Episode 18: American Conductor Leonard Slatkin

For the Culture Monster season finale, I speak with conductor Leonard Slatkin about his remarkable career and his new book, “Classical Crossroads.” I also endorse music by David Lang and Alan Hovhaness.

 

LINKS

The film “Olympia” documenting the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin

https://thesportjournal.org/article/leni-riefenstahls-olympia-brilliant-cinematography-or-nazi-propaganda/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3LOPhRq3Es

 

David Lang is an American composer known for his association with “Bang on a Can”

https://www.npr.org/2011/01/24/89442735/david-lang-wins-music-pulitzer

https://bangonacan.org/about_us/

 

“Cheating, Lying, Stealing” originally for chamber ensemble, heard here in a later version for band.

https://davidlangmusic.com/music/cheating-lying-stealing-arr-band/

 

Leonard Slatkin conducted the premiere of Lang’s first orchestral work with the Boston Symphony in 1991. 

“International Business Machine”

https://davidlangmusic.com/music/international-business-machine/

 

Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)

https://hovhaness.com/hovhaness-biography.html

Mysterious Mountain- Symphony no. 2

https://hovhaness.com/hovhaness-mysterious-mountain.html

 

“Five Sacred Trees” Album from John Williams & London Symphony Orchestra which includes “Mysterious Mountain”

https://open.spotify.com/album/4pjd4sL03OuKTp9nxsyAJo

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/hovhaness-mysterious-mountain/263090524

 

Leonard Slatkin is an internationally acclaimed conductor, most recently Music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

https://www.leonardslatkin.com/timeline/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Symphony_Orchestra

 

in 2016, Slatkin made a series of videos showing how conducting works.

Conducting School 1.0

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2_S0hFw3zDl47TtV7iYbu-XhiuSrkgaW

 

Slatkin’s latest book is entitled “Classical Crossroads.”

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538152225/Classical-Crossroads-The-Path-Forward-for-Music-in-the-21st-Century

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/classical-crossroads-the-path-forward/9781538152225-item.html?ikwid=classical+crossroads&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=83201876771428de3e0ddae5987b9caa

 

Slatkin wrote about his appearance at the Aspen Music Festival at his blog

https://www.leonardslatkin.com/august-2021-a-tale-of-two-orchestras/

 

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony has had many differing interpretations 

https://medium.com/the-gleaming-sword/socially-distant-beethovens-fifth-symphony-5b457b0bb019

 

Leonard Slatkin referred to Leonard Bernstein’s deconstruction of Beethovens’s fifth for a 1950s Television show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu2HJerMp8A&t

Julia Perry “Short Piece for Orchestra”

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/short-piece-for-orchestra/554425306?i=554425313

Brahms Serenade no. 1

Brahms Serenade No. 1 in D major, Op. 11

Copland “Organ Symphony” recorded by Leonard Slatkin and the St Louis Symphony Orchestra

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/copland-dance-symphony-short-symphony-organ-symphony/1362101560

Mason Bates “B-Sides” performed by Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrnsy9KHdwQ

Slatkin also recommended music by James Lee III

https://www.jameslee3music.com

 

Support the podcast at

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

Published August 2021

https://www.culturemonster.ca

I speak with Holly Mathieson about her personal musical journey and endorse a Giller Prize winner. 

 

LINKS

NYTimes on subway chimes:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/13/arts/subway-train-sounds.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUyYiZ_tU1Gw5CRWySB4B991re1b-Wm_s1nGPlazOIQylL3qEJGYGB_QLWYrdla8B13yieQJUJFo4Tc8FI770VOV1xGU7vo52YlY4MKDk0t4_0Bjxu08KdBL59rTS3Pizkc-wkge3nsUjDbmbtXKbf1yd1cQwysoIlIQ_xoQEAxqjCGuBw0tZ-zK1hUsg8HWFcEXHM6_r4CBx-OMGEZwXc6GQ1XeJYWTLSmr2M-u5KMVUSWR-dEiQJsStr48hcOdgUIK_0MxckHcL7ir8SAWZtR5y7pmYAt83CIxgl0vBWC_GFfg&smid=url-share

 

Do Not Say we have nothing, by Madeline Thien

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/259732/do-not-say-we-have-nothing-by-madeleine-thien/9780345810434

 

Interview with the Author in The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/08/madeleine-thien-interview-do-not-say-we-have-nothing

 

R. Murray Schafer

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/r-murray-schafer-emc

 

50th Anniversary of the World Soundscape Project

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/world-soundscape-project-1.4640278

Acopolypsis-2015

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/the-end-is-nigh-apocalypsis-production-to-blow-people-s-minds-1.3129522

 

A CBC story about another long-running participatory project

https://www.cbc.ca/music/why-people-gather-each-year-in-the-haliburton-forest-to-take-part-in-murray-schafer-s-wolf-project-1.5406731

 

 

Holly Mathieson is music director of Symphony Nova Scotia

https://www.hollymathieson.com

https://symphonynovascotia.ca

 

Excerpts from R Murray Schafer’s Trio for Flute Viola and Harp-performed by Trio Verlaine

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/trio-for-flute-viola-and-harp-ii-slowly-calmly/905067700?i=905067733

https://open.spotify.com/album/4rEp8TtftbHqIaK6GJNdiI?si=Nihhj1O-S960-sQiDPKH9A&dl_branch=1

 

Holly Mathieson recommended——

William Grant Still - Symphony No. 5 “Western Hemisphere”

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/still-w-g-symphonies-nos-4-autochthonous-and-5/332767908

https://open.spotify.com/album/6H5G9x9y5suBLveGNtq3zk?si=0CmfLQ2ZSUqrAmiox9hjEA&dl_branch=1

Franz Schreker - “Der Geburtstag der Infantin” (Birthday of the Infanta)

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/zemlinsky-die-seejungfrau-schreker-der-geburtstag-der/1562851792

Thea Musgrave “Phoenix Rising”

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/thea-musgrave-phoenix-rising/1440067691

 

Franz Schreker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schreker

William Grant Still

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Grant_Still

Rebecca Thomas (Halifax Poet Laureate 2016-2018)

https://www.dal.ca/about-dal/dalhousie-originals/rebecca-thomas.html

 

 

Published August 2021

https://www.culturemonster.ca

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

I speak with conductor Dina Gilbert about her life and career and tell the story of the great Olympic Hymn by Richard Strauss, that time forgot.

 

LINKS

Darius Milhaud was a busy well-known composer during the 20th Century.

The New Yorker published a guide to his music in 2017

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-indomitable-humanism-of-darius-milhaud

 

Arthur Fiedler conducted the Boston Pops for 50 years.

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1217.html

 

The “Boston Pops” an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is one of the most recorded ensembles in the world—known for its association with Arthur Fiedler, John Wiliams, and current conductor Keith Lockhart

https://www.bso.org/brands/pops/about-us/historyarchives/the-history-of-the-boston-pops.aspx

 

Richard Strauss was an important German composer who lived from 1864-1949

ClassicFM’s 15 facts about Strauss

https://www.classicfm.com/composers/strauss/guides/facts-gallery/

 

“Olympische Hymne” by Richard Strauss was premiered August 1, 1936 during the opening ceremony of the Berlin Olympics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympische_Hymne

Photo of Strauss in rehearsal at the Olympic Stadium

https://web.archive.org/web/20091027074318/http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Studio/2891/olympia.htm

 

Dina Gilbert is Music director of the Kamloops Symphony

http://www.dinagilbert.com

https://www.kamloopssymphony.com

Gilbert is also directrice musicale of Orchestre Symphonique de l’Estuaire

https://ose.qc.ca

and principal conductor Les Grand Ballets’ Orchestra

https://grandsballets.com/en/

 

Kent Nagano is a notable American conductor who was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006-2020. https://www.kentnagano.com/about-kent/

The english language version of his memoir “Classical Music: Expect the unexpected” is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press

https://www.mqup.ca/classical-music-products-9780773556348.php?page_id=73&

 

Samy Moussa is a busy Canadian composer with a long association with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra

http://www.samymoussa.com/biography

 

Moussa’s Violin Concerto has been recorded by Andrew Wan-with Nagano conducting the OSM

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/ginastera-bernstein-moussa-works-for-violin-and-orchestra/1533874089

https://open.spotify.com/album/6nTReYFzI0mZHhco5cX7Q3

 

Dinuk Wijeratne is an award-winning composer who lives in Nova Scotia

https://www.dinukwijeratne.com/biography/

Dina recommended his Tabla Concerto

https://www.dinukwijeratne.com/tablaconcerto/

You can support the podcast at

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

Published August 2021

Episode 15: Paul Dornian and spectacle of the Olympics

 

As he exits his role at the Calgary Philharmonic, Paul Dornian chats with me about his life and career. Also 

 

LINKS

“Rhapsody in Blue” from the 1984 Olympic opening ceremony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylUF32pwvtI

Premiere of John Williams “Olympic Fanfare and theme”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0fEAFBOoM&t=168s

Lighting the 1984 Olympic Cauldron, featuring music by Philip Glass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbbVk3AGVhE

 

“The Raven Conspiracy” by Carmen Braden, performed by members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iphtKI_Mg6M&t=135s

 

The Edmonton Symphony returns to perform in Symphony under the sky

https://www.winspearcentre.com/more/visit/symphony-under-the-sky/

 

Paul Dornian has been CEO of the Calgary Philharmonic since 2015

https://calgaryphil.com

In August 2021, the Calgary Philharmonic announced March Stevens would be its new CEO

https://calgaryphil.com/portfolio-items/marc-stevens/

 

Carmen Braden is an award-winning composer/performer from Yellowknife, NWT

https://www.carmenbraden.com

 

Paul Dornian mentioned the CalgaryPhil Project “an Orchestra Adventure with Maestro Karl and friends”

https://calgaryphil.com/kids-project/

 

support the podcast at

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

Published August 2021

I speak with violist Nick Pulos about his life and career, and recommend a new novel heating up the Alberta Bestseller list. 

 

Unlocking, by Amy Leblanc — published by UCalgary Press

https://press.ucalgary.ca/books/9781773851396/

 

Amy Leblanc received the 2020 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award:

https://artsawards.ca/artist/amy-leblanc/

 

 

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa was formed in 1969.

https://nac-cna.ca/en/orchestra/about/history

 

Nick Pulos was principal violist of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for many years.

https://www.winspearcentre.com/more/about/about-eso/

 

Josef Suk “Into a new Life” March

performed by Czech Philharmonic Orchestra - Vaclac Talich, conductor

historical performance from 1938 available here

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/v-novy-zivot-into-a-new-life-op-35c/369420608?i=369420621

 

Support the podcast at

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

published Aug 2021

I speak with multi-instrumentalist and conductor Jeremy Brown about his varied career and endorse a book which isn’t a book. Also, can cats compose?

 

LINKS

 

Zez Confrery, jazz pianist and composer:

https://syncopatedtimes.com/zez-confrey/

 

Sacrlatti, “Fuga del Gatto”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhCBn3-4JKI

 

Amy Beach, American Composer (1867-1944):

https://www.amybeach.org/about/biography/

 

 

Jeremy Brown is a professor at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, University of Calgary:

https://contacts.ucalgary.ca/info/scpa/profiles/204-29912

 

His book “The Wind Band Music of Henry Cowell”

The Wind Band Music of Henry Cowell

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781351239264/wind-band-music-henry-cowell-jeremy-brown-michael-budds

 

Audio of Andrew MacDonald’s Concerto for tenor saxophone “Orchid Garden” featuring Jeremy Brown, Ottawa Symphony orchestra, Alain Trudel, Conductor:

https://ottawasymphony.com/rejoyce-episode-9

 

Kelly Marie Murphy is a Canadian composer:

https://kellymariemurphy.com

“I will dream Beyond the Stars” for Band:

https://kellymariemurphy.com/i-will-dream-beyond-the-stars/

“Fallibility, Logic, and the Return of Wonder” Alto Saxophone Concerto, commissioned by Jeremy Brown:

https://kellymariemurphy.com/fallibility-logic-and-the-return-of-wonder/

Fantasy for saxophone and string quartet by Nova Pon:

http://novapon.com/music/chamber-music/fantasy

 

 

Jeremy Brown is on the board of JazzYYC:

https://www.jazzyyc.com

Jeremy Brown is music director of the Calgary Wind Symphony

https://calgarywindsymphony.com/about-cws/directors/jeremy-s-brown/

 

Claude Lapalme is music director of the Red Deer Symphony:

https://www.rdso.ca

 

Listen to the complete archive of Culture Monster:

https://www.culturemonster.ca

June 2021

Episode 12: A chat with Grant Harville | “Papa Bach”

I speak with Grant Harville about making music in the heart of Montana, and make a recommendation for your next visit to Hamburg Germany. 

 

LINKS

Minitur Wonderland, Hamburg:

https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com

 

Watch the world record wining train performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBNHmUT3GPg&t=17s

Behind the scenes of the trick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfNEzpjY2Ho

 

“The Motherland hears the Motherland Knows”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uacEN-JtB9Q

 

Grant Harville is the Music Director of the Great Falls Symphony, Great Falls Montana.

https://www.gfsymphony.org

https://www.grantharville.com

 

De Boek Symphony in G:

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/boeck-symphony-violin-concerto/19447673

 

Julia Perry Short Piece for Orchestra:

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/short-piece-for-orchestra/554425306?i=554425313

 

Andrew Norman “Play”:

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/andrew-norman-play/951454831

 

excerpts of Bach performed by Jeremy Brown and Su Jeon from the album “Ornamentology”

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/ornamentology/1530844818

 

https://open.spotify.com/album/7GzcuF70VNOkYlYy7kRXJQ

 

Support the podcast at

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

see the complete Culture Monster Archvie at:

https://www.culturemonster.ca

Published June 2021

I speak with Red Deer Symphony Conductor Claude Lapalme about his career and what does a conductor do when he can’t conduct for a year? Also the strange life of Adolphe Sax, and the German composer who got himself on the cover of TIME magazine.

 

LINKS

TIME Magazine’s 1938 article featuring Richard Strauss:

http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19380725,00.html

 

“Ben Folds Composes a Song LIVE for Orchestra In Only 10 Minutes”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BytUY_AwTUs

 

Adolphe Sax’s 201st birthday doodle:

https://www.google.com/doodles/adolphe-saxs-201st-birthday

 

The Metropolitan Museum has a collection of instruments associated with Sax:

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2014/celebrating-sax

 

Public Radio International’s report on Adolphe Sax

https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-12-03/meet-dangerous-belgian-who-invented-sax

 

Claude Lapalme is the music director of the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra:

https://www.rdso.ca/musicians

 

“Behind the Red the Red Door” for String quartet composed by Arthur Bachmann and presented by the RDSO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX-TUNSS9dM

 

Claude is artistic director of the baroque ensemble Rosa Barocca:

http://www.rosabarocca.ca/home.html

 

Claude Lapalme’s recommendations—

Mahler Symphony No.5:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/mahler-symphony-no-5/1566087845?app=music

https://open.spotify.com/album/4HfSZiDvcUOcoaLdLpZWIP

 

Mahler Symphony No.4:

https://open.spotify.com/album/35QVkJzvDOxwQWRISo0Ndc

https://music.apple.com/us/album/mahler-symphony-no-4/1466028476

 

Corigliano Clarinet Concerto:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/barber-third-essay-corigliano-clarinet-concerto/393436361

https://open.spotify.com/album/4CBEI9htRG14HfzM1aOGuq

 

Liberson King Gesar:

https://open.spotify.com/album/4CBEI9htRG14HfzM1aOGuq

 

Vincent Ho Arctic Symphony:

https://open.spotify.com/album/2x8qSrgsS711NH93Tj4xM3

https://music.apple.com/us/album/vincent-ho-the-shaman-arctic-symphony-live/1293250081

 

John Estacio: Orchestral Works:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/frenergy-the-music-of-john-esacio/320290175

 

Jan Zelenka:

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/zelenka-pisendel-concerti/361263786

Early Italian Masterpieces:

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/perla-barocca-early-italian-masterpieces/913838720

 

Support the podcast at

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

 

excerpt from Richard Strauss: Don Juan performed courtesy of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony

excerpt from Jakob Dont: Caprice arranged for tenor saxophone, courtesy of David Hernando Vitores

excerpt from Bach, performed by Jeremy Brown

 https://www.culturemonster.ca

First published June 2021

I speak with conductor, vocal coach and pianist Kimberley-Ann Bartczak about her journey to the podium and what making opera in Canada is like. Haydn’s skull was very useful to him while he was alive, but also had an unusual time after he was dead.  Plus a double-dose of Culture Monster recommends…

 

SHOW NOTES

Kimberley-Ann Bartczak is Principal Coach and Accompanist, Pacific Opera Victoria:

https://pacificopera.ca/person/kimberley-ann-bartczak/

 

The Terminal (2004) directed by Steven Spielberg:

https://letterboxd.com/film/the-terminal/

 

CBC Radio “As it Happens” original story about Hassan al Kontar:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-full-episode-1.4618548/syrian-stranded-at-malaysia-airport-says-canadians-renewed-his-hope-in-humanity-1.4618550

 

CBC Radio update on his book:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-monday-edition-1.6038621/he-spent-7-months-living-in-an-airport-until-canada-took-him-in-now-he-s-written-a-book-about-it-1.6038622

 

“Man @ the_airport” book website: 

https://www.manattheairport.com

 

Other people who have lived in airports:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_lived_in_airports

 

work from the Pacific Opera Civic Engagement Quartet can be found here:

https://pacificopera.ca/event/music-alive/

 

POV’s two recent opera films are here:

https://pacificopera.ca/event/the-italian-lesson-bon-appetit/

 

Kim’s recommendations:

Toothpaste by Alexina Louie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSAsn9u3e8U

 

Burnt Toast by Alexina Louis (sequel to Toothpaste)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DrN57bRe4Y

 

The Argument by Alexina Louis (part of Burnt toast 8 mini-opera)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LXUrnVdV7M

 

CHEESE!

https://youtu.be/fTgm36y884c

 

The Queen of the night aria by Mozart referenced during the conversation is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuBeBjqKSGQ

 

Haydn excerpt courtesy of Wikicommons. 

John Williams excerpt courtesy of US Marine Band

 

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

complete Culture Monster archives at 

https://www.culturemonster.ca

 

Originally published May 2021

Episode 9: Tim Shantz | Bach, Handel & Eye Surgery

I tell the story teased from the beginning of Culture Monster—what is the connection between Bach, Handel and eye surgery? I also speak with notable choral conductor Tim Shantz on the power of ensemble singing, and recommend a British novel from the 1990s.

 

LINKS

News story on the Toronto Gallery heist:

https://cp24.com/four-pieces-of-art-worth-combined-265-900-stolen-from-gallery-in-toronto-1.5395704…

 

Medical Journal article on Bach’s eye problems:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/417322

 

University of Wisconsin Medical School’s version of the story:

https://www.med.wisc.edu/news-and-events/2009/december/handel-bach-blinded-18th-century-quackery/

 

Tim Shantz is a faculty member at the University of Alberta Department of Music:

https://www.ualberta.ca/music/index.html

 

Tim Shantz is founder and artistic director of the Luminous Voices:

https://luminousvoices.com/artistic-director

https://luminousvoices.com

 

He was also the former director of the Spiritus Chamber Choir and Calgary Philharmonic Chorus:

http://www.spirituschamberchoir.ca

https://calgaryphil.com/orchestra/chorus/

 

The most recent Luminous Voices recording is “Sea Dreams”

Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/sea-dreams/1522347176

 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1gmIVzH2KgF8vPJyQh6DEZ?si=h68Hh305SxiPKBj5vbkoYg

 

Tim Shantz and the Luminous Voices have recorded  “The Far West” by Zachary Wadsworth

Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/zachary-wadsworth-the-far-west/1525796302

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0pPYLosqkFmokl5C5lOzIu?si=ZCyNRaniT7mahlzpPhVQGg

 

Tim also mentioned 

Frank Martin “Mass for Double Choir”:

Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/frank-martin-choral-works/69170555

 

Monteverdi “Vespers 1610”

Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/monteverdi-vespers/418622377

 

J.S. Bach “St John Passion”

Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/bach-st-john-passion-bwv-245-johannes-passion-deluxe/1087775578

 

 

The excerpt of Handel’s “Total Eclipse” is provided by the Internet Archive, and was performed by Richard Lewis. 

HIs 1963 Calgary recital is available here:

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/in-recital-calgary-1963-live/1386196451

 

Episode First published April 2021

https://www.culturemonster.ca