The River Connection
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The Danube, flowing through the Wachau Valley in Austria
It’s not surprising that a composer might want to celebrate a river that has special meaning for him—whether the stream is large or small, a commercial conduit, or just a place to boat or swim.
But how do you translate a river into music?
In this hour, we’ll explore how composers from around the world have met that challenge—from the Rhine to the Amazon, from the Mississippi to the Danube.
RECORDINGS USED
| CD Title |
Group/Artist |
Catalog # |
UPC |
| Masters of Classical Music, Vol. 4 [for Beautiful Blue Danube, orchestral] |
Vienna Strauss Orchestra |
LaserLight 15 804 |
018111580427 |
| Ma Vlast [for The Moldau] |
Royal Liverpool Orchestra, Libor Pesek. |
Virgin Classics VC7 91100-2 (was Musical Heritage Society MHS 512954A ) |
5099952212925 |
| Works for Male Chorus and Orchestra [for choral Blue Danube] |
Men’s Chorus of Vienna Univ. for Music & Perf. Arts; Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gerhard Track. |
Naxos 8.223250 |
4891030232501 |
| Dragon Songs [for Yellow River Concerto] |
China Philharmonic Orchestra, Lang Lang |
Deutsche Grammophon DG 477 6229 |
028947762294 |
| Forest of the Amazon |
Renee Fleming, Moscow Radio and Symphony Orchestra |
Delos DE-1037 |
013491103723 |
| In a Summer Garden [for Summer Night On the River] |
Hallé Orchestra, Vernon Handley |
EMI Classics for Pleasure 7243 5 75315 2 8 |
724357531528 |
| The Ring Without Words [for Das Rheingold] |
Berlin Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel. |
Telarc CD-80154 |
089408015427 |
| The River |
Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowski. |
Vanguard VBD-385 |
015707038522 |
