Jay begins with a toast from “La rondine,” Puccini’s opera; he ends with “The Lord’s Prayer,” sung by Leontyne Price on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Lots in between, of course: including tributes to the jazz pianist and composer Claude Bolling; the jazz guitarist Pat Metheny; and the organist John Weaver. A delicious program.

Puccini, “Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso,” from “La rondine”
Fauré, “Reflets dans l’eau”
Bolling, “Baroque and Blue,” from Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano
Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No. 7
Metheny, “Have You Heard”
Weaver, Variation on “Sine Nomine”
Malotte, “The Lord’s Prayer”

Music for a While #42: From a toast to a prayer

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In this episode, Jay begins with a shout—“Carolina Shout,” the classic jazz number by James P. Johnson. There are songs by Schumann, Puccini, and Porter (Cole). There are piano preludes—starter pieces by their composers. At the end, there is a sunburst of calypso. Enjoy this smorgasbord.

Johnson, James P., “Carolina Shout”

Schumann, “Röseleine, Röseleine!”

Bonds, Margaret, “Young Love in Spring”

Szymanowski, Prelude in E-flat minor, Op. 1, No. 8

Gorecki, Prelude, Op. 1, No. 4

Puccini, “Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso,” from “La rondine”

Puccini, “Chi il bel sogno,” from “La rondine”

Young, Victor, arr., Evans, Bill, “When I Fall in Love”

Porter, Cole, “Don’t Fence Me In”

Tanker, André, arr., Shaw, Theron, “Morena Osha”

Music for a While #88: Shout it out

The Friends of The New Criterion recently gathered for an evening in celebration of Peter Vertacnik, whose “The Nature of Things Fragile” won the magazine’s twenty-third poetry prize. Listen to hear Peter read a number of poems from this new collection.

Peter Vertacnik reads from “The Nature of Things Fragile”

Jay has assembled a little celebration of spring: songs, arias, a symphony, a sonata. Who doesn’t want to sing spring?

Argento, “Spring,” from “Six Elizabethan Songs”
Sinding, “Rustle of Spring”
Wagner, “Du bist der Lenz,” from “Die Walküre”
Beethoven, “Spring” Sonata, Rondo
Strauss, “Herr Lenz”
Saint-Saëns, “Printemps qui commence,” from “Samson et Dalila”
Schumann, “Er ist’s”
Hoiby, “Always It’s Spring”
Wolf, “Er ist’s”
Schumann, “Spring” Symphony, first movement
Warlock, “Pretty Ring Time”

Music for a While #87: Spring forward

On March 14, the Friends and Young Friends of The New Criterion gathered at the magazine’s headquarters to hear remarks from Dr. Alexander Chula on his new book, “Goodbye, Dr. Banda: Lessons for the West From a Small African Country.”

Goodbye, Dr. Banda

Recently, Carnegie Hall hosted a John Williams gala. The program was all-Williams and the composer himself conducted most of the concert. In this episode, Jay hosts his own little Williams gala.

All by John Williams:
“The Mission”
Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”
Olympic Fanfare and Theme
Main Title from “Catch Me If You Can”
Raiders March from “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”
Flying Theme from “E.T.”
The Imperial March, a.k.a. Darth Vader’s Theme, from “Star Wars”

Music for a While #42: From a toast to a prayer

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