Music

Professor David B. Levy of Wake Forest University and MPR's Michael Barone explore the masterwork Symphonies of Beethoven, movement by movement with musical examples.
The Minnesota rock band gb leighton is a bona fide phenomenon in the regional music scene. Over 14 years, the group has become one of the top drawing acts in Minnesota. Rarely does a night pass when gb leighton isn't performing somewhere, usually in the Twin Cities. MPR's Chris Roberts spoke with the band's founder, Brian Leighton, about his earnest songwriting style, the band's reception among critics, and its legions of fans. He also took in a gb leighton show to witness the "phenomenon" in person.
The Minnesota Orchestra has dropped the Viennese and added video screens to its Sommerfest. Perhaps the most substantial change concert-goers will notice is the addition of conductor Andrew Litton as the new director. Litton makes his debut Friday night with an ambitious program of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 and Beethoven's Triple Concerto. The Julliard-trained pianist will be playing and conducting during the Friday night performance at Orchestra Hall. Litton told MPR's Greta Cunningham he's honored to be leading Sommerfest into the future. He says it's a great time for people and players to have fun.
The hardanger fiddle is Norway's national instrument. To the untrained eye, it looks much like the violin. But the nine-string fiddle produces its own distinctive sound. That sound and the instrument will be celebrated this week at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
Young-Nam Kim is artistic director of the Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute, sponsored by the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota. The first institute was held at the YMCA's Camp du Nord near Ely in 2002.
For lots of young people, summer means time to go to camp. There are different kinds of camps - hockey camp, language camp, Girl Scout camp. An increasingly popular option for talented young instrumentalists is music camp. On Madeline Island just off the south shore of Lake Superior, young people from around the midwest spend four weeks playing classical music.
Mickey Hart, longtime drummer for the Grateful Dead, has written a book in collaboration with National Geographic to focus attention on the need to save the world's indigenous music.
Matt Wehling used to be a chemist. He spent his spare time playing violin in a Twin Cities Celtic band - The Clumsy Lovers. Then disaster struck. His violin broke. For Wehling the repair process was life changing. These days he can be found in the basement studio of his house in Northfield making prize-winning bows for violins, cellos, and violas.
Opera's rebirth continues. La Boheme is on Broadway. Opera tickets are selling well just about everywhere. Opera lovers in Sioux Falls are trying to light the flame in hopes of it catching on there. Two South Dakota natives who are now opera stars perform scenes from several operas as a way of introduction.
American classical composers broke from European traditions and created the foundation for music that continues to change and surprise. A music critic for the Village Voice describes the important moments in the life of 20th century American music.