk a bit about your work, Terra Infirma, which is pretty recent. I had the honor of attending the premiere of Terra Infirma, a harp concerto that you composed based on your experiences with the Los Angeles fires in January of 2025. Um, it was such a wonderful work. I personally really loved hearing how you musically depicted the progression of a wildfire from despair to hope. It's also not the first environment based piece that you've written. YYou've written, for example, Earth Speaks in 2015. How do you approach composing works that are so rooted in environmentalism? And of course, have, have the undertones of speaking to the larger climate crisis at hand? RE: The thing that is interesting is, you know, someone was asking me about that piece, you know, you, you're, they're asking like, how do you kind of deal with activism in your work? And I was saying like, you know, I don't really think of myself as an activist because I think these issues are so fundamental to all of us, right? It's like you turn on your tap and you're just afraid that there's only going to be so long before water stops coming up. That's not, um, it doesn't feel like activism. It just feels like, you know, fear and it feels like we're tapping into these human emotions where people are so worried about what's going to happen. We don't really know what to do. And I think, you know, with anything, most people who have fear about things, you're going to just clam up if you feel that it's too, um, too much to deal with. And it is I mean, the environmental crisis is so huge that I think most people are just clamming up. And I guess, you know, what is our role as musicians? I think it's maybe to have some moments where we're not just like on our phones, seeing pictures of things burn down and freaking out where we can actually take some time to just reflect and be with one another. Because if we're going to solve this, it's going to be together and we need to come to some kind of like calm understanding of what is happening. And so a lot of my pieces are not accusatory. They're not, you know, pointing a finger. They're not supposed to rile people up. They're supposed to actually depict that experience of what it feels like to really sit with a hard thing for a long time and come to terms with it and then figure out how to move forward. And that's certainly the case with Terra Infirma and certainly the case with my Requiem. Certainly the case with curiosity, like you were saying, it's from Earth Speaks, which is many years ago. And that piece actually talks about the, the Pasadena institution's. It was actually for an organization called Pasadena Master Chorale. They commissioned the work many years ago. And what's so funny is I now live in Pasadena. I live in Altadena, up in the hills. So it's I wasn't living here at the time, but it is, you know, a place where many scientific institutions like the U.S. Geological Survey, you know, JPL, Caltech, all these places that are really exploring the environment in important ways are based. And so the piece kind of honors that and honors how we can interact positively with our environment. We can get data, we can find ways to do things that are, I mean, beyond my understanding, you'd have to ask a scientist, but but I just love that that we're in this place that sees the environment as something to understand more deeply instead of something that's just going to turn on us at a certain point. IL: Certainly. And I'm really curious, because Terra Infirma is also a work that was paired with multimedia animation and performance. Was there anything in your compositional process that differed when you're collaborating across these different mediums? RE: Yeah. So it's interesting because so the, there was, there were projections that were happening. And also in addition to that, it was a harp concerto, but a harp concerto where the harpist was also playing percussion. And so there were some elements that were so different than what would be typically like if harpist was like, I want a concerto. You would just be like, okay, you know, she sits there, she plays these notes. They're in that one position. That's all fine. Um, there was so much more, you're right with this piece than with, um, with my normal pieces. Um, and to me it's both, how can I say this? There's, there's such a different way I have to think about it, but I think that way starts with collaboration. So Yolanda Kondonassis, the incredible harp player, and Camilla Tassi, who was the production designer. These are people I know well and I've had multiyear relationships with. And so when you're thinking about how to build something, you're totally aware of what their work is like. I knew kind of the not even what Camilla's projections were going to look like, but the way that they interact with things. We've done projects together before. And so I pretty much had the sense of how she was going to respond. And I knew what she needed to know in order for her to do her work and make things kind of match up with one another. And then also with Yolanda, a lot of the stuff I put in that was like harp and percussion together. It wasn't something that I was making her do, right? It were things that we came up with together. We've spent so long workshopping things in percussion studios in, um, you know, we've met in all these different cities and we're basically like banging things against a harp and doing, you know, just so much experimentation. So for every technique you see in the concerto, you, um, you basically there's like ten things that we didn't do that didn't put in. So you're really only seeing the best of all the kind of crazy stuff that we tried. So I do think the thing is that when you're trying to invent something new and you're trying to invent new styles and new techniques, I mean, you can think of anything, but you're trying to find the things that A practically work and B allow the performers and the artists to really express themselves. So I found that I was actually choreographing the piece before I was composing it, um, that I had to figure out, okay, where are these percussion setups going to be? What are the instruments that I want? Okay. Are these chimes going to be like over her head? Or is she going to have to reach really far to get them? Are they going to be near the low end of the harp? Things like that that seem so practical. But the difference between having to reach out far and slowly versus having to like, quickly swat something near your ear, right? It makes a different choreography. And so I thought that way first. And then I kind of put the notes and rhythms and melodies and stuff in. IL: Let's now hear a selection from Reena Esmail's Terra Infirma. This is the fourth movement titled “Roaming the Ghost Forest.” Yolanda Kondonassis is the harpist with the Interlochen Center for the Arts Orchestra. [MUSIC: Terra infirma: IV. roaming the ghost forest] IL: The harpist was Yolanda Kondonassis with the Interlochen Center for the Arts Orchestra, playing the fourth movement of Terra Infirma by composer Reena Esmail. I'm Isabel Leigh, and in this episode of Apex Express, I'm joined by Reena Esmail, the composer, in conversation about her music and her approach to making art. Something else that I really was fascinated with on your on your Instagram account. You actually made a post a while back that I found to be very powerful. It's pinned as the letter to the young artists' immigrant parents. It's such an empathetic message that I also really relate to as a daughter of immigrants in the arts. And you kind of argue that these children's pursuit of the arts is a tribute to their parents immigrant struggles. Um, what motivated you to write this letter? RE: You know, I'm so glad you asked about that because so much has changed since I wrote that letter in a really good way. You know, first of all, I will say that when I wrote that letter, if you weren't a child of, you know, like Asian immigrant parents, you. And actually, I think this is true for most immigrant parents who, you know, have kind of given up everything to move to America so that their kids can explore all these opportunities they wouldn't get in their country of origin. When I first wrote this letter, it was really just, I felt like I was saying something really new. And now I think what's really interesting is that we have both parents who understand this and, um, kind of almost this parody way of seeing what Asian parents are like. Right. For me, one thing that I, that just makes my heart sing is the comedy of Zarna Garg. I don't know if you know who she is, but she is like an Indian American comic and she plays this role of being like this very typical Indian parent. And I will say, my parents weren't really like this because again, they were two different religions and married one another. So they were already quite open minded. But like 99% of Indian parents and even my parents, sometimes they have this thing of like, well, ‘why are you going into this?' Like you should make money, you should do this stuff. And I feel like, um, since Zarna's comedy came into the world, it's such an easy way to just point a finger at that and say, hey, this is what we're really dealing with as Indian immigrants. And, you know, we all just laugh at it. And I find that, you know, sometimes my friends who are just, you know, white Americans who have been in this family has been in this country for many generations. They don't get it. But like anyone who's a child of immigrant is like, oh yes, I completely understand what she's saying. So we have that. And I think that's really healthy and awesome. And she's very talented. Um, and on the other hand, I found that when I was first going into music and I mean, I, you know, when I was 18 and I was going to go to Juilliard, my parents were certainly supportive and curious and wanted me to do whatever they thought I might be good at enough to make a living and didn't want to optimize for, oh, you need to earn the most money or you need to, etc. but most other Indians around us were like, oh my God, she's so smart. Why is she like wasting her life doing music? You know, that was kind of the dominant narrative. And so I had to become very good at explaining why. And imagine my complete disbelief when I would go to conservatory and meet people whose parents had encouraged them to do music. I was like, what is happening? Like, we're like, there'd be four siblings and all of them would be in the arts. And I was like, oh wait, you're not the black sheep of your family. Like, I mean, half of my family, I don't think really knows what I do still even. Right? And so to me, it was so important to provide some kind of context. And like you said, it's like to, to come to this country and be an immigrant and to come with a lot of skills, but to have to just work in silence for so many years with no congratulation, with no one just constantly propping you up. That is what being an artist is. And you know, it's only maybe the past 10 years of my career that I've even been visible to people. Before that, it was just me doing my thing and like, no one cared about it. It was not not glamorous at all. And for me, that's what built the kind of strength in me to be able to sustain the career that I have now. And so I think if it had been a little too easy, I don't know that I would be able to handle, um, the, what I have now. So I think what's great though is that the Indian parents of kids who are teenagers and in their twenties nowadays are not coming to me being like, oh my God, what do I do with this kid who wants to be a musician? I've failed as a parent. Which again, for those of you who are not Asian, this is totally a true thing out there. They will come to me and say, hey, look, my, my child doesn't wants to be a musician. I want to help them. I can't tell like, are they good at this? Where should they be? Can you help me understand things? And that is really what my parents did. And I will, you know, kind of go further to say — PBS did a special on me a number of years ago, and I insisted on putting my parents in this special because I wanted people to see what it looked like to have really encouraging Indian parents who, again, they weren't going in blind. They were. They would go to my teachers and be like, well, I mean, is she good? Can she do this? We don't know what these answers are. Can you help us understand? And they really relied on the right people to be able to help me get to places that they couldn't get, but they also weren't just immediately dismissive of it. And that's what allowed me to kind of have a massive advantage, because I didn't have to also go back to school and do a medical degree. Or like most of my my peers of my age actually did. So I wanted to put them on that special to actually show that that is possible. And I'm seeing more and more that it is. There are many more parents like that now. And oh my goodness, I love every one of them. IL: That's wonderful. When you look back at your compositional career and how everything has changed since then, how do you think your work has evolved? RE: Oh, so you mean like since I began being a composer? IL: Yeah. Or maybe in the past ten years, even. RE: Yeah. It's interesting because I think one of the big inflection points in my work was when I did my Fulbright in India. So before that, I really didn't know very much about Indian classical music. And then the year before that, I really started to get deeper and started to integrate my Indian and Western classical world with one another. And then, you know, I from 2011 to 2012, I went to India and what was so different was actually seeing the music in its culture and actually getting to participate as an Indian in India, studying Indian classical music. Right. Because there's no filter. You're not going through a Western filter. You're just there in this culture. And I know that many of my Indian teachers, they kind of had this attitude of like, look, we don't know what kind of music you were doing before, but we're so glad you're here and studying your own music. And this is great. And so there wasn't this sense of having to go through another culture to get to their, their music. And to me, that really changed things because I don't see myself as writing music. That's one through the conduit of the other. I just see it as two streams that are equally incredible and equally independent, and they just meet each other in these interesting places. IL: And looking ahead into the future, is there an ensemble or an artist who you haven't worked with before that you'd love to work with? Ooh. It's interesting because, like, almost everyone who comes to mind is not a musician. Um, I've worked with so many. I mean, truly, I've been so lucky to work with musicians like Gil and Orli Shaham. Yolanda Kondonassis. I'm writing a piece for Hilary Hahn and Matthias Goerne right now. It's I mean, just like literally anyone who I could ever ask to work with, I have. I don't know. I mean, to me, it's like, gosh, someone like Misty Copeland would be amazing. Like, you know, there are so many actors like the world of Indian/South Asians in comedy and in drama and stuff like that is just incredible. People like Mindy Kaling who have done incredible things to me, people like that are just going outside of just music would be fascinating to me. IL: Absolutely. And I will put a link to your website, as well as the links to the music that will also be aired on this in this episode on KPFA.org, so our listeners can learn more about you and your wonderful work. Well, Reena, thank you so much for your time and thank you for talking to me today. RE: Absolutely. The post APEX Express – 8.06.26 – Obbligato – In Conversation with Composer Reena Esmail appeared first on KPFA.

The Trombone Corner Podcast is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass and The Brass Ark.  Join hosts Noah and John as they interview Tiziano Mazzoleni, solo trombone artist from Italy, living in Germany.  U.S. listeners can see his tour dates in the US here.     About Tiziano: Tiziano excels as a virtuoso of the tenor trombone, whose career spans from classical music to film and video game scores. He studied primarily in Italy and Germany, under the guidance of respected mentors such as Gianluca Scipioni, Matthias Gromer, Ulrich Flad, and Martin Schippers. Active also in chamber music, he has collaborated with various ensembles across Europe. His solo career has led him to perform with prestigious orchestras such as the Philharmonie Südwestfalen and with renowned conductors. He was also an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. His orchestral experience has brought him to work with world-renowned conductors such as Johan De Meij, Markus Stenz, and Duncan Ward, and to perform with distinguished orchestras like the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale dei Conservatori Italiani, the Miami Music Festival Orchestra, the Moritzburg Festival Orchestra as well as several other international orchestras. Tiziano has played in numerous high-profile recordings. Among these, the world premiere of the Cello Concerto by Enrique Casals with SONY Classical stands out, as well as the album Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto, Baccanale & Symphony No.1 with Alpha Classics. His studio career also includes his contribution to the soundtrack of the popular video game Joe Dever's Lone Wolf, which has passed the 2.5 million downloads. In addition to these recordings, Tiziano has played with internationally renowned artists such as Hans Zimmer on the European tour "Hans Zimmer Live" and alongside musicians like Alligatoah and Moein. His collaborations span from orchestral music to pop music, from film scores to video games, demonstrating his ability to adapt to various musical genres. Beyond his concert and recording career, Tiziano is constantly involved in new musical projects. He recently released a video clip featuring the first-ever recording of an original sonata for solo trombone, which was appreciated by both audiences and critics. In addition to this, he is working on new ideas for unpublished pieces and innovative projects, always striving to push the traditional boundaries of the trombone. His creations explore new sound possibilities, ranging from contemporary music to the exploration of new musical languages. Tiziano is also a languages enthusiast, speaking Italian, English, German, and Spanish fluently, with a growing interest in Japanese. In addition to these linguistic skills, he is a virtuoso on the tenor trombone, playing an Antoine Courtois Creation 421 New York model, an instrument that allows him to explore a wide range of musical expressions.

References Nature 2019. volume 575, pages 361–365Cells 2022, 11(21), 3339J Cell Biol. 2014 Mar 17; 204(6):919–929.Guerra, DJ 2026. Unpublished Lectures.Lennon/McCartney. 1963. Do you want to Know a Secret? Beatleshttps://open.spotify.com/track/7Aobt67JnaF7qN8jCCKvHq?si=920b5f425e7f4210Page/Plant. 1969. What is and what Should Never Be. LZ IIhttps://open.spotify.com/track/5G7uLHtoEW140QOcBpJlfz?si=e4d2b51ba7c74148Lennon/McCartney. 1966. Good Day Sunshine. Beatleshttps://open.spotify.com/track/7HTH1ppjkkOe7RLoBDKXYJ?si=1144ceb5fb7d4f56Boccherini, L. 1769. Cello Concerto in B flat Major #9.https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=IUSnRLPbZGk&si=wiRtkMzPKbGMTMjC

David Owen Norris picks his favourite recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto.

Nicholas Hersh, the guest conductor for the Reno Phil's concerts "Elgar Cello Concerto" on January 24 and 25, 2026, speaks with Chris Morrison about his life and career, and the featured music. The concerts will feature the Overture by Grazyna Bacewicz, the Cello Concerto by Sir Edward Elgar, with Davidson Fellow Zlatomir Fung as cello soloist, and the Symphony No. 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

ReferencesGuerra, DJ 2026. Unpublished LecturesJBC 2022 Volume 298, Issue 12, December 102650 McBroom, A. 1979 The Rose. Conway Twittyhttps://music.youtube.com/watch?v=EWbS4Jg-rzY&si=sXQNNmgFOj8ymSmHHaydn, M. 1800. Cello Concerto in B flat Majorhttps://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku9ffFEpD1s&si=kqZoNcvEL10hgrRq

The Phoenix Symphony begins 2026 in concert January 9-11 at Symphony Hall. The program will include Pictures at an Exhibition, Antrópolis by Gabriela Ortiz, and Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto #2 with guest cellist Sterling Elliott. KBACH's Greg Kostraba recently chatted with Elliott about the piece, and his blossoming career, which began as the youngest member of the Elliott Family String Quartet. Tickets for the performance are available at the Phoenix Symphony website.

In this episode, we discuss recordings of “Au salon de Joséphine” (Ramée) by Coline Dutilleul, Aline Zylberajch & Pernelle Marzorati, “Opus 109: Beethoven - Bach – Schubert” (Deutsche Grammophon) by Vikingur Ólafsson, “Fribbins: Gomecourt, Cello Concerto, Folk Songs” (First Hand) by Sebastian Comberti, Saša Mirković, Johan Randvere, London Mozart Players / Jürgen Bruns & the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra / Robertas Šervenikas, “À la vitesse du vent” (Self Release) by Blue Train 5tet, Dominique Rieux, “Stars and Sand” (Vibe Collide Records) by James Allsopp, and “Circles” (A.MA Records) by Luca Mannutza.   The Adult Music Podcast is featured in: Feedspot's 100 Best Jazz Podcasts   Episode 237 Deezer Playlist   Fair use disclaimer: Music sample clips are for commentary and educational purposes. We recommend that listeners listen to the complete recordings, all of which are available on streaming services in the links provided. We also suggest that if you enjoy the music, you consider purchasing the CDs or high-quality downloads to support the artists.   “Au salon de Joséphine” (Ramée) Coline Dutilleul, Aline Zylberajch, Pernelle Marzorati https://open.spotify.com/album/2HdqXvoKEfNDvkkUo4wtN8 https://music.apple.com/us/album/au-salon-de-joséphine/1839838503 https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FRMYYWVT   “Opus 109: Beethoven - Bach – Schubert” (Deutsche Grammophon) Vikingur Ólafsson https://open.spotify.com/album/4zSeBpHmi7WGKDYYkqZWjf https://music.apple.com/us/album/opus-109-beethoven-bach-schubert/1855288176 https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FP5NTMCG   “Fribbins: Gomecourt, Cello Concerto, Folk Songs” (First Hand) Sebastian Comberti, Saša Mirković, Johan Randvere, London Mozart Players / Jürgen Bruns, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra / Robertas Šervenikas https://open.spotify.com/album/7fn9reId2xvKhVqIvxeYkT https://music.apple.com/us/album/fribbins-gommecourt-cello-concerto-folk-songs/1832953126 https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FM16NCX1   “À la vitesse du vent” (Self Release) Blue Train 5tet, Dominique Rieux https://open.spotify.com/album/4pSN8DjtmBrFXKYZve0qR9 https://music.apple.com/us/album/à-la-vitesse-du-vent/1846666570 https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FWM766HB   “Stars and Sand” (Vibe Collide Records) James Allsopp https://open.spotify.com/album/2x18fkRYPpfmVIvAlPi8wm https://music.apple.com/us/album/stars-and-sand/1839201898 https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FQP98ZVM   “Circles” (A.MA Records)  Luca Mannutza https://open.spotify.com/album/2QHN4fmCwMw10AdIttg3WK https://music.apple.com/us/album/circles-feat-paolo-recchia-jordan-corda-daniele-sorrentino/1849426973 https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FY796X25

Two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Albany Symphony will begin their 2025-2026 season next Saturday, featuring Stravinsky'smagnificent Firebird Suite, Dvořák's masterful Cello Concerto, the world premiere of Look Up by Alex Berko and Sibelius's stirring Finlandia.The concert will take place at the historic Palace Theatre in downtown Albany on Saturday, October 11, beginning at 7:30pm. A pre-concert talk by Music Director David Alan Miller will begin at 6:30pm.

We would love to hear from you, wherever you are!https://www.perfectpitchpod.com/contact/@NickHelyHutch Logo design by Robbie Mailer Howat robbiemailerhowat Thank you for listening - please do get in touch with any comments!

During the 2024-25 season, Alisa Weilerstein premiered three new cello concertos – Richard Blackford's The Recovery of Paradise (which she has recorded for Pentatone with the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Tomáš Netopil), Gabriela Ortiz's Dzonot (recorded for Platoon with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel) and Thomas Larcher's Returning into Darkness (premiered with the New York Philharmonic). James Jolly caught up with Alisa to talk about the two new recordings and also hear about her Fragments project that she's bringing to London as part of a South Bank Centre residency later this year. The Gramophone Podcast will now be included in The British Library Sound Archive, catalogued and preserved for future generations as part of the nation's audio and cultural heritage.

Guy Johnston joins Hattie Butterworth to discuss his latest recording of the Arthur Bliss Cello Concerto with Andrew Manze and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. A technical mine field, the concerto was written for the great cellist Rostropovich and premiered with Benjamin Britten conducting at the 1970 Aldeburgh Festival. Guy also speaks about his dedication to pedagogy and gives details of more upcoming English cello recordings he has in the pipeline.  

As the 2025 BBC Proms season gets underway, Martin Cullingford is joined by Tim Parry and Hattie Butterworth select their top picks. From Rachmaninov with Yunchan Lim and the UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Cello Concerto to a late-night tribute to Arvo Pärt and a rare performance of Delius's A Mass of Life, the team reflects on the Proms's cultural significance, its breadth of programming, and the enduring tradition of live music at the Royal Albert Hall.

DescriptionWhen a Cello Speaks: The Heartbreaking Opening of Elgar's Concerto in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!Fun FactElgar's Cello Concerto premiered in 1919—and flopped. Overshadowed by rehearsal mishaps, it wasn't until Jacqueline du Pré's 1965 recording that the piece gained fame. Today, its opening bars are considered some of the most emotionally gripping in classical music—proof that some masterpieces just need time to be heard.About Steven, HostSteven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram.

Admit it: if you're a fan of classical music—or even just a regular concertgoer—you might have glanced at the title of this episode and done a double take. The Dvořák Violin Concerto? Not the Cello Concerto? One of the things I love about my job as a conductor—and my side gig as a podcast host—is bringing audiences and listeners like you pieces you may never have heard before, even if they're by extremely well-known composers. Don't get me wrong, I love the blockbusters. But there's a special thrill in introducing someone to something new. Now, some of you might already be big fans of the Dvořák Violin Concerto. But in my experience, it's relatively unknown compared to Dvořák's more famous works. I've never performed it myself, and I've only heard it live once. It's not part of most touring soloists' repertoire, and it's just one of those pieces that rarely comes up—especially compared to the Cello Concerto, which I think I've conducted at least once every season since becoming a conductor. This concerto came about much like the Brahms Violin Concerto, the Brahms Double Concerto we talked about a couple of weeks ago, and so many other great 19th-century works: inspired by the sound of Joseph Joachim's violin. Joachim was the great violinist of the 19th century and had been a friend and supporter of Dvořák for many years. Dvořák ended up dedicating the concerto to Joachim, writing: "I dedicate this work to the great Maestro Jos. Joachim, with the deepest respect, Ant. Dvořák." Sadly—and for reasons that remain somewhat unclear—Joachim never performed the piece. That may be one of the reasons it's never achieved the popularity it deserves. Today, in this Patreon-sponsored episode, we'll dive into the concerto, exploring its unusual form, the myriad challenges it poses for the violinist, and perhaps some reasons why it's not part of the so-called “Big Five” violin concertos—even though it probably deserves to be.

Donald Macleod delves into some of Edward Elgar's greatest passions.Edward Elgar was a man of many passions, from cycling to chemistry. This week, Donald Macleod explores five Elgar's greatest passions. Music Featured: Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 Caractacus, Op 35 (Scene 3, excerpt) Pomp and Circumstance March No 3 in C minor The Spirit of England, Op. 80 (No 3, For the Fallen) Coronation Ode, Op 44 (Crown the King) Salut D'Amour, Op 12 The Wind at Dawn 2 Partsongs, Op 26 (No 2, Fly, Singing Bird) String Quartet in E minor, Op 83 (2nd mvt) Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 Ave Verum Corpus, Op 2, No 1 The Dream of Gerontius, Op 38 (excerpt from Part 2) The Apostles, Op 49 (excerpt from Part 1) The Kingdom, Op 51 (Prelude) Te Deum, Op 34 No 1 Enigma Variations, Op 36 Violin Concerto in B minor, Op 61 (2nd mvt) Carissima Five Part-songs from The Greek Anthology, Op 45 Sea Pictures, Op 37 (No 2, In Haven) Introduction & Allegro for strings, Op 47 Land of Hope and Glory Symphony No 1 in A flat major, Op 55 (4th mvt)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Edward Elgar (1857-1934) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002bw86 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we've featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Working amidst political and personal setbacks, Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-96) flourished as a composer, admired by Shostakovich and championed by the leading Soviet musicians of the day. His death in Moscow in 1996, however, went largely unnoticed. More happily, his extensive catalogue has recently secured an increasing number of performances and recordings, witness this Naxos release of his complete music for cello and orchestra, works written largely during the earlier part of his maturity. Raymond Bisha introduces the Cello Concertino, the Cello Concerto, and the Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra.

Daniela Candillari grew up in Serbia and Slovenia.  She holds a Doctorate in Musicology from the Universität für Musik in Vienna, a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and a Master of Music and Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the Universität für Musik in Graz. She is also a Fulbright Scholarship recipient.Daniela is in her fourth season as principal conductor at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. In celebration of its 50th anniversary season, she is conducting the company's 44th world premiere, This House, with music by Ricky Ian Gordon and libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage and her daughter, Ruby Aiyo Gerber.Daniela made her New York Philharmonic debut in its inaugural season in the new David Geffen Hall, conducting cellist Yo-Yo Ma in Elgar's Cello Concerto.  And she made her “Carnegie Hall Presents” debut leading the American Composers Orchestra in a program of premieres.  Other engagements include debuts with the Metropolitan Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin, and productions with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Minnesota Opera, Detroit Opera, Orchestre Métropolitan Montreal, and Classical Tahoe Festival.Finally, Daniela has been commissioned by established artists including instrumentalists from the Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh Symphonies, as well as the three resident orchestras of Lincoln Center: the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the New York City Ballet. She is deeply involved with Music Academy of the West's programming for young artists and she recently participated in master classes and discussions at DePaul University, Chicago Humanities Festival, and Valissima Institute.It's a pleasure to have her with me on this episode.

It's hard to overstate the depth of the connection between Dmitri Shostakovich and the legendary cellist Mstistlav Rostropovich. Shostakovich and Rostropovich were extremely close friends, and Shostakovich wrote and dedicated several works to him, including the piece we're going to talk about today, the first Cello Concerto. Rostropovich had been desperate to get Shostakovich to write a concerto for him, but Shostakovich's wife had one simple piece of advice: if you want Shostakovich to write something for you, don't talk to him about it or even mention it. So Rostropovich waited and waited, until July of 1959, when he was asked by Shostakovich to come to Leningrad to try out a new Cello Concerto. Shostakovich played through the piece for Rostropovich, turned to him, and asked him if he liked it. Rostropovich apparently told Shostakovich that he “had been shaken to the core.” Shostakovich, in his famously modest way, then shakily asked Rostropovich if he could dedicate the concerto to him. Rostropovich immediately agreed, and then rushed off to learn the concerto as quickly as possible. He learned the entire concerto in 3 days, then returned to Shostakovich and played it for him by heart. The concerto is practically stamped with Rostropovich's name, which is why I'll be using a recording of a live performance of Rostropovich during the show today, though I must say I also recommend a pretty great modern recording by a certain cellist who is also my sister, Alisa Weilerstein. This concerto has always been one of my favorites; it is compact, powerful, punchy, beautiful, intense, concentrated, and tremendously exciting. For me, it is one of Shostakovich's most Beethovenian works, in its lean power and its obsession with a single motive. Today on this fundraiser sponsored show, we'll talk through this fantastic concerto, and explore just what makes its momentum so inevitable and so thrilling from start to finish. Join us!

ReferencesJ Lipid Res. 2016 Aug;57(8):1492–1506. J Exp Med . 2023 Aug 29;220(11):e20222105Haydn, J. Michael. 1800. Cello Concerto in B Majorhttps://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku9ffFEpD1s&si=Q40BeMIu80QigUkETelemann, G.P. 1733. Taflemusik completehttps://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mK3VavgrojEQtggjZXu-OyCC8o_f1AtOY&si=TTY79acbCrnxUbUeBerry, Chuck.1958. "Johnny B Goode. Grateful Dead; live coverhttps://music.youtube.com/watch?v=qjqDN0nT-8M&si=99kYkCxdfLsN9Qcz

Carl Stamitz - Cello Concerto: RomanceChristian Benda, cello Prague Chamber OrchestraMore info about today's track: Naxos 8.550865Courtesy of Naxos of America Inc.SubscribeYou can subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts, or by using the Daily Download podcast RSS feed.Purchase this recordingAmazon

All Classical Radio's Director of Music and Programming John Pitman recently spoke with John-Henry Crawford. Since the Louisiana-based cellist's 2021 debut, Dialogo, Crawford has always had "dialogues" with the composers whose music he performs, and his album featuring Dvořák's Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, is no exception. Keep reading on the All Classical Arts Blog: https://www.allclassical.org/pitman-reviews-jhc/

Rachmaninov's majestic First Symphony churns with youthful romantic fervor and ethereal mystery — perfect for a December outing. Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, inspired by Norway's national folk hero, includes the instantly familiar dream-like fantasy of “The Hall of the Mountain King.” Johannes Moser brings his “remarkably visceral and vivid playing” (Gramophone) to Lutosławski's wild and enchanting Cello Concerto. Learn more: cso.org/performances/24-25/cso-classical/grieg-and-rachmaninov

On November 16 and 17, the two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Albany Symphony will present a dazzling program at the Troy Savings Banks Music Hall in Troy, New York. The concerts will include Smetana's “Moldau,” Joan Tower's Cello Concerto, “A New Day,” and Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.” To tell us more we welcome Music Director David Alan Miller.

In this episode of One Symphony with conductor Devin Patrick Hughes, Devin has an inspiring conversation with bass virtuoso and composer Kebra Seyoun Charles. From their early exposure to African drumming and gospel music to becoming a celebrated classical musician, Charles shares their unique journey and vision for the future of classical music through their "Counter Classical" style. Charles's work embodies a fresh perspective on classical music's future, one that honors tradition while embracing innovation and inclusivity. Their approach shows that classical music's evolution doesn't require abandoning its foundations, but rather expanding its boundaries to embrace diverse influences and experiences. As they put it, "Classical music is so beautiful and so ephemeral and it can't be contained." Charles explores growing up in a musical household and how that led to their disvoery of the film composer, Erich Woflgang Korngold. They also discuss the autobiographical ballet project, Enby, that's based on their experience as a nonbinary person developing in the world.  Kebra-Seyoun Charles is able to give prominence to the dance qualities in all forms of music. Kebra-Seyoun has performed alongside esteemed improvisers and composers such as Jon Batiste, at Carnegie Hall, and Tyshawn Sorey, at the New England Conservatory. Kebra-Seyoun was also featured in “Slugs' Saloon” at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, an interactive installation created by famed jazz musician and composer Jason Moran. Kebra-Seyoun Charles is also a passionate chamber musician. Playing with groups like East Coast Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, Palaver Strings, and the Sphinx Virtuosi afford Kebra the opportunity to showcase virtuosity while still playing within an ensemble. A prime example of this is their tenure on the 2019 Emmy award-winning Broadway production “Hadestown”. Thank you for joining us on One Symphony. Thanks to Kebra-Seyoun Charles for sharing their amazing spirit and music-making. You can find  more info at https://www.kscharles.com. Recordings from the episode include:  Koussevitsky: Concerto for Double Bass, First Movement. Featuring Kebra-Seyoun Charles on Double Bass. Performed with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Benjamin Zander conducting. Dating in NY. Composed by Kebra-Seyoun Charles. Featuring Charles on bass and musicians from the Juilliard School.  The third movement from Andres Martin's Bass Concerto. Performed by Charles with the New World Symphony under the direction of Chad Goodman. First movement from Erich Korngold's Piano Quintet, op. 15. Performed by the ARC Ensemble from the Royal Conservatory, Toronto.  Erich Korngold's Cello Concerto in One Movement. Featuring Victor Julien-Laferrière on cello performing with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Conducted by Marie Jacquot. “Another Breakup Song.” Composed by Kebra-seyoun Charles. Featuring Charles on bass. Kayla Williams on viola, Joseph Brent on mandolin, Sommer Alteir on violin, and Kabir Adiya-Kumar on percussion.  “Galaxy,” composed by Xavier Foley. Featuring Kebra-seyoun Charles and Xavier Foley on bass accompanied by the Sphinx Virtuosi.  Holdberg Suite. Composed by Edvard Grieg. Performed by the Palaver Strings featuring Kebra-Seyoun Charles on bass.  You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org or DevinPatrickHughes.com including a virtual tip jar if you'd like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music.   

On this week's episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,' cellist Jan Vogler presents the world premiere recording of the Cello Concerto by Enrique Casals, as well as a more familiar one, on his latest album. Listen now!

We would love to hear from you, wherever you are!https://www.perfectpitchpod.com/contact/@NickHelyHutchThank you for listening - please do get in touch with any comments!

Since winning BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2012, aged 15, Laura van der Heijden has enjoyed a career as a cellist to watch. She's a Chandos artist, recording both as a soloist and also as part of Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. This month she makes her concerto debut with an album of three British cello concertos, Frank Bridge's Oration, Sir William Walton's Cello Concerto (the work she played for the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition) and Cheryl Frances-Hoad's new cello concerto, Earth-Sea-Air. She is joined by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth. James Jolly recently went to speak to Laura about the new release. You can also hear Cheryl Frances-Hoad's cello concerto, Earth-Sea-Air, at the BBC Proms on Friday, July 26 joined by the same performers as on the new recording.

We're invited to journey into the enchanting realm of nature's melodies with "Echoes of Seasons," a concert featuring cello soloist Elizabeth Tan's captivating rendition of Haydn's sublime Cello Concerto in D major, and subsequently, under the guidance of Artistic Director Ergys Koni, the stage transforms into a vibrant canvas, as Vivaldi's timeless masterpiece, "The Four Seasons," unfolds. Presented by Kamerata KL in collaboration with the UCSI Institute of Music, we're set to experience the expressive richness of the cello with Haydn's signature wit and charm, and then Vivaldi's lively rebirth of "Spring" to the poignant chill of "Winter,". Elizabeth and Ergys join us to share more.

DescriptionNinety Years ago Sir Edward Elgar passed away. Throughout his life he was plagued by illness. Take a minute to get the scoop!Fun FactThe last major work composed by Sir Edward Elgar was his Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85. Elgar completed the concerto in 1919, and it was premiered in London in 1919 by the cellist Felix Salmond. The concerto is known for its emotional depth and expressive melodies, and it has become one of the most popular and frequently performed cello concertos in the repertoire. Elgar also composed a few smaller works after the Cello Concerto, including the Severn Suite for brass band, Op. 87, which was completed in 1930.__________________________________________________________________About Steven, HostSteven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.__________________________________________________________________You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, hailed by The New Yorker as “a cellist of blazing sensitivity,” makes his CSO debut in Elgar's rhapsodic Cello Concerto. Paavo Järvi conducts Nielsen's Fifth Symphony, a visceral, dramatic work exploring humanity's potential for conflict, born in the aftermath of World War I. Beethoven's jubilant hymn to liberty opens the program. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/sheku-kanneh-mason-plays-elgar

Timothy Ridout won last year's Concerto category at the Gramophone Awards for his Harmonia Mundi recording, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins, of Elgar's Cello Concerto transcribed by Lionel Tertis for viola, alongside the Bloch Suite for Viola and Orchestra. His new HM release continues his exploration of the huge role that Tertis played in the history of the viola, as player, teacher, arranger and champion of the instrument. Ridout's new double album, for which he's joined by pianists Frank Dupree and James Baillieu, includes sonatas by York Bowen and Rebecca Clarke, as well as many shorter works with powerful links to Tertis. James Jolly met up with Timothy to talk about the album, and the place that Tertis holds for viola-players.

When you think of the genre of the concerto, you might be thinking of something like this: virtuoso fireworks, perhaps over romantic gestures designed simply to show the soloist off, and a rather pedestrian orchestral part, giving the soloist all of the spotlight while the conductor and orchestra are mere accompanists.  Of course, this is a huge generalization and it isn't true about many concertos.  But of all of the concertos that I conduct regularly, and hear regularly, there is one that always stands out as the exception to the rule: Dvorak's Cello Concerto.  The Dvorak deserves every bit of popularity it has received over the years. In fact, you could argue that it is THE perfect concerto.  It's enjoyable to play, perfectly written for the cello, enjoyable to listen to, and enjoyable to accompany for the orchestra. It has everything, which makes it all the more shocking to think that before Dvorak wrote the piece, he didn't even think of the cello as a suitable instrument for a solo piece!   But once convinced of the cello's viability as a solo instrument, Dvorak gave everything to to the piece. We'll talk all about the sometimes tragic history behind the writing of the concerto, the specific difficulties it places on the cellist, the conductor, and the orchestra, and of course, go through the piece in detail, pointing out all the different facets that result in the Dvorak being perhaps the greatest of all concertos. Join us! Cellist: Miklos Perenyi 

For more than a year now, I've been obsessed with TÁR, the 2022 Todd Field film starring Cate Blanchett as an orchestral conductor whose power plays lead to her devastating downfall. Yes, the story is gripping and suspenseful, but it's the music interlaced throughout the film that keeps me coming back. Aside from the two works performed in the film — Mahler's Fifth Symphony and Elgar's Cello Concerto — which were baked into Field's script, the music you hear throughout TÁR is the result of months of work by the film's music supervisor, Lucy Bright. A specialist in the arenas of film and television scoring, Bright has worked with some of today's biggest composers — including Nico Muhly, Michael Nyman, and Volker Bertelmann — on projects ranging from Assassin's Creed to Aftersun and The Iron Claw. But what exactly does a music supervisor do on a film of this scale? Turns out, it's a lot.  From working with a team of on-set sound engineers who specialize in recording symphony orchestras to developing the film's Deutsche Grammophon concept album and recreating Urbie Green's 1967 recording of "Twenty-one Trombones," Bright was kept busy managing countless aspects of the film's musical atmosphere across three countries. In this episode of the Classical Post podcast, I speak with Bright about the expert levels of coordination and collaboration vital to her work, working with the Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir to realize Lydia Tár's compositions, and what it was like seeing Cate Blanchett raise a baton to conduct Mahler. Plus, she shares her fascinating history with modern architecture, her go-to burger place in New York City, and the therapeutic benefits of swimming in the natural springs of London's Hampstead Heath. Stream TÁR (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture) on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or wherever you stream music. - Classical Post® is created and produced by Gold Sound Media® LLC, a New York-based marketing agency for the performing arts industry. Explore how we can grow your audience to make a lasting impact in your community.

We are excited to kick off 2024 with the CSO's new podcast! Hear from Yuriy Bekker, Artistic Director & Concertmaster, and Alana Morrall, Director of Marketing, in advance of our upcoming Masterworks concert on January 12 & 13, 2024. Featuring the Academic Festival Overture and Symphony No. 1 in C minor by Johannes Brahms, and Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor.  Learn more about Schwarz Conducts Brahms: https://charlestonsymphony.org/event/schwarz/#rsvp-now

Good News: Some of the major triumphs in the fight against climate change from 2023! The Good Word: A brilliant quote from Mahatma Gandhi. Good To Know: A hilarious fact about a bit of internet history… Good News: Truly great news about some positive tipping points you may have missed from last year. Wonderful World: […]

Composer Errollyn Wallen speaks to Hattie Butterworth about her new book, out now on Faber, mapping her trajectory as an artist, extensive recordings and philosophy on life. Errollyn Wallen: Becoming a Composer Check out Deutsche Grammophon STAGE+ Music clips used: Cello Concerto from 'Photography' on NMC horseplay: lively from 'The Girl in My Alphabet' on Avie Records daedalus from 'Errollyn' on Avie Records Dervish for Cello and Piano from 'The Girl in My Alphabet' on Avie Records Peace on Earth from 'Peace on Earth EP' on the Kings College Cambridge label   

Cellist Simon Updegraff presents Elgar's Cello Concerto, followed by works of Bach and Bloch; a cello suite of Chad "Sir Wick" Hughes, and Monti's Csárdás. The post LIVE | Simon Updegraff, 16, cello appeared first on WFMT.

Donald Macleod surveys the life and music of the elusive French composer, Edouard Lalo Even if you know the name, it's possible you might not be able to place the French composer Edouard Lalo date-wise. He was born in Lille in 1823. Berlioz was his senior in age by some twenty years, Saint-Saëns twelve years his junior. Lalo has a direct contemporary in the shape of César Franck, another composer who preferred to stay out of the limelight. As a musician, Lalo cut an independent path, preferring to complete his music studies privately rather than following the accepted route of attending the Paris Conservatoire. Lalo had a retiring nature, a man who appears to have preferred the quiet life. That doesn't mean he wasn't sociable. He seems to have been generally well liked. He lived in Paris from the age of sixteen and mixed with and knew all the leading musical personalities of the day. Aside from the Symphonie espagnole, he wrote several operas, a ballet, a symphony, a whole number of orchestral and chamber works including three piano trios and a string quartet, and something in the region of 30 songs. Trying to get a handle on Lalo isn't straightforward. The first letter that's been preserved dates from 1848, by which time Lalo was in his late twenties. His son Pierre was a primary source of information about his father, but more recent research indicates the picture he drew seems to have been somewhat rose-tinted. The first full length biography in English has yet to be published. Donald Macleod sets about mapping the life and the music of this elusive, yet significant figure in French musical history in a survey that takes us from Lalo's early experiences in Lille, where he first met Berlioz, to his eventual triumph, age sixty on the opera stage with Le roi d'Ys. Music Featured: Guitarre, op 28 arr. Ernest Guiraud Symphonie Espagnole in D minor , Op 21 (I: Allegro non troppo) Le roy d'Ys - Overture Violin sonata in D major, “Grand duo concertant” Op 12 (2nd movement Variations) Piano Trio No 2 (III: Minuetto: Allegro) Violin Concerto No 1 in F major, Op 20 (I: Andante – Allegro) Deux impromptus, Op 4 (I : Espérance) Symphonie Espagnole in D minor, Op 21 (II : Scherzando; Allegro molto) Trois mélodies La fenaison Six romance populaires (IV : Si j'étais petit oiseau; I : La pauvre femme) Piano Quintet "Grand Quintette" in Ab major (2nd movement) Cello Concerto in D minor (I. Prélude. Lento - Allegro maestoso) Rapsodie norvégienne Divertissement No 3: Andantino Fiesque, Act 2: Entr'acte: une place de Gênes Fiesque, Act 1: Je ne puis supporter Fiesque Act 2 (except) Piano Trio No 3 in A minor, Op 26 (II: Presto) Sonata for cello and piano (I: Andante non troppo) Concerto russe (II: Chants russe; III. Intermezzo) Namouna, Act 1: Valse de la Cigarette Symphony in G minor (III: Adagio) Namouna Suite No 2 Piano Trio in A Minor, Op 26 (I: Allegro appassionato) Cello Concerto in D minor (II: Intermezzo; III: Introduction: Andante - Allegro vivace) Overture to Le roi d'Ys (excerpt) Le roi d'Ys, Act 3: Vainement, ma bien-aimée String Quartet in E flat (I: Allegro vivo) Piano Concerto in F minor (I: Lento-Allegro) Le roi d'Ys, Act 1 (excerpt) Le roi d'Ys, Act 3 (excerpt) Symphonie Espagnole (V: Rondo) Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith for BBC Audio Wales and West For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Edouard Lalo (1823-1892) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001rhyp And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we've featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

When cellist Ofra Harnoy entered London's venerable Abbey Road Studios in 1996 to record Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85, she never imagined she would have to wait 27 years for the recording's release – at last, set for release on September 15 via Sony Classical and available for preorder now.The new album also includes a reissue of Harnoy's recording of the Cello Concerto in D Minor by the French composer Edouard Lalo, made in 1995 with the late Antonio de Almeida conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.Track Listing:1 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 / I. Adagio – Moderato2 II. Lento - Allegro molto3 III. Adagio4 IV. Allegro - Moderato - Allegro, ma non-troppo - Poco più lento – Adagio5 Lalo: Cello Concerto in D Minor / I. Prelude. Lento - Allegro maestoso6 II. Intermezzo. Andantino con moto - Allegro presto7 III. Introduction. Andante - Allegro vivaceHelp support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) staff@classicalmusicdiscoveries.com This album is broadcasted with the permission of Crossover Media Music Promotion (Zachary Swanson and Amanda Bloom).

SynopsisIn September 2001, American composer Elliott Carter was just a few months shy of his 93rd birthday, but still busy composing new works both large and small.On today's date that year, Carter's Cello Concerto received its premiere in Chicago with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Daniel Barenboim conducting the Chicago Symphony.Now, Carter's music is technically challenging for performers, and its complexity can make it equally challenging for audiences, especially at first hearing. Despite all that, Carter's comments on his music were usually quite straightforward:“In this score I have tried to find meaningful, personal ways of revealing the cello's vast array of wonderful possibilities,” he wrote. “My Concerto is introduced by the soloist alone, playing a frequently interrupted cantilena that presents ideas later to be expanded into movements.”A month after its premiere, Ma, Barenboim, and the Chicago Symphony brought the new work to Carnegie Hall, and the New York Times reviewer Anthony Tommasini wrote:“For all its complexities … the cello part has a rhapsodic, improvisatory quality …. At its conclusion, when Mr. Carter, who is 92, climbed the steps to the stage with a cane to steady him, he received a prolonged standing ovation.”Music Played in Today's ProgramElliott Carter (1908 – 2012) Cello Concerto Alisa Weilerstein; Staatskapelle Berlin; Daniel Barenboim cond. Decca 478 2735

Elgar's Cello Concerto was composed in the shadow of World War 1. It was a piece that marked a profound shift in Elgar's outlook on life and music, and was his last major work before a long silence caused by the death of his wife Alice. It is a piece of remarkable passion for a composer like Elgar, and never fails to move the audience with its combination of grief, melancholy, nostalgia, rage, but also tenderness. Elgar as a composer had been passed by with the invention of atonality and with composers like Stravinsky and Schoenberg pushing the boundaries of where music could go. Elgar stubbornly stayed true to his Romantic impulses, but the concerto also displays some of the inescapable influence of those composers. It is one of the most powerful pieces of the 20th century, but one of the reasons we know the piece so well is an unforgettable recording made in 1965 by Jacqueline Du Pre. It is very unusual for a piece to be so associated with a single performer, but Du Pre truly made the Elgar a standard concerto for the cello and it is now a piece that every cellist makes a part of their repertoire. We'll talk about all this and more during the show today - join us!

In his newest release, cellist Bion Tsang returns to Glasgow, Scotland for his second recording with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conductor Scott Yoo. CANTABILE, available from Universal Music Group on digital platforms tomorrow, April 14, and on CD in May 2023, features two works by Tchaikovsky, Variations on a Rococo Theme (Op. 33) and Andante Cantabile (Op. 11), and Schumann's Cello Concerto, bookended by two renditions of Pablo Casals' “Song of the Birds.”CANTABILEBion Tsang, CelloScott Yoo, ConductorRoyal Scottish National Orchestra           Pablo Casals01       "El cant dels ocells” ("Song of the Birds”), for Cello and String Orchestra  [04:07]            Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky02       Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, for Cello and Orchestra  [19:25]            Robert Schumann           Concerto in A minor, Op. 129, for Cello and Orchestra03       Nicht zu schnell  [11:19]04       Langsam  [04:01]05       Sehr lebhaft  [08:09]            Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky06       Andante Cantabile, Op. 11, for Cello and String Orchestra  [07:03]            Pablo Casals07       "El cant dels ocells” ("Song of the Birds”), for Solo Cello (arr. Tsang)  [03:49]Help support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) staff@classicalmusicdiscoveries.comThis album is broadcasted with the permission of Crossover Media Music Promotion (Zachary Swanson and Amanda Bloom).

Synopsis In 2002, film director Godfrey Reggio released his latest movie.  Entitled Naqoyqatsi – the Hopi word for Life as War – this was Reggio's third and final installment in a trilogy of unusual, non-narrative films, all with Hopi titles, each comprised of visually striking, collage-like visuals set against hypnotic film scores by American composer Philip Glass. Naqoyqatsi may have been a non-narrative film, Reggio described his 2002 film as a symphony in three movements, and even provided descriptive titles: Movement 1 - Language and place gives way to numerical code and virtual reality; Movement 2 - Life becomes a game; Movement 3 - A world that language can no longer describe.Fast forward ten years to 2012, when Glass had been commissioned to turn hisNaqoyqatsi film score into a concert work for cello and orchestra.  In the film score, solos played by the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma featured prominently, so this “repurposing” of film score seemed a logical step. And so, on today's date in 2012, Philip Glass's Cello Concerto No. 2, subtitled Naqoyqatsi, received its premiere performance with the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by Dennis Russell Davies and Matt Haimowitz as the cello soloist. Music Played in Today's Program Philip Glass (b. 1938) Cello Concerto No. 2 (Naqoyqatsi) Matt Haimovitz, cello; Cincinnati Symphony; Dennis Russell Davies, conductor. Orange Mountain Music CD 0087

Synopsis On today's date in 2020, a new cello concerto by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich was given its premiere in Fort Lauderdale, by cellist Zuill Bailey the South Florida Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sebrina María Alfonso, the same performers who had commissioned the work. About the work, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich said, “A Cello Concerto is something that had been on my ‘composer's wish list' for a long time. One of the things I love about the cello is that it covers virtually the entire range of the human voice— I particularly like its evocation of the mezzo-soprano … I sometimes refer to string instruments as ‘singers on steroids,' because of the power they give to a composer to explore virtuosity as well as expressivity. My Cello Concerto engages both the lyrical, singing nature of the instrument and its technical possibilities.”Zwillich dedicated the new concerto to the memory of two legendary cellists, Leonard Rose and Mstislav Rostropovich. Following the premiere, Dennis D. Rooney of the Palm Beach Arts Paper wrote, "The concerto's three linked movements suggested a meditation on melodic gestures from the American vernacular. The blues hovered over the work allusively … Throughout, the mood was thoughtful but not elegiac.” Music Played in Today's Program Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (Zuill Bailey , vcl; Santa Rosa Symphony; Francesco Lecce-Chong, conductor.) Delos DE-3596

We talk with Atlanta music legend Kevn Kinney ahead of his shows in Atlanta and Athens.  Also  A former Doraville police officer who had previously been accused of concealing the death of 16-year-old Norcross resident Susana Morales has now been formally accused of kidnapping and murdering her. The charges against Miles Bryant have been upgraded to include felony murder and kidnapping in connection with Morales' death last July. Bryant was previously charged with concealing the death of another person and false report of a crime. He will continue to face those charges in addition to the new ones. Bryant's employment with Doraville police was terminated when he was arrested earlier this month.  Police now believe that Morales was killed within four hours of her disappearance on the evening of July 26. Morales had gone to visit a friend earlier that evening and had texted her mother when she was walking back to her home just before 10 p.m. Police say Morales encountered Bryant sometime between 10 and 10:30 p.m. on July 26, 2022, and that her death is believed to have occurred sometime between then and 2 a.m. on July 27. Morales' parents had searched for her throughout the night and filed a missing person's report with police at 9 a.m. on July 27. Morales' skeletal remains were found in a wooded area off State Route 316 between Drowning Creek and the Gwinnett-Barrow county line earlier this month. A personal handgun which Bryant had reported missing at about 11 a.m. on July 27 was found near Morales' remains. The cause of Morales' death remains under investigation at this time, however. Run The Reagan has always been a celebratory event in the Snellville area, with the annual road race providing fun, competition and a chance to raise funds for local charities. But this year's race, scheduled for Saturday, will also come with some sadness as those who gather to participate and work the event remember the life of Parks Mann, the race's founder. Mann died on January 6 at the age of 76. A deacon at Smoke Rise Baptist Church, he was known in the community for founding the Run The Reagan race as well as his work with the Gwinnett Community Clinic. Part of Mann's legacy will be on display Saturday when Ronald Reagan Parkway is shut down for the event, which includes a fun run, a 5K, a half-marathon and a full marathon. Upwards of 2,000 people are expected to participate The event, in its 28th year, has been a generous community benefactor for years, raising more than $3 million, which is donated to local charitable organizations. This year the Brookwood Schools Foundation, the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry, the South Gwinnett Cluster Foundation and the Lilburn Cooperative Ministry are the charities that will benefit from funds raised by Run The Regan. For high school seniors seeking opportunities to continue their musical education in college, the next several weeks are known as “the audition season.” Peachtree Ridge senior Jihoon Kim will have an excellent experience to help bolster his credentials on the cello when he makes his solo debut in late March with the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra. Kim finished second in a recent concerto competition to earn a spot performing with the iconic DSO, now celebrating its sixth decade. The Suwanee resident will join the orchestra to perform the fourth movement of Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto, a composition he knows very well. Although this will be his first spotlight appearance with an orchestra, Kim is familiar with large ensembles, having performed with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Emory Youth Symphony and the Georgia Music Educators Association All-State Orchestra. And while he's no stranger to the stage and the spotlight, Kim admitted he's still trying to wrap his head around this prestigious opportunity. Kim has several schools he's interested in and had a late-February in-person audition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He has also had zoom auditions with Bard College in New York, the University of Georgia, Columbus State, the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. Kim's performance with the DSO — now under the baton of new music director Paul Bhasin — is set for 8 p.m. on March 21 at the Marvin Cole Auditorium in Clarkston. For more information, visit Dekalb Symphony dot Org. Gwinnett County Police K-9 officer Kai had a tough time last summer after he was shot by a suspect that he was trying to apprehend and subsequently had to have one of his legs amputated because of his injuries. On Tuesday, Gwinnett County commissioners recognized Kai, told him he'd done a good job in his service to the county and said he could now kick back his paws, relax and enjoy retirement. The commissioners voted formally to retire Kai from law enforcement service. Kai's retirement comes after a year in which he made headlines in ways he and his handler, Cpl. Aaron Carlyle, could not have anticipated 12 months ago. A year ago, Kai, a Belgian Malanois, was a newcomer to the Gwinnett police department's K-9 unit, having just joined the department in August 2021, and he looked to have a long career ahead of him. Then, came that fateful day on May 23, 2022, when he was brought in to help track a suspect who was accused of entering a home and threatening his girlfriend and other people who were inside the home in the Lawrenceville area. The suspect had fled the home by the time police had arrived, which is why Kai was brought in to help track him down with aerial assistance from the police department's Aviation Unit. The suspect opened fire at officers who were pursuing him and two of the bullets hit Kai. Kai was in the hospital for three weeks and have to have one of his leg's amputated Police had returned fire and shot the suspect, who was then taken to Northside Gwinnett Hospital while Kai was taken to North Georgia Veterinary Specialists in Buford for treatment. Due to his injuries, Kai's veterinarian, Dr. J.W. Wallis, recommended he be retired last August. Although his doctor recommended his retirement last August, the police department kept him in service for a few more months to help with some police activities that saw him acting as a de facto face of the department. At the Red, Blue and You law enforcement appreciation event last November, for example, he was recognized for his bravery when he received the Purple Heart Award for law enforcement. Sasha Tarassenko, a senior at Paul Duke STEM High School, is one of only three students to win this year's 2022-23 concerto competition with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Sasha, one of the 114 students who make up the symphony's youth ensemble, will have the opportunity to perform a solo flute concerto next season. The Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra is under the direction of Resident Conductor and Music Director Jerry Hou. Anh Ho, a percussionist at Collins Hill High School, earned honorable mention. Applications for the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra's 2023-24 season are now open. Applications and auditions are open to rising eighth to 12th grade musicians who play orchestral string, woodwind, brass, and percussion, including piano and harp. For more information be sure to visit www.bgpodcastnetwork.com   https://www.lawrencevillega.org/  https://www.foxtheatre.org/  https://guideinc.org/  https://www.psponline.com/  https://www.kiamallofga.com/  https://www.milb.com/gwinnett  https://www.fernbankmuseum.org/  www.atlantagladiators.com            See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Synopsis On this day in 1919, Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony in the premiere performance of his new Cello Concerto, with Felix Salmond as soloist. What should have been a joyous occasion turned out to be a frustrating one — there simply wasn't enough time to rehearse properly, and the premiere was a near-fiasco. Puzzled, the less-than-full house in Queen's Hall gave Elgar a polite ovation but left shaking their heads. Mrs. Elgar blamed the conductor, Albert Coates, who hogged all the orchestra's rehearsal time working over the two pieces HE was to conduct on the same program as Elgar's new Concerto, for which Coates would hand off the baton to Elgar. In her diary for October 26th she writes, “Poor Felix Salmond in a state of suspense and nerves — wretched hurried rehearsal — an insult to Elgar from that brutal, selfish, ill-mannered bounder, Coates.” After the botched premiere of the new Concerto, critic Ernest Newman reported: “Never, in all probability, has so great an orchestra made so lamentable a public exhibition of itself.” Despite this rough beginning, Elgar's Cello Concerto has gone on to become one of the composer's best-loved works worldwide, and has proven to be a favorite with the great cellists of our time, including the late British cellist, Jacqueline du Pré. Music Played in Today's Program Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) Cello Concerto, Op. 85 Jacqueline du Pré, cello; Philadephia Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, cond. Sony 60789