Composer of the Week Podcast Folgen

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of George Walker, in conversation with his son Gregory. When Rosa King Walker announced to her five-year-old son George that, like it or not, he was going to have piano lessons, she can scarcely have been aware that she was dispatching him on a lifelong journey in music. He made his concerto début at the age of 23 playing Rachmaninov’s 3rd Piano Concerto, with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the great Eugene Ormandy. A stellar career on the concert platform surely beckoned, but in the event, things were not so straightforward. We’ll hear how Walker began to turn his back on the idea of a solo career, gravitating instead towards a life in teaching – and, increasingly, composition. Donald and Gregory discuss Walker’s studies with the formidable Nadia Boulanger, the relief when his commissions started rolling in, and the far reaches of his stylistic ambition. Walker won the epic Pulitzer Prize for music in 1996 for his piece Lilacs, a career-defining moment, which makes what happened next in Walker’s career all the more surprising. “I got probably more publicity nationwide than perhaps any other Pulitzer Prize-winner,” he recalled in 2015. “But not a single orchestra approached me about doing the piece or any piece. It materialized in nothing.” In this emotional look back at the life and work of his father, Gregory discusses identity, representation and perseverance, ending with the story of his swansong, Visions, inspired by the tragedy of the Charleston church massacre. Music featured: Response String Quartet No 1 Lyric for Strings Piano Sonata No 1 Cello Sonata Trombone Concerto The Bereaved Maid Sonata No 1 for violin and piano Spatials Variations for Orchestra Five Fancies for clarinet and piano four hands (Theme and 5 variations) Piano Concerto Music for Brass (Sacred and Profane) Cantata Piano Sonata No 4 Sinfonia No 1 Hey Nonny No (anon) Poème for violin and orchestra In Time of Silver Rain Mother Goose (Circa 2054) Lilacs Modus Icarus in Orbit Piano Sonata No 5 Da Camera, for piano trio, harp, celesta, string orchestra and percussion Violin Concerto Bleu Sinfonia No 5 (‘Visions’)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Barstow for BBC WalesFor full tracklistings, 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 George Walker https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cz2qAnd 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 delves into the international successes of Arcangelo Corelli.Arcangelo Corelli was something of a European phenomenon not only during his lifetime, but also after his death. His compositional output was not large, but the development of the printing press enabled his music to be widely circulated. Musically, he bridged the gap between the Baroque and the Classical periods, and is seen as pivotal in the development of the sonata and the concerto. Even today, Corelli’s music is held in high esteem, with composers still inspired by his music. As a violinist he was also legendary, and people flocked from all over Europe to not only hear him play, but to also be taught by him. Corelli spent most of his career in Rome, maintained in some luxury by royalty, nobility and the Church. During his career he collaborated with many other composers including Alessandro Scarlatti and Handel. Despite his fame and continued popularity, we still know relatively little about Corelli, and this Composer of the Week series seeks to explore the man and his music through his personal and professional relationships.Music featured: Sonata in G minor, Op 4 No 2 (Corrente) Concerto Grossi, Op 6 No 3 Sonata in G, Op 1 No 9 Handel: La Resurrezione (Ho un non so che nel cor) Sonata in F major, Op 5 No 10 Concerto Grosso in D, Op 6 No 1 Fuga con un soggetto solo Sonata in G minor, Op 5 No 5 Sonata in F, Op 1 No 1 Sonata in A minor, Op 1 No 4 Sonata in B minor, Op 3 No 4 Sonata in F minor, Op 3 No 9 Concerto Grosso in F, Op 6 No 12 Sonata in D Sonata in B major, Op 2 No 5 Sonata in E flat major, Op 2 No 11 Sinfonia to Santa Beatrice d’Este in D minor, WoO1 Concerto in G minor, Op 6 No 8 (Christmas Concerto) Sonata in C, Op 5 No 9 Sonata in A minor, op 4 No 5 Sonata in B minor, op 4 No 12 Sonata in C, Op 2 No 3 Sonata in F major, Op 2 No 7 Handel: Sonata a 5, HWV288 (Violin Concerto in B flat) Sonata in G minor WoO2 Corelli Arr. J. C. Schickhardt: Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 3 Sonata No 2 in D minor, Op 2 No 2 Concerto Grosso in F, Op 6 No 2 Corelli Arr. Geminiani: Concerto Grosso VII in D minor Sonata in D minor, Op 5 No 12 (Follia) Concerto Grosso in F, Op 6 No 9Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC WalesFor full tracklistings, 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 Arcangelo Corelli. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d6y6And 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 the music of Johannes Brahms through his close relationships.Brahms was a deeply private man and very guarded about his life, his friends and his feelings. Across this week, Donald goes “Behind Closed Doors” with Brahms to discover what really made him tick. He finds friends, mentors and lovers along the way who together help solve the enigma of the composer.We’ll hear about Brahms’s doomed early romance with a young singer, Agathe von Siebold, plus his lifelong friendships with Robert, and particularly Clara Schumann - probably the person he was closest to in his life. Donald explores the music written for some of the women he knew intimately, and why he sought solitude and how it came to influence his music. Throughout his life, there was a great expectation placed on Brahms’s shoulders. We end by looking at how that shaped his character and music.Music featured: Sonata No 3 in F minor, Op 5 (4th movement) Lieder & Romanzen, Op 14 (No 4, Ein Sonett & No 7, Ständchen) Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor, Op 15 (1st movement) Ave Maria, Op 12 String Sextet No 2 in G, Op 36 (1. Allegro non troppo) 2 Gavottes, WoO 3 (Nos 1 and 2) Piano Sonata No 1 in C major, Op 1 (1. Allegro) 6 Songs, Op 3 (Nos 2 and 3) Piano Quartet, Op 25 (3rd and 4th movements) String Sextet No 1in B flat major, Op 18 (2nd movement) Piano Quintet in F minor, Op 34A (1st movement) Rhapsody in B minor, Op 79 No 1 6 Songs, Op 7 (Nos 2 -5) Variations in E flat on a Theme by Schumann (Nos 8-11) Alto Rhapsody, Op 53 16 Waltzes, Op 39 (Nos 1-4) Cello Sonata No 1 in E minor, Op 38 (3rd movement - Allegro) Klavierstücke, Op 76 (No 7 - Intermezzo in A major; No 8 - Capriccio in C major) Violin Sonata No 2, Op 100 (1st movement: Allegro amabile) Nanie, Op 82 Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat major, Op 83 (3rd movement - Andante) Serenade No 1 in D major, Op 11 (2nd movement) Piano Sonata No 2 in F sharp minor, Op 2 (4th movement) Vier ernste Gesänge, Op 121 (Nos 3 and 4) Ein Deutsches Requiem [A German Requiem], Op 45 (2nd and 3rd movements)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Glyn Tansley for BBC WalesFor full tracklistings, 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 Johannes Brahms. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cb1xAnd 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