Composer of the Week Podcast Folgen

Donald Macleod and guest Sarah Willis explore some of the greatest “one-hit wonders” in classical music - Johann Pachelbel, Engelbert Humperdinck, Paul Dukas, Gregorio Allegri, Henryk Górecki, Tomaso Albinoni, Giovanni Pergolesi, Pietro Mascagni, Carl Orff and Julius Fučík.Classical music is littered with composers who are famous for just a single piece of music. In a special week of Composer of the Week programmes, Donald Macleod is joined by Berlin Philharmonic horn player Sarah Willis to explore ten of these composers and examine episodes from their lives, alongside their compositions – both their popular hits and some of their less familiar music. They also try to isolate why certain works have captured the popular imagination of audiences around the world.Music Featured: Pachelbel: Canon & Gigue for 3 violins and continuo in D major Pachelbel: Christ lag in Todesbanden Humperdinck: Erinnerung Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel (excerpts) Humperdinck: Königskinder, "Verdorben! Gestorben!..Ihr Kindlein, sie sind gefunden" Dukas: La Peri Fanfare Dukas: L’apprenti sorcier Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-bleu, Act III: Adieu Allegri: Canzone Scamfortina Allegri: Missa ‘Che fa oggi il mio sole’: Agnus Dei Allegri: Miserere Górecki: Symphony No 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs),1st Mvt. Górecki: Little Requiem for a Certain Polka, Op 66, 3rd Mvt. Górecki: Symphony No 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), 2nd Mvt. Górecki: Miserere Albinoni: Overture to Zenobia Albinoni (compl. Giazotto): Adagio in G minor Albinoni: Concerto in B flat major for oboe and strings Albinoni: Concerto in F major for oboe and strings Pergolesi: Stabat Mater (excerpt) Pergolesi: Conversione di San Guglielmo (Sinfonia) Pergolesi: Dixit Dominus, Opening chorus Pergolesi: Stabat Mater (excerpt) Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (Easter Hymn, Inneggiamo & Intermezzo) Mascagni: Rapsodia Satanica, Prologue Orff: Camina Burana, 'O Fortuna' Orff/Keetman: Schulwerk (excerpts) Orff: De temporum fine comoedia Orff: Carmina Burana (excerpt) Fučík: Entry of the Gladiators Fučík: Miramare Fučík: TriglavPresented by Donald Macleod Produced by Sam PhillipsFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for One Hit Wonders https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001695tAnd you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Donald Macleod talks to Peter and Emilie Bernstein about their father, award winning Hollywood film composer Elmer Bernstein, who wrote for films during the 1980s and 1990s. Born in 1922, Elmer Bernstein created the music for more than 150 films. His big break was one of Hollywood's biggest pictures, Cecil B DeMille's swan song, the 1955 biblical epic, "The Ten Commandments". At the same time as working on that enormous canvas for DeMille, Bernstein was composing the first in a series of ground-breaking jazz infused scores, "The Man with the Golden Arm". He went on to write the music for the Hollywood adaptation of Harper Lee's classic novel "To Kill a Mockingbird", Westerns which include The Magnificent Seven, surely one of the best known title themes in the history of cinema, before he became the go to composer for John Wayne. His scores for action adventures include "The Great Escape" and a moving depiction of the inner life of a prisoner in "Birdman of Alcatraz". Nominated on numerous occasions, he won an Oscar for "Thoroughly Modern Millie". In the 1980s he delighted younger generations of cinema goers with scores such as "National Lampoon's Animal House", "Ghostbusters" and "Airplane!", before deciding to make a return to more serious drama. Projects with Martin Scorsese included the film of Edith Wharton's novel "The Age of Innocence", and he also created a remarkable portrait of the artist Christy Brown in "My Left Foot". His last score, for which he received a final Oscar nomination, was for Todd Haynes' "Far from Heaven" in 2002. He died just two years later in 2004.As well as a hugely successful career as a film composer Elmer Bernstein assumed several leadership roles. He also financed a scheme to preserve Hollywood film scores. Among the music he preserved was Max Steiner's King Kong.Donald Macleod marks the centenary of this gifted and versatile film composer in conversation with Peter and Emilie Bernstein, two of Elmer Bernstein's children. They offer a fascinating insider's view to the film music industry alongside a personal portrait of their father.Music Featured: The March from Stripes Prelude to The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (excerpt) To Kill a Mockingbird (excerpt) Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra for two Christophers: II: Reflections The Man with the Golden Arm (excerpt) Walk on the Wild Side: Main title The Magnificent Seven (excerpt) To Kill a Mockingbird (excerpt) True Grit (excerpt) How Now Dow Jones: A Little Investigation The Great Escape: Main title Overture to Hawaii The Birdman of Alcatraz Summer and Smoke (excerpt) Big Jake (excerpt) Zulu Dawn: River Crossing Ghostbusters theme Suite from Airplane! Heavy Metal: Taarna’s Theme Ghostbusters (excerpt) My Left Foot (excerpt) The Grifters (excerpt) Far from Heaven: Autumn in Connecticut Far From Heaven (excerpt) Rambling Rose (excerpt) Devil in a Blue Dress (excerpt) Cape Fear (excerpt) The Age of Innocence: Main titlePresented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah SmithFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015v23And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Donald Macleod explores Debussy's life as he approaches his thirties.Donald Macleod explores Debussy's life as he approaches his thirties, a challenging period both personally and musically. One of the twentieth century's most original minds, the French composer Claude Debussy has had a profound influence on the course of music. Born in 1862, his precocious talent gained him admittance to the prestigious Paris Conservatoire as a ten year old, one of the youngest pupils in the piano class. There were soon indications of his independence of mind. His student years are littered with reports which, while recognising his gifts also found him to be careless and scatterbrained. Debussy found it difficult to focus on his lessons because he felt frustrated with the rules of composition he was told to follow. He wanted to express himself differently, and if he broke the rules to achieve that, well, in his view, so be it.This week Donald Macleod begins his stories at the point in Debussy's life where, the young man has dispensed with institutional restrictions. He was free to choose his own path. No more rules, no more regulations. There were still some practical considerations he would have to factor in to his plans. Having fulfilled, for the main, the requirements of the Prix de Rome, he needed to make a professional name for himself, and most urgently, earn some money! All in all, it would prove to be a difficult decade.Music Featured: Deux Arabesques Romance (Silence Ineffable) La damoiselle élue, Poem Lyric (Introduction; Élue s'appuyait) String Quartet in G minor, op 10 (1st mvt) Rodrigue et Chimène, Act 1 (excerpt) Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Images oubliees, No 2 (Souvenir du Louvre) Trois Mélodies de Verlaine Pour le piano (Prelude, Sarabande, Toccata) String quartet in G minor, op 10 (2nd mvt) Proses Lyriques, No 4 (De soir) 6 Épigraphes Antiques Images Oubliees, No 3 (Quelques aspects de "Nous n'irons plus au bois") Proses lyriques, No 3 (De fleurs) Overture to Wagner’s ‘The Flying Dutchman’ (arr for two pianos) Pelléas et Mélisande, Act 4, Scene 4 Pelléas et Mélisande, Act 1 (excerpt) Nocturnes, No 1 (Nuages) Pelléas et Mélisande, Act 1 (excerpt) Pelléas et Mélisande, Act 1, Scene 3 Nocturnes, No 2 (Fêtes) Lindaraja for 2 pianos Pelléas et Mélisande, Act 3, Scene 1 Images, No 2 (Hommage à Rameau) La mer, No 3 (Dialogue du vent et de la mer) Estampes, No 1 (Pagodes) Le Diable dans le beffroi (excerpt) Masques pour piano Fantaisie for piano and orchestra (1st mvt) Pelléas et Mélisande Act 5 (excerpt) La mer, No 3 (Dialogue du vent et de la mer)Presented by Donald MacleodProduced by Johannah Smith, for BBC WalesFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Claude Debussy (1862-1918) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015546And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z