Program Guide January 2024

WWUH Classical Programming

January 2024

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera… Sundays 1:00 – 4:30 pm

Evening Classics… Weekdays 4:00 to 7:00/ 8:00 pm

Drake’s Village Brass Band… Tuesdays 7:00-8:00 pm

(Opera Highlights Below)

Monday 1st

Host’s choice

Tuesday 2d

The Seasons 1…Glazunov: The Seasons, Op. 67; Shor: Four Seasons of Manhattan; Vaughan Williams: Folk Songs of the Four Seasons; Locklair: Symphony of Seasons; Cage: The Seasons Ballet

Drake’s Village Brass Band – Jim Parker Groundforce with The Black Dyke Band

Wednesday 3d

Jean-Philippe Rameau: Platée or Junon Jalouse (orchestral suite);

Jacques-Martin Hotteterre le Romain: Suite in G major, Op. 2, No. 3, for Flute and B.c.; Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for 4 Violins in B minor, Op. 3, No. 10, RV 580; Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto for 4 Keyboards in A minor, BWV 1065 (arr. of Vivaldi's, Concerto for 4 Violins in B minor, Op. 3, No. 10, RV 580); Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantata for New Year's Day [Circumcision of Christ, Holy Name], "Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm", BWV 171; Franz Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major, D. 959; Louise Farrenc: Violin Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 37; Mel Bonis: Scènes enfantines, Op.92; Eduard Künneke: Tänzerische Suite, Concerto grosso, Op. 26 für Jazzband und grosses Orchester; Robert Gerhard: Cançons populars catalanes (version for voice and orchestra).

Thursday 4th

Pergolesi: Flute Concerto in G Major; Agricola: Flute Sonata in A Major; Suk: Serenade for String Orchestra in E Flat Major, Op. 6; Rossini: La Cenerentola Overture.

Friday 5th

Pierre Boulez – conductor & composer

Sunday 7th

Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina

Monday 8th

Host's Choice

Tuesday 9th

The Seasons 2…Glass: Violin Concerto, The American Four Seasons; Harrison: Solstice; Musgrave: Journey Through a Japanese Landscape

Drake’s Village Brass Band – Postcards from Grimethorpe – Jack Stamp and The Grimethorpe Colliery Band



Wednesday 10th

Adolphe Adam: Si j'étais roi: Overture; Elle est princesse (Aria); De vos nobles aeux (Aria); Henri Vieuxtemps: Duo brillant, Op. 39 (version for violin, cello and orchestra); Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila: Overture;  Act III: Dances: In Naina's Castle; Act II: Scene and Farlaf's Rondo: Ya ves'drozhu; Abdrazakov; Giuseppe Verdi: Un giorno di regno (Il finto Stanislao): Overture; Si festevole mattina (Chorus); Non san quant'io nel petto … Non vo' quel vecchio (Giulietta, Chorus); Franz Josef Strauss: Horn Concerto in C Minor, Op. 8; Victor Herbert: 3 Pieces for String Orchestra; Jules Massenet: Suite de Cendrillon; Franz Liszt: Auber - 3 Stücke aus der Oper La Muette de Portici, S387/R118: No. 1. Introduction - No. 2. Cavatine (Berceuse); Emilie Mayer: 3 Lieder, Op. 7, Nos. 1 & 2; Fernand de La Tombelle: Suite for 3 Cellos; Saverio Mercadante: Decimino No. 2; Dame Ethel Smyth: Les naufrageurs (The Wreckers): Overture; Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-Flat Major, Op. 10; Wilhelm Stenhammar: The Song: Interlude; Ottorino Respighi: Feste romane (Roman Festivals), P. 157

Thursday 11th

Sinding: Piano Concerto in D Flat Major, Op. 6; Graener: Suite, Op. 19; Durufle: Prelude & Fugue sur le nom d'Alain, Op. 7; Gliere: Harp Concerto in E Flat Major Op. 74; Alberti: O lux beata trinitas: Versus tertius; Serov: Yudif: Marche d'Olopherne.

Friday 12th

Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sunday 14th

Schubert, Winterreise

Monday 15th

Host's Choice

Tuesday 16th

Infinite Voyage …Infinite Voyage with the Emerson String Quartet; Singleton: Time Past, Time Future; Penderecki: Symphony #8 “Lieder der Vergänglichkeit” (Songs of Transience)

Drake’s Village Brass Band – Force of Nature, Music of Peter Graham – Dr. Nicholas Childs, Black Dyke Band

Wednesday 17th

We’ve already heard the 3 Bs – Tonight it’s 3 Ms

Thursday 18th

Chabrier: Joyeuse Marche, Suite Pastorale; Cui: Suite Miniature No. 1, Op. 20; Goldschmidt: Greek Suite; Reicha: Wind Quintet, Op. 91 No. 3 in D Major.

Friday 19th

A few first performances

Sunday 21st

Partch, Delusion of the Fury

Monday 22d

Host's Choice

Tuesday 23d

Tribute to David Del Tredici - Gotham Glory for Piano, Final Alice, Felix Varitions

Drake’s Village Brass Band – Del Tredici: Heavy Metal Alice, In Wartime

Wednesday 24th

Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pigmalion (orchestral suite); Jacques-Martin Hotteterre le Romain: Suite in E Minor, Op. 2, No. 4, for Flute and B.c.;

Antonio Vivaldi: Bassoon Concerto in G Minor, RV 496; Johann Sebastian Bach: Solo Cantata for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany, "Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange?", BWV 155; Joseph Haydn: Keyboard Sonata No. 58 in C major, Hob. XVI:48; Louis Spohr: Double String Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 77; Louise Farrenc: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 39; Hanns Eisler: Tempo der Zeit (Tempo of the Times), Kantate, Op. 16; Robert Gerhard: Cancionero de Pedrell (version for voice and orchestra); Alfred Schnittke: Piano Quintet.

Thursday 25th

Blockx: Flemish Dances; Lutoslawski: Dance Preludes; Reed: The Hounds of Spring; Furtwangler: Overture in E-Flat Major, Op. 3; Hofhaymer: Songs and Dances.

Friday 26th

Two first performances and a birthday today

Sunday 28th

Shakespeare, King Lear  

Monday 29th

Host's Choice

Tuesday 30th

Cecile Licad- American Dances, Anthology of American Piano Music Volume 5; Ives: Orchestral Set #3; String Poetic with Jennifer Koh violin

Drake’s Village Brass Band – Mozart Y Mambo – Sarah Willis Horn

Wednesday 31st

Host's Choice

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SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA

your "lyric theater" program

with Keith Brown



Programming for the month of January 2024

• SUNDAY JANUARY 7th Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina Although Modest Mussorgsky lived only until 1881, he is really a twentieth century composer. The so-called "barbaric" dissonances in some of the chords he employed in his music anticipate the dissonant sounds of composers of half a century later like Bartok. Mussorgsky's operas had to wait until the twentieth century to be properly appreciated. He left only one complete opera, Boris Godunov (1874) at the time of his death. Among several others left incomplete was Khovanshchina, a grand historical panorama of his homeland. The official premiere of Khovanshchina took place in 1911 in a version pieced together by Rimsky-Korsakov, who also edited Boris. The Met waited until 1950 to stage "The Khovansky Affair." The forced modernization of Muscovy is the theme of the opera. The Old Believers refused to accept even the most modest of reforms in Russian Orthodoxy. These religious fanatics got the backing of a faction of the Russian nobility, but all reactionaries were swept aside when Czar Peter The Great came to power. Mass suicide closed this chapter in Russia's tragic history. Way back on Sunday, January 26, 1985 I broadcast Khovanshchina in an old Angel LP release derived from the Soviet-era Melodiya record label, featuring the musical resources of Moscow's famed Bolshoi Theatre. The opera in its present form was edited by the eminent Russian musicologist Pavel Lamm. Orchestration by Dmitri Shostakovich restored those colorful dissonances, but purged from the opera's score is additional music composed by Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel and Stravinsky. The entire opera was recorded uncut in 1991 with a native Russian cast and the chorus and orchestra of the Kirov Theatre of St. Petersburg, Valery Gergiev conducting. I last broadcast this PHILIPS CD release on Sunday, January 13, 2002. 
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• SUNDAY JANUARY 14th Schubert, Winterreise Franz Schubert's song cycle Winterreise ("Winter Journey," 1827) is one of the single most touching of tragedies in music. Like its predecessor , Schubert's other song cycle Die Schone Mullerin (1823), it consists of a series of short lyrical poems by German poet Willhelm Muller (1794-1827), an exact contemporary of the composer, who like him also didn't live very long. Actually, Schubert's wonderful musical settings preserve the poet's otherwise obscure verse for posterity. Schubert put his very soul into these songs. Not long before his own untimely death he sang the entire song cycle for a group of his friends. He shocked them with the portrayal of the step-by-step collapse of the human personality, leading to hallucination, madness and despair. The Winter Traveler is left longing for the release to be found only in the grave. Many of the now legendary male voices of the twentieth century recorded the complete song cycle. The acknowledged greatest interpreter of Schubert Lieder of the century, German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925-2012) recorded it several times over his long singing career. There's the first one in monaural sound he made in 1955, and another in stereo made in 1965 that is now regarded as having set the alltime standard. Connoisseurs of Schubert Lieder often prefer the earlier monaural one Fischer-Dieskau sang at the age of thirty- the same age as Schubert himself when he composed the music, perhaps because that youthful baritone voice was lighter and sweeter and more fully expressive of the pathos in each component song. Gerald Moore was his piano accompanist. The 1955 recording was reissued in 2016 on a Warner Classics compact disc. This vintage Fischer-Dieskau recording ought to serve as a benchmark reference for Lieder interpreters of the twenty first century. You have heard two first-rate contemporary male voices who have recorded Winterreise: Werner Gura on Sunday, January 6, 2011, and Jonas Kaufmann on Sunday, January 16, 2011. After you listen to the young Fischer-Dieskau's interpretation, keep listening for vocal duets, trios and quartets composed by Schubert. Fischer-Dieskau and his distinguished colleagues sopranos Elly Ameling and Janet Baker, and tenors Peter Schreier and Horst Laubenthal recorded these songs in 1973, again with Gerald Moore at the piano. With tracks from this Polydor/MHS release of all that additional vocal music, today's entire presentation amounts to a veritable Schubertiad.
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• SUNDAY JANUARY 21st Partch, Delusion of the Fury Now for an extraordinary lyric theater piece by America's great musical eccentric of the twentieth century, Harry Partch (1901-74). This will not be the first time I have featured one of his theatrical works. A recording of Revelation in the Courthouse Park (1960) went over the air on Sunday, February 8, 1991, and thereafter came Partch's Oedipus (1951) on Sunday, November 19, 2000. Now comes Delusion of the Fury: A Ritual of Dream and Delusion (1966), a species of pantomime drama with ritualized action ,some costuming and some vocalization that qualifies it for lyric theater programming. Its first act builds upon the concept of Japanese Noh drama. The entire work is accompanied by instruments in microtonal pitch designed and made by Partch himself. Reconstructions of these "original" instruments, on display at the University of Washington state School of Music were employed in the 2015 recording of Delusion of the Fury made in Cologne, Germany by the Ensemble Musikfabrik and released to the public in 2022 through the German Wergo record label. 
•    Another iconic rebel of Harry Partch's era- the mid twentieth century- was America's beatnik poet extraordinaire, Irwin Allen Ginsberg (1926-97). Ginsberg was recorded live in performance, delivering his rants and laments for the "beat generation," and singing, too, as he had done for my Allen Ginsberg special on Sunday, July 9, 1995. I worked from a three-CD compilation of Ginsberg's recorded voice Holy Soul, Jelly Roll: Poems and Songs,1949-1993 (Metro Word Beat/Rhino Records, 1994). Ginsberg howls again this afternoon.
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• SUNDAY JANUARY 28th Shakespeare, King Lear Winter is the season to listen to a deep dark tragedy. Shakespeare's most profoundly disturbing tragic stagework has got to be King Lear (1605?). My first radio presentation of Shakespeare in CD format was this play, aired on Sunday, November 8, 1998 as released through Random House Audio Books, starring the octogenarian Sir John Gielgud in the title role, joined by Kenneth Branagh as Edmond and Derek Jacobi as the King of France. (A BBC Radio Three broadcast from 1994,) The Audio Books Lear I broadcast again on Sunday, February 1, 2004. In broadcasting Lear yet again this Sunday I reach back to a different recording of the complete play from nigh on seven decades ago, as part of the Decca/Argo series of the complete recorded works of William Shakespeare. These early stereo recordings, made between 1957 and 1964, were originally issued on LP in commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of his birth. It was an audio project of historic significance equal to Decca's recorded series of Wagner's Ring cycle of operas made during the same period with Georg Solti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and a singing cast of some of the greatest operatic voices of the mid twentieth century. Decca's Shakespeare project engaged director George Rylands and the Marlowe Dramatic Society of Cambridge University, plus other "professional players," who included some of the finest Shakespeareans that Britain possessed at that time. Some of them remain famous names even now in the twenty first century. In 2016 the entire Decca Shakespeare series- all thirty seven plays, the sonnets and narrative poems- was reissued on one hundred compact discs to mark the four hundredth anniversary of the Bard's death. I presented Macbeth from the CD reissue on Sunday, November 7 of last year. In the Decca/Argo recording of King Lear William Devlin is heard as the self-deluded ancient king of Britain. His daughter Cordelia is Prunella Scales. The Fool is Michael Bakewell. 
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keithsbrown1948@gmail.com

Boomer's Paradise

Monday's 1-4 PM with your host, The Turtle Man

Well, 2023 went in the rear view mirror quickly and it was eventful on many levels. So now we get to start a new year (2024) with a clean slate in the eternal hope it will be better.

So what better way to start the new year but to look backwards, specifically 50 years ago to January 2024 and listen to music from albums released in that month. As you'll hear, the musical tide is changing. We continue our journey with "A Flock of Byrds", other artists who have ties to the band, The Byrds and their individual members. We'll also have a little rock potpourri to spice things up.

Being winter, we'll move on to songs referencing fire, water, ice, earth and sky. We'll also revisit songs with strange, stranger and strangest in the song title for a bit of musical mystery.

Next in the cue is more from the sub-genre of power ballads, songs with street, road, highway and other ground modes of travel in the song title as well as some more rock potpourri.

We turn once again to our digital jukebox with an eclectic mix of tunes and then we'll end the month with another round of torch songs, the world of riffraff and songs with give and take in the title to end the month on a high note.

You can find all that every Monday from 1-4 pm on Boomers Paradise with your host, The Turtle Man here are WWUH 91.3 fm and wwuh.org.

Thanks for tuning in and always remember, you're never alone when you have music.

Tune in on the radio (91.3 FM) or streaming online at wwuh.org.

The mission of the Connecticut Symphony Orchestra is to provide opportunities for advanced musicians and emerging professionals to perform a high level of repertoire while engaging and collaborating with diverse communities in mutual growth through the joy of making music.

Connecticut Symphony Orchestra

The West Hartford Symphony Orchestra

In collaboration with the WWUH Classical Programming we are pleased to partner with the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra to present their announcements and schedule to enhance our commitment to being part of the Greater Hartford Community.

Richard Chiarappa, Music Director 860-521-4362

Visit www.whso.org for tickets and Covid protocols.

whso.org

The Musical Club of Hartford

The Musical Club of Hartford is a non-profit organization founded in 1891. Membership is open to performers or to those who simply enjoy classical music, providing a network for musicians from the Greater Hartford area. Club events take place normally on selected Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m, Fall through Spring. The usual location is the sanctuary at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford, CT (between Ridgewood and Mountain Avenues). Information on time and location is given at the bottom of each event description.

Visit www.musicalclubhartford.org for updated program information

musicalclubhartford.org

Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra

The Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra is the state’s premier professional chamber orchestra dedicated to presenting both traditional and contemporary classical chamber works to the public. The Orchestra, led by Founder and Artistic Director Adrian Sylveen, continues to grow in size and repertoire, presenting approximately 35 times a year in many major performing arts centers throughout Connecticut and New York.

Connecticut Virtuosi: “Visi d’Arte” with Jurate Svedaite



http://thevirtuosi.org/

Beth El Temple Music & Art

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WHERE ELSE COULD MUSIC BE THIS HEAVENLY? Music at Beth El Temple in West Hartford is under the direction of The Beth El Music & Arts Committee (BEMA). With the leadership of Cantor Joseph Ness, it educates and entertains the community through music. The BEMA committee helps conceive and produce musical performances of all genres, while supporting the commemoration of Jewish celebrations and prayer services.

https://www.bethelwesthartford.org/community/get-involved/bema

Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra

Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra is one of Connecticut’s premier community orchestras dedicated to promoting musical excellence. We believe that classical music provides a magical experience that inspires, delights, and brings our community together.

Founded in 1981, the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra performs 6-7 concerts each season with a variety of classical, romantic and popular holiday favorites. The orchestra serves Farmington, Canton, Avon, Simsbury, Burlington, Bloomfield, West Hartford & Hartford, as well as Greater Hartford and the Connecticut River Valley. We are your local, civic orchestra and look forward to seeing you at one of our concerts!

Further information is available at FVSO.org or by calling 800-975-FVSO.

www.fvso.org

South Windsor Cultural Arts

Coming Up

SWCA Presents Violinist Irina Muresanu and Pianist Daniel Del Pino on January 21

Violinist Irina Muresanu and Pianist Daniel Del Pino will return to the South Windsor Cultural Arts concert series on January 21st. The program, entitled From Bucharest to Madrid, will highlight selections from their home countries, including Paul Constantinescu’s “Sonatina”; Bela Bartok’s “Hungarian Folk Tunes”; Johannes Brahms’ “Sonata no. 3 in d minor, op. 108”; Maurice Ravel’s “Sonata”; Manuel de Falla’s “Danza Ritual del Fuego” for piano; and Pablo de Sarasate’s “Habañera”. The concert starts at 2:00 pm at Evergreen Crossings Retirement Community, 900 Hemlock Ave, South Windsor, CT.  Seating begins at 1:30 and is on a first-come, first-served basis. The concert is FREE and donations are welcomed. A reception with the artist will follow the concert hosted by Evergreen Crossings Retirement Community. Born in Romania, Irina Muresanu has appeared on stages throughout the world and has firmly established herself as a successful recording artist. A laureate and top winner of several prestigious international violin competitions, Muresanu achieved international acclaim early on as an outstanding young soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Spanish pianist Daniel del Pino also enjoys an international career that has seen him perform with top orchestras and chamber music festivals throughout Europe, Morocco, Tunisia, the Middle East, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and the US. Del Pino’s live concerts have been broadcast on TV and radio stations throughout the world and he has recorded multiple albums, including solo and joint ventures with other top artists.  

For information, call (860)-416-6920

https://www.facebook.com/SouthWindsorCulturalArts

The New Britain Symphony Orchestra

The New Britain Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra which presents several concerts each season in the Greater New Britain area, performing works from all periods in a wide range of musical styles. In addition to its full orchestra concerts under the direction of Music Director and Conductor, Toshiyuki Shimada, including a free concert for children, members of the orchestra perform in various free chamber music concerts during the concert season.

https://newbritainsymphony.org/