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Playlist: The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis's Portfolio

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Animated Conversation

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 28:21

How do composers create lively dialogues or exchange spirited thoughts with their instrumental music?

Aratliff2_small True to its definition, animation–life, interest, activity, motion—can be infused into entire movements by just a few notes, a certain motive, or by material passing from one instrument to another. Our study of J.S. Bach (the Gigue from his French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816), Mozart (Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, final movement), Brahms (excerpt from the opening of Symphony No. 1), and Bartók (the Piano Concerto No. 2, opening movement) will inspire an “Animated Conversation.”

Poets of the Piano

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 27:06

We have music inspired by masterful verse, music inspired by vivid images and effective narratives.

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Way back in the 1770s the persuasive writer on music, Johann Georg Sulzer, talked about instrumental works expressing emotion: “the composer can seek out passages in literature that are pathetic, fiery, gentle, or tender . . . and then translate these emotions into music.” Let’s examine some of these passages in literature by relating them to music of Charles Griffes (“The White Peacock” from Roman Sketches), Franz Liszt (Petrarch Sonnet No. 104 from Years of Pilgrimage), and Maurice Ravel (“Scarbo” from Gaspard de la Nuit).

Follow the Leader

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 25:54

In today’s program we play “Follow the Leader” and listen to pieces in which one instrument imitates another.

Aratliff2_small The “leader” plays the melodic line, and the other voices are derived from that theme and “follow” at a certain distance. How does imitating a melody at different distances unify the music? We will explore pieces by J.S. Bach (Two-Part Invention in C minor, BWV 773); Mozart (Menuet and Trio in canon from the Serenade in C minor, K. 388); Bartók (a selection from the finale of his First String Quartet); Roy Harris (the fugal excerpt from his Third Symphony); and César Franck (the finale of his A-Major Violin and Piano Sonata) that will light a pathway for following a musical leader.

Turning Points

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 28:36

Many times in the arts, in literature, in any discipline, a turning point in a story hinges on one decision, on one unfolding, on one change of direction.

Aratliff2_small Those turning points in operatic and instrumental music will be our focus, studying music of Beethoven (the second movement of his famous Fifth Symphony), Brahms (the E-flat Major Rhapsody), and Richard Strauss (the “Presentation of the Rose” scene from Der Rosenkavalier).

Great Opera Duets

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 26:53

Memorable moments in opera include great duets by peerless partners.

Aratliff2_small This program shares just a few of these “Great Opera Duets,” with examples from Bizet’s Pearl Fishers, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro.

“Call me unpredictable”

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 27:18

The great lyricist Sammy Cahn once wrote the famous “Call me irresponsible” for a 1963 film. We all know the words sung by Frank Sinatra: “call me unreliable, throw in undependable too … call me unpredictable …” and so on. Cahn could have easily been writing about the surprising, unpredictable elements found in the music of C.P.E. Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven.

Aratliff2_small In this program, we call these composers “unpredictable,” featuring the finale of Haydn’s Symphony No. 90, the C.P.E. Bach Fantasy in C Major, and two movements from Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 18, No. 6.

 

Astrology and Mythology

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 26:29

This week we consider the influence of astrology and mythology on music.

Aratliff2_small How do these two views of history and the universe interact with composers and their fascination with the planets and space? In this program myth and music come together as we study The Planets of 20th-century composer Gustav Holst ("Mars-the Bringer of War" and "Mercury: the Winged Messenger"), selections from Makrokosmos of George Crumb ("Phantom Gondolier" and "Spiral Galaxy" from Volume I), and an excerpt from the Turangalila Symphony of Olivier Messiaen ("Joy of the Blood of the Stars").

Musical Journeys

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 27:07

Featuring programmatic music of Richard Strauss (selections from Don Quixote); Liszt (an excerpt of Vallée d’Obermann from the Swiss book “Years of Pilgrimage”); Wagner (an excerpt from “Siegfried’s Rhine Journey”); and Beethoven (the final-movement “The Return” from his Piano Sonata, Op. 81a, “Les Adieux”).

Aratliff2_small Featuring programmatic music of Richard Strauss (selections from Don Quixote); Liszt (an excerpt of Vallée d’Obermann from the Swiss book “Years of Pilgrimage”); Wagner (an excerpt from “Siegfried’s Rhine Journey”); and Beethoven (the final-movement “The Return” from his Piano Sonata, Op. 81a, “Les Adieux”).

Favorite Chopin

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 26:41

Every dedicated listener surely has favorite Chopin performances.

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This program explores favorite Chopin recordings of your host. Who can resist the intuitive genius of authoritative pianists Alfred Cortot (playing selections from the Preludes, Op. 28), Vladimir Horowitz (featured in the B-minor Mazurka, Op. 33, No. 4), Artur Rubinstein (playing the Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60), and Piotr Anderszewski (featured in the A-minor Mazurka, Op. 59, No. 1). Join me as we discover these unmatched Chopin interpretations.

Change of Clothes

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 28:38

In today’s program we study musical works that have received a "Change of Clothes."

Aratliff2_small These featured pieces must have been so inspiring in their original form that later composers saw fit to rework, orchestrate, or transcribe them. We will hear piano music of Mozart later orchestrated by Tchaikovsky (Mozart’s “Gluck” Variations later orchestrated into Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Orchestral Suite, final movement); a piano work by Ravel that the composer himself later made into a piece for orchestra (Le tombeau de Couperin); and a Mozart opera duet that Liszt later turned into a fantasy for piano (“La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni Liszt transcribed into variations for his Don Juan Fantasy).

Legends

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 28:10

This week we study great legends of the past—legendary performers, legendary recordings.

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In these historic documents, music and artist come together to create a magical effect. Join me in our brush with greatness: legendary violinist Fritz Kreisler, Renata Tebaldi and Jussi Bjoerling in a scene from Puccini’s Turandot, and legendary pianist Alfred Cortot performing Chopin’s Second Concerto (II) with the London Philharmonic and conductor Sir John Barbirolli.

More Legends

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 28:52

In this program we explore legends kept alive by historic recordings and the performers’ unmatched contributions to the musical world.

Aratliff2_small From music’s last century and the golden age of great recordings we commemorate Vladimir Horowitz, Mischa Elman, Leopold Auer, and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.

Leaping for Joy

From The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis | Part of the Art for Ears series | 27:38

Supposedly someone asked Franz Josef Haydn why the Dona nobis pacem of his “Nelson” Mass was so exhilarating, and not the expected peaceful atmosphere.

Aratliff2_small Haydn replied, “when I think of God, my heart leaps for joy.” Haydn’s joy inspires this program featuring the Agnus Dei and Dona nobis pacem from the “Nelson” Mass as well as music of Schumann (Piano Fantasy, Op. 17, second movement, with its extraordinary leaping), Mahler (an excerpt of his Fourth Symphony finale with texts that speak of joy in heaven), and Olivier Messiaen (an excerpt of “Watch of the Spirit of Joy” from Twenty Contemplations of the Infant Jesus).