Classical New York

Our guests today are the collaborators cellist Inbal Segev, composer Anna Clyne, and conductor Marin Alsop.

WQXR's James Bennett talked to them about their work, what it means to write contemporary classical music and how it all connects on a new album that juxtaposes Elgar's famous Cello Concerto with DANCE, an inspiring new work by Grammy-nominated English composer Anna Clyne that was commissioned by Inbal.

The album will be out on June 5th on Avie.

James Bennett, HostRosa Gollan, ProducerCurtis Macdonald, Technical ProducerLukas Krohn-Grimberghe, Executive Producer

As restrictions ease, livestreams move back from the sofa to the stage. The Wigmore Hall in London and the BBC Radio 3 are celebrating this return with a month-long series of live broadcasts. Every weekday in June, leading artists will play to an empty hall for audiences around the world. The series begins with pianist Stephen Hough playing a Schumann piece expressing the agony of separation. This performance and the others in the series will be available to watch online for 30 days. There’s a link to this concert and many others at WQXR.org/ConcertWatch.

This week, Steve Reich is our guest at "In Conversation" with WQXR's Zev Kane. Reich is joined by two of his collaborators, cellist and Ensemble Signal's Executive and Co-Artistic-Director Lauren Radnofsky and conductor/composer Brad Lubman. They are talking about the new normal, the relationship between composer and performers and they go into detail about two of Reich's most esteemed pieces: Music for 18 Musicians and the Double Sextet. Both are available as part of Lincoln Center's re-stream initiative and as studio recordings by Harmonia Mundi. 

Composer and DJ Gabriel Prokofiev talks with WQXR's Zev Kane about his Turntable Concerto, why he loves the concerto form, his relationship with the legacy of his grandfather Sergei Prokofiev, and the state of classical music today. 

German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who recently recovered from Covid-19, continues to advocate for the welfare of artists and refugee children. Starting today and through this weekend, you can see Anne-Sophie Mutter in a 2014 concert with The Mutter Virtuosi - a string orchestra of students from her foundation promoting young musicians. The concert is streaming as a part of the weekly web-series series Carnegie Hall Fridays, a collaboration between Carnegie Hall and Medici TV highlighting recent concerts. Learn more on wqxr.org/concertwatch.

This week, Aria Code producer Merrin Lazyan talks to soprano Angel Blue, who recently performed the role of Bess at the Met's production of Porgy and Bess to stellar reviews and is now, like most of us, hunkered down at home. Blue gives insights into how she approaches her roles and talks about the upside of not being able to perform during the current crisis, as well as her Faithful Friday sessions. 

Every Sunday evening, the residents of an apartment complex in Berlin join together in solidarity and music. Cellist Eckart Runge and pianist Jacques Ammon have been performing together for decades, and they both happen to live in that apartment complex. When the quarantine took hold, Eckart and Jacques wanted to do something to help their community, to lift people’s spirits with music. So they started a series of balcony concerts. Neighbors and friends gather on their own balconies or in the courtyard below to watch, listen... even dance a tango – every week. You can join too – virtually, this Sunday at noon. For a link go to wqxr.org/concertwatch.

Pianist and composer Chad Lawson has just released his new EP ‘Stay’. And as he, like all of us, are staying indeed at home, WQXR's Zev Kane spoke to him via video call about his compositional process, the driving force of melody, and the value of simplicity.    

There are lots of transcriptions and arrangements of Bach's Goldberg Variations, including some for jazz ensemble, saxophone quartet, and marimba. One arrangement is by Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie, and this one’s for strings and harpsichord. It sticks pretty closely to Bach’s original work, filling it in with Baroque instrumentation. Back in 2018, the Australian Chamber Orchestra played this arrangement of the Goldbergs at the iconic Sydney Opera House. And now, as part of its initiative to make digital content available while the hall is closed, you can watch it online.

This week IN CONVERSATION is mezzo-soprano Lucy Dhegrae with WQXR's James Bennet to talk about her unique approach to singing, the voice as an instrument (with imperfections), and her projects Resonant Bodies and the Processing Series.