logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2021
55m 34s

Debussy La Mer

JOSHUA WEILERSTEIN
About this episode

It's 1905 and you've just come to the premiere of Debussy's La Mer. The orchestra begins playing, and a magical and completely unique journey begins. Gone are the peaceful and placid portrayals of water in music of the past. Instead, you hear strange harmonies and a diffuse language that seems to revel in ambiguity. In fact, it sounds more like an impression of the sea than anything. This is the story of Debussy's La Mer, one of the most beautiful, strange, and compelling pieces of music ever written.

Up next
Feb 19
Brahms Symphony No. 2 LIVE w/ The Aalborg Symphony
Brahms spent much of his adult life battling with his ambition to write the next great symphony and his terror at the shadow of Beethoven standing behind him. Brahms tortured himself for 14 years with his first symphony, and only published it when he was 49 years old. But when th ... Show More
58m 32s
Feb 5
Zemlinsky: The Mermaid
The story of Alexander von Zemlinsky's The Mermaid begins with a passionate love affair and ends in heartbreak of the most unabashedly big-R Romantic kind. In 1900, the young, fabulously talented, and famously beautiful Alma Schindler came to Zemlinsky's home to study composition ... Show More
1h 1m
Jan 22
Pergolesi Stabat Mater
Many aspects of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's life seem relatively normal when it comes to composers of the Baroque era. He was prolific, died young, and his music became very famous only after his death. However, all three of these facts are complicated by the unique circumstanc ... Show More
59m 2s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2010
Debussy: (The Sunken Cathedral) Preludes Book 1 No. 10: La cathédrale engloutie (The Engulfed Cathedral): Profondément calme
I have had several people request that I record some Debussy preludes so here is the first! This prelude is one of Debussy's best-known works. It was composed just over 100 years ago and appeared in Debussy's first book of preludes. This piece is composed after the legend of the ... Show More
5m 49s
Oct 2023
Premiere of Brahms' 'Schicksalslied'
Synopsis On today’s date in 1871, Hermann Levi conducted the premiere of a new choral work by Johannes Brahms titled Schicksalslied, or Song of Destiny. It’s a setting of a poem by Friedrich Hölderlin, contrasting in its first part the blissful Greek gods on Mount Olympus and in ... Show More
2 m
Mar 2024
Rhapsody in Blue, Reimagined
What do Duke Ellington, United Airlines, and the K Pop group Red Velvet share in common? They've all covered George Gershwin's piano concerto, Rhapsody in Blue. First premiered in 1924, the piece became an immediate hit for the way it blended American jazz with the European symph ... Show More
30m 28s
Dec 2010
Debussy: (Moonlight) Clair de Lune
It's finally here! I've had a request for the popular "Clair de lune" more times than any other work. I finally committed to recording this a couple of weeks ago and here it is! I hope that my interpretation and recording will not be a disappointment to those who have patiently w ... Show More
5m 11s
Dec 2021
Song To The Siren
"Long afloat in shipless oceans":So begins ‘Song To The Siren’ whose lyrics were inspired by Homer's Odyssey and the story of the Sirens who lured unwitting sailors to their deaths on the rocks.There is something so ancient and enchanting about the Siren that appeals to us.For wi ... Show More
28m 26s
Feb 2024
Maslanka's Symphony No. 4
Synopsis What do you see when you hear music? That’s an odd question, perhaps, but sometimes composers confess that particular places, persons and scenes play a role in how music is created. On today’s date in 1994, in San Antonio, Texas, for example, a new symphony for wind ense ... Show More
2 m
Feb 2009
Bach: Prelude No. 9 in E Major BWV 854
This prelude is one of my favorites to play when I need to slow down the pace of life. It is a pastorale as indicated by the 3rds in the melody line and the 12/8 time signature. The slow-moving, yet joyful Cantus Firmus is so beautifully augmented by the counterpoint voice. It is ... Show More
1m 55s
Oct 2012
The Skye Boat Song
The Skye Boat Song brings back a wealth of childhood memories for many.The words "Speed Bonnie Boat Like a Bird on the Wing" tell the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s escape to the Isle of Skye - dressed as a maid - after defeat at the battle of Culloden.Originally written by Sir ... Show More
27m 43s