Classical Music Playlist, March 2, 2023
Jennifer Higdon | photo: J.D. Scott
CapRadio Classical and Jazz is celebrating women in music all month long by featuring a different classical composer every weekday. Today's spotlight is on Jennifer Higdon.
Higdon (b. Brooklyn, NY, December 31, 1962) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and a three-time Grammy-winner whose works represent a wide range of genres from orchestral to chamber music to choral and opera.
-
Higdon taught herself to play flute at the age of 15 and began formal musical studies at 18, with an even later start in composition at the age of 21.
-
The League of American Orchestras reports that she is one of America's most frequently performed composers.
-
Higdon's list of commissioners is extensive and includes The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony, The Atlanta Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Minnesota Orchestra, The Pittsburgh Symphony, as well such groups as the Tokyo String Quartet, the Lark Quartet, and the President's Own Marine Band. She has also written works for such artists as baritone Thomas Hampson, pianists Yuja Wang, violinists Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Hilary Hahn among others.
-
Higdon received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto.
-
She has also received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy of Arts & Letters, the Koussevitzky Foundation, the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, The Independence Foundation, the NEA, and ASCAP.
-
Higdon enjoys more than 200 performances a year of her works. Her orchestral work, blue cathedral, is the most performed contemporary orchestral works in the repertoire, more than 600 performances since its premiere in 2000.
-
Her works have been recorded on over 70 CDs. Higdon has won three Grammys in her career for Best Contemporary Classical Composition: first for her Percussion Concerto in 2010, in 2018 for her Viola Concerto and in 2020 for her Harp Concerto .
-
Dr. Higdon received a Bachelor's Degree in Music from Bowling Green State University, an Artist Diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from the Hartt School and Bowling Green State University.
-
In 2007 Higdon composed "Concerto 4-3" for the string trio Time For Three. They just won the Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for their album "Letters for the Future" on which they perform Higdon's Concerto.
Time for Three's Grammy-winning performance of Higdon's “Concerto 4-3” is today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
J. Michael Haydn
Concerto for Organ, Viola, and Strings: III. Prestissimo in C major
Cappella Coloniensis; Wilfried Boettcher, conductor Franz Lehrndorfer, organ; Ulrich Koch, viola
6:09 a.m.
Manuel Ponce
Concerto of the South (Concierto del Sur)
New York Philharmonic; Jose Serebrier, conductor Sharon Isbin, guitar
6:36 a.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Prelude and Fugue in E minor
Joanne Polk, piano
6:44 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Tafelmusik III: concerto for horns, strings and continuo in Eb major
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor
7:00 a.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Havanaise Opus 83
New York Chamber Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin
7:14 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 10 (for two pianos) in Eb major K 365
English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano; Robert Levin, piano
7:40 a.m.
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Prelude No. 1
Orchestre de Paris; Klaus Makela, conductor Xuefei Yang, guitar
7:46 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto No. 1 for four violins and orchestra in D major Opus 3 RV 549
Tafelmusik; Jeanne Lamon, conductor Members of...
7:54 a.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Dance Card: III. Jumble Dance
Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Francesco Geminiani
Concerto Grosso "La Follia" in D minor
Boston Baroque; Martin Pearlman, conductor
8:12 a.m.
William Grant Still
Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
8:38 a.m.
Bedrich Smetana
Polka No. 2 JB 1:107
Francine Kay, piano
8:41 a.m.
Anthony Holborne
The Night Watch
The King's Noyse
8:43 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Scherzo in D minor
St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Mariss Jansons, conductor
8:50 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Four Seasons: Winter (L'Inverno) in F minor Opus 8 RV 297
...and friends Janine Jansen, violin
8:59 a.m.
Jennifer Higdon
blue cathedral
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Robert Spano, conductor
9:13 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 1 in C major Opus 21
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
9:38 a.m.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Clarinet Quintet: II. Larghetto Affetuoso
Catalyst Quartet Anthony McGill, clarinet
9:46 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Overture
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Charles Mackerras, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major BWV 1042
Berlin Philharmonic Nigel Kennedy, violin
10:18 a.m.
Philip Glass
Metamorphosis II
La Pieta; Angele Dubeau, conductor Francine Kay, piano
10:23 a.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Concert Waltz Opus 90
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
10:30 a.m.
Igor Stravinsky
Pulcinella Suite
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Yuri Temirkanov, conductor
10:55 a.m.
Alessandro Marcello
Oboe Concerto in D minor: II. Adagio in D minor
BBC Concert Orchestra; Richard Balcombe, conductor Jess Gillam, soprano saxophone
11:00 a.m.
Alexander Glazunov
The Seasons: Autumn Opus 67
Minnesota Orchestra; Edo de Waart, conductor
11:13 a.m.
Jennifer Higdon
All Things Majestic: II. String Lake
The Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
11:22 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 6 in D major Opus 3/6 HWV 317
Musicians of the Louvre; Marc Minkowski, conductor Aline Zylberajch, organ
11:29 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Piano Quintet in Eb major Opus 44
Artemis Quartet Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
12:00 p.m.
Aaron Copland
Cuban Dance (Danzon Cubano)
New World Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
12:08 p.m.
George Enescu
Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major Opus 11
National Orchestra of France; Cristian Macelaru, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
12:14 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for 2 trumpets in C major RV 537
English Chamber Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, conductor Wynton Marsalis, trumpet
12:23 p.m.
Dobrinka Tabakova
Concerto for Cello and Strings: II. Longing
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra; Maxim Rysanov, conductor Kristina Blaumane, cello
12:33 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Quintet for piano & winds in Eb major K 452
Mitsuko Uchida, piano; Neil Black, oboe; Thea King, clarinet; Frank Lloyd, horn; Robin O'Neill, bassoon
12:59 p.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Piano Trio: I. Pale Yellow
Lincoln Trio
1:09 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major BWV 1048
Academy of Ancient Music; Richard Egarr, conductor
1:21 p.m.
Isaac Albeniz
Espana: No. 2 Tango Opus 165/2
Eduardo Fernandez, guitar
1:24 p.m.
VARIOUS
Yellow River Piano Concerto
China Philharmonic Orchestra; Long Yu, conductor Lang Lang, piano
1:46 p.m.
Bedrich Smetana
Ma Vlast: II. The Moldau (Vltava)
Prague Philharmonic Orchestra; Libor Pesek, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Valentin Silvestrov
Songs Without Words (Cycle VII from Melodies of the Moments)
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor Daniel Hope, violin; Alexey Botvinov, piano
2:24 p.m.
Franz Liszt
Liebestraume: Nocturne No. 3 in Ab major S 541
Khatia Buniatishvili, piano
2:30 p.m.
Charles Gounod
Petite Symphonie for winds in Bb major
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
2:52 p.m.
Scott Joplin
Treemonisha Overture
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra; Gunther Schuller, conductor
3:01 p.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Polish Concerto (Concerto Polonois) in G major
Apollo's Fire; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
3:11 p.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Concerto 4-3: I. The Shallows
Philadelphia Orchestra; Xian Zhang, conductor Time for Three
3:17 p.m.
Isaac Albeniz
Espana: No. 5 "Capriccio Catalan" Opus 165
Jason Vieaux, guitar
3:21 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Opus 18
Mahler Chamber Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
3:56 p.m.
Ruth Crawford (Seeger)
Rissolty Rossolty
Schonberg Ensemble; Oliver Knussen, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony No. 1 "Classical" in D major Opus 25
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
4:15 p.m.
John Williams
STAR WARS - THE FORCE AWAKENS: Rey's Theme
Studio Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
4:19 p.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Horn Concerto in Bb major Opus 91
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Kurt Masur, conductor Hermann Baumann, horn
4:44 p.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Harp Concerto: I. First Light
Rochester Philharmonic; Ward Stare, conductor Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
4:50 p.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Harp Concerto: IV. Rap Knock
Rochester Philharmonic; Ward Stare, conductor Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
4:57 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude (from Prelude and Fugue, Well-Tempered Clavier I:01) in C major BWV 846
Xuefei Yang, guitar
5:00 p.m.
George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue
Cincinnati Jazz Orchestra; Erich Kunzel, conductor William Tritt, piano
5:19 p.m.
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in A minor Opus 199
Brasil Guitar Duo
5:26 p.m.
Bedrich Smetana
Ma Vlast: IV. From Bohemia's Woods and Meadows
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Vaclav Neumann, conductor
5:40 p.m.
Adolphus Hailstork
Symphony No. 1: 2nd Movement
Virginia Symphony Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
5:48 p.m.
Aram Khachaturian
Spartacus: Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia
Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra; Lawrence Foster, conductor
6:00 p.m.
Wilhelm Stenhammar
Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor Opus 23
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra; Stig Westerberg, conductor Janos Solyom, piano
6:30 p.m.
John C. Williams
Aeolian Suite: Double Dance
Studio Orchestra; William Goodchild, conductor John Williams, guitar
6:44 p.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Notes of Gratitude
Lara Downes, piano
6:51 p.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Michelangelo 70
Gidon Kremer, violin; Per Arne Glorvigen, bandoneon; Alois Posch, double-bass; Vadim Sakharov, piano
6:55 p.m.
Jean-Michel Blais
Nostos
La Pieta Angele Dubeau, violin
7:00 p.m.
Michael Praetorius
Terpsichore: Suite in D
Christopher Parkening, guitar
7:12 p.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Viola Concerto
The Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor Roberto Diaz, viola
7:34 p.m.
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Dardanus Suite
Orchestra of the 18th Century; Frans Bruggen, conductor
8:00 p.m.
Bedrich Smetana
Ma Vlast (My Country) complete
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; James Levine, conductor
9:17 p.m.
Franz Schubert
Piano Sonata No. 20: IV. Rondo in A major D 959
Paul Lewis, piano
9:31 p.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Sky Quartet
Serafin String Quartet
9:53 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue (from the Well-Tempered Clavier I:18) in G# minor BWV 863
David Korevaar, piano
