Podcast appearances and mentions of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 1187, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Other Bond Film Characters 1: Miss Moneypenny is the personal assistant of this character, the head of MI6. M. 2: First name of American spy Mr. Leiter, who often helped James Bond defeat the bad guys. Felix. 3: Ben Whishaw is the new computer-savvy version of this character. Q. 4: Supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld shows up in "Thunderball" as the head of this criminal organization. SPECTRE. 5: The giant metal-mouthed assassin "Jaws" chews up the scenery in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and this film in space. Moonraker. Round 2. Category: Ad Council Classics 1: The Ad Council began in 1942 as the War Advertising Council; its first campaign urged the sale of war these. bonds. 2: A 1983 campaign introduced the phrase "Friends don't let friends" do this. drive drunk. 3: In 1979 the Council unleashed McGruff the Crime Dog, who urged Americans to do this 6-word thing. take a bite out of crime. 4: A 1988 campaign that said "Help stop AIDS. Use" one of these was the first in America to use the word. a condom. 5: The Council's 1960s recruiting campaign for this JFK program called it "the toughest job you'll ever love". the Peace Corps. Round 3. Category: Symphonies 1: This Soviet superstar subtitled his third symphony "May First". (Dmitri) Shostakovich. 2: In 1889 Cesar Franck shocked some French critics by using this "English" instrument in a symphony. the English horn. 3: The "Pathetic" Symphony is by this Russian who also gave us the celebratory "1812 Overture". Tchaikovsky. 4: "Merry Gathering of the Peasants" is one movement of his 1808 "Pastoral" symphony. Ludwig van Beethoven. 5: In 1983 Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Symphony No. 1 made her the first woman to win this prize for music. the Pulitzer Prize. Round 4. Category: BOoks. With B in quotation marks 1: This children's classic is subtitled "A Life in the Woods". Bambi. 2: The title of this bestseller by Ann Patchett refers to a smooth style of opera singing. bel canto. 3: This classic kids' book by Felix Salten is subtitled "A Life in the Woods". Bambi. 4: It's the huge 1992 bestseller about a photographer, a farm wife and 4 days in Iowa. Bridges of Madison County. 5: "Fleeing playgirl traced to Rio" is a headline about Holly Golightly in this Truman Capote tale. Breakfast at Tiffany's. Round 5. Category: Every Day'S A Holiday 1: On January 12 have a cuppa on National Hot this Day. Tea. 2: In Japan, November the 11th is a holiday celebrating this art form. origami. 3: National Thank You Note Day is on this date, the day after opening lots of gifts. December 26th. 4: August 13 is a special day for these folks, including Barack Obama, Paul McCartney and Clayton Kershaw. southpaws (left-handers). 5: Held in October at the end of the week, this alliterative day celebrates Mary Shelley and her famous creation. Frankenstein Friday. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/ AI Voices used

SynopsisMusic — Beethoven's music, in particular — played an important role in the life of Schroeder, a piano-playing character in Peanuts, the comic strip created by Charles Schulz, who was born in Minneapolis on today's date in 1922.But new music snuck in the strip on occasion, too. In a 1990 installment, Peppermint Patty is at a young person's concert and when informed that American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich had won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, stands up and yells, ''Way to go, Ellen!''Turns out Schulz had been impressed by a piece by Zwilich that he heard at a concert, and the cartoonist and composer struck up a friendship. So when Zwilich was asked to write a new work for a young people's concert at Carnegie Hall, the result was a suite titled Peanuts Gallery.Its 1997 premiere was acknowledged in a Sunday Peanuts strip that had Schroeder telling Lucy about the new work. “We're all in it,” he says, and goes on to list the movements, including “Schroeder's Beethoven Fantasy,” “Lullaby for Linus” and “Lucy Freaks Out.”Of course, Lucy's only comment is: “My part should be longer.''Music Played in Today's ProgramEllen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) Peanuts Gallery; Jeffrey Biegel, p; Florida State University Symphony; Alexander Jiménez, cond. Naxos 8.559656

SynopsisAs far as housewarming gifts go, a nice bottle of champagne is common, or maybe a bouquet of flowers. But if you're a composer, and the occasion is the ceremonial opening performance at a new concert hall, you write a celebratory piece of music.On today's date in 1984, for the inaugural concert of the Indianapolis Symphony's new home, the Circle Theater, American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich wrote an orchestral work titled, appropriately enough, Celebration.“In writing this work,” Zwilich said, “I was motivated by three complementary goals. First, I wanted to celebrate a joyous and historic occasion with all its inspiring symbolism of beginning and renewal. My second goal was to write a kind of ‘toccata' or test piece for the new Circle Theater. Finally, I wanted to celebrate the orchestra itself, which is, after all, the centerpiece of the occasion. Thus, ‘Celebration' is like a mini-concerto for orchestra.”Zwilich's housewarming gift was dedicated to the Indianapolis Symphony's music director in 1984, conductor John Nelson. Despite its origins as an occasional piece for a particular event, Celebration has gone on to become one of Zwilich's most popular and frequently performed orchestral works.Music Played in Today's ProgramEllen Taafe Zwilich (b. 1939) Celebration - Indianapolis Symphony; John Nelson , cond. New World 336

SynopsisPerformers need composers and composers need performers. And some performers really like composers–and vice versa.  That seems to be the case with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, comprised of Joseph Kalichstein, piano; Jaime Laredo, violin; and Sharon Robinson, cello, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.On today's date in 2011, at a La Jolla Music Society concert in San Diego, California, the Trio premiered the fourth work they had commissioned from Zwilch.  She created a blues-y piano quintet, scored for the same ensemble as Schubert's famous Trout Quintet, so for this “blue trout” Quintet, the Trio were joined by violist Michael Tree and double-bassist Harold Robinson.In notes for her new piece, Zwilich wrote: "My Quintet is in three movements, the second of which has the title ‘Die Launische Forelle' (roughly translated: ‘The Moody Trout'). I couldn't resist using a very small quote from the Schubert song on which his Quintet is based. I also took the liberty of allowing that movement to spin out musical images of a ‘moody' trout. In all three movements the weight and character of the contrabass is an important element in the overall design.”Music Played in Today's ProgramEllen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) Piano Quintet The Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio; Michael Tree, vla; Harold Robinson, db. Azica 71292

Synopsis It was Mozart who wrote the first great piano concertos, with Beethoven, Brahms and others following suit in the 19th century. Closer to our own time, the tradition continues, with new contributions appearing each year. On today's date in 1986, it was the turn of American composer, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, when her new piano concerto received its premiere by the Detroit Symphony with Marc-Andre Hamelin the soloist. “My piano concerto does not cast the pianist as the prototypical 19th-century hero battling the orchestral forces and triumphing through overwhelming virtuosity,” said Zwilich at the time. “My concerto calls for a blending of forces – a joint exploration of the piano soloist and orchestra. The pianist is even asked to merge with various sections of the rather large orchestra at times.” “To me,” continued Zwilich, “a part of the nobility of the piano is that it can change its color, chameleon-like without losing its special identity … One composer treats the piano as a percussion instrument, another as a singer… Certainly the vast and wonderful piano repertoire explores this remarkable range. And the world of composer-pianists is large enough to embrace Serge Rachmaninoff and Art Tatum.” Music Played in Today's Program Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) Piano Concerto Joseph Kalichstein, piano; Florida State Orchestra; Michael Stern, Koch 7537 On This Day Births 1747 - Bohemian composer Leopold Kozeluh, (Kotzeluch) in Welwearn; He was the cousin of Johann (Jan) Antonín Kozeluh, who was also a composer; 1928 - American composer Jacob Druckman, in Philadelphia; Premieres 1870 - Wagner: opera "Die Walküre" (The Valkyrie), in Munich at the Hoftheater, with Franz Wüllner conducting; The opera was performed at the Bavarian King Ludwig II's request, but against the composer's wishes; 1912 - Mahler: Symphony No. 9, by Vienna Philharmonic, Bruno Walter conducting; 1986 - Zwilich: Piano Concerto, by the Detroit Symphony with Günther Herbig conducting and soloist Marc-André Hamelin; 2000 - Robert Kapilow: "DC Monuments," by the National Symphony; Others 1788 - Mozart finishes his Symphony No. 39 in E-flat, K.543 in Vienna. Links and Resources More on Zwilich

Synopsis On today's date in 1988, the New York Philharmonic gave a concert in a city then called Leningrad and in a country then called the Soviet Union.For their visit to the city we now call St. Petersburg in a country known today as Russia, the Philharmonic commissioned a brand-new work by American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.  Her Symbolon received its premiere performance there, and, in fact, was first American symphonic work to be premiered in the USSR.“The word ‘symbolon' comes from the Greek,” explained Zwilich, “and refers to the ancient custom whereby two parties broke a piece of pottery in two, each party retaining half. Each half (or symbolon) thus became a token of friendship.”“From the beginning,” continued Zwilich, “I knew this piece would receive its first performance in the Soviet Union, and I found this profoundly moving. I'm sure my complex feelings, embracing both hope and sadness about the state of the political world, found their way into this work.” After its premiere, Zwilich's Symbolon was performed in Moscow, New York, London, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Paris, and the former East Berlin, making it one of Zwilich's “most-travelled” works. Music Played in Today's Program Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) Symbolon New York Philharmonic;Zubin Mehta, cond. New World CD

South Minneapolis playwright and poet William Nour recommends “Returning to Haifa” by Pangea World Theater. This is a U.S. premiere of a play based on a novella by Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani. The play tells of a Palestinian couple who return to Haifa after the 1967 war to find the baby they left behind in 1948. They find a Jewish family of Holocaust survivors living in their old home. “It's my reality,” Nour says. “I came here when I was 16. Basically, because there were no opportunities for Arabs in Israel, like as second-class citizens. So it's very poignant for me and it's just — I cried when I saw it for the first time.”  “Returning to Haifa” plays through May 6 at the Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. Eric Heukeshoven is the director of Worship, Music and Arts for Central Lutheran Church in Winona, Minn. He says he's “really excited” to attend “Portraits,” the spring concert for the Winona Symphony. The piece that he's most looking forward to is called “Peanuts Gallery.” American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich wrote it, inspired by the characters of the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz. “I grew up with ‘Peanuts,'” Heukeshoven says, “and it's for piano and orchestra and it's just delightful.” The performance is Saturday at Wesley United Methodist Church in Winona. Holly Harrison is a freelance writer and a creative located in south Minneapolis, and she recently attended a performance of “Othello: The Remix” by Minneapolis Musical Theatre. “Unlike most tributes to Shakespeare, this one kind of tosses out all of the 17th-century dialogue,” Harrison says, “and rebuilds it as a hip-hop musical. Instead of taking place among Venetian military and political figures, it follows a hop-hop crew that's going on tour.” Harrison adds that “you really get to know your fellow audience members a little bit by seeing which references really crack them up and which ones slip past them.”  “Othello: The Remix” plays through May 7 at Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis.

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

In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with Pulitzer Winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. What did she learn studying at Florida State University and with former Pulitzer winners Roger Sessions and Elliott Carter? And why does she have a framed "Peanuts" cartoon in her studio? We hope you enjoy hearing from her about these insights and more!  

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first female Pulitzer Prize winner, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, who wrote a symphony of all things. What will they think about the first symphony to win the prize since Walter Piston's Symphony No. 7 back in 1961?   As promised in the episode, here's Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's appearance in Peanuts. If you'd like more information about Zwilich, we recommend: Julie Schnepel's article "Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Symphony No. 1: Developing Variation in the 1980s" in Indiana Theory Review Vol. 10 (Spring and Fall 1989): 1-19 Anthony J. Palmer's "Interview with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich" in Philosophy of Music Education Review Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring 2011): 80-99. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's website.

Synopsis Today's date marks the original Columbus Day, honoring the Italian explorer who for decades was described as the man who “discovered America.” In recent years Native American leaders have pointed out that indigenous peoples had been living on the continent for thousands of years, and Columbus didn't “discover” anything — in fact, he didn't even know where he was, which is why he called the people he found here “Indians.” Some historians now think that Viking explorers from Scandinavia arrived in America long before Columbus – and others suggest the Chinese arrived before those Europeans. Even so, it's Columbus who has a national holiday (now always observed on the closest Monday in October), and concert music written to celebrate it. For example, there's a “Columbus Suite” by Victor Herbert, originally commissioned for the 1893 Chicago World Fair to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Columbus voyage, but not actually premiered until 1903. A much more recent “Columbus-inspired” work, and much more elegiac in tone, is by the Native American composer James DeMars. It's titled: “Premonitions of Christopher Columbus” and is scored for Native American flute, African drum, and chamber orchestra. In this work, DeMars blends sounds of the various ethnic traditions that would come to make up modern America. Music Played in Today's Program Victor Herbert (1859-1924) Columbus Suite Slovak Radio Symphony; Keith Brion, cond. Naxos 8.559027 James DeMars (b. 1952) Premonitions of Christopher Columbus Tos Ensemble with R. Carlos Nakai, Native American flute Canyon 7014 On This Day Births 1686 - German composer and lutenist Silvius Leopold Weiss, in Breslau; 1713 - Baptismal date of German composer Johann Ludwig Krebs, in Butterstedt, Weimar; 1872 - English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire; 1880 - English-born Canadian composer and organist Healey Willan, in London; Deaths 1692 - Italian composer Giovanni Battista Vitali, in Bologna, age 60; Premieres 1910 - Vaughan Williams: "A Sea Symphony" (after Walt Whitman) at the Leeds Festival; 1924 - Mahler: Symphony No.10 (1st and 3rd movements only), arranged by Ernest Krenek (with additional retouching by Alexander von Zemlinksy and Franz Schalk), by Vienna Philharmonic, Franz Schalk conducting; The American premiere of these two movements was give on Dec. 6, 1949, by the Erie (Pa.) Philharmonic conducted by the composer's nephew, the Austro-American conductor Fritz Mahler (1901-1973); The English musicologist Deryck Cooke prepared the first performing edition of Mahler's entire Tenth Symphony which received its first performance on August 13, 1964, by the London Symphony conducted by Berthold Goldschmidt; Since then, Cooke has revised his arrangement, and several other musicologists have prepared their own rival performing editions of Mahler's surviving notation for this symphony; 1931 - Rachmaninoff: “Variations on a Theme of Corelli (La Folia)” for solo piano, in Montréal (Canada), by the composer; 1951 - Bizet: opera "Ivan le Terrible" (posthumously), in Bordeaux; 1951 - Dessau: opera "Die Verurteilung des Lukullus" (The Trial of Lucullus) (2nd version), in East Berlin at the Deutsche Staatsoper; 1961 - Douglas Moore: opera "The Wings of the Dove" (after the novel by Henry James), in New York; 1971 - Andrew Lloyd Webber: rock musical "Jesus Christ Superstar," in New York City; A choral version of this musical was performed in Kansas City, Kan. On May 15, 1971, and a touring company was launched to present the musical on July 12, 1971; Prior to any staged presentations, the work was first released as a double LP record album in October of 1970; 1984 - Olly Wilson: "Siinfonia," by the Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa conducting; 1984 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: "Celebration" for orchestra, by the Indianapolis Symphony, John Nelson conducting; 1997 - Sallinen: "Overture Solennel," in Monaco by the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, James DePreist conducting; 1998 - Philip Glass: opera "The Voyage," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Bruce Ferden conducting; 2000 - Rautavaara: Harp Concerto, in Minneapolis with harpist Kathy Kienzle and the Minnesota Orchestra, Omso Vänskä conducting; Others 1739 - Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in Bb, Op. 6, no. 7 (Gregorian date: Oct. 23). Links and Resources On Columbus Day On Victor Herbert On James DeMars

Synopsis The first performance of the “Liebeslieder” – or the “Love Song” Waltzes – for piano four-hands by Johannes Brahms took place on today's date in 1869. The performers were two distinguished soloists: Clara Schumann, widow of composer Robert Schumann, and Hermann Levi, a famous conductor of his day. But in fact, the “Liebeslieder Waltzes” were intended for amateur musicians to play. These popular scores provided Brahms with some steady income, certainly more than he earned from performances of his symphonies, which some of his contemporaries considered difficult “new” music. Brahms wrote to his publisher: “I must admit that, for the first time, I grinned at the sight of a work of mine in print. Moreover, I gladly risk being called an ass if our ‘Liebeslieder' don't give more than a few people pleasure.” Some much more recent piano music designed for amateur performers was collected into a volume titled “Carnegie Hall Millennium Piano Book.” This volume was conceived by composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and the artistic director of Carnegie Hall, Judith Arron. They were concerned about the lack of contemporary piano works that intermediate-level piano students could perform, so commissioned ten composers to write suitable piano pieces from composers ranging from Milton Babbitt and Elliott Carte to Chen Yi and Tan Dun. Music Played in Today's Program Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Liebeslieder Waltz No. 18, Op.52a –Silke-Thora Matthies and Christian Köhn, piano (Naxos 553140) Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021): The Days Fly By –Ursula Oppens, piano (Companion CD to Boosey and Hawkes "The Carnegie Hall Millennium Piano Book" ASIN: B003AG8IUK)

Synopsis It was on this day in 1913 that the French Academy of Fine Arts – for the first time in its history – presented its highest award, the Prix de Rome, to a woman. The honor was awarded to Lili Boulanger, who was just 19 years old at the time. She was born in Paris in 1893, the younger sister of Nadia Boulanger, who would become the most famous teacher of composition in the 20th century, numbering an amazing array of famous American composers among her students, ranging from Aaron Copland to Philip Glass. Nadia's sister Lili, however, suffered from poor health. Her tragically short career was interrupted by World War I, when she volunteered to nurse wounded soldiers. She died before the great conflict was over, on March 15th, 1918, at the age of 24. Nearer to our own time, another woman, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, made history when she became the first woman composer to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music. That was in 1983, and the piece was her Symphony No. 1. Born in Miami, Florida, in 1939, Zwilich studied composition with Elliott Carter and Roger Sessions at Juilliard, and accomplished another “first” by becoming the first woman to earn the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition at the famous school. Her Third Symphony was commissioned in 1992 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic. Music Played in Today's Program Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) – Hymne au Soleil (New London Chamber Choir; James Wood, cond.) Hyperion 66726 Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) – Symphony No. 3 (Louisville Orchestra; James Sedares, cond.) Koch International 7278

There are many women composers these days, and this program introduces some of them: Caroline Shaw, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Lera Auerbach, Kaija Saariaho, Chen Yi, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Missy Mazzoli, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Tania Leon.

Synopsis Like Rodney Dangerfield, the viola is often an instrument that “gets no respect“ – so no viola jokes, today, folks. Quite the opposite, in fact. For its 150th Anniversary celebration, the New York Philharmonic commissioned a number of new orchestral works. One of them premiered at New York's Avery Fisher Hall on today's date in 1993:  the Third Symphony of the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. It's no exaggeration to suggest that Zwilich knows the symphony orchestra from inside out: for seven years she was a violinist in the American Symphony Orchestra, a New York-based ensemble conducted by Leopold Stokowski when Zwilich was a player. For her Third Symphony, Zwilich confessed she had an often-neglected section of the orchestra in mind: “I had noticed over the years the rising quality of viola playing,” she said in an interview, “and I thought that the Philharmonic's section was absolutely amazing. So when I had this commission .... I really wanted to put the spotlight on the viola section and give THEM a great deal to do, not only in terms of virtuosity, but of importance and centrality to the piece. This symphony really grew out of my love for this section of the orchestra.” Music Played in Today's Program Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) — Symphony No. 3 (Louisville Orchestra; James Sedares, cond.) Koch 7278

Synopsis On today's date in 1996, a trio of soloists joined forces with the Minnesota Orchestra for the premiere performance of a new concerto by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. This “Triple Concerto” was commissioned by those soloists – pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo, and cellist Sharon Robinson – and no less than five orchestras in addition to Minnesota's. Now, the MOST famous Concerto for Piano, Violin, Cello and Orchestra is by Beethoven, as Zwilich well knows. “My Triple Concerto is scored for exactly the same instrumentation as Beethoven's,” she writes, “although Beethoven would certainly be startled by some of the American jazz techniques and the extraordinary facility the modern timpanist can be expected to have at his fingertips... My piece has other vague and hidden references to Beethoven, as a kind of homage to a composer who has deeply affected my life." “As contemporary artists always have,” continues Zwilich, “today's composers exist at a juncture between past and present. And all of us, whether we write, perform, or listen to music, face a similar challenge: how to relate meaningfully to the past without becoming imbedded in it; how to press toward the future without abandoning the richness of our heritage.” Music Played in Today's Program Ellen Taafe Zwilich (b. 1939) — Triple Concerto (Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio; Florida State University; Michael Stern, cond.) Koch 7537

Classical Trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden has built a rapidly ascendant career as a soloist, praised for her “splendid, brilliant” playing (Gramophone Magazine) and the clarity, purity, and power of her sound. A Gold Medal Global Music Award Winner, Opus Klassik Nominee, and Yamaha Performing Artist, Mary has also worked to establish a new repertoire for the trumpet through creative, collaborative commissioning projects and award-winning albums. Her upcoming season includes additional performances of the Fung concerto with the Santa Fe Symphony, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Shenandoah Conservatory Orchestra, and San Diego State University Orchestra. Mexican composer Gina Enríquez Morán has been engaged to write a concerto for Mary to be premiered by the World and European Brass Association. Bowden is slated to perform Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's American Concerto with the Las Vegas Philharmonic in 2022. She will also make her debut in Turkey with a performance of Lowell Lieberman's concerto alongside the Izmir State Symphonic Orchestra. Bowden will also embark on a five-week tour with the Kassia Ensemble, performing a program of trumpet and string quartet arrangements featuring both core classical and contemporary works. Mary has released two recordings on Summit Records: her debut album, Radiance (featuring new American works), and her second solo album, Rêverie with the Kassia Ensemble. Rêverie was featured as one of the Top Albums of the Year for the Global Music Awards and on Textura Magazine's Top Ten Classical Albums of the Year. In addition to her acclaimed performances of core classical repertoire, Mary has worked to build a new repertoire for her instrument through performances of contemporary works, as well as commissioning projects with composers such as James Stephenson, Rene Orth, Catherine McMichael, Joseph Hallman, and an upcoming recording featuring works by Reena Esmail, Tyson Davis, Vivian Fung, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Clarice Assad. Among her many creative projects, Mary is a founding member and artistic leader of Seraph Brass, an ensemble of America's top female brass players that was awarded the 2019 American Prize in Chamber Music and has performed around the world. The group's debut album, Asteria, released on Summit Records, won the Silver Medal Global Music Award, and they performed on part of Adele's 2016 North American tour.  Mary earned her Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music, and her Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music. Learn more about Mary Bowden: www.maryelizabethbowden.com Learn more about Bob Reeves Brass: www.bobreeves.com   

Synopsis At the dawn of the 20th century, Teddy Roosevelt was president and America was in an upbeat, prosperous mood. Cultural affairs were not forgotten, either. To the already established American symphony orchestras in cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati and San Francisco, new ensembles would spring up in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Seattle. On today's date in 1903, it was Minneapolis' turn. On November 5th of that year, a German-born musician named Emil Oberhoffer led the first concert of the newly formed Minneapolis Symphony. In those days it was a 50-piece ensemble, but in the course of the next 100 years, would double in size and change its name to the “Minnesota” Orchestra. As this is the Composers Datebook, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that the Minnesota Orchestra has enjoyed a special relationship with a number of leading American composers. Aaron Copland conducted the orchestra on a memorable and televised Bicentennial Concert in 1976, and two young American composers, Stephen Paulus and Libby Larsen, served as composers-in-residence with the orchestra in the 1980s. The orchestra has also given the premiere performances of works by Charles Ives, John Adams, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Dominick Argento, and Aaron Jay Kernis, among many others. Music Played in Today's Program Dominick Argento (1927-2019) — A Ring of Time (Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond.) Reference 91

Synopsis If, on today's date in the year 1930, you happened to be flipping through the pages of the New York Times, you would have seen several ads for radios, including one that argued that purchasing a radio was a good investment. This was only one year after the infamous 1929 stock market crash, so New Yorkers might have been a little leery of investing in anything, and disposable income for most Americans was severely limited during the Great Depression that followed. Still, that same October 5th edition of the Times announced that the New York Philharmonic would commence live nation-wide broadcasts of its Sunday afternoon concerts that very day, with the visiting German conductor Erich Kleiber leading the orchestra. The rest of the Philharmonic's 1930-31 season, led by the orchestra's new music director, Arturo Toscanini, would also be broadcast live on subsequent Sunday afternoons. For music lovers, that radio purchase started to look like a pretty good investment after all. And over the following decades, in addition to Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms, the New York Philharmonic's radio audiences coast-to-coast were introduced as well to new works of American composers like Roy Harris, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Music Played in Today's Program Wolfgang Mozart (1756 – 1791) — Symphony No. 39 (New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond.) Sony 60973 Roy Harris (1898 – 1979) — Symphony No. 3 (New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond.) Sony 60594

Synopsis For many professional musicians, summertime is spent away from home at one or more summer music camps and festivals. And if the camp or festival just happens to in a gorgeous mountain or lakeside setting, well, so much the better. Since 1987, world-class musicians and ensembles have made the climb to scenic Vail, Colorado, at this time of year for the Bravo! Music Festival. And on today's date in 1993, it was at the Bravo! Festival that this new Concerto for Horn and Strings by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich received its premiere. The concerto was a triple commission from the Rochester Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the New York-based French horn virtuoso David Jolley, who was the soloist for the Vail premiere. Zwilich writes: “While I think of the solo horn as a heroic figure, I enjoyed the interplay and dialogue between horn and strings and allowed the character and nature of the horn to influence the strings and visa-versa… For me, the combination of solo horn and string orchestra is rich and evocative, as is the unique nature of the horn: its warmth and color, its dramatic legato as well as it pungent staccato, the sheer breadth of its sound.” Music Played in Today's Program Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) — Horn Concerto (David Jolley, horn; MSU Symphony Orchestra; Leon Gregorian, cond.) Koch 7487

Pacifica Quartet — Contemporary Voices (Cedille) Jump to CD giveaway form “I can relate so much to these three pieces after going through this pandemic,” said violist Mark Holloway reflecting on, Contemporary Voices, the most recent release from Pacifica Quartet. “Each one has something quite unique to say.” The recording features three contemporary pieces commissioned by the quartet, which won a Grammy for best Chamber Music Performance. The ensemble is also opening the MN Beethoven Festival on June 27. Can you talk about ‘Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory — String Quartet No.3' by Shulamit Ran and the visual art that inspired it? “There was an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art called ‘Glitter and Zoom German Portraits from the 1920s.' I think this was an inspiration to Ran. The quartet was in residence at the museum, and they wanted music that had a connection to the visual art. “There's a German-Jewish painter named Felix Nussbaum who perished in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Ran wanted to show in music what a normal life, with its joys and sorrows, and ups and downs might be like. Daily life can be torn apart by cruelty, war and hatred. Nussbaum keep painting in the camps during the war. The struggle to survive, create, express and identify is really powerful.” Can you talk about Jennifer Higdon's work Voices that she dedicated to the quartet after collaborating with them at a summer festival? “It's a real knockout of a piece. It starts off with this relentless, crazy frenzy of energy called ‘Blitz.' It's a real explosion. Higdon was saying that a lot of pieces start out soft and then loud. She wanted to see what it might be like the other way around.” Is it true that the combination of instruments on Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet isn't a combination you hear often? “I too, was unsure what it would sound like. The fact that we're playing with someone else is already something to celebrate. You're joining forces and making music together with a friend. In this case, it's her terrific colleague, Otis Murphy, who's a saxophone professor at Indiana University. You hear the jazziness and different sounds coming from her pen. The piece has a celebratory nature to it, and it just really seems appropriate after all we've been through.” Watch Now To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Giveaway Form Resources Pacifica Quartet — Contemporary Voices (Cedille) Pacifica Quartet — Contemporary Voices (Amazon) Pacifica Quartet (Official site) Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (Official site) Jennifer Higdon (Official site) Shulamit Ran (Theodore Presser)

Synopsis Some classical music snobs look down their nose at film scores, considering them less “serious” than “art” music written for the concert hall. Aaron Copland, for one, deplored this attitude. He admired the work of composers like Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, David Raksin, and Elmer Bernstein, whose successful Hollywood careers earned them financial rewards on the West Coast, if not the respect of the snootier East Coast music critics. Copland himself had spent some time in Hollywood, and knew what was involved in completing a film score on time AND on budget. On today’s date in 1940, at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, the press was invited to a special preview showing of a new film version of Thornton Wilder’s popular stage play “Our Town.” To match Thornton Wilder’s nostalgic play about American life in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, Copland’s score employed harmonies suggestive of old New England church hymns. For once, audiences AND the critics were impressed, and Copland quickly arranged an “Our Town” concert suite, which premiered on a CBS Radio broadcast in June of 1940, and reworked this suite for its first public performance by the Boston Pops and Leonard Bernstein in May of 1944. Music Played in Today's Program Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) Our Town Suite Saint Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, cond. BMG 61699 On This Day Births 1740 - Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello, in Roccaforzata, near Taranto; 1814 - German pianist and composer Adolph von Henselt, in Schwabach,Bavaria; Deaths 1707 - German organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehunde, age c. 70, in Lübeck; 1770 - (on May 9 or 10) English composer, conductor and writer on music Charles Avison, age 61, in Newcastle upon Tyne ; 1791 - American statesman and songwriter Francis Hopkinson, age 53, in Philadelphia; He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and dedicated a book of his songs to George Washington; 1799 - French composer Claude Balbastre, age c. 72, in Paris; Premieres 1812 - Rossini's opera "La Scala di seta" (The Silken Ladder), in Venice; 1868 - Bruckner: Symphony No. 1, in Linz, composer conducting; 1893 - Rachmaninoff: opera "Aleko," in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater (Julian date: April 27); 1924 - R. Strauss: ballet "Schlagobers" (Whipped Cream), in Vienna; 1940 - The film "Our Town" opens in Hollywood at Grauman's Chinese Theater; The film was based on the play of the same name by Thorton Wilder, and featured a filmscore by Aaron Copland; Copland arranged a suite of music from his filmscore, which premiered on CBS Radio on June 9, 1940; A revised version of the suite was given its first public performance by the Boston Pops conducted by Leonard Bernstein on May 7, 1944; 1981 - Christopher Rouse: "The Infernal Machine" for orchestra (Movement II of Rouse's "Phantasmata"), at the Evian Festival, France, by the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Gustav Meier conducting; 1986 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: "Concerto Grosso" (after Handel's Sonata in D), by the Handel Festival Orchestra of Washington, Stephen Simon conducting; 1988 - Bernstein: "Arias and Barcarolles," at Equitable Center Auditorium in New York City, by vocalists Louise Edeiken, JoyceCastle, John Brandstetter, and Mordechai Kaston, with the composer and Michael Tilson Thomas at the piano; An orchestrated version of this work prepared by Bright Sheng premiered on September 22, 1989, at the Tilles Center of Long Island University with the New York Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz and featuring vocalists Susan Graham and Kurt Ollmann; 1990 - John Harbison: "Words from Patterson" (to texts by William Carlos Williams), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with baritone William Sharp and the members of the New Jersey Chamber Music Society; 1998 - John Tavener: "Wake Up and Die," for solo cello and orchestral cello section, at the Beauvais Cello Festival in Beavais , France; 1999 - Zwillich: "Upbeat!" by National Symphony, Anthony Aibel conducting; Others 1863 - American premiere of Berlioz's "Harold in Italy," by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in New York. Links and Resources On the film "Our Town" The Copland Collection at the Library of Congress

Synopsis Some classical music snobs look down their nose at film scores, considering them less “serious” than “art” music written for the concert hall. Aaron Copland, for one, deplored this attitude. He admired the work of composers like Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, David Raksin, and Elmer Bernstein, whose successful Hollywood careers earned them financial rewards on the West Coast, if not the respect of the snootier East Coast music critics. Copland himself had spent some time in Hollywood, and knew what was involved in completing a film score on time AND on budget. On today’s date in 1940, at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, the press was invited to a special preview showing of a new film version of Thornton Wilder’s popular stage play “Our Town.” To match Thornton Wilder’s nostalgic play about American life in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, Copland’s score employed harmonies suggestive of old New England church hymns. For once, audiences AND the critics were impressed, and Copland quickly arranged an “Our Town” concert suite, which premiered on a CBS Radio broadcast in June of 1940, and reworked this suite for its first public performance by the Boston Pops and Leonard Bernstein in May of 1944. Music Played in Today's Program Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) Our Town Suite Saint Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, cond. BMG 61699 On This Day Births 1740 - Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello, in Roccaforzata, near Taranto; 1814 - German pianist and composer Adolph von Henselt, in Schwabach,Bavaria; Deaths 1707 - German organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehunde, age c. 70, in Lübeck; 1770 - (on May 9 or 10) English composer, conductor and writer on music Charles Avison, age 61, in Newcastle upon Tyne ; 1791 - American statesman and songwriter Francis Hopkinson, age 53, in Philadelphia; He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and dedicated a book of his songs to George Washington; 1799 - French composer Claude Balbastre, age c. 72, in Paris; Premieres 1812 - Rossini's opera "La Scala di seta" (The Silken Ladder), in Venice; 1868 - Bruckner: Symphony No. 1, in Linz, composer conducting; 1893 - Rachmaninoff: opera "Aleko," in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater (Julian date: April 27); 1924 - R. Strauss: ballet "Schlagobers" (Whipped Cream), in Vienna; 1940 - The film "Our Town" opens in Hollywood at Grauman's Chinese Theater; The film was based on the play of the same name by Thorton Wilder, and featured a filmscore by Aaron Copland; Copland arranged a suite of music from his filmscore, which premiered on CBS Radio on June 9, 1940; A revised version of the suite was given its first public performance by the Boston Pops conducted by Leonard Bernstein on May 7, 1944; 1981 - Christopher Rouse: "The Infernal Machine" for orchestra (Movement II of Rouse's "Phantasmata"), at the Evian Festival, France, by the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Gustav Meier conducting; 1986 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: "Concerto Grosso" (after Handel's Sonata in D), by the Handel Festival Orchestra of Washington, Stephen Simon conducting; 1988 - Bernstein: "Arias and Barcarolles," at Equitable Center Auditorium in New York City, by vocalists Louise Edeiken, JoyceCastle, John Brandstetter, and Mordechai Kaston, with the composer and Michael Tilson Thomas at the piano; An orchestrated version of this work prepared by Bright Sheng premiered on September 22, 1989, at the Tilles Center of Long Island University with the New York Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz and featuring vocalists Susan Graham and Kurt Ollmann; 1990 - John Harbison: "Words from Patterson" (to texts by William Carlos Williams), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with baritone William Sharp and the members of the New Jersey Chamber Music Society; 1998 - John Tavener: "Wake Up and Die," for solo cello and orchestral cello section, at the Beauvais Cello Festival in Beavais , France; 1999 - Zwillich: "Upbeat!" by National Symphony, Anthony Aibel conducting; Others 1863 - American premiere of Berlioz's "Harold in Italy," by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in New York. Links and Resources On the film "Our Town" The Copland Collection at the Library of Congress

Synopsis Today’s date in 1913 marks the birthday of the American composer and musicologist George Perle, who won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1986. In a 1985 interview, Perle vividly recalled his first musical experience, an encounter with Chopin’s Étude in F minor, played by an aunt. “It literally paralyzed me,” said Perle, “I was extraordinarily moved and acutely embarrassed at the same time, because there were other people in the room, and I could tell that nobody else was having the same sort of reaction I was.” In his own lyrical and well-crafted music, Perle employed what he called “12-tone tonality,” a middle path between rigorous atonality and traditional, tonal-based music. Whether tonal or not, for Perle music was both a logical and an emotional language. Perle once made this telling distinction between the English language and the language of music: “Reading a novel is altogether different from reading a newspaper, but it's all language. If you go to a concert, you have some kind of reaction to it. If the newspaper is Chinese, you can't understand it. But if you hear something by a Chinese composer, if it's playful, for instance, you understand.” Music Played in Today's Program George Perle (1915 - 2009) Serenade No. 3 for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1983) Richard Goode, p; Music Today Ensemble; Gerard Schwarz, cond. Nonesuch 79108 On This Day Births 1915 - American composer George Perle, in Bayonne, N.J.; 1918 - Canadian composer Godfrey Ridout, in Toronto; Deaths 1667 - (on May 6 or 7) German composer and keyboard player Johann Jakob Froberger, age 50, in Hericourt, nearr Montbeliard , France; Premieres 1897 - Leoncavallo: opera "La Boheme" in Venice; 1981 - Rautavaara: Double-bass Concerto ("Angel of Dusk"),in Helsinki, with bassist Olli Kosonen and the Finnish Radio Symphony, Leif Segerstam conducting; 1985 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: "Concerto for Trumpet and Five Players," by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble; 1992 - Libby Larsen: Symphony No. 3 ("Lyric"), by the Albany Symphony (NY), Joel Revzen conducting; 1999 - Magnus Lindberg: Cello Concerto, by the Orchestre de Paris, with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting and Anssi Karttunen the soloist; 1999 - Christopher Rouse: "Seeing" (Piano Concerto), at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Slatkin, with Emanuel Ax the soloist; Others 1872 - Theodore Thomas conducts the first concert of the Cincinnati Music Festival ("May Festival"); His program includes Beethoven's Fifth, Handel's "Dettingen Te Deum," a Mozart aria, and a chorus from Haydn's "Creation." Links and Resources On George Perle More on Perle (NY Times obit)

Synopsis Today’s date in 1913 marks the birthday of the American composer and musicologist George Perle, who won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1986. In a 1985 interview, Perle vividly recalled his first musical experience, an encounter with Chopin’s Étude in F minor, played by an aunt. “It literally paralyzed me,” said Perle, “I was extraordinarily moved and acutely embarrassed at the same time, because there were other people in the room, and I could tell that nobody else was having the same sort of reaction I was.” In his own lyrical and well-crafted music, Perle employed what he called “12-tone tonality,” a middle path between rigorous atonality and traditional, tonal-based music. Whether tonal or not, for Perle music was both a logical and an emotional language. Perle once made this telling distinction between the English language and the language of music: “Reading a novel is altogether different from reading a newspaper, but it's all language. If you go to a concert, you have some kind of reaction to it. If the newspaper is Chinese, you can't understand it. But if you hear something by a Chinese composer, if it's playful, for instance, you understand.” Music Played in Today's Program George Perle (1915 - 2009) Serenade No. 3 for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1983) Richard Goode, p; Music Today Ensemble; Gerard Schwarz, cond. Nonesuch 79108 On This Day Births 1915 - American composer George Perle, in Bayonne, N.J.; 1918 - Canadian composer Godfrey Ridout, in Toronto; Deaths 1667 - (on May 6 or 7) German composer and keyboard player Johann Jakob Froberger, age 50, in Hericourt, nearr Montbeliard , France; Premieres 1897 - Leoncavallo: opera "La Boheme" in Venice; 1981 - Rautavaara: Double-bass Concerto ("Angel of Dusk"),in Helsinki, with bassist Olli Kosonen and the Finnish Radio Symphony, Leif Segerstam conducting; 1985 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: "Concerto for Trumpet and Five Players," by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble; 1992 - Libby Larsen: Symphony No. 3 ("Lyric"), by the Albany Symphony (NY), Joel Revzen conducting; 1999 - Magnus Lindberg: Cello Concerto, by the Orchestre de Paris, with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting and Anssi Karttunen the soloist; 1999 - Christopher Rouse: "Seeing" (Piano Concerto), at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Slatkin, with Emanuel Ax the soloist; Others 1872 - Theodore Thomas conducts the first concert of the Cincinnati Music Festival ("May Festival"); His program includes Beethoven's Fifth, Handel's "Dettingen Te Deum," a Mozart aria, and a chorus from Haydn's "Creation." Links and Resources On George Perle More on Perle (NY Times obit)

Synopsis Today we have a tale of jealousy to tell — the tale of Claude and Mary and Maurice and Georgette—related to the premiere, on today’s date in 1902, of “Pelléas et Mélisande.” This new opera by Claude Debussy was based on a play about jealousy by the Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. Debussy had worked on his opera for years with no objection from Maeterlinck until late in 1901, when Debussy announced that the Scottish soprano Mary Garden would sing the role of Mélisande. Suddenly, two weeks before the premiere, Maeterlinck began saying the opera was “alien” to him, that he had lost artistic control over his own work, that he hoped the opera would flop. Well, that accounts for Claude and Mary and Maurice, but what about Georgette? Turns out SHE was the real reason behind Maeterlinck’s objections. Georgette was a soprano–and Maeterlinck’s mistress. When Debussy refused to even consider her for the lead role in his new opera, Maeterlinck’s smear campaign began. He was not alone—the eminent French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, jealous as any character in Debussy’s opera, delayed his customary vacation abroad to stay in Paris, and, as he put it, “To speak ill of Pelléas.” Music Played in Today's Program Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) Pelléas et Mélisande Cleveland Orchestra; Erich Leinsdorf, cond. Cleveland 9375 On This Day Births 1870 - Hungarian-born Austrian composer Franz Léhar, in Komorn; 1939 - American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, in Miami, Fla.; She was the first female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music (in 1983 for her Symphony No. 1); Premieres 1728 - Handel: opera "Tolomeo, re d'Egitto" (Ptolomy, King of Egypt), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: May 11); 1855 - Berlioz: "Te Deum," at the church of St. Eustache in Paris; 1902 - Debussy: opera "Pelléas and Mélisande," in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1925 - Hindemith: "Kammermusik" No. 3, Op. 36, no. 2, in Bochum, Germany, conducted by the composer with Rudolf Hindemith the cello soloist; 1934 - Stravinsky: opera "Persephone," at the Paris Opéra, with Ida Rubinsetin in the principal role (spoken part) and the composer conducting; 1973 - Lou Harrison: Concerto for Organ, at San Jose State University, with organist Philip Simpson; 1991 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Bass Trombone Concerto, by soloist Charles Vernon with the Chicago Symphony, Daniel Barenboim conducting; 1994 - John Harbison: String Quartet No. 3, at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., by the Lydian String Quartet; Others 1932 - Opening of the first "Yaddo" Festival of Contemporary Music at Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Links and Resources On Debussy On Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande"

Synopsis Today we have a tale of jealousy to tell — the tale of Claude and Mary and Maurice and Georgette—related to the premiere, on today’s date in 1902, of “Pelléas et Mélisande.” This new opera by Claude Debussy was based on a play about jealousy by the Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. Debussy had worked on his opera for years with no objection from Maeterlinck until late in 1901, when Debussy announced that the Scottish soprano Mary Garden would sing the role of Mélisande. Suddenly, two weeks before the premiere, Maeterlinck began saying the opera was “alien” to him, that he had lost artistic control over his own work, that he hoped the opera would flop. Well, that accounts for Claude and Mary and Maurice, but what about Georgette? Turns out SHE was the real reason behind Maeterlinck’s objections. Georgette was a soprano–and Maeterlinck’s mistress. When Debussy refused to even consider her for the lead role in his new opera, Maeterlinck’s smear campaign began. He was not alone—the eminent French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, jealous as any character in Debussy’s opera, delayed his customary vacation abroad to stay in Paris, and, as he put it, “To speak ill of Pelléas.” Music Played in Today's Program Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) Pelléas et Mélisande Cleveland Orchestra; Erich Leinsdorf, cond. Cleveland 9375 On This Day Births 1870 - Hungarian-born Austrian composer Franz Léhar, in Komorn; 1939 - American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, in Miami, Fla.; She was the first female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music (in 1983 for her Symphony No. 1); Premieres 1728 - Handel: opera "Tolomeo, re d'Egitto" (Ptolomy, King of Egypt), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: May 11); 1855 - Berlioz: "Te Deum," at the church of St. Eustache in Paris; 1902 - Debussy: opera "Pelléas and Mélisande," in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1925 - Hindemith: "Kammermusik" No. 3, Op. 36, no. 2, in Bochum, Germany, conducted by the composer with Rudolf Hindemith the cello soloist; 1934 - Stravinsky: opera "Persephone," at the Paris Opéra, with Ida Rubinsetin in the principal role (spoken part) and the composer conducting; 1973 - Lou Harrison: Concerto for Organ, at San Jose State University, with organist Philip Simpson; 1991 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Bass Trombone Concerto, by soloist Charles Vernon with the Chicago Symphony, Daniel Barenboim conducting; 1994 - John Harbison: String Quartet No. 3, at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., by the Lydian String Quartet; Others 1932 - Opening of the first "Yaddo" Festival of Contemporary Music at Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Links and Resources On Debussy On Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande"

16th-20th Centuries This week we hear works by Sigismondo d’India, Francesco Corbetta, Jean-François Dandrieu, François-André Philidor, Louise Farrenc, Josef Suk, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and Jim Steinman. 146 Minutes – Week of April 26, 2021

One of the best-loved works of classical music, Handel’s oratorio “Messiah,” had its first performance on today’s date in Dublin, Ireland, in the year 1742. Handel wrote “Messiah” in a period of only four weeks, then put it aside until he received an invitation to present a new work in the Irish capital. Dublin gave “Messiah” an enthusiastic reception, but it took a few years before London recognized that ‘Messiah” was a masterpiece. Baroque composers like Handel freely borrowed materials from previous works or even other composers to use in new ones, and among Handel’s own instrumental works, the Concerti “Due Cori,” for example, contain melodies familiar from “Messiah.” The American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich harks back to this Baroque custom in her own “Concerto Grosso 1985,” in which she quotes directly from Handel’s Violin Sonata in D—which in turns quotes from no fewer than four of Handel’s own earlier compositions. Born in Miami, Florida in 1939, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich studied at Juilliard with two noted American composers, Roger Sessions and Elliott Carter, and in 1983 became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for her Symphony No. 1.

Music—Beethoven’s music in particular—played an important role in the life of Schroeder, a piano-playing character in “Peanuts,” the comic strip created by Charles Schulz, who was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on today’s date in 1922. But new music snuck in the strip on occasion, too. In a 1990 installment, Peppermint Patty is at a young person’s concert and when informed that the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich had won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, stands up and yells, ''Way to go, Ellen!'' Turns out Schulz had been impressed by a piece by Zwilich that he heard at a concert, and the cartoonist and composer struck up a friendship. So when Zwilich was asked to write a new work for a young people’s concert at Carnegie Hall, the result was a suite entitled “Peanuts Gallery.” Its 1997 premiere was acknowledged in a Sunday “Peanuts” strip that had Schroeder telling Lucy about the new work. ``We're all in it,'' he says, and goes on to list the movements: “Schroeder's Beethoven Fantasy,” “Lullaby for Linus,” “Lucy Freaks Out,” etc. Of course, Lucy's only comment is: “MY part should be longer.''

Music—Beethoven’s music in particular—played an important role in the life of Schroeder, a piano-playing character in “Peanuts,” the comic strip created by Charles Schulz, who was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on today’s date in 1922. But new music snuck in the strip on occasion, too. In a 1990 installment, Peppermint Patty is at a young person’s concert and when informed that the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich had won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, stands up and yells, ''Way to go, Ellen!'' Turns out Schulz had been impressed by a piece by Zwilich that he heard at a concert, and the cartoonist and composer struck up a friendship. So when Zwilich was asked to write a new work for a young people’s concert at Carnegie Hall, the result was a suite entitled “Peanuts Gallery.” Its 1997 premiere was acknowledged in a Sunday “Peanuts” strip that had Schroeder telling Lucy about the new work. ``We're all in it,'' he says, and goes on to list the movements: “Schroeder's Beethoven Fantasy,” “Lullaby for Linus,” “Lucy Freaks Out,” etc. Of course, Lucy's only comment is: “MY part should be longer.''

As far as housewarming gifts go, a nice bottle of champagne is common, or maybe a bouquet of flowers. But if you’re a composer, and the occasion is the ceremonial opening performance at a new concert hall, you write a celebratory piece of music. On today’s date in 1984, for the inaugural concert of the Indianapolis Symphony’s new home, the Circle Theater, American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich wrote an orchestral work entitled, appropriately enough, “Celebration.” “In writing this work,” said Zwilich, “I was motivated by three complementary goals. First, I wanted to celebrate a joyous and historic occasion with all its inspiring symbolism of beginning and renewal. My second goal was to write a kind of “toccata” or test piece for the new Circle Theater. Finally, I wanted to celebrate the orchestra itself, which is, after all, the centerpiece of the occasion. Thus ‘Celebration’ is like a mini-concerto for orchestra.” Zwilich’s housewarming gift was dedicated to the Indianapolis Symphony’s music director in 1984, conductor John Nelson. Despite its origins as an occasional piece for a particular event, “Celebration” has gone to become one of Zwilich’s most popular and frequently performed orchestral works.

As far as housewarming gifts go, a nice bottle of champagne is common, or maybe a bouquet of flowers. But if you’re a composer, and the occasion is the ceremonial opening performance at a new concert hall, you write a celebratory piece of music. On today’s date in 1984, for the inaugural concert of the Indianapolis Symphony’s new home, the Circle Theater, American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich wrote an orchestral work entitled, appropriately enough, “Celebration.” “In writing this work,” said Zwilich, “I was motivated by three complementary goals. First, I wanted to celebrate a joyous and historic occasion with all its inspiring symbolism of beginning and renewal. My second goal was to write a kind of “toccata” or test piece for the new Circle Theater. Finally, I wanted to celebrate the orchestra itself, which is, after all, the centerpiece of the occasion. Thus ‘Celebration’ is like a mini-concerto for orchestra.” Zwilich’s housewarming gift was dedicated to the Indianapolis Symphony’s music director in 1984, conductor John Nelson. Despite its origins as an occasional piece for a particular event, “Celebration” has gone to become one of Zwilich’s most popular and frequently performed orchestral works.

In de maand augustus in Vrije Geluiden speciale aandacht voor de cellosuites van Johann Sebastian Bach. Gespeeld op cello, maar ook op bijvoorbeeld viool, op altviool, of op saxofoon! Maar ook volkomen andere toffe muziek, van nieuwe uitgaven op cd of digitaal, uit fraaie archiefvondsten en nog-lang-niet-sleetse grammofoonplaten. Met muziek van Emile Mosseri, Johann Sebastian Bach, Roger Waters, Arthur Frackenpohl, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, en Tim Brady.

Performers need composers and composers need performers. And some performers really like composers–and vice versa. That seems to be the case with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, comprised of Joseph Kalichstein, piano; Jaime Laredo, violin; and Sharon Robinson, cello, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. On today’s date in 2011, at a La Jolla Music Society concert in San Diego, California, the Trio premiered the fourth work they had commissioned from Zwilch. She created a blues-y piano quintet, scored for the same ensemble as Schubert’s famous “Trout” Quintet, so for this “blue trout” Quintet, the Trio were joined by violist Michael Tree and double-bassist Harold Robinson. In notes for her new piece, Zwilich wrote: "My Quintet is in three movements, the second of which has the title ‘Die Launische Forelle' (roughly translated: ‘The Moody Trout'). I couldn't resist using a very small quote from the Schubert song on which his Quintet is based. I also took the liberty of allowing that movement to spin out musical images of a ‘moody' trout. In all three movements the weight and character of the contrabass is an important element in the overall design.”

Performers need composers and composers need performers. And some performers really like composers–and vice versa. That seems to be the case with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, comprised of Joseph Kalichstein, piano; Jaime Laredo, violin; and Sharon Robinson, cello, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. On today’s date in 2011, at a La Jolla Music Society concert in San Diego, California, the Trio premiered the fourth work they had commissioned from Zwilch. She created a blues-y piano quintet, scored for the same ensemble as Schubert’s famous “Trout” Quintet, so for this “blue trout” Quintet, the Trio were joined by violist Michael Tree and double-bassist Harold Robinson. In notes for her new piece, Zwilich wrote: "My Quintet is in three movements, the second of which has the title ‘Die Launische Forelle' (roughly translated: ‘The Moody Trout'). I couldn't resist using a very small quote from the Schubert song on which his Quintet is based. I also took the liberty of allowing that movement to spin out musical images of a ‘moody' trout. In all three movements the weight and character of the contrabass is an important element in the overall design.”

On this episode of Cedille's Classical Chicago podcast, Brandon Vamos of Pacifica Quartet shares insight to their new album that Vamos calls "a culmination of our career." Contemporary Voices features the music of Pultizer Prize-winning composers Shulamit Ran, Jennifer Higdon, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.

It was Mozart who wrote the first great piano concertos, with Beethoven, Brahms and others following suit in the 19th century. Closer to our own time, the tradition continues, with new contributions appearing each year. On today's date in 1986, it was the turn of American composer, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, when her new piano concerto received its premiere by the Detroit Symphony under Guenter Herbig, with Marc-Andre Hamelin the soloist. "My piano concerto does not cast the pianist as the prototypical 19th-century hero battling the orchestral forces and triumphing through overwhelming virtuosity," said Zwilich at the time. "My concerto calls for a blending of forces—a joint exploration of the piano soloist and orchestra. The pianist is even asked to merge with various sections of the rather large orchestra at times." "To me," continued Zwilich, "a part of the nobility of the piano is that it can change its color, chameleon-like without losing its special identity. Of all the instruments, the piano is perhaps the most able to be whatever it is asked to be… One composer treats the piano as a percussion instrument, another as a singer… Certainly the vast and wonderful piano repertoire explores this remarkable range. And the world of composer-pianists is large enough to embrace Serge Rachmaninoff and Art Tatum."

It was Mozart who wrote the first great piano concertos, with Beethoven, Brahms and others following suit in the 19th century. Closer to our own time, the tradition continues, with new contributions appearing each year. On today's date in 1986, it was the turn of American composer, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, when her new piano concerto received its premiere by the Detroit Symphony under Guenter Herbig, with Marc-Andre Hamelin the soloist. "My piano concerto does not cast the pianist as the prototypical 19th-century hero battling the orchestral forces and triumphing through overwhelming virtuosity," said Zwilich at the time. "My concerto calls for a blending of forces—a joint exploration of the piano soloist and orchestra. The pianist is even asked to merge with various sections of the rather large orchestra at times." "To me," continued Zwilich, "a part of the nobility of the piano is that it can change its color, chameleon-like without losing its special identity. Of all the instruments, the piano is perhaps the most able to be whatever it is asked to be… One composer treats the piano as a percussion instrument, another as a singer… Certainly the vast and wonderful piano repertoire explores this remarkable range. And the world of composer-pianists is large enough to embrace Serge Rachmaninoff and Art Tatum."

On today's date in 1988, Zubin Mehta led the New York Philharmonic in a concert at Bolshoi Hall in a city that was then called Leningrad and in a country that was then called the Soviet Union. For their visit to the city we now call St. Petersburg in a country today known as the Russian Federation, the Philharmonic had commissioned a brand-new work by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and so her orchestral piece entitled "Symbolon" received its premiere performance there. It was the first American symphonic work to be premiered in the USSR, in fact. "The word 'symbolon' comes from the Greek," explained Zwilich, "and refers to the ancient custom whereby two parties broke a piece of pottery (or a stone, or a coin) in two, each party retaining half. Each half (or symbolon) thus became a token of friendship." "From the beginning," continued Zwilich, "I knew this piece would receive its first performance in the Soviet Union, and I found this profoundly moving. I am sure that my complex feelings, embracing both hope and sadness about the state of the political world, have found their way into this work." After its premiere, Zwilich's "Symbolon" was performed in Moscow, New York, London, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Paris, and the former East Berlin, making it one of Zwilich's "most-travelled" orchestral works.

On today's date in 1988, Zubin Mehta led the New York Philharmonic in a concert at Bolshoi Hall in a city that was then called Leningrad and in a country that was then called the Soviet Union. For their visit to the city we now call St. Petersburg in a country today known as the Russian Federation, the Philharmonic had commissioned a brand-new work by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and so her orchestral piece entitled "Symbolon" received its premiere performance there. It was the first American symphonic work to be premiered in the USSR, in fact. "The word 'symbolon' comes from the Greek," explained Zwilich, "and refers to the ancient custom whereby two parties broke a piece of pottery (or a stone, or a coin) in two, each party retaining half. Each half (or symbolon) thus became a token of friendship." "From the beginning," continued Zwilich, "I knew this piece would receive its first performance in the Soviet Union, and I found this profoundly moving. I am sure that my complex feelings, embracing both hope and sadness about the state of the political world, have found their way into this work." After its premiere, Zwilich's "Symbolon" was performed in Moscow, New York, London, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Paris, and the former East Berlin, making it one of Zwilich's "most-travelled" orchestral works.

James David is a composer on the faculty of Colorado State University. He’s enjoyed a great deal of recent success with his composition for band and joins the show to tell his story. Topics: Jim’s background growing up in Southern Georgia and the importance of gospel and jazz in his musical development. Advice for young composers and what we can do as band directors and music teachers to help young, aspiring composers to realize their dreams. Commissioning music and some thoughts about commercial publishing versus self-publishing. Links: James M. David, Composer Colorado State Music Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time Hansen: Chorale and Alleluia Copland: Appalachian Spring David: Ghosts of the Old Year David: With Soul Serene Biography: Dr. James M. David (b. 1978) is an internationally recognized composer who currently serves as associate professor of composition and music theory at Colorado State University and is particularly known for his works involving winds and percussion. His symphonic works for winds have been performed by some of the nation’s most prominent professional and university ensembles including the U.S. Army and Air Force Bands, the Dallas Wind Symphony, the Des Moines Symphony, the Ohio State University Bands, Northwestern University Bands, and the University of North Texas Wind Symphony among many others. His compositions have been presented at more than fifty national and international conferences throughout North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. These events include the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the American Bandmasters Association Convention, the College Band Directors National Association Conferences, the National Band Association Conferences, the College Music Society National Conference, the Society of Composers, Inc. National Conference, seven International Clarinet Fests, the International Horn Symposium, the World Saxophone Congress, the International Trombone Festival, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Among the distinctions David has earned as a composer are an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, the National Band Association Merrill Jones Award, national first-place winner in the MTNA Young Artists Composition Competition, two Global Music Awards, and national first-place winner in the National Association of Composers (USA) Young Composers Competition. Commissions include projects for Joseph Alessi (New York Philharmonic), John Bruce Yeh (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Zachary Shemon (Prism Quartet), the Oasis Quartet, BlueShift Percussion Quartet, Gerry Pagano (St. Louis Symphony), The International Saxophone Symposium and Competition, The Playground Ensemble, and the Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association. As a native of southern Georgia, Dr. David began his musical training under his father Joe A. David, III, a renowned high school band director and professor of music education in the region. This lineage can be heard in his music through the strong influence of jazz and other Southern traditional music mixed with contemporary idioms. He graduated with honors from the University of Georgia and completed his doctorate in composition at Florida State University under Guggenheim and Pulitzer recipients Ladislav Kubik and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. His music is available through Murphy Music Press, C. Alan Publications, Wingert Jones Publications, and Potenza Music and has been recorded for the Naxos, Mark, GIA WindWorks, Albany, Summit, Luminescence, and MSR Classics labels. ​ ------- Are you planning to travel with your group sometime soon? If so, please consider my sponsor, Kaleidoscope Adventures, a full service tour company specializing in student group travel. With a former educator as its CEO, Kaleidoscope Adventures is dedicated to changing student lives through travel and they offer high quality service and an attention to detail that comes from more than 25 years of student travel experience. Trust Kaleidoscope’s outstanding staff to focus on your group’s one-of-a-kind adventure, so that you can focus on everything else!

There are many women composers these days, and this program introduces some of them: Caroline Shaw, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Lera Auerbach, Kaija Saariaho, Chen Yi, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Missy Mazzoli, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Tania Leon.

Du Yun vann 2017 års Pulitzerpris för den experimentella enaktsoperan "Angel's Bone", om trafficking. Tidigare vinnare är Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, John Adams och Steve Reich. New York bär på ett omfattande musikaliskt arv och är än idag en viktig grogrund för ny musik. New York är en smältdegel där olika kulturer, attityder, avantgardister och briljanta musiker möts och skapar ny musik. Ett riktigt eldorado för en musikälskare! 2017 års Pulitzerpristagare Du Yun föddes i Shanghai men har bott i New York i många år. Hennes opera Angel's Bone hade världspremiär 2016 vid Prototype festival i New York. Här kan ni lyssna på mezzosopranen Abigail Fischer i Mrs. X.E.'s Spegelscen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uTyGH93J9Y&feature=youtu.be   Du Yun är vid tiden för denna intervju kompositionslärare vid State University of New York, Purchase College. Hon börjar spela piano vid fyra års ålder och övar diciplinerat åtta timmar om dagen. Redan som elvaåring blir hon tonsättare och tar senare examen vid konservatoriet i Shanghai. Hon influeras av västerländsk klassisk musik, men även av pop från Japan, Korea och Hongkong. Att flytta från Shanghai till New York blir ingen större kulturchock för Du Yun. Shanghai liknar New York, hon är uppvuxen efter kulturrevolutionen i Kina och hon tar senare sin doktorsgrad i musik på Harvarduniversitetet i USA. -Jag är mycket förtjust i att vara mittemellan, och det har att göra med att jag är invandrare. Man säger ju om invandrare att de är delade i två halvor. Jag älskar känslan av anonymitet, att ingen egentligen bryr sig om dig när du går på gatorna i New York. Och friheten - på fyra timmar kan du vara i London och efter tretton timmar kan du landa i Kina, säger Du Yun. Hennes musik har kallats en mix av Björk och Iva Bittová med inslag av en tidig Yoko Ono. Du Yun är även musiker och performer och på egensinnig CD:n Shark in You - Hajen i dig hon sjunger själv, spelar elektroniska instrument och den 21-strängade kinesiska traditionella cittran zheng. Du Yun skriver även musik till International Contemporary Ensemble där hon spelar den 21-strängade kinesiska cittran zheng. - Att stå på scen och uppträda är underbart analogt. Du använder din kropp; dina fingrar och din röst! Jag behöver känna denna köttsliga närhet till musiken. Det där påtagliga. Att vara personlig är bästa sättet att vara universell, säger Du Yun.   Vi möter även pianisten och tonsättaren Beata Moon, som föds i USA med koreanska föräldrar. Beata Moon är ett musikaliskt underbarn. Hon spelar piano från fem års ålder och har sitt första framträdande med en orkester som 8-åring. -Mina koreanska rötter tvingar mig nästan att spela piano. Och jag ifrågasatter aldrig detta utan inleder mina masterstudier i piano vid Julliard School of Music i New York, berättar Beata Moon. I förstaden till Chicago är hennes familj de enda asiaterna och hon är varit förföljd av rasisiska glåpord. På Julliard, i det mångkulturella New York, däremot, finns det massor av asiatiska musiker vilket är bekräftande för henne. Beata Moon hoppar ändå av de klassiska pianostudierna för att finna sig själv i musiken. Bl a försörjer hon sig genom att undervisa barn i Bronx och genom att ackompanjera modern dans. Hon skall improvisera vid pianot.  -Jag har inte improviserat en enda ton i mitt liv, utan är van vid att läsa från notpappret. Så det är en ny erfarenhet, skrattar Beata Moon. Nu är hon tonsättare, pianist och musikpedagog för barn och ungdomar. Hennes fjärde CD är på gång. Beata Moon vill kommunicera med tonal och tillgänglig musik. På plattan Earthshine finns hennes första Stråkkvartett och på Piano Works hittar du Beata Moons första Pianosonat bland mycket annat. Hon vill kommunicera med all slags musik. Dock inte koreansk.   Låtlista: I Love New York  Madonna Air Glow Du Yun Du Yun. New York Trumpet Ensemble Liveinspelning. Festival of New Trumpet of New York Shark in You Du Yun Du Yun, m fl Shark in You New Focus Recordings FCR 118 Guernica, Vivace Beata Moon Beata Moon, piano solo Earthshine Bibimbop Records B0006J8EY4 Moon_ In Transit - 4. Leonard Street Beata Moon Beata Moon, piano Piano Works NAXOS 8.570347 String Quartet, Scherzo Beata Moon Corigliano Quartet Earthshine Bibimbop Records B0006J8EY4 Illusions-Marimba solo, Tenderly Beata Moon Makoto Nakura, marimba Earthshine Bibimbop Records B0006J8EY4 Beata Moon Nursery Beata Moon, piano Piano Works NAXOS 8.570347 String Quartet, Suspended Beata Moon Corigliano Quartet Earthshine Bibimbop Records B0006J8EY4 Acoustic Free Improv Du Yun Du Yun, zheng Liveinspelning Air Glow Du Yun Du Yun, New York Trumpet Ensemble Liveinspelning. Festival of New Trumpet of New York The Gray _ Du Yun Du Yun, m fl. Shark in You New Focus Recordings FCR 118 Miranda Du Yun Du Yun, m fl Shark in You   New Focus Recordings FCR 118 (if you say so ) Du Yun Du Yun, m fl Shark in You 2011 New Focus Recordings FCR 118 Panacea Du Yun Du Yun, m fl Shark in You 2011 New Focus Recordings FCR 118

USA:s Grand Old Lady inom nutida musik är Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, en världstonsättare som varken vill kännas vid det eller ser sig som den pionjär hon är. Birgitta Tollan mötte Ellen Taaffe Zwilich i tonsättarens våning på Manhattan och fick en upplevelse hon inte haft på 40 år. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich är nestorn bland tonsättande kvinnor som givit inspiration till och varit förebild för många. En pionjär av högsta klass vars musik har framförts, spelats in och sänts ut över hela västvärlden. Nu har hon fyllt 75.Som första kvinna tog Ellen Taaffe Zwilich 1975 kompositionsexamen på legendariska Juilliard School of Music på Manhattan. Hon var även första kvinna att tilldelas Pulitzerpriset i musik. Året var 1983 och hon fick priset för sin Symfoni Nr 1. Zwilich är också första och förmodligen den enda kvinnliga tonsättare som blivit omnämnd i den tecknade serien Snobben av Charles M Schulz (se bild).Namnet Taaffe är irländskt och namnet Zwilich fick hon av sin för många år sedan avlidne make, violinisten Joseph Zwilich, som spelade i Metropolitanoperans orkester i New York. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich började som violinist och redan 1964 tog den brittiske dirigenten Leopold Stokovsky med henne i sin orkester The American Symphony i New York. Orkestern hade flera kvinnor, afroamerikaner och asiater bland sina musiker. Något som var mycket ovanligt på den tiden då de flesta amerikanska symfoniorkestrar mest bestod av manliga europeiska musiker. Att hon bedömdes för sin musikaliska begåvning och inte för sitt kön gav Ellen Taaffe Zwilich både styrka och självkänsla när hon sedan började komponera på allvar.Hennes verklista är synnerligen lång. Den innehåller alla genrer förutom opera, bl a en solokonserter för svenske trombonisten Christian Lindberg.I programmet medverkar även pianisten Joseph Kalischstein i trion Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson som Zwilich skrivit musik till under 30 år. - Jag känner en fysisk glädje över att spela hennes stycken. På samma sätt som det känns att spela Mozarts musik. Hennes musikaliska material; rytmen, energin och intensiteten, liknar den hos Beethoven, förklarar Joseph Kalischstein.De musiker, ensembler och orkestrar som hon samarbetar med kallar Ellen Taaffe Zwilich för sina familjemedlemmar. - Jag vill inte sitta i något elfenbenstorn och pumpa ut odödliga mästerverk en syssla som är helt irrelevant för världen. Nej, mina stycken skall vara något som musikerna behöver, säger Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.Vi hör bl a musik ur den nyutgivna CDn Passionate Diversions med trion Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson, Miami String Quartet, basisten Harold Robinson och violasten Michael Tree. De spelar bl a Ellen Taaffe Zwilichs vackra Kvintett for piano, violin, viola, violoncell, kontrabas. Det är en pendeng till Franz Schuberts Forellkvintett, fast med jazz- och bluesinfluenser.En P2 Dokumentär av Birgitta TollanLåtlista:14:00 Read Gainsford, Heidi Louise Williams, Alexander Jiménez, Florida State University Symphony Orchestra - Images 14:02 John Nelson, Indianapolis Symfoniorkester - Symfoni Nr 1 14:05 Jeffrey Biegel, Alexander Jiménez, Florida State University Symphony Orchestra - Peanuts Gallery 14:08 John Nelson, Indianapolis Symfoniorkester - Symfoni Nr 1 14:11 Kalichstein-Laredo-Trion - Trio För Piano, Violin & Violoncell 14:14 Jeffrey Biegel, Alexander Jiménez, Florida State University Symphony Orchestra - Peanuts Gallery 14:19 Christian Lindberg, James Depreist, Malmö Symfoniorkester - Konsert För Trombon & Orkester 14:24 Kalichstein-Laredo-Trion - Trio För Piano, Violin & Violoncell 14:26 Christian Lindberg, James Depreist, Malmö Symfoniorkester - Konsert För Trombon & Orkester 14:31 Joseph Zwilich, James Gemmel - Sonat För Violin & Piano 14:33 Kalichstein-Laredo-Trion, Miami-Kvartetten - Septett För Pianotrio & Stråkkvartett 14:35 Kalichstein-Laredo-Trion, Miami-Kvartetten - Septett För Pianotrio & Stråkkvartett 14:41 Kalichstein-Laredo-Trion, Miami-Kvartetten - Septett För Pianotrio & Stråkkvartett 14:46 Kalichstein-Laredo-Trion, Michael Tree, Harold Robinson - Kvintett För Piano, Violin, Viola, Violoncell, Kontrabas 14:51 Kalichstein-Laredo-Trion, Michael Tree, Harold Robinson - Kvintett För Piano, Violin, Viola, Violoncell, Kontrabas

USA:s Grand Old Lady inom nutida musik är Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, en världstonsättare som varken vill kännas vid det eller ser sig som den pionjär hon är. (Söndagens utannonserade Västanå-dokumentär sänds istället i september) Birgitta Tollan mötte Ellen Taaffe Zwilich i tonsättarens våning på Manhattan och fick en upplevelse hon inte haft på 40 år. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich är nestorn bland tonsättande kvinnor som givit inspiration till och varit förebild för många. En pionjär av högsta klass vars musik har framförts, spelats in och sänts ut över hela västvärlden. Nu har hon fyllt 75. Som första kvinna tog Ellen Taaffe Zwilich 1975 kompositionsexamen på legendariska Juilliard School of Music på Manhattan. Hon var även första kvinna att tilldelas Pulitzerpriset i musik. Året var 1983 och hon fick priset för sin Symfoni Nr 1. Zwilich är också första och förmodligen den enda kvinnliga tonsättare som blivit omnämnd i den tecknade serien Snobben av Charles M Schulz (se bild). Namnet Taaffe är irländskt och namnet Zwilich fick hon av sin för många år sedan avlidne make, violinisten Joseph Zwilich, som spelade i Metropolitanoperans orkester i New York. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich började som violinist och redan 1964 tog den brittiske dirigenten Leopold Stokovsky med henne i sin orkester The American Symphony i New York. Orkestern hade flera kvinnor, afroamerikaner och asiater bland sina musiker. Något som var mycket ovanligt på den tiden då de flesta amerikanska symfoniorkestrar mest bestod av manliga europeiska musiker. Att hon bedömdes för sin musikaliska begåvning och inte för sitt kön gav Ellen Taaffe Zwilich både styrka och självkänsla när hon sedan började komponera på allvar. Hennes verklista är synnerligen lång. Den innehåller alla genrer förutom opera, bl a en solokonserter för svenske trombonisten Christian Lindberg. I programmet medverkar även pianisten Joseph Kalischstein i trion Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson som Zwilich skrivit musik till under 30 år.  - Jag känner en fysisk glädje över att spela hennes stycken. På samma sätt som det känns att spela Mozarts musik. Hennes musikaliska material; rytmen, energin och intensiteten, liknar den hos Beethoven, förklarar Joseph Kalischstein. De musiker, ensembler och orkestrar som hon samarbetar med kallar Ellen Taaffe Zwilich för sina familjemedlemmar.  - Jag vill inte sitta i något elfenbenstorn och pumpa ut odödliga mästerverk en syssla som är helt irrelevant för världen. Nej, mina stycken skall vara något som musikerna behöver, säger Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Vi hör bl a musik ur den nyutgivna CDn Passionate Diversions med trion Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson, Miami String Quartet, basisten Harold Robinson och violasten Michael Tree. De spelar bl a Ellen Taaffe Zwilichs vackra Kvintett for piano, violin, viola, violoncell, kontrabas. Det är en pendeng till Franz Schuberts Forellkvintett, fast med jazz- och bluesinfluenser. En P2 Dokumentär av Birgitta Tollan (repris från sep-14)