86. Chaconne

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86. Chaconne
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J.S. Bach wrote a lot of monumental works and the Chaconne for violin is one of the great masterpieces in the repertoire for solo violin. Aside from the many recordings, there are countless transcriptions for piano, orchestra and chamber groups. Violinists get hooked on the Chaconne early in their pursuit of the violin, but it takes decades to master the piece. For some, like Arnold Steinhardt of the Guaneri String Quartet, it becomes an obsession. Among players who have mastered the Chaconne, they speak about having revelations while performing the piece. Those of us who don’t play the violin feel a bit of envy. Today’s episode gives a look at the Chaconne so we can get better aquainted, without the grueling hours of practice. In anticipation of Bach’s birthday (March 21-31 The Julian and Gregorian calandars inclusive!) Bach in the Subways returns after three years of suspension due to you-know-what. Will you take part? Find a pop-up performance in your city/state/country.

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85. Improvisation for Classical Musicians

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85. Improvisation for Classical Musicians
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There’s a signifigant amount of stigma among classical musicians when it comes to improvisation. But it wasn’t always this way. The Italian conservatories certainly taught improvisation in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Episode 73). The composers from most schools of music learned to improvise. So its mainly performers who don’t take improv seriously. When a concerto soloist plays a cadenza he’s imitating the act of improvisation. So what’s holding us back from using improvisation in our concerts? Gabriella Montero is a classically trained pianist who improvises on her concerts. Brinton Smith is a cellist who constructs interesting cadenzas for his performances. These are two ways musicians can make classical music more engaging.

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83. Barbara Krakauer’s Legacy and Memory: With Katie Kresek, Barbara Podgurski and Colin Pip Dixon

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83. Barbara Krakauer's Legacy and Memory: With Katie Kresek, Barbara Podgurski and Colin Pip Dixon
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Barbara Krakauer taught violin in New York during the year and then took her students to Provence France each summer for a three week retreat or “Stage” as the French name it. Katie Kresek and Colin Pip Dixon are two violinists who studied with Mrs. Krakauer in their youth, attended the Stage multiple summers and in their early adulthood assisted Barbara Krakauer in lessons in New York and France. Barbara Podgurski is a pianist that became Mrs. Krakauer’s pianist for lessons and recitals in both locations. The three musicians have become successful musicians. Now it’s their turn to curate the next generation of musicians: They are reviving the Stage in Barbara Krakauer’s name after twenty years.

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82. Music Symbolists: Debussy, Ravel, Liszt and Scriabin

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82. Music Symbolists: Debussy, Ravel, Liszt and Scriabin
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The Symbolist movement was definitely a revolution. Artists, composers, authors and poets wanted to break away from the rules. And can you blame them? Today art means personal expression. Looking back we see times when art seemed to build on the past. The Symbolists were interested in infusing mystery, perfume, eerieness, unclear lines, fog and a little bit of magic into their music. The gamelan of Indonesia became a new obsession for Debussy and Ravel. They loved the indistinct pitches and the departure from traditional harmony, cadences and tonality.

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81. Streaming and AI: How WILL Technology Change Music?

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81. Streaming and AI: How WILL Technology Change Music?
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We’ve seen music adapt to new technologies over the last one hundred years . Formats determined song length: when singles had to fit on a 33 rpm vinyl record, for example. Hits in the 50’s, 60’s 70’s, and up until the 2000’s were three and a half minutes because that was the duration of a 33 rpm “side”. Today Spotify determines the average listener moves on after 30 seconds. What does this do to formats? Songs are getting shorter. A full minute shorter according to TikTok. Writers are ditching the third chorus to shorten the song, and the pre-chorus in an effort to get to the hook sooner. One theory- a short song is very likely to get multiple plays, and that is what drives streaming analytics. Going forward what will listeners expect from streaming services? Can Classical music survive on streaming channels like Sirius? Can we do anything about it? One cellist from the MET is trying to save the Opera channel on Sirius.

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79. The Phonograph: How Technology Changed Music

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79. The Phonograph: How Technology Changed Music
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Applying scientific knowledge to music inevitably changes the course of what gets published, what gets popular. In the earliest electrical adaptation- the phonograph- we find certain instruments and certain ranges work better than others. As a result some artists’ careers are defined by the invention of the phonograph. Also- particular instruments became associated with certain genres of music simply because they sounded the best on the discs. Finally, the recording process prompts innovation in the studio when a musician has to improvise on the spot, creating a new type of Jazz.

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78. Violins of Hope: Aron Zelkowicz and Glenn Lewis with Violinists Performing on the Violins of Hope

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78. Violins of Hope: Aron Zelkowicz and Glenn Lewis with Violinists Performing on the Violins of Hope
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The Violins of Hope, visiting cities around the world, makes a seven week stop in Pittsburgh. They are both a museum exhibit and an interactive display because Violins of Hope lets musicians play on their violins for concerts and educational programs. The instruments (including over 70 violins violas, cello and bass) have a rich history that relate to the lives of their Jewish owners during World War II. Over thirty five programs by Arts Organizations in the region have already, or will present the instruments. Musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra, Edgewood Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Mellon, Pitt, Duquesne and Chatham Universities, to name just a few, had opportunity to play and perform on the Violins of Hope. On this episode we hear Aron Zelkowicz, a cellist who directed over 80 programs centered around Jewish music as founder of the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival. Aron tells us about his journey discovering and bringing Jewish music to Pittsburgh and elsewhere. We also hear Glenn Lewis, the Head of Music at Pittsburgh Opera talk about an upcoming event at the Bitz Opera Factory where the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artists and Concertmaster Charles Stegeman present music of Ernest Bloch, Viktor Ullman, Alexander Zemlinsky and other Jewish composers of note. Four violinists who played the instruments will talk about their experience, the instruments’ stories and the music they performed. Charles Stegeman, Concertmaster for Pittsburgh Opera plays on a Violin of Hope that Shlomo Mintz performed on at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. Rachel Stegeman played on two Violins of Hope for Wheeling Symphony and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in several World Premieres and other works by or about Jewish composers. Tina Faigen had multiple opportunities to play on a Violin of Hope with Edgewood Symphony and related chamber performances. Juan Jaramillo gives his thoughts on the experience playing a Violin of Hope with the Wheeling Symphony.

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77. Solresol: The Language of Music

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77. Solresol: The Language of Music
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In 1820 François Sudre, a musician and a music teacher, created a language based on the musical scale. For twenty years he worked to complete this auxlang. He offered it to the military first, calling it La Telephone. For a while his language was considered because it seemed codeable. When the government declined, he continued writing the language in the hopes people wouldn’t need to learn foreign languages. Solresol wouldn’t catch on to the degree Esperanto as a universal language, but some groups enjoy exploring it, even today.

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76. Christopher Wilson: Trumpet Careers

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76. Christopher Wilson: Trumpet Careers
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Christopher is known to the world of trumpet players as a clinician, YouTuber and multi-career classical trumpeter. Today he talks about his passion for teaching young players and sheperding them through the rigorous audition process. The auditions for Military Bands are both special and similar to symphonies. He gets into the particulars about excerpts and we get a picture of life as a Military Musician. He joins trumpeters and buglers across the nation on the Memorial Day Taps Across America, and anyone with a trumpet can do the same.

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75. Wearing Your Union Blues Under Your Concert Black

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75. Wearing Your Union Blues Under Your Concert Black
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Being a performer and a union member doesn’t usually compute. The two seem to be worlds apart. Thats why its hard for musicians to join committees and negotiating panels. They play on a stage for a living. And this might seem glamourous, maybe even powerful, and anything but mundane. And Unions seem like trouble makers for blue collar workers, teachers, electricians, service industry workers and factory labor. But orchestras are protected by a union specific to musicians. So most of us tend to bury our heads in the sand since these two personas of classical performer and union member are very dissimilar. We don’t embrace the label laborer very well. The dictionary definition under laborer is unskilled worker. Well, maybe there’s the problem. As a result, most of us are unaware of the entitlements and priviledges that come with union membership. The best way to learn? Become an active member of the Orchestra Committee. Its not going to be what you think it will be. I guarantee.

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