Conservative Conversation and Community
This episode begins with a song by Giuseppe Martucci, sung by Rosa Feola, the young Italian soprano. It ends with an aria by Giacomo Puccini, sung by Mirella Freni, the legendary Italian soprano who died in recent days. In between is a smorgasbord, including Haydn, Mozart, and a couple of British songs that Jay and others love.
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More Mariss Jansons, the great Latvian conductor, born in 1943, died toward the end of last year. Jay talks about him, relating stories both from him and about him. (Jay interviewed Jansons twice, ten years apart.) And, of course, we hear music—from Jansons and his orchestras.
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More Jay begins with a Schubert work, and some singers and pianists who have performed it. He moves on to a funky, frenetic thing called “Techno-Parade.” Later, there is some Wagner by a great new singer. There is some immortal Rachmaninoff. And, at the very end, a song by the late Jerry Herman: “It’s Today,” from “Mame.” A diverse, appetizing musical menu.
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More Jay plays his favorite Christmas tracks: from Bach to gospel to jazz and beyond. Performers include Hermann Prey, James Cleveland, George Shearing, Heidi Grant Murphy, and Leontyne Price. A gift of a podcast.
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More Jay went to the ballet in Kyiv, for “Carmen Suite” and “Scheherazade.” He said, “It was the most erotic evening you could ever spend alone.” He plays some music from “Carmen Suite” in this episode, plus Bach, Scriabin, and Glass. And Frank Bridge, that half remembered and estimable English composer. There is much beauty, and much of interest, in this episode.
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More This episode begins with a liturgical piece by James MacMillan—a living composer—and ends with another liturgical piece by Wynton Marsalis—another living composer. In between, you’ve got some Saint-Saëns, some Sibelius, and some other music. Jay says some provocative—possibly offensive—things about a couple of cello concertos. Otherwise, it’s sweetness and light, mainly. A good show.
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More Jay ends with “Rustle of Spring,” the piano piece by Christian Sinding. It used to be universally known. It deserved to be. Jay also plays Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Shostakovich, Amy Beach, Havergal Brian, and Jörg Widmann. He tells some stories, makes some points. A rich and diverse world, music.
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Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1
Brian, Double Fugue in E flat
Widmann, “Con brio”
Brahms, Violin Concerto
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 (Bernstein, New York Philharmonic)
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 (Maazel, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Beach, “Ah, Love, but a Day”
Sinding, “Rustle of Spring”
When Harriet Cohen finishes playing her arrangement of Bach’s “Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier,” Jay says, “Holy stuff.” There is other stuff too in this episode: including “Tain’t What You Do (It’s How You Do It).” There may also be a little Beach Boys, classically performed. Jay likes that opening Bach piece so much, he ends with it, too: in a different version.
Bach-Cohen, “Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier”
More Someone asked Jay to name one composer whose music he would take with him to a desert island. He names him (Bach). He also says farewell to Marcello Giordani, the Italian tenor, and Jessye Norman, the American soprano. We also get an opera overture, a Beethoven overture, some Gershwin—and “Take This Job and Shove It.” Quite a menu, quite a program.
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More That’s what Jay calls a Bach piece arranged for organ by Jean Guillou: pure joy. There is some more pure joy in this episode too—including the final movement of Brahms’s Horn Trio, which Jay plays to honor Myron Bloom, the great French-horn player who died on September 26. He also honors, at the end, Christopher Rouse, the American composer, who died on September 21. Music, said Rouse, in a statement to be issued after his passing, “has given me life and a reason for living.”
Jay also plays some Ella Fitzgerald, some Leontyne Price, and more. There is also a tale from opera lore: about Rudolf Bing and George Szell, who were too big for the same town.
More Jay does, and you will too. “Who Cares?” is a Gershwin song, which Gershwin arranged for piano (alone). Jay has André Watts play this. He later has Ella Fitzgerald sing the song, accompanied by another André, Previn. In between, he talks about Gabriel Fauré, and plays him. He talks about Arcadi Volodos, than whom there is no better pianist in the world, Jay says. We hear Volodos in Bach—Bach arranged by Samuil Feinberg, an earlier Russian pianist. We hear more Bach, played by Feinberg himself. And some Callas. And some Offenbach. A wonderful menu of music, with tasty comments to go with it.
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More As Jay tells us at the beginning, he has been reviewing from two summer festivals: the Mostly Mozart Festival (New York) and the Salzburg Festival, in Mozart’s hometown. He discusses and plays a variety of music performed at these festivals: Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Enescu – and Mozart, for sure.
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More Jay says “Happy Independence Day” with a buffet of American music, starting with “The Banjo” and ending with “America the Beautiful.” In between, you will have many melodies, many voices, all adding up to America. Have a great one.
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More Introducing this episode, Jay says, “Gonna throw a little ballet at you” – and he does. Some music from ballets. He also throws in some arias, some jazz, and more. An interesting, diverse, soul-pleasing episode.
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More Jay discusses, and plays, an old song: “A Soft Day.” You also have a little music from Brazil. And a composer who escaped the Nazis. And some Cole Porter. Also, what about the question of Wagner? Can you listen to him, SOB that he was? Finally, Franco Zeffirelli died – which leads to a reflection on him, and to an aria. In short, there’s plenty to think about in this episode, and plenty to hear.
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More From Norway, a story about Mrs. Grieg – and some music by Mr. From Israel, some thoughts about Bruch, Bloch, and others. This episode also includes a dollop of Rameau, a spiritual, a heavenly piece by Chopin, and more. Food for thought and soul.
This is a podcast of The New Criterion.
More Jay Nordlinger begins a new podcast, a music ’cast. As he says, he’ll talk about music – make some points, tell some stories, tell some jokes – but mainly play music. Because why talk when you can listen? He begins this inaugural episode with the song from which he swipes his title (“Music for a While”). There is also some piano music by Prokofiev – music seldom heard. Jay remembers a couple of musicians who have died recently. And he closes with a song from “Kiss Me, Kate,” which is back on Broadway.
“Music for a while,” goes Henry Purcell’s song, “shall all your cares beguile.”
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