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Music

World's best coming to "choral country"

Some of the best singers in the world are in Minnesota for the next several days. The Twin Cities is hosting the triennial World Choral Symposium. It's the first time the event has ever been held in the U.S.

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International Piano-E Competition, 2002

The International Piano e-Competition is a first in many ways. There’s never been an international music competition of this scale in Minnesota before. It’s the first competition that takes advantage of digital technology, providing a live performance equivalent to two members of the jury who will be in a hotel room in Tokyo listening to the same player that the judges in St. Paul will hear, at the same time. It’s probably the first time that one can experience these young pianists live, new discoveries awaiting those who are ready to listen.

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Opera Comes to Lake Wobegon?

"Mr. and Mrs. Olson," says Garrison Keillor, "is the story of a marriage searching for romance, as all marriages do from time to time, and it is a pastiche that Andy Stein and I have cobbled together from classics, stealing here and there, as other composers do but without admitting it.

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Mark Adamo's "Little Women"

Composer Mark Adamo paid a visit to the Twin Cities for the Minnesota premiere of his opera Little Women. Based on the beloved novel by Louisa May Alcott, Little Women is a glimpse into the life of one New England family during the Civil War.

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Sound Irish, 2002

Flutist James Galway, perhaps Ireland's most acclaimed musical ambassador, and an engaging storyteller, reviews his long and distinguished career. We visit Ireland's noted Killaloe Festival, the picturesque summer home of the Irish Chamber Orchestra. It's held in the medieval St. Flannan's Cathedral on the banks of the River Shannon, and has garnered international acclaim. Sounds Irish includes a performance of a Corelli concerto by the ICO with musical director Nicholas McGegan conducting, as recorded at the Killaloe Festival.

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Bach's bible

Dr. Thomas Rossin, musical director of Twin Cities-based chamber choir and orchestra Exultate, recently brought Bach's bible to the MPR studios. He has done his doctoral dissertation on the discovery of this treasure and on the nearly 400 notations Bach made in the books.

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Instrumental Women: conducting business

In 1900 it was virtually unheard of for a woman to play in an orchestra—let alone conduct one. A century later, audiences are still surprised when the person who steps onto the podium is female. Instrumental Women: Conducting Business looks at the challenges facing women in the field of conducting—from education to community outreach.

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Copland: 10 x 10

Over the years, Aaron Copland has been hailed as the quintessential American composer by everyone from Leonard Bernstein, who said, "He's the best we've got," to director Spike Lee, who paid musical tribute to Copland in his films. November 2000 marks the centenary of his birth - 100 years of Copland. To mark the occasion, we've come up with 10 nuggets about 10 aspects of the composer - 100 audio clips, anecdotes, quotes, and more.

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Giving Thanks, 2001

LIKE YOUR THANKSGIVING FEAST, Giving Thanks combines traditional fare with unexpected delights. For Thanksgiving 2001, we've invited some wonderful guests to the program, including Patrick Stewart, Michael Feldman, W. S. Merwin, Katy Butler, Bill Holm, and Ellen Kushner.

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The hair-owing tale of a genius

Beethoven's music has intrigued and delighted us for 200 years, but who would have thought that his hair would endure for nearly two centuries as well? This improbable longevity is the inspiration for Beethoven's Hair, Russell Martin's skillfully written biography that weaves stories of the composer's humorous but sometimes-gloomy life with the journey a lock of his hair began after his death in 1827.

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