
- Program List
Below are many of the more than 200 five-hour 'weeks' of Exploring Music that have been created since 2003. The first seven minutes of every program are free to sample. Several entire 5-hour programs are also free to listen (marked 'free' below). For complete access to all of the shows, click here to become a subscriber. To sort through the shows by composers Click Here. To see the Playlist for a given show, click on the show and then on the 'playlist' button beneath any of the five one-hour programs.
AAmerican Masters, Part I American Masters, Part II American Masters, Part IIIAmerican Masters, Part IVAmerican Masters, Part V An Intelligent Conversation: String Quartets Arias & BarcarollesArtists in Exile, Part IArtists in Exile, Part II Autumn Leaves Autumnal Masterpieces BBach Sleeps in on SundaysBach to Beethoven Bach's Christmas Oratorio Bach's Not-So-Minor B-Minor MassBallad of East and West Baltic MusicBarber, SamuelBartok, BelaBeethoven and that Danged MetronomeBeethoven and the PianoBeethoven at Parnassus, Part IBeethoven at Parnassus, Part IIBeethoven Piano Sonatas (FREE)Beethoven Quartets Berlioz, HectorBernstein, LeonardBill's Keepers Boulanger, NadiaBrahms, Johannes, Part IBrahms, Johannes, Part II Britten, Benjamin Bruckner, Anton CCall for ScoresCarnegie Hall, Part 1 (FREE)Carnegie Hall, Part 2 (FREE)Cello Concertos Child's PlayChopin, FredericClash of the Titans Clowning AroundCopland, Aaron Corigliano, JohnCzech out those Bohemians DDebussy, Claude Demons, Spooks and Other Things That Go Bump in the NightDirector's ChoiceDistant Neighbors Don't Shoot the Piano PlayerDvořák, AntoninDvorak, Tchaikovsky & Borodin String Quartets EElgar, EdwardEmotion and Meaning in MusicEnescu, GeorgesEspanaFFamilies of Instruments Family Matters: All in the FamilyFauré, GabrielFit for a KingFour SeasonsFranck, CésarFrom This Mighty River: Music of the Children of J.S BachGGame of Pairs, Part I Game of Pairs, Part IIGershwin, GeorgeGet the PictureGitana: Gypsy Music and Its InfluencesGreen and Pleasant Land Grieg and SibeliusHHandel, George FridericHaydn and Mozart QuartetsHaydn SymphoniesHidden Gold, Part IHidden Gold, Part IIHHindemith, PaulHit or MythHoliday CelebrationHomageHow Strange the Change from Major to Minor, Part IHow Strange the Change from Major to Minor, Part IIII Didn't Know About YouI Hear a Rhapsody I Hear America Singing I Lost it at the MoviesIn a Family WayIncidentally SpeakingIntimate Conversations: Conversations with Samuel Rhodes and David FinckelInvitation to the Dance, Part IInvitation to the Dance, Part II Invitation to the Dance, Part IIIIt Takes Two to TangoIt Was a Lover and His Lass Italian SouvenirsJJanáček, LeošKKeyboard SmorgasbordLLatin CarnivalLes Cinq PlusLes SixLife Among the Dead: Requiem MassesListener's Choice, Part IIListener's Choice, Part III Liszt, FranzLittle Night Music Little Traveling Music, Please London, The Music of, Part 1London, The Music of, Part 2MMaestro, Part IMaestro, Part IIMagnificent MagyarsMahler, Gustav, Part IMahler, Gustav, Part IIMaiden Voyages Mendelssohn, FelixMendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms String QuartetsMerrie EnglandMozart at his ZenithMozart Piano ConcertosMozart's Birthday BashMozart: Bright Lights, Big CityMusic for the MassesMusic from the Magic Box Music in 19th Century Paris: Waterloo to Bismarck Music in the Time of WarMusic of ScandinaviaMusical CryptogramsMusical LandscapesNNationalismNew Releases, Part INew Releases, Part IINew Releases, Part III, week 1 of 2New Releases, Part III, week 2 of 2 New Wine in Old Bottles Nielsen, Carl Ninth SymphoniesNobody Ever Builds a Statue to a CriticOOrpheus in the New World Outward BoundPPastoral SymphoniesPiano ConcertosPolandPorts of Call, Part I Ports of Call, Part II Poulenc, FrancisProkofiev, SergeiProud Tower, Part I (FREE)Proud Tower, Part IIRRachmaninoff, SergeiRavel, Maurice Respighi, OttorinoRimsky-Korsakov and His PupilsRoaring 20's Russian Five: The Mighty Handful SSchool DaysSchubert String QuartetsSchubertiade, Part ISchubertiade, Part IISchuman, WilliamSchumann, Robert Shakespeare Shostakovich, Dmitri, Part I Shostakovich, Dmitri, Part IISlipped Through the Cracks Sounds of the City of Lights SoundtracksSpanish SchoolSpring is Here St-Saëns, Camille St. Matthew PassionStrauss, RichardStravinsky, IgorString Quartets from Fibich to SibeliusStrings Plus OneSweet Home Chicago Symphony, Part 01Symphony, Part 02Symphony, Part 03Symphony, Part 04Symphony, Part 05Symphony, Part 06 (French)Symphony, Part 07 (Russian)Symphony, Part 08Symphony, Part 09Symphony, Part 10Symphony, Part 11TTchaikovsky, Peter, Part I (FREE)Tchaikovsky, Peter, Part II (FREE)The Big Five I: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Part IThe Big Five II: New York Philharmonic, Part IThe Big Five II: New York Philharmonic, Part IIThe Gathering Storm: Music from the Great Depression to WWIIThrough the Mail SlotTo the Finland Station, Part ITo the Finland Station, Part IITone Poems Too Darn BigTriple PlayTudor MusicTwo Very Different Worlds Delius and HolstUUnder the Hood, Part IUnder the Hood, Part II Unfinished Symphonies VVariationsVaughan Williams, RalphVenice: The Glories ofVerdi, Giuseppe, Part IVerdi, Giuseppe, Part IIVienna, Part IVienna, Part II ViolaViolin Concerto Virtuoso, The World ofVoices from the East WWagner's Ring CycleWagner, RichardWalton, WilliamWater MusicWhat Else Ya Got?Wind QuintetsWunderkinder, Part IWunderkinder, Part IIYYin and Yang: The Play of Opposites, Part 1Yin and Yang: The Play of Opposites, Part 2You and the Night and the Music
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School Days Purchase Now
"The rhythm of going to school in the fall is built into all of us." In between songs, Bill reads delightful little recollections of school days. At the tender age of eight, Mozart wrote 43 pieces in six weeks, of which we hear three country dances. Halfway to nine, he wrote his first symphony, also heard here.
Composers Bernstein and Ravel were so fond of children that they composed musical devotions for them. Bernstein shares pieces written for his floppy-eared dog, Mippy, and Ravel's "Mother Goose" was to accompany the fairy tales he told his friends' daughters.
School Days (excerpt)
Pete Fountain & The Kings of Dixieland
Crownstar Records
1:22
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Mozart: 3 Kontretänze: KV 33b, KV 15h & KV 15x
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ens.
Phil 586502
2:55, 2:12
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Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, KV 16
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Marriner
Phil 568602
11:03
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Bernstein: Elegy for Mippy II
Alessi, trb.
Cala 508
1:58
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Bernstein: “Who am I?” fr. Peter Pan
Alexander, s.; Crone, p.
Etcetera 1037
2:11
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Bernstein: Waltz for Mippy III
Deck, tba.; Lamb, p.
Cala 508
1:51
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Ravel: Mother Goose
Pittsburg Symphony Orch/Previn
Phil 400016
27:59
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"Sublime beauty is revealed truth." Words of George Jellinek are in response to Schumann's set of piano pieces titled "Scenes of Childhood," which he wrote for his children. Ives' sonata, "Children's Day at the Camp Meeting" tries to potray the brevity of a child's interest. A break from European air, one can sense traces of Americana within the piece.
Elgar, also a young composer, composed a piece accompanying a play written by his teenage siblings. The play featured an untained world where adults lest they repented their stringent ways. Young musicians end with an adorable critique of Beethoven's last movement of his third symphony.
The program starts with a whimsically flowing "dream" as Elgar digs into layers of the unconscious, but shifts gears with 16-year-old Mendelssohn's octet, in which the vigor of his youth shines through the rapid bow strokes.
We move onto two pieces by modern-day prodigy Jay Greenberg, born 1991, including a symphony written at age 14. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra finishes off with the teenage Mendelssohn's interpretation of a Shakespeare classic.
Elgar: Dream Children, Op. 43
Halle Orchestra/Elder
Halle 7509
6:52
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Mendelssohn: Octet, Op. 20, II & IV
Guarneri & Orion Quartets
Arab 6714
4:31, 6:06
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Greenberg: Quintet for Strings, II
Julliard SQ; Adkins, vla.
Sony 681804
5:11
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Greenburg: Symphony No. 5, II & IV
LSO/Serebrier
Sony 681804
12:35
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Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture & Scherzo (excerpt)
CSO/Levine
Universal 344202
11:44, 3:12
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This section focuses on young performers, beginning with a teenage Yehudi Menuhin, a prodigy violinist. Einstein once exclaimed upon meeting him, "Now, I know there's a God in heaven." We also hear a 1932 recording of a collaboration with his Romani teacher, Enesco. A few more early 20th century recordings of pre-teen musicians ensue.
Bill introduces "beginner" songs young musicians undertake in order to grasp musical styles and overcome technical difficulties, most famously Clementi on the piano and Paganini on the violin. In the last piece, Chicago Children's Choir joins Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Mahler's Symphony No. 3.
de Falla, arr. Kreisler: Danse Espagnole fr. La Vida Breve
Menuhin, v.; Balsam, p.
Biddulph 46
3:18
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Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in d minor, BWV 1043
Paris Symphony Orchestra/Monteux; Enesco & Menuhin, v.
EMI 67101
15:25
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Chopin: Waltz in a minor, Op 32, No. 2
de Laroccha, p.
Vai 1001
6:38
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Berman: Mazurka
Berman, p.
Columbia/Mel 37
1:26
Clementi: Sonatina No. 1 in C Major, Op. 36
Chun, p.
Centaur 2439
3:53
Purchase
Paganini: Theme from “Witches Dance”
Nadien, v.
Suzuki Instructional CD
:36, :39
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Paganini: Caprice in g minor, Op. 1 No. 6
Rabin, v.
Sony 60894
3:06
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Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, III
Midori Goto, v.
Phil 420943
6:54
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Mahler: Symphony No. 3, V
CSO/Haitink; DeYoung, ms.
CSO 901701
4:17
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It was important for composers to pass on their knowledge to a fresh generation of students through simpler yet challenging pieces. In this case, Clementi wrote sonatinas and Chopin wrote etudes. Bartok played the teacher role very seriously, and composed in a way that taught harmonic and technical language. He used the violin to pass down Hungarian folk music, encouraging students to compose their own.
Fellow Hungarian Dohnanyi spins intricate variations on a simple nursery song, and Grofe's "Huckleberry Finn" is dedicated to the rebellious students who played hooky in school.
Clementi: Sonatina No. 4 in F Major, Op. 36
Chun, p.
Centaur 2439
7:21
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Chopin: Etudes: Op. 10 No. 3, Op. 25 No. 5, Op. 10 No. 12 & Op. 25 No. 1
Pollini, p.
DG 413794
11:19
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Bartók: Transylvanian Dance for Two Violins
Muzsikás and Márta Sebestyén, vlns.
Fono 571439
1:46
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Bartók: Mikrokosmos, Bk. I (excerpts)
Jandó, p.
Naxos 8557821
2:20
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Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25
Royal Phil/Boult; Dohnányi, p.
Decca 458361
23:00
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Grofé: Huckleberry Finn fr. Mississippi Suite
Eastman-Rochester Orch/Hanson
Mercury 434355
2:31
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