Classical Conversations

Ricky Ian Gordon is without a doubt one of our greatest living composers for the human voice. His songs have been performed and recorded by many star singers (including Renée Fleming and Audra McDonald); his musical theater works and operas have been heard on progressive stages across the country, and he's been consistently recognized for his unique musical style – which blends a lyric romanticism with dramatic modernism to brightly illuminate the texts and poems that inspire him. In his new opera Ellen West, Ricky sets the poem of that name by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Frank Bidart to effect a stunning portrayal of the woman who was the earliest documented case of anorexia nervosa (and who eventually committed suicide). The opera deals with loss and the devastating consequences of struggling with body image (both of which Ricky has experienced personally). It's a cathartic journey, and as Ricky tells us in this conversation, one that ultimately points to a direction of hope – a message that seems more and more important in today's world. Recorded at New York's PROTOTYPE Festival in January 2020, Ellen West features soprano Jennifer Zetlan in the title role, baritone Nathan Gunn in multiple roles, The Aeolus Quartet, bass player Evan Premo and pianist Djordje Nesic, conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya. The album can be found here: https://www.brightshiny.ninja/ellen-wes Visit Ricky Ian Gordon's website at https://www.rickyiangordon.com/

Just in time for Halloween, composer/conductor Michael Shapiro joins Haley Taylor to talk about his movie score for the classic film Frankenstein (1931) directed by James Whale and starring Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. Shapiro's music (written in 2001) brings the classic monster movie into even sharper focus – and makes up for the fact that the original was actually produced without a score. https://michaelshapiro.com/frankenstein/

Baritone Stephen Powell is a revered veteran of the world's opera stages, but in his debut solo album American Composers At Play, he brings his powerful voice to the intimate medium of art song – performing works by four living American composers (William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, and John Musto, all of whom accompany Stephen on the piano). Joining Stephen and his eminent roster of composer/pianists are an equally eminent group of collaborators: guitarist Jason Vieaux, clarinetist Charles Neidich, and the Attacca Quartet. In this conversation with WGTE's Brad Cresswell, Stephen gives us a behind-the-scenes tour of this distinctly American album, and makes a compelling case for why art song remains such an important part of the musical literature. Photo credit: Sue Reno. Please note: due to copyright, musical selections have been truncated in this podcast version. You can find more info about the album and its music here: https://stephenpowell.us/recordings

Born in London and now residing mainly in the US, Grammy-nominated composer Anna Clyne has been championed by many prominent conductors and orchestras around the world. The most recent album to feature Anna’s music is called Mythologies – five different orchestral works, all performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. As Anna relates in this conversation, each of these remarkable pieces has a story to tell. http://www.annaclyne.com/ www.avie-records.com/releases/anna-clyne-mythologies/ photo credit: Jennifer Taylor

Composer Osvaldo Golijov joins us for a conversation about his compelling song cycle Falling Out of Time, based on the novel of the same name by David Grossman. Written for (and recorded by) The Silk Road Ensemble, Falling Out of Time addresses the powerful themes set forth in Grossman's book, namely, finding one's path in the wake of indescribable loss. Learn more about Falling Out of Time: https://www.silkroad.org/time Listen to samples of the music: https://www.silkroad.org/listen

The young American soprano Elyse Anne Kakacek joins us to discuss her new album Formless: The Biblical Songs of Antonin Dvořák. Inspirational in both interpretation and content, Formless offers a peaceful meditation on spirituality – and a salve for the soul in troubled times such as these. Dvořák's Biblical Songs are simple yet powerful settings of ten famous Psalms (in the composer's own English translation), written while he was living in New York (not far from where Elyse herself lives now). As Elyse tells us in this conversation, Dvořák's music not only resonates with her own Czech heritage, but has deeply personal connections as well. https://www.elysekakacek.com

Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider joins us to talk about her new release, Mass for the Endangered. With an evocative libretto by poet Nathaniel Bellows, Mass for the Endangered is a new take on the traditional Catholic Mass – this time directing its call to nature, rather than God. With soulful music masterfully performed by the vocal ensemble Gallicantus (under conductor Gabriel Crouch), Sarah's Mass is "a celebration of, and an elegy for, the natural world – animals, plants, insects, the planet itself – an appeal for greater awareness, urgency, and action." https://www.sarahkirklandsnider.com/ https://sarahkirklandsnider.bandcamp.com/album/mass-for-the-endangered

We're joined by composer Augusta Read Thomas, featured guest for this year's New Music Festival at Bowling Green State University and a longtime force behind the scenes of contemporary music. Along with celebrated oboist Andrew Nogal, Thomas discusses the debut album from the Grossman Ensemble (founded by Thomas and housed at the University of Chicago). Called Fountain of Time, the album features a wide variety of works written for the ensemble, including David Dzubay's PHO (Potentially Hazardous Objects) and Shulamit Ran's Grand Rounds. http://www.augustareadthomas.com/ http://www.andrewnogal.com/ https://arts.uchicago.edu/content/fountain-time-album

This is part one of a two-part podcast. For part two, visit this link: https://www.wgte.org/radio/podcasts/classical-conversations/celebrating-willis-patterson-part-two We hold a listening party in honor of Dr. Willis Patterson's upcoming 90th birthday, with performances from throughout his legendary career as both a singer and an educator. Joining us are Dr. Louise Toppin, Instructor of Voice at the University of Michigan, and Dr. Patterson himself, former Associate Dean and Professor Emeritus at UM. Dr. Toppin has organized and curated this year's African American Music Conference at UM (Sept. 18-20), and tells us about the many virtual offerings centered around Dr. Patterson, who is the conference's featured guest. Dr. Patterson helps introduce his recordings on our program, and talks about his life in music – much of which involved advocating for African American composers and performers. In 1963, Dr. Patterson famously wrote to NBC television complaining about their practice of using a white singer in blackface for the role of King Balthazar in the televised opera Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti). To his surprise, NBC invited Dr. Patterson to audition, and he was selected to play the role himself. While some musical selections have been truncated due to copyright (for purposes of this downloadable podcast), we hear a modern arrangement of Three African-American Spirituals composed by Matthew Rose (and posted here by permission). Dr. Patterson draws a direct correlation between the three spirituals and the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Link to the conference online: https://smtd.umich.edu/performances-events/african-american-music-conference-2020/ More about Louise Toppin: https://smtd.umich.edu/about/faculty-profiles/louise-toppin/ More about Willis Patterson: https://smtd.umich.edu/willis-patterson-artist-and-advocate/ Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste (referenced in our conversation): https://www.amazon.com/Caste-Origins-Discontents-Isabel-Wilkerson/dp/0593230256

This is part two of a two-part podcast. For part one, visit this link: https://www.wgte.org/radio/podcasts/classical-conversations/celebrating-willis-patterson-part-one We hold a listening party in honor of Dr. Willis Patterson's upcoming 90th birthday, with performances from throughout his legendary career as both a singer and an educator. Joining us are Dr. Louise Toppin, Instructor of Voice at the University of Michigan, and Dr. Patterson himself, former Associate Dean and Professor Emeritus at UM. Dr. Toppin has organized and curated this year's African American Music Conference at UM (Sept. 18-20), and tells us about the many virtual offerings centered around Dr. Patterson, who is the conference's featured guest. Dr. Patterson helps introduce his recordings on our program, and talks about his life in music – much of which involved advocating for African American composers and performers. In 1963, Dr. Patterson famously wrote to NBC television complaining about their practice of using a white singer in blackface for the role of King Balthazar in the televised opera Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti). To his surprise, NBC invited Dr. Patterson to audition, and he was selected to play the role himself. While some musical selections have been truncated due to copyright (for purposes of this downloadable podcast), we hear a modern arrangement of Three African-American Spirituals composed by Matthew Rose (and posted here by permission). Dr. Patterson draws a direct correlation between the three spirituals and the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Link to the conference online: https://smtd.umich.edu/performances-events/african-american-music-conference-2020/ More about Louise Toppin: https://smtd.umich.edu/about/faculty-profiles/louise-toppin/ More about Willis Patterson: https://smtd.umich.edu/willis-patterson-artist-and-advocate/ Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste (referenced in our conversation): https://www.amazon.com/Caste-Origins-Discontents-Isabel-Wilkerson/dp/0593230256