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Music for a While #103: Songs, arias, etc. Jun 11, 2025

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Ricky Ian Gordon has written a cycle of songs about flowers. In this episode, we hear one of them. Rachmaninoff wrote a song called “Lilacs.” We hear that, too. Bach opens his Goldberg Variations with an aria (and closes the work with that same aria). Tchaikovsky’s wrote a couple of blockbuster arias in The Queen of Spades. And on we go. Gordon, “We should not mind so small a flower” Rachmaninoff, “Lilacs” Bach, Goldberg Variations Tchaikovsky, Lisa’s Aria from Act III of “The Queen of Spades” Tchaikovsky, Prince Yeletsky’s Aria, Act II, “The Queen of Spades” Tchaikovsky, “It was in early spring” Shostakovich, Prelude in D-flat major Bach-Kempff, Siciliano

Music for a While #102: A contemplation, a cartoon, etc. May 15, 2025

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Have you ever heard Contemplazione, a piece for orchestra by Catalani, the composer of La Wally? Have you ever heard “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”—but arranged for piano? These are two of the offerings in this eclectic, stimulating program. Catalani, “Contemplazione” Catalani, “Ebben? Ne andró lontana,” from “La Wally” Stravinsky, “Le Baiser de la fée” Shchedrin, “Changing of the Guard” from “Carmen Suite” Fauré, Pavane Churchill-Walford, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” Tveitt, “Sonata etere” Sibelius, “Was It a Dream?” Weill, “My Ship”

Music for a While #101: A Frenchman’s birthday, etc. Apr 29, 2025

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This year marks the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth. So we have been hearing a lot of him. Jay plays two pieces by him—two of his best, and most typical. There are also Spanish songs, by Obradors and Rodrigo. Some Schumann, some Vaughan Williams, and so on. Plus several stories—personal ones. An enriching, smile-making program. Obradors, “Del cabello más sutil” Rodrigo, “De ronda” Bernstein, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Beethoven, “Leonore” Overture No. 3 Vaughan Williams, “Linden Lea” Ravel, “Pavane for a Dead Princess” Schumann, Sonata in D minor for Piano and Violin Handel, “Son nata a lagrimar,” from “Giulio Cesare” Ravel, “The Fairy Garden” from the “Mother Goose” Suite

Music for a While #100: Old Hundredth Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

This is Episode No. 100 of “Music for a While.” To mark the occasion, Jay presents music associated with that number: 100. So, we can consider this a centennial celebration. Bach, “Darum wir billig loben dich,” from the Cantata BVW 130 Dvořák, Scherzo from Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Op. 100 Bach, “Er ist mein Licht, mein Leben,” from the Cantata BVW 100 Haydn, Presto, from Symphony No. 100 in G major, “Military” Beethoven, “Merkenstein” Prokofiev, Allegro marcato, from Symphony No. 5 Mozart, Serenade No. 1 in D Brahms, Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A major Schumann, “The Bride of Messina,” Overture in C minor Shostakovich, “Little Stars” from “Spanish Songs” arr. Vaughan Williams, “Old Hundredth Psalm”

Dominic Green & D. J. Taylor discuss “What would Orwell do?” Mar 21, 2025

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On March 19, Friends of The New Criterion gathered in New York to hear a conversation between the New Criterion contributors D. J. Taylor and Dominic Green on the question “What would Orwell do?”

Music for a While #99: Charity, malice & more Mar 16, 2025

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An appetizing, eclectic program. Charity is represented by a sturdy American song: “If I Can Help Somebody.” Malice is represented by a movement from Walton’s Symphony No. 1, marked “Presto con malizia.” Much to listen to and absorb. Shostakovich, “A Spin through Moscow” from “Moscow, Cheryomushko” Fauré, “Clair de lune” Beethoven, “Abscheulicher!,” from “Fidelio” Walton, Symphony No. 1, Scherzo: Presto con malizia Ruby (?), “I’m Against It” Hoiby, “Winter Song” Hoiby, “There came a wind like a bugle” Androzzo, “If I Can Help Somebody” Gubaidulina, “Glorious Percussion”

Music for a While #98: Paeans, poems, etc. Feb 24, 2025

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This episode begins with Pärt’s “Hymn to a Great City.” (That would be New York.) Elsewhere, there are songs, setting Langston Hughes and Mark Van Doren. Oscar Peterson plays a pop song, adding various musical ingredients. Finally, there is a tribute to Edith Mathis, the Swiss soprano, who has died at eighty-seven. Much to listen to, and maybe even think about. Pärt, “Hymn to a Great City” Wheeler, “If I Had a Wife” Tchaikovsky/Wild, Pas de quatre (“Dance of the Cygnets”) from “Swan Lake” Bonds, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Prokofiev, Sonata for Solo Violin Modugno, “Volare” Wood & Mellin, “My One and Only Love” Bach, “Alleluja” from “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen”

Music for a While #97: Beach music Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, three pieces by the American Amy Beach—two piano pieces and a song (to a poem by Robert Browning). Also, a piece by Bach’s cousin. And other worthy numbers. Walther, “Lobe den Herren” Beach, “A Hermit Thrush at Eve” Dvořák, “Goin’ Home” Beach, “A Hermit Thrush at Morn” Beethoven, Triple Concerto Beach, “Ah, Love, but a Day” Beethoven, Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 96

Music for a While #96: Ring out Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

Tennyson wrote a famous poem for New Year’s Day, or any day. Jonathan Dove, a contemporary English composer, set it to music. This episode begins with that piece. There is also a song from the American Revolution, sometimes known as “Chester” (“Let tyrants shake their iron rod”). Jay further includes a little-known composer from Brazil with a flavorful name: Radamés Gnattali. Then you get Brahms and others. A nice, varied menu. Dove, “Ring Out, Wild Bells” Gnattali, Guitar Concerto No. 4 Brahms, Ballade in D, Op. 10, No. 2 Billings, “Chester” (“Let tyrants shake their iron rod”) Martucci, Nocturne, Op. 70, No. 1 Verdi, Ave Maria from Otello

Jeremy Black & James Panero discuss “The scream of steam” Jan 27, 2025

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Jeremy Black and James Panero discuss the transformative power of steam engines, the evolution of rail systems, and the cultural and social impact of railways in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They also explore the challenges of public transport systems, the importance of public safety, and Black’s latest article on the history of the British Navy. Occasioned by “The scream of steam” in the January 2025 issue of The New Criterion.

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