Podcast appearances and mentions of Christopher D Lewis

Synopsis “Are people still writing concertos for harpsichord?” you ask. Well, today, we have an answer, which is “Yes!” On today's date in 2002, this new Concerto for Harpsichord and Chamber Orchestra by Philip Glass had its premiere performance at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. Glass was asked to write a new Harpsichord Concerto for the Northwest Chamber Orchestra and says he found the commission intriguing. “For one,” wrote Glass, “I have always been an admirer of the literature for harpsichord and have played a bit it myself. Secondly, I knew that the modern-day harpsichord was capable of a fuller, more robust sound than was available in ‘period' instruments and might make a handsome partner to a modern chamber orchestra.” Glass's concerto is in the traditional three movements of a Baroque era concerto, with a slower, more lyrical middle movement flanked by speedier, flashier outer movements. And perhaps surprisingly for a “minimalist” composer famous – or infamous – for his loping, seemingly endless repeated patterns, this Harpsichord Concerto, despite being recognizably a work by Philip Glass, is more varied and mercurial than usual, with a final movement in which the harpsichord soloist really needs to “go for Baroque!” Music Played in Today's Program Philip Glass (b. 1937) — Concerto for Harpsichord and Chamber Orchestra (Christopher D. Lewis, hc; West Side Chamber Orch./Kevin Mallon) Naxos 8.573146

On episode 1.3 we talk to Welsh harpsichordist Christopher D. Lewis about his love for the instrument, and about his recordings on Naxos Records. Our Deep Cut is a cantata for soprano, violin, and continuo by French composer Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, which was published in 1708.

Born in the United States in 1915, Vincent Persichetti’s contribution to music education eventually led him to a professorship at the Juilliard School of Music. Along the way, he composed prolifically for the harpsichord, including sonatas and other works, which rendered him one of the 20th century’s most important composers for the instrument. Raymond Bisha introduces Christopher D. Lewis’ latest recording that features Persichetti’s harpsichord music in all its inventive variety, with styles that range from diatonic simplicity to complex, contrapuntal atonality.

It was the great virtuoso Wanda Landowska who spearheaded a revival of interest in the dormant harpsichord at the turn of the 20th century. Working closely with Pleyel of Paris, the instrument manufacturer, she helped develop and promote a sturdier and more sonorous instrument than was hitherto the case. Composers of the time weren't slow to respond with wit and eccentricity, composing colourful new works that may have glanced to the past but were in clear harmony with the times. Raymond Bisha explores a selection of them on this month's new release from leading contemporary harpsichordist Christopher D. Lewis.