One intrepid reporter travels to Germany to witness a chord change for an organ concert designed to last 639 years, and to discover why such a concert is even happening in the first place.
May 2025
Copland Clarinet Concerto
<p>The commission for a new Clarinet Concerto from the great American composer Aaron Copland came from a rather unlikely source: Benny Goodman, the man known as the King of Swing. Goodman was one of the most famous and important jazz musicians of all time, but in the late 1940s, ... Show More
48m 13s
Sep 2019
Jan Lisiecki on the Beethoven piano concertos
2020 is Beethoven Year - he was born 250th years ago, in 1770 – and the record industry is lining up a vast number of releases in celebration. Berlin-based Deutsche Grammophon, not surprisingly, is spearheading the campaign with a huge Beethoven Edition and one of the earliest re ... Show More
11m 6s
Jun 2024
Roy Whelden's new music for an old instrument
Synopsis
On this date in 1787, an obituary in London’s Morning Post noted the passing two days earlier of Carl Friedrich Abel, 63, a composer, concert impresario and viola da gamba virtuoso.
The viola da gamba was the forerunner of the modern cello. Its heyday was in the 17th cen ... Show More
2 m
Feb 2025
This Moment in Music History for 02-07-2025
On February 7th, 1964, The Beatles arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, marking the beginning of the British Invasion in music history. Thousands of screaming fans greeted the four lads from Liverpool as they stepped off the plane, eager to catch a g ... Show More
1m 47s