The Rotterdam Philharmonic on Monday Night at the Symphony

TheClassicalStation.org Features the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra

Wake Forest, N.C. (January 20, 2014) – WCPE Music Director William Woltz announces a special Monday Night at the Symphony featuring the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on Monday, January 20, 2014. This special program will present two monumental works from the orchestra’s history to celebrate the organization: Jean-Yves Thibaudet performing the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, with Valery Gergiev conducting, and a 1975 performance of Gabriel Faure's Requiem, led by Jean Fournet.

“I remember that in the seventies of the last century the Rotterdam Philharmonic played several concerts in Raleigh, NC. We played in a huge hall for thousands of people” says Wim Steinmann, Piccolo Player with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. “How nice it is that there is again attention for the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.”

The Orchestra was founded in 1918 and is led by Conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin and Honorary conductor Valery Gergiev. WCPE is pleased to present this special Monday Night at the Symphony showcasing recordings of this world class orchestra. Tune in at 8:00 ET for this special broadcast on 89.7 FM and online at www.theclassicalstation.org.

20 Monday

8:00 p.m. Liszt: Les Preludes

8:20 p.m. Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite – Snow Maiden

8:35 p.m. Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor

9:06 p.m. Faure: Requiem, Op. 48

9:42 p.m. Debussy: Games (Jeux)

Photo Credit: Hans van der Woerd.

Durufle by Rob Kennedy

Maurice Durufle (1902-1986) is not exactly one of those classical composers most of us have on their top 40 list. But he is on my top 10 list. Let me tell you why.

Maurice Durufle was one of those composers who probably destroyed more of his music than he allowed to be published. As a result only a scant fourteen works survive to this day. They are finely wrought, beautifully polished works which are a joy both to perform and to listen to.

Who was Durufle? Well, he was an organist by training. A native of Normandy and a chorister at the Cathedral in Rouen he went on to become the assistant to two of the most distinguished Parisian organists of their day: Charles Tournemire at Eglise St. Clotilde where Cesar Franck had been organist and Louis Vierne who was Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral. Working with these gentlemen gave Durufle the opportunity to rub shoulders every day with the ancient music of the church which he loved so much, namely, Gregorian Chant. 

Durufle studied at the Conservatoire where his composition teacher was Paul Dukas whose own Sorcerer's Apprentice we hear regularly on The Classical Station. From 1930 until his death in 1986 Maurice Durufle was the Organist of Eglise St. Etienne du Mont which is located in the St. Germain des Pres area of Paris.

In 1953 Durufle married Marie-Madeleine Chevalier who was a distinguished organist in her own right. Mme. Durufle served as her husband's assistant at St. Etienne du Mont. I had the good fortune years ago to host Mme. Durufle when she came to play an organ recital at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. Her playing was stunning. All from memory. But what I remember quite distinctly was that she played wearing gold pumps. And she practiced the recital music from the last bar back to the first. From memory. French classically trained musicians like the Durufles were expected to know every note of the music they played. Inside out and backwards. After the rigors of the conservatory training the Durufles had undergone, this was simply part of the drill.

Maurice Durufle wrote several fine compositions for solo organ. In my day I played his Prelude et Fugue sur le nom d'Alain which he dedicated to the memory of Jehan Alain who was killed in World War II. Jehan was part of the musical Alain family which included his famous sister, the organist Marie-Claire Alain. The Prelude and Fugue never ceased to please me as it lay well under my fingers yet it stretched my keyboard technique in order to execute the fluttering effects of the Prelude. There was no stopping the Fugue once you started. It pressed relentlessly on until the final triumphant cadence.

The simple, elegant melodies of chant provide the architonic framework to much of Durufle's sacred music. Around these eternal melodies the composer wove the most stunning filigree of harmonies and polyphony. Listen to his Missa Cum Jubilo, Op.11, the Requiem, Op.9 and 4 Motets on Gregorian Themes, Op.10 to hear what I am talking about. Durufle takes classical art forms and dresses them in the highest Parisian musical fashion one could ever ask for.

Maurice Durufle was born on January 11, 1902.

By Rob Kennedy

More reading: 

http://www.france-orgue.fr/durufle/

http://mauricedurufle.com/index.php/excerpts#sixteen

Listening to Poulenc

I’m generally more interested in the musical output of composers rather than their biographies, but when I found out that Poulenc made a special pilgrimage to the Black Madonna that forever changed the way he composed, I figured I should pay some more attention.

Francis Poulenc celebrated his birthday a few days ago. (You know, if I was really on top of things then I would get these birthday blogs out AHEAD of time.) Anyway, he was a French composer who lived between 1899 and 1963 and is one of my favorites. I first heard about him in college when I took a History of 20^th Century Music class at North Carolina State University. The NC Symphony performed his Concerto for Two Pianos and my professor suggested that I attend because, “I might find a kindred spirit with him.” You see, back then I could not yet comprehend the music of the 20^th Century besides one symphony by Shostakovich and some Stravinsky. I looked him up, went to the concert, and have loved his music ever since.

If you haven’t seen his opera “The Dialogue of the Carmelites”, I totally suggest you get a copy and listen to/watch it. This opera is based on an historical event which took place during the French Revolution: a convent of nuns is martyred. The final scene alone is worth watching if you can’t see the whole performance. The nuns sing an Ave Maria as they march up to the guillotine. Their heads are chopped off one by one. Slowly but consistently the number of voices drops out until one nun remains, singing to the Virgin Mary. Then silence. The opera ends. It is beautiful, tragic, and brilliant. I cried the first time I heard it.

He wrote so many concertos that I am only going to name a few. One piece I want to hear live before I die is his Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Timpani. What a combination! I’ve listened to it many times and still find new surprises. If you like pipe organs, check out this piece. The opening Andante is like a prelude to the concerto … you feel like it really starts in the second movement when the tempo picks up. Another great work is the Concerto for Two Pianos that I mentioned earlier. It sounds neo-classical when the pianos play all of their scales and the motif in the base line. One I have heard but is more difficult to get through is the Harpsichord Concerto entitled Concert champêtre. Do you know the last time someone wrote a harpsichord concerto? In like 1750! I don’t know actually, but no one writes for that instrument anymore … well, Poulenc I guess.  The harpsichordist for whom he wrote this work, Wanda Landowska, was instrumental in bringing the harpsichord back into vogue … let’s be honest, more people played it because of her but it never came close to the popularity of the piano. I give him credit for writing this piece because it is exactly what the 20^th century was about – thinking about music and instruments in new ways.

I hope you will give Poulenc a listen, especially the pieces I listed. Most of it is pretty accessible but it does take some work to actively listen. If his music comes up at a concert near you, then you should go and tell me how it was! 

Reflections on some Russians

I started reflecting on musical amateurism while on the radio yesterday because it was the birthday of the Russian composer Mily Balakirev. He and four of his friends are known as the Mighty Handful, a group of nationalistic Russian romantic composers whose innovative composition techniques paved the way for an authentic Russian sound. When they started out, there wasn’t a musical conservatory for them to attend. Instead, they met at each other’s homes and created their own music – lots of it based on folk music. They all had other jobs that occupied their daily lives and needed to make time for their music.

One of the fun parts about working at The Classical Station is the close interaction with all of the musical recordings I play on the air. Each day is another chance to be inspired by centuries of music. Sometimes it is difficult to get motivated, but every day the music pushes me to read more, to listen more attentively, and to try to be a better announcer. I began learning to play the piano a few years ago because, well, I always wanted to! I figured just because I was in my twenties didn’t mean I couldn’t start. Better late than never, right? The music I hear on the station continually pushes me to practice harder and keep up with my lessons.

Thinking about the Mighty Handful inspires me to practice more and to realize that I don’t have to be a professional musician to enjoy playing the piano or listening to the radio. I can compose little pieces, play some short sonatas by Scarlatti or a prelude by Bach, and that is alright. I hope people like Balakirev and his friends continue to inspire you to make music and enjoy life regardless of whether you have a degree in music or not. After all, following your dreams to learn a new instrument or be a Classical music aficionado is pretty cool.

Welcome!

2013 was such a great year for Classical Music! The Bicentennial of opera legends Verdi and Wagner, the One Hundredth Birthday of Benjamin Britten, and plenty of new and exciting recordings! I know that 2014 will be even more exciting than last year so I decided to start a Blog to tell you all about it!

Welcome to The Classical Station Announcers Blog! Part of WCPE Radio, 89.7 FM and online @ www.theclassicalstation.org, this site will be your home for all the news that’s happening at WCPE as far as programming, special events, and exclusive content such as recording and concert reviews, interviews, and pictures. Don’t miss out on any of the action this year … follow the The Classical Station Announcers Blog throughout 2014 and beyond to keep up with all that is going on. I am really excited about Special Weekends like Mozart Madness, Simply Strings Weekend, and (especially) the very popular Russian Romantics Weekend.

WCPE Radio, The Classical Station, has been broadcasting non-stop for over thirty five years now since 1978 bringing you Great Classical Music all day, every day. Because of listener support, WCPE is able to continue its mission of sharing Great Classical Music with the world. Don’t forget to tell your friends about us, to like us on social media, and to keep listening to all of the Great Classical Music!

Dan McHugh