Podcast appearances and mentions of melinda wagner

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a concerto featuring an instrument not often put into a concerto setting: the flute. But its title also promises a balance among three forces instead of a featured soloist. What will they think of this contradictory piece?   If you'd like more information about Melinda Wagner, we recommend: Frank Oteri's excellent interview with Melinda Wagner from 2015 Yujia Xia's dissertation "Melinda Wagner and Her Piano Concerto: Extremity of Sky" from 2021. Mark Alburger, "Winning the Pulitzer Can Brighten Your Whole Day: An Interview with Melinda Wagner," 20th-Century Music 6, no. 6 (1999): 1-7.

Synopsis On today's date in 1998, in Purchase, New York, the Westchester Philharmonic gave the premiere performance of a new flute concerto by a 41-year old composer named Melinda Wagner. Her concerto won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1999 – a gratifying mark of recognition for Wagner, who claims she had developed 20 years of calluses from all the rejections that are the common experience of most young composers in America. Along with the bumps and scrapes, Wagner also had picked up a number of other honors along the way, including awards, grants, and fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Guggenheim Foundation, Meet the Composer and ASCAP, to name just a few. “Composition,” says Wagner, “is like writing a kind of love letter to performers. They will be interpreting something that is incredibly personal, so it feels like a love affair. As for the audience, to try to try to second-guess them to figure out what they're going to like, and write that, would be an insult to them. I just hope they can plug into the communication that's happening between the performers and me.” Music Played in Today's Program Melinda Wagner (b. 1957) Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion Paul Lustig Dunkel, flute; Westchester Philharmonic; Mark Mandarano, conductor. Bridge 9098

Synopsis Mountains can have unforeseen consequences on the imagination. For Philadelphia-native Melinda Wagner, serving as a composer-in-residence at a music festival in Vail, Colorado, this resulted in the composition of a new Trombone Concerto, a piece tailor-made for Joseph Alessi, the principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic. “During my free moments in Vail,” said Wagner, “I found myself gazing – in disbelief really – at the jagged, youthful beauty of the Rockies. By comparison, ‘my' mountains – the old Endless, Allegheny, and Pocono ranges of Pennsylvania – seemed to be no more than a set of soft wrinkles in the skin of the earth! “Nobility and power, hallmarks of the trombone sound, are words that come to mind in the presence of mountains, old and new. And a truly great musician, as I learned while hearing Joseph Alessi play, can coax so much more out of the trombone: aching tenderness, sadness, lyricism, mirth.” Alessi gave the premiere performance of Wagner's new Concerto on today's date in 2007, with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Lorin Maazel.  She's also written three major orchestral works for the Chicago Symphony, including a piano concerto for Emanuel Ax entitled “Extremity of Sky.” Music Played in Today's Program Melinda Wagner (b. 1957) — Trombone Concerto (New York Philharmonic; Lorin Maazel, cond.) Bridge 9345

On today's date in 1998, in Purchase, New York, the Westchester Philharmonic gave the premiere performance of a new flute concerto by a 41-year old composer named Melinda Wagner. The soloist was Paul Lustig Dunkel, who had asked Wagner to write the concerto. Wagner's concerto won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1999—a gratifying mark of recognition for Wagner, who claims she had developed 20 years of calluses from all the rejections and minor defeats that are the common experience of most young composers in America. Along with the bumps and scrapes, Wagner also had picked up a number of other honors along the way, including awards, grants, and fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Guggenheim Foundation, Meet the Composer and ASCAP, to name just a few. Wagner says her flute concerto took as its models the sound worlds of two famous 20th century compositions she admired: Bela Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste," and Leonard Bernstein's "Serenade, after Plato's Symposium." "Composition," says Wagner, "is like writing a kind of love letter to performers. They will be interpreting something that is incredibly personal, so it feels like a love affair. As for the audience, to try to try to second-guess them to figure out what they're going to like, and write that, would be an insult to them. I just hope they can plug into the communication that's happening between the performers and me."

On today's date in 1998, in Purchase, New York, the Westchester Philharmonic gave the premiere performance of a new flute concerto by a 41-year old composer named Melinda Wagner. The soloist was Paul Lustig Dunkel, who had asked Wagner to write the concerto. Wagner's concerto won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1999—a gratifying mark of recognition for Wagner, who claims she had developed 20 years of calluses from all the rejections and minor defeats that are the common experience of most young composers in America. Along with the bumps and scrapes, Wagner also had picked up a number of other honors along the way, including awards, grants, and fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Guggenheim Foundation, Meet the Composer and ASCAP, to name just a few. Wagner says her flute concerto took as its models the sound worlds of two famous 20th century compositions she admired: Bela Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste," and Leonard Bernstein's "Serenade, after Plato's Symposium." "Composition," says Wagner, "is like writing a kind of love letter to performers. They will be interpreting something that is incredibly personal, so it feels like a love affair. As for the audience, to try to try to second-guess them to figure out what they're going to like, and write that, would be an insult to them. I just hope they can plug into the communication that's happening between the performers and me."

Acclaimed young composer Viet Cuong joins the show to share his thoughts about band music, his work as a composer, and how growing up in the Lassiter band helped him fit in and find his place in the world. Topics: 
Viet’s background and how he got his start as a musician, percussionist, and composer. How band and music helped Viet “find his place” in the world and the importance of band as a place where kids who are struggling to feel accepted have a place where they can fit in and grow. Growing up in the legendary Lassiter Band Program under the baton of Alfred Watkins. Thought about what band directors can do to support young musicians who are writing music or want to become composers. Thoughts about academic music, new music for band, and some insights into building design at Princeton. The Blue Dot Collective Links: Viet Cuong, Composer The Blue Dot Collective Cuong: Diamond Tide Cuong: Moth Stravinsky: Rite of Spring Biography: Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the “ingenious” and “knockout” (Times Union) music of Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as Sō Percussion, Eighth Blackbird, Alarm Will Sound, Sandbox Percussion, the PRISM Quartet, JACK Quartet, Gregory Oakes, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, among many others. Viet’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Aspen Music Festival, New Music Gathering, Boston GuitarFest, International Double Reed Society Conference, US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, and on American Public Radio’s Performance Today. He also enjoys composing for the wind ensemble medium, and his works for winds have amassed over one hundred performances by conservatory and university ensembles worldwide, including at Midwest, WASBE, and CBDNA conferences. Viet holds the Curtis Institute of Music’s Daniel W. Dietrich II Composition Fellowship as an Artist Diploma student of David Ludwig and Jennifer Higdon. Viet received his MFA from Princeton University as a Naumburg and Roger Sessions Fellow, and he is currently finishing his PhD there. At Princeton he studied with Steve Mackey, Donnacha Dennehy, Dan Trueman, Dmitri Tymoczko, Paul Lansky, and Louis Andriessen. Viet holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts and Oscar Bettison. While at Peabody, he received the Peabody Alumni Award (the Valedictorian honor) and the Gustav Klemm Award for excellence in composition. Viet has been a fellow at the Mizzou International Composers Festival, Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, Cabrillo Festival’s Young Composer Workshop, Copland House’s CULTIVATE emerging composers workshop, and was also a scholarship student at the Aspen, Bowdoin, and Lake Champlain music festivals. Additionally, he has received artist residencies from Yaddo, Copland House, Ucross Foundation, and Atlantic Center for the Arts (under Melinda Wagner, 2012 and Christopher Theofanidis, 2014). Viet is a recipient of the Barlow Endowment Commission, Copland House Residency Award, ASCAP Morton Gould Composers Award, Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composers Award, Theodore Presser Foundation Music Award, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Call for Scores, Cortona Prize, New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, Boston GuitarFest Composition Competition, and Walter Beeler Memorial Prize, among others. In addition, he received honorable mentions in the Harvey Gaul Composition Competition and two consecutive ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prizes. Scholarships include the Evergreen House Foundation scholarship at Peabody, a 2010 Susan and Ford Schumann Merit Scholarship from the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the 2011 Bachrach Memorial Gift from the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

The State of The Real Estate Market with Melinda Wagner-Foster

Bridge Records was founded in 1981 by the classical guitarist David Starobin, and his wife, the violinist, Becky Starobin. The company celebrates its 30th anniversary with a catalog of more than 400 CD and DVDs, as well as a music publishing arm and an artist management division. Both of the Starobin's children, Robert Starobin and Allegra Starobin, work for the company, as well as a staff of engineers, designers and allied personnel. Bridge now issues between 35 to 40 discs per year, across a broad spectrum of classical music, contemporary music and jazz. The Washington Post wrote that "Bridge is a company with a highly selectiveand consistently excellent catalog". It is this selectivity that has led to 25 Grammy nominations and numerous awards from the international critical press. New Orford String Quartet "String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887, Op. 161: I. Allegro molto moderato" (mp3) from "New Orford String Quartet performs Schubert and Beethoven" (Bridge Records, Inc.) Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This AlbumThe New Orford Quartet is a brilliant all-star group from Canada. The quartet includes the concertmasters of the Montreal and Toronto Symphonies. This is the debut recording of the New Orford- a recording which has been receiving rave reviews in the critical press. Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang "Poemes Pour Mi: VII. Les Deux guerriers" (mp3) from "Susanna Phillips: Paysages" (Bridge Records, Inc.) Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This AlbumSusanna Phillips is a spectacular young mezzo-soprano. Ms. Phillips is the winner of the Metropolitan Opera's 2010 Beverly Sills Award. Her solo debut recording on Bridge is called Paysages (Landscapes) and includes French songs by Messiaen, Debussy and Fauré. Here we listen to a track from Olivier Messiaen's magical song cycle Poemes pour Mi.The Budapest String Quartet "String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3: IV. Presto" (mp3) from "Beethoven: The Early Quartets" (Bridge Records, Inc.) More On This AlbumOne of the special parts of the Bridge catalog is the company's historical recordings, many released by Bridge for the first time ever. These include 25 volumes of concerts played at the Library of Congress, between 1940 and the present day. Famous names on the Bridge series include George Szell, Leopold Stowkowski, Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber and the Budapest String Quartet. Here the Budapest String Quartet performs from a 1944 concert. Garrick Ohlsson "Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: IV. Allegro energico" (mp3) from "Garrick Ohlsson: Liszt Recital" (Bridge Records, Inc.) More On This AlbumBridge has a long history of recording many of today's leading soloists. Among pianists in the Bridge catalog you'll find names like Rudolf Serkin, Richard Goode, Peter Serkin and Garrick Ohlsson. Here we listen to Garrick Ohlsson's recent Liszt recording, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of Liszt's birth.BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew David "Concerto In Pieces - Purcell Variations: I. Theme and Variation I, Vivace Maestoso" (mp3) from "Concertos of Melinda Wagner and Poul Ruders" (Bridge Records, Inc.) Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This AlbumBBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew David "Concerto In Pieces - Purcell Variations: II. Variation II, Vivace Scherzando" (mp3) from "Concertos of Melinda Wagner and Poul Ruders" (Bridge Records, Inc.) Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This AlbumAmong the strengths of the Bridge catalog is a strong commitment to finding the leading composers of our own time, and recording large portions of their catalog. The Danish composer Poul Ruders has become known for his operas and orchestral music, much of which has been recorded on Bridge. Here we listen to his "Concerto in Pieces", played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.Joseph Alessi, Susan Narucki, George Crumb, Paul Cesarczyk, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra "Star-Child: IV. Musica Apocalyptica" (mp3) from "George Crumb Edition, Vol. 3" (Bridge Records, Inc.) Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This AlbumThe composer George Crumb celebrated his 80th birthday last year. Bridge has a particularly close relationship with Crumb, and is involved in recording the great American composer's complete output. Here we listen to the "Dies Irae" from Crumb's massive orchestral work, "Star-Child." This recording was a Grammy winner!Clara Rockmore, Nadia Reisenberg "Requiebros" (mp3) from "Clara Rockmore's Lost Theremin Album" (Bridge Records, Inc.) Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This AlbumEclectic titles are also a part of the Bridge catalog, and what could be more eclectic than a recording of classical masterpieces on the Theremin! Here we listen to the superb performer Clara Rockmore with an eerily beautiful rendition of Requiebros by Gaspar Cassado, accompanied by pianist Nadia Reisenberg.

The Empyrean Ensemble performs "Scritch" by Melinda Wagner with Tom Nugent on oboe, Anna Pressler and Hrabba Atladottir on violin, Phyllis Kamrin on viola, and Leighton Fong on cello.

We’re continuing our chat with Cincinnati Symphony principal bassist Owen Lee today on Contrabass Conversations. Check out the first segment of this conversation on episode 55 of the program. Owen played for the New World Symphony and the Houston Symphony prior to his appointment with the Cincinnati Symphony, and it was a real pleasure to do this interview along with Contrabass Conversations regular collaborator John Grillo. John, Owen, and I chat about Owen’s experiences recording his solo CD, key selection for the Bach Suites and his use of solo tuning for the recording, his performances of the less popular but extremely engaging Bottesini Concerto No. 1, performing the Tubin Concerto with orchestra, the Harbison Bass Concerto project (which Owen performed with the Cincinnati Symphony), and his practicing habits and exercises. We also feature the first movement from the Cello Suite No. 5 by Johann Sebastian Bach from Owen’s Boston Records CD, plus listener feedback, bass news, and a link of the week. Find Owen Lee on Twitter here. Enjoy!   About Owen: Described as “a true virtuoso” by legendary pianist Gary Graffman and praised by The New York Times for his “deft and virtuosic solo performance” at his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, double bassist Owen Lee has earned acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician and since 1996, at the age of 26, as Principal Bass of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Lee is heard regularly as a soloist with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Paavo Järvi and Jesús López-Cobos, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under John Harbison, and the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson-Thomas in Miami and on tour to New York’s Lincoln Center. During the 2006-07 season, Mr. Lee and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, along with a consortium of other soloists and orchestras, will present the world premiere of John Harbison’s Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra. Mr. Lee’s prizes in competitions include First Prize at the 1995 International Society of Bassists Competition and Fourth Prize at the 1992 Irving M. Klein International String Competition in San Francisco. He has been presented in recitals throughout the United States, and in Geneva. For the Boston Records label, he has recorded the Misek Sonata No. 2 and Bach Unaccompanied Suites No. 3 and No. 5. American Record Guide praised this disc for its “tasteful phrasing, polish and verve” while The Strad wrote “Owen Lee is a fine player with strong musical ideas. A dark and austere sound is produced for Suite No. 5 and the architecture of each suite is carefully considered and shaped. I look forward to his next recording.” Mr. Lee’s extensive international chamber music experience includes three summers as the bassist of the Marlboro Festival. While there, he performed extensively with such artists as Richard Stoltzman, Midori, Nobuko Imai, Bruno Canino, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and members of the Beaux Arts Trio, Guarneri Quartet and Juilliard Quartet. He also collaborated with composers Gyorgy Kurtag, Leon Kirchner and Richard Danielpour preparing performances of those composers’ works. Mr. Lee has also performed with the Tokyo String Quartet on tour to Mexico, John Browning, Anne-Marie McDermott, Jaime Laredo, Ida Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom, Peter Wiley, Eugenia Zukerman, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival, Ojai California Festival, Chamber Music L.A. Festival, Tanglewood Festival, Texas Music Festival, and on tour throughout China. With the Rossetti String Quartet he performed the world premiere of Melinda Wagner’s Concertino at the 2005 Bravo! Vail Festival. Mr. Lee was born in Berkeley, California in 1969 to Chinese parents. He began playing bass at age 15 after previous study of the piano. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Mr. Lee’s principal teachers were Dennis Trembly, Edwin Barker and Paul Ellison. Prior to his appointment in Cincinnati, Mr. Lee was a member of the Houston Symphony under Christoph Eschenbach. In addition to his position with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Lee serves as Principal Bass of the Shanghai Festival Orchestra. Owen is married to CiCi Lee. He enjoys bicycling, snowboarding, cigars, auto repair and playing drums and writing songs with his rock band Toe (Eric Bates, CSO 2nd Assistant Concertmaster is Toe’s guitarist and lead singer, and Ted Nelson, CSO cellist is Toe’s bassist).  

We’re speaking with Cincinnati Symphony principal bassist Owen Lee today on Contrabass Conversations. Owen played for the New World Symphony and the Houston Symphony prior to his appointment with the Cincinnati Symphony, and it was a real pleasure to do this interview along with Contrabass Conversations regular collaborator John Grillo. Find Owen Lee on Twitter here. Enjoy!  About Owen: Described as “a true virtuoso” by legendary pianist Gary Graffman and praised by The New York Times for his “deft and virtuosic solo performance” at his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, double bassist Owen Lee has earned acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician and since 1996, at the age of 26, as Principal Bass of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Lee is heard regularly as a soloist with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Paavo Järvi and Jesús López-Cobos, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under John Harbison, and the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson-Thomas in Miami and on tour to New York’s Lincoln Center. During the 2006-07 season, Mr. Lee and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, along with a consortium of other soloists and orchestras, will present the world premiere of John Harbison’s Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra. Mr. Lee’s prizes in competitions include First Prize at the 1995 International Society of Bassists Competition and Fourth Prize at the 1992 Irving M. Klein International String Competition in San Francisco. He has been presented in recitals throughout the United States, and in Geneva. For the Boston Records label, he has recorded the Misek Sonata No. 2 and Bach Unaccompanied Suites No. 3 and No. 5. American Record Guide praised this disc for its “tasteful phrasing, polish and verve” while The Strad wrote “Owen Lee is a fine player with strong musical ideas. A dark and austere sound is produced for Suite No. 5 and the architecture of each suite is carefully considered and shaped. I look forward to his next recording.” Mr. Lee’s extensive international chamber music experience includes three summers as the bassist of the Marlboro Festival. While there, he performed extensively with such artists as Richard Stoltzman, Midori, Nobuko Imai, Bruno Canino, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and members of the Beaux Arts Trio, Guarneri Quartet and Juilliard Quartet. He also collaborated with composers Gyorgy Kurtag, Leon Kirchner and Richard Danielpour preparing performances of those composers’ works. Mr. Lee has also performed with the Tokyo String Quartet on tour to Mexico, John Browning, Anne-Marie McDermott, Jaime Laredo, Ida Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom, Peter Wiley, Eugenia Zukerman, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival, Ojai California Festival, Chamber Music L.A. Festival, Tanglewood Festival, Texas Music Festival, and on tour throughout China. With the Rossetti String Quartet he performed the world premiere of Melinda Wagner’s Concertino at the 2005 Bravo! Vail Festival. Mr. Lee was born in Berkeley, California in 1969 to Chinese parents. He began playing bass at age 15 after previous study of the piano. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Mr. Lee’s principal teachers were Dennis Trembly, Edwin Barker and Paul Ellison. Prior to his appointment in Cincinnati, Mr. Lee was a member of the Houston Symphony under Christoph Eschenbach. In addition to his position with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Lee serves as Principal Bass of the Shanghai Festival Orchestra. Owen is married to CiCi Lee. He enjoys bicycling, snowboarding, cigars, auto repair and playing drums and writing songs with his rock band Toe (Eric Bates, CSO 2nd Assistant Concertmaster is Toe’s guitarist and lead singer, and Ted Nelson, CSO cellist is Toe’s bassist).