Classical Music Happy Hour

Composer Jeanine Tesori is a two time Tony Award winner, a two time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and in 2024, she became the first woman composer to open the Metropolitan Opera Opera season in its 139 year history. On this edition of CMHH she tells Manny about her time living in a lighthouse, about her love of Stravinsky, and why she decided not to be a doctor. 

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

3 Movements from Petrushka: No. 1, Danse russe

Stravinsky

Antonii Baryshevskyi, piano

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Carmen, Habanera

Bizet

Graciela Alperyn, mezzo-soprano

Slovak Philharmonic Chorus

Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra

Alexander Rahbari, conductor

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Turandot, SC 91: Nessun dorma (Live)

Puccini

Mario Malagnini  

Genoa Carlo Felice Theatre Orchestra & Donato Renzetti

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Carmen: Act I: Habañera: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle

Bizet

Marjana Lipovšek, mezzo-soprano

Munich Radio Orchestra 

Giuseppe Patanè, conductor

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Boléro, M. 81

Ravel

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Adrian Leaper

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

 

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Live from Tanglewood, cellist Yo-Yo Ma chats with Manny about their long musical relationship and friendship.  The two treat the live audience to a few musical performances, and they take questions from the audience about their burning musical questions, like “why does a piano have three pedals?”

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music Performed in Today’s Episode:

Lieder ohne Worte (Song without Words)

Mendelssohn

Yo-Yo Ma, Cello

Emanuel Ax, Piano

Ave Maria

Schubert

Yo-Yo Ma, Cello

Emanuel Ax, Piano

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Columbia University Professor of Linguistics John McWhorter, chats with Manny about swear words, Broadway, and tackles the conundrums of musical etymology.  McWhorter also makes the case for the brilliant first movement of Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet in B minor. The two then square off in a game about famous classical pieces that bombed at their premieres.

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Strike Up the Band: The Man I Love (Arr. For orchestra)

George Gershwin

Richard Hayman Symphony Orchestra & Richard Hayman

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115, I. Allegro

Brahms

József Balogh, clarinet and Danubius Quartet

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 “The Hunt”

Beethoven

Joyce Yang, Piano

Live Recording at The Greene Space

Herzgewächse 

Arnold Schoenberg

Alumni Musicians of the Bang on a Can Summer Festival

Live Recording

Symphony No. 5 in D Major, I. Preludio. Moderato. Allegro

Vaughan Williams

Kees Bakels and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178

Liszt

Juan Pérez Floristán, piano

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53, B. 108: I. Allegro ma non troppo

Dvorak

Ilya Kaler, violin and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra & Camilla Kolchinsky

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Renowned American composer John Adams joins Manny to discuss his approach to opera composition, the stories behind his intriguingly titled works, and the time he was once mistaken for John Cage. Adams answers listener questions on the evolution of music and the emotional pull of minor keys.  He also  shares his love of Stravinsky and Handel. For our game segment, Adams puts his knowledge to the test as Manny quizzes him on outrageous performance directions.

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Italian Concerto in F Major BWV 971, III: Presto

Bach

András Schiff, Piano

Live Recording at The Greene Space

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Var. 25

Bach

Anne-Catherine Bucher, Harpsichord

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Var. 25

Bach

Simone Dinnerstein, Piano

Live Recording at The Greene Space

Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K. 304

Mozart

Takako Nishizaki, 

Violin

Jeno Jando, Piano

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Cello  Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38, I. Allegro non troppo

Brahms

Johannes Moser, Cello

Michael Brown, Piano

Liver Recording at The Greene Space

Symphony No. 5, I. Trauermarsch

Mahler

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, IV. Finale–Adagio lamentoso

Tchaikovsky

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Tu Del Ciel

Il Trionfo Del Tempo E Del Disinganno

Handel

Claron McFadden, Elisabeth Scholl, Joachim Carlos Martini, Junge Kantorei, Barockorchester Frankfurt, Nicholas Hariades & Peer Abilgaard

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Gnossienne No. 3

Satie

Klara Kormendi, Piano

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Horn Concert No. 2 in E-Flat Major, K. 417, III. Rondo Allegro

Mozart

Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Michael Thompson

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

Composer Gabriela Ortiz joins Manny to talk about her grandfather’s surprising connection to Mahler, her own compositional process, and her enduring love for works by Debussy and Stravinsky. Listeners call in with tricky questions about folk music’s influence on classical works, new developments in orchestral instruments, and the realities of orchestra cliques. In our game segment, Manny puts Gabriela to the test—can she identify which famous composer was panned by critics?

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp minor, IV. Adagietto

Mahler

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Le Sacre du Printemps

Stravinsky

Brussels Philharmonic, Ali Rahbari

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

La Mer, L. 109, II. Jeux de vagues

Debussy

Brussels Philharmonic, Ali Rahbari

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Miroirs, M. 43 Une barque sur l'océan

Ravel

Francois-joel Thiollier, piano

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Estancia, Op. 8, Scene 5: Danza Final. Malambo

Alberto Ginastera

London Symphony Orchestra, Gisele Ben-Dor

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Romanian Folk Dances

Bartok

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Live Recording

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36

Beethoven

Danish Chamber Orchestra, Ádám Fischer

Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.