Troubadisc Videos

In episode #80 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" we feature selections from "Flute Moments with Teresa Beaman."Teresa Beaman is a reknowned performer and educator. She's toured extensively as a flute soloist, and has commissioned several works for her instrument. "Flute Moments" is a collection of works by 20th Century American composers.In our podcast, we play excerpts from three of them: Lowell

Episode #79 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" presents three works from a Troubadisc CD. "Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: Piano Chamber Music" includes music composed when she was young, after her marriage, and the year of her death. Although not given the same career opportunities as her brother Felix, Fanny enjoyed a rich creative life. While her father expected her to abandon composing after marriage,

Monument Records is a label dedicated to the music of Beethoven. But not just the standard repertoire of Beethoven. Rather, Monument explores the more unusual parts of Beethoven's output. Their release "Beethoven: Forgotten String Quartets" is a good example.This CD brings together a variety of mostly unheard scraps from the master's worktable. The Covington Quartet plays some sketches for string

"Die Kunst der Fuge" was Johann Sebastian Bach's compendium of his contrapuntal skill. The work starts with a very simple subject, and moves through an increasingly complex series canons and fugues. Brengt Tibukait performs this amazing work on an instrument of the period, a 1728 Cahman organ in a new SACD release from Musica Rediviva. Episode #77 of the DCD Classical 'Cast features selections

Episode #76 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" has, I think a heroic quality to it. The Ensemble Pegasus, Tokyo is a wonderful collection of extraordinary brass players who, under the direction of Norihasa Yamamoto, turn in one thrilling performance after another on a new Musica Rediviva release. Appropriately titled "A Flourish of Brass," this SACD presents an aspect of brass ensemble playing that's

Episode #75 of the "DCD Classical Cast" presents selections from a CD by internationally acclaimed pianist Temirzhan Yerzhanov.In 1942 Prokofiev spent a year in Kazakhstan, where he completed a number of important works, including the score to Ivan the Terrible, music for the ballet Cinderella, and his opera "War and Peace."Yerzhanov is a native of Kazahkstan, and -- because of the geographical

Bach's "Musical Offering" is the subject of the DCD Classical 'Cast, episode #74. In 2007 the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival presented a talk on "The Musical Offering," followed by a performance of the work.The talk forwarded a theory about the circumstances surrounding Johann Sebastian Bach's visit to the court of Frederic the Great in 1748, where his son, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach was

This episode we continue our survey of the Token Creek Recordings catalog. Episode #73 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" features excerpts from two live recordings from the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival 1997 season.The CD has two Beethoven piano trios performed by members of the Token Creek Festival. One of the goals of the festival is to present fresh performances of chamber music to make

This episode of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" we continue our survey of the Token Creek Recordings catalog. One of the purposes of the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival is to present familiar works in new and interesting ways -- and their performances of Bach concerti illustrate that nicely.The festival's performance of Bach's Concerto for Two Keyboards features two very different makes of pianos,

Episode 71 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" features music from the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival. The festival's series of recordings document some of the performance highlights since the founding in 1989. In this podcast we play selections from three works featured on a single release. The three performances featured in this program all come from the 2001 season, and demonstrate the

Episode 70 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" features music by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel; specifically, "Das Jahr." This musical cycle for solo piano was completed in 1842 and remained unpublished during Fanny's lifetime. The work has twelve movements, each named for a different month of the year, and each with a different character. Wolfram Lorenzen, the pianist for this recording, clearly has an

Episode #69 of the DCD Classical 'Cast we sample music from two sides of the renaissance; the sacred and the secular. Representing the scared, we play two works by Luca Marenzio, performed by the Rudgers Collegium Musicum. They come from the DTR release "Madrigalists at Prayer."Representing the secular is music from Mr. Arbeau's School of Dancing, as performed by the Convivium Musicum. Two

In episode #68 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" we feature an extensive selection from an unusual recording. Rudolph Barashai performed the Mahler Fifth Symphony with Die Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. The resulting concert was electrifying, and fortunately it was recorded. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is that the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie is made up of talented high school students

Episode #67 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" features an unusual composition and an unusual performance of it. Dutch composer Henk Badings wrote a series of sixteen trios for violins. These short works were designed for pedagogic purposes as well as being legitimate concert works. Their collective title, "Trio-Cosmos" is a nod to Bartok's "Microcosmos."Violinist Vartan Manoogian set out to record all

Episode #66 of the DCD Classical 'Cast showcases the latest release from the Seattle Pro Musica. "American Masterpieces" is a collection of American choral works from the last 50 years (or thereabouts).Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein are represented, as well as newer composers such as Morten Lauridsen. Also featured are works commissioned by the Seattle Pro Musica, and two selections by their

Episode #65 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" features music from two new releases. Jerome Mouffe is a gifted young guitarist whose debut recording "Capriccio" just came out on VGo Recordings. Les Timming has been an active composer and wind performer for decades. A recording of his ground-breaking solo recital was recently reissued by the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Music.What do these

Episode #64 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" features performances -- and music -- by Gunnar Johansen. The University of Wisconsin Madison School of Music has released a two CD set documenting the talent of this remarkable artist, with recordings ranging from 1957 to 1972.Johansen left his native Holland to study in Berlin with Ferruccio Busoni. He emigrated to the United States in the 1920's and had

Episode #63 of the DCD Classical ‘Cast features two releases with oboist Mark Fink. These CDs from the University of Wisconsin’s record label showcase two themed recitals by Professor Fink. “Music for Oboe and Strings” has Fink joining forces with the Pro Arte Quartet for a selection of works ranging from familiar composers such as Mozart and Britten to lesser-known masters such as Bernhard

In episode #60 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" we showcase a new release from Laurel Records. Laurel's been building an impressive catalog of compositions by Ernest Bloch, and this CD adds substantially to that. "Bloch - Music for Viola" brings together his music for solo viola in a variety of settings.Included is the Suite Hebraique for Solo Viola and Orchestra; "Nigan" for Solo Viola and String

Part two of our holiday music special features selections from two recordings. "A Longwood Gardens Christmas" starts off episode #59 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast." Organist Michael Stairs performs two familiar selections, "O Christmas Tree," and an arrangement of "In dulci jubilo."The centerpiece for the podcast is Janis Lusens' "Child of the Stars." This choral cantata borrows heavily from Lusens