Podcasts about curlew river

Today's episode explores the lives and loves of two of the most significant figures in twentieth century music: Benjamin Britten, the dean of British composers and the tenor Peter Pears, his partner, lover, inspiration and muse for nearly forty years. When as a lost young gay boy I first encountered their music-making I intuited that these two men were lovers, that they represented a way forward for me out of a lonely and forlorn childhood. Whether in the many songs and cycles that Britten fashioned for him or the operatic roles, beginning with the title role of Peter Grimes, that were tailor-made for him, Pears remains the ideal interpreter of his partner's music, possessed as he was of a distinctive (some would say peculiar) voice, supple, reedy yet surprisingly powerful, along with pinpoint musical precision, plangent expressivity and dramatic aptitude. The episode features excerpts from many of Britten's most explicitly gay compositions, surprising for a man living in Britain while sex between men was still illegal, including the operas Peter Grimes, Curlew River, Billy Budd, and Death in Venice and his settings of poetry by Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Auden, and Francis Quarles. We also hear Pears and Britten in live and recorded performance of songs and arias by other composers, including composers Britten revered (Schumann, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Frank Bridge), and those of whose music he was much less fond (including Vaughan Williams and Brahms). The episode contains more biographical information than your typical Countermelody episode, and does not shy away from some of the thorniest questions that one must confront when discussing these two controversial figures. But in the end it is first and foremost a celebration of the music Britten and Pears made together and the love they shared for 40 years. The episode begins with a heartfelt (and heartbroken) tribute to the great Glenda Jackson, who died this week at the age of 87. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Synopsis Back in Bach's day, there were churchmen aghast at the thought that composers were trying to sneak flashy opera music into Sunday services. Church music was meant to be simple, austere, and, well , not “operatic.” So what would they have made of the three “church parables” – mini-operas, really, composed in the 20th century by the great English composer Benjamin Britten? The third of these, The Prodigal Son, debuted on today's date in 1968 at St. Bartholomew's Church in Orford, England. All three impart Christian values and were meant for church performance – scored for a handful of soloists, modest choir, and a small ensemble that would fit in front of and on either side of a church altar where church music was normally performed. But operas they are, and Britten himself let the “o” word slip when he commented in a 1967 interview that he was (quote), “doing another church opera to go with the other two, Curlew River and The Burning Fiery Furnace, to make a kind of trilogy.'” Britten took these mini-operas seriously, and dedicated The Prodigal Son to his new friend, the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who in turn would dedicate his 14th Symphony to Britten. Music Played in Today's Program Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) The Prodigal Son Peter Pears, tenor; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone; Robert Tear, tenor; Bryan Drake, baritone; English Opera Group Orchestra; Benjamin Britten, conductor. Decca 425713 On This Day Births 1904 - German-born American musical composer Frederick Loewe, in Berlin; 1913 - Soviet composer Tikhon Khrennikov, in Elets (Julian date: May 28); 1960 - English composer Mark Anthony Turnage, in Grays, Essex; Deaths 1899 - French composer Ernest Chausson, age 44, after a bicycle accident near Limay; 1918 - Italian opera composer and librettist Arrigo Boito, age 76, in Milan; 1934 - British composer Frederick Delius, age 72, in Grez-sur-Loing, France; 1964 - American composer Louis Gruenberg, age 75, in Los Angeles; Premieres 1732 - Handel: opera "Acis and Galetea" (in an English/Italian version), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket, at the request of Princess Anne (Gregorian date: June 21); 1865 - Wagner: opera "Tristan and Isolde," in Munich at the Hoftheater, conducted by Hans von Bülow; 1921 - Stravinsky: "Symphonies of Wind Instruments" (in memory of Claude Debussy), in London at Queen's Hall, with Serge Kousevitzky conducting; Three days earlier, on June 7, 1921, Stravinsky had attended the British premiere of the concert version of his ballet score "The Rite of Spring," also at Queen's Hall, with Eugene Goossens conducting; 1939 - Bliss: Piano Concerto (with Solomon the soloist) and Vaughan Williams: "Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus," at Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic, with Sir Adrian Boult conducting; These works (Along with Bax's Seventh Symphony, which premiered the previous day) were all commissioned by the British Council as part of the British Exhibition at 1939 World's Fair; 1941 - Poulenc: first public performance of Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani, in Paris; 1968 - Britten: church opera "The Prodigal Son," in Orford Church, near Aldeburgh. Links and Resources On Britten

We revisit an interview from 2013 during the centenary year of composer Benjamin Britten. In November 2013, director Netia Jones staged a unique, beautiful and sold out performance of Curlew River at St Giles, Cripplegate, with musical director William Lacey and singer, Ian Bostridge.From the Archive sees us dig into our extensive contemporary and classical music and cinema podcast archive as we rediscover interviews and discussions with artists, with our long-standing producer and presenter, Ben Eshmade.Subscribe to Nothing Concrete on Acast, Spotify, iTunes or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Back in Bach’s day, there were churchmen aghast at the thought that composers were trying to sneak flashy opera music into Sunday services. Church music was meant to be simple, austere, and, well , NOT “operatic.” So what would they have made of the three “church parables” – mini-operas, really, composed in the 20th century by the great English composer Benjamin Britten? The third of these, “The Prodigal Son,” debuted on today’s date in 1968 at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Orford, England. All three impart Christian values and were meant for church performance – scored for a handful of soloists, modest choir, and a small ensemble that would fit in front of and on either side of a church altar where church music was normally performed. But operas they are, and Britten himself let the “o” word slip when he commented in a 1967 interview that he was (quote), “doing another church OPERA to go with the other two, ‘Curlew River’ and ‘The Burning Fiery Furnace,’ to make a kind of trilogy.’” Britten took these mini-operas seriously, and dedicated “The Prodigal Son” to his new friend, the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who in turn would dedicate his 14th Symphony to Britten.

Back in Bach’s day, there were churchmen aghast at the thought that composers were trying to sneak flashy opera music into Sunday services. Church music was meant to be simple, austere, and, well , NOT “operatic.” So what would they have made of the three “church parables” – mini-operas, really, composed in the 20th century by the great English composer Benjamin Britten? The third of these, “The Prodigal Son,” debuted on today’s date in 1968 at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Orford, England. All three impart Christian values and were meant for church performance – scored for a handful of soloists, modest choir, and a small ensemble that would fit in front of and on either side of a church altar where church music was normally performed. But operas they are, and Britten himself let the “o” word slip when he commented in a 1967 interview that he was (quote), “doing another church OPERA to go with the other two, ‘Curlew River’ and ‘The Burning Fiery Furnace,’ to make a kind of trilogy.’” Britten took these mini-operas seriously, and dedicated “The Prodigal Son” to his new friend, the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who in turn would dedicate his 14th Symphony to Britten.

Feb. 7, 2015. Ian Bostridge discusses Schubert's song cycle Winterreise, D. 911, following his performance of the work in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium. Speaker Biography: Ian Bostridge's international recital career takes him to the foremost concert halls of Europe, Japan and North America, with regular appearances at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg and the Edinburgh, Munich and Aldeburgh festivals. Opera engagements have included Don Giovanni and Ades's The Tempest for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; The Rake's Progress in Munich; Semele for English National Opera; Don Giovanni for the Vienna State Opera; and Aschenbach (Death in Venice) for both English National Opera and at the Monnaie, Brussels. The recent Barbican production of Curlew River will toured the U.S. in 2014. He is the Humanitas Professor of Classical Music at the University of Oxford for academic year 2014-2015. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6700