
- Program List
Below are many of the more than 200 five-hour 'weeks' of Exploring Music that have been created since 2003. 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.
AACTIVE 3/1 - 3/14 Ravel, MauriceAmerican Masters, Part I American Masters, Part II American Masters, Part IIIAmerican Masters, Part IVAmerican Masters, Part V American Masters, Part VIAn Intelligent Conversation: String Quartets Arias & BarcarollesArtists in Exile, Part IArtists in Exile, Part II Autumn Leaves Autumnal Masterpieces BBach Sleeps in on SundaysBach to BeethovenBach'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 SonatasBeethoven Quartets Berlioz, HectorBernstein, Leonard: The ComposerBill's Keepers Boulanger, NadiaBrahms, Johannes, Part IBrahms, Johannes, Part IIBritten, Benjamin Bruckner, Anton CCall for ScoresCarnegie Hall, Part 1Carnegie Hall, Part 2Cello 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, GeorgesEspañaFFamilies of Instruments Family Matters: All in the FamilyFauré, GabrielFit for a KingFleisher, LeonFour SeasonsFranck, CésarFrom the Mountains to the SeaFrom 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 IHHidden Gold, Part IIHindemith, 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 SingingI 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 Martha Graham and her MusicMendelssohn, FelixMendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms String QuartetsMerrie EnglandMillennium of Women in MusicMozart 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 BoundPPacific Overtures, Part 1Pacific Overtures, Part 2Pastoral SymphoniesPiano ConcertosPolandPorts of Call, Part I Ports of Call, Part II Poulenc, FrancisProkofiev, SergeiProud Tower, Part IProud 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 IShostakovich, Dmitri, Part IISlipped Through the Cracks Songs of PartingSounds 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 10 (Alexander Scriabin to Samuel Barber)Symphony, Part 11Symphony, Part 12TTchaikovsky, Peter, Part ITchaikovsky, Peter, Part IIThe 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 EastWWagner'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
Berlioz, Hector
As one of the developers of the symphonic form, Hector Berlioz lived a life full of drama and color. Born in France to parents with plans for him to become a doctor, he pursued everything but medicine. He wrote: “Beethoven opened before me a new world of music, as Shakespeare had revealed a new universe of poetry.” Join us on this amazing journey following the life of Hector Berlioz through musical selections from works such as Lelio, Romeo and Juliet, and Les Troyens.
The show begins with a passionate piece about obsessive love: the Herminie, something that seems to represent his own passion for women and music. It seems Berlioz loved music so much that he gave up studies in medicine to learn composition, soldiering on through his musical studies despite people like Rossini giving him a hard time for his lack of ability on piano. Next we hear the overture to his opera Les Francs Juges, which contains a good mix of influences from Rossini and the original material that so frightened Berlioz' teachers. A similar sound can be heard in the next piece, the second movement of The Death of Cleopatra. Throughout his life, Berlioz had two major influences: Shakespere and Beethoven. In the case of Shakespere, there was a woman attached, a woman who broke his heart and gave way to the piece we hear next: the first two movements of Symphonie Fantastique.
Berlioz: Herminie (excerpt)
Philharmonia Orchestra/JeanPhilippe Rouchon; Roslyn Plowright, s.
ASV 30
4:15
Berlioz: Les Francs Juges
LSO/C. Davis
Phi–456143-2
12:41
Berlioz: Death of Cleopatra II
Philharmonia Orchestra/JeanPhilippe Rouchon; Plowwright, s.
ASV 30
6:49
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique I & II
Radio de Fussion Francaise/Beecham
ALP 1633
12:39, 6:42
Despite being unlucky with women, Berlioz was successful with music, and Symphonie Fantastique was a major hit in Paris. To get over his broken heart which had inspired the piece, Berlioz wrote Lelio, which this segment begins with. He took it to Rome as his "return to life," and when it too was successful he returned to Paris where he debuted Harold in Italy, a five-movement symphony where the viola is prominantly featured, per Paganini's request. We hear the second and third movements. Berlioz continued his success when the French Minister of the Interior commissioned him to write a gigantic Requiem, which we hear several segments of before the segment closes.
Berlioz: Lelio (excerpts from)
LSO/ Boulez; John Mitchinson, t; John ShirleyQuirk, bari
Sony SM3K-64103(3)
5:29, 3:50
Berlioz: Harold in Italy, II & III
BSO/Munch William Primrose, vla
RCA 68444-2
6:42, 6:30
Berlioz: Requiem (excerpts from)
BSO/Ozawa
RCA 62544-2
11:22, 5:14, 9:21
The Requiem was a tremendous piece, and a tremendous success, and it spurred Berlioz on to compose a new opera called Benvenuto Cellini, an opera that despite Berlioz' personal approval of his work, did not stay in circulation for long. The overture, which we hear to start this segment, has. Next is Reverie et Caprice, a cavatina from the opera arranged for solo violin by Berlioz himself. Despite Berlioz not having much luck with Benvenuto Cellini, it has seen a modern day revival in a number of ways. Next is the opening to Berlioz' version of Romeo and Juliet, a dramatic symphony in which instruments take the roles of the players. There is not enough time to get to more of the piece in this segment, so we move on to three songs from Les nuits d'ete, a six-song collection for solo voice, standing in contrast to Berlioz' typical repertoire of gigantic public pieces. The last piece we hear in the segment is another of Berlioz' big hits, the Roman Carnival Overture, also related to Benvenuto Cellini.
Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini, overture
LSO/C. Davis
Phil 157302
9:35
Berlioz: Reverie et caprice
Quebeque Symphony Orch./ Talmi; James Ehnes, v
Analekta 23151
8:29
Berlioz: Romeo and Juliet (excerpt)
BSO/ Munch
RCA 34168
4:34
Berlioz: Les nuits d’ete (excerpts from)
BSO/Munch Victoria de Los Angeles, s
RCA 60393
6:26, 5:08, 3:40
Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
LSO/C. Davis
Phi 456143-2
8:57
A typical situation for Berlioz was someone approaching him to write incidental music of some kind and Berlioz jumping in with both feet. In the case of what we hear first in this segment, Berlioz was approached to write incidental music for a production of Hamlet, but the project was cancelled and a single piece was salvaged: "Marche Funebre pour la Derniere Scene d'Hamlet." Next we hear several excerpts from a massive piece that Berlioz composed over a long period of time: The Damnation of Faust, based on the popular story by Göthe. The whole story is electric, and the atmosphere is very apparent even though we do not hear the whole thing. The segment finishes with a change of mood: L'enfance de Christ, a much less dramatic and somewhat pastoral sounding piece. We hear the opening of the second part.
Berlioz Marche funebre pour la derniere scene d'Hamlet
Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique/ Gardiner
Phi –446676-2
6:34
Berlioz: Damnation of Faust (excerpts from)
Philharmonia Orch. and Chorus/ Chung; Keith Lewis, Bryn Terfel, Anne Sofie von Otter, soloists
DG 453500-2 (2)
14:40, 8:03, 8:22
Berlioz: L’enfance de Christ Part II, I & II
BSO/ Munch;New England Conservatory Chorus
RCA 61234-2
4:56, 4:04
This final segment begins with Les Troyens, "The Trojans," Berlioz' second attempt at opera after Benvenuto Callini flopped. The whole thing cannot be played here, because it consists of two operas adding up to 5 hours. We hear three excerpts: the opening and two scenes. Next we hear the conclusion of a piece we heard in an earlier segment: the last two movements of Symphonie Fantastique, the march to the scaffold and the wild witches' sabbath. This final movement displays Berlioz' great gift for drama and hellish spectacle. The program closes on a quick little excerpt from Berlioz' setting of the French national anthem: La Marceillaise.
Berlioz: Les Troyens (excerpts from)
LSO and Chorus/Davis
Phil 456837
3:45,19:33, 6:35
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, IV & V
Radio de Fussion Francaise/Beecham
EMI 67972
5:13, 10:39
Berlioz
La Marceillaise (excerpt)
1:41
