Episodes
Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 01 | The Soundworld Of Strings | 20210726 | Donald Macleod in conversation with the Pulitzer and three-time Grammy Award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. Their focus today is writing for strings. If you were to ask Jennifer Higdon what her biggest musical influence might be, she's more likely to cite Lennon and McCartney than Bach or Beethoven. Born in 1962 in New York, the soundtrack of her childhood was the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and Peter Paul and Mary, the Rolling Stones, and reggae. A move to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to a farmhouse in rural Tennessee, added bluegrass and country music. It wasn't until Higdon was in her teens that her musical curiosity directed her towards classical music. Formal studies followed, and she began to compose when she was 21 years old. Coming to classical music later on, has been, according to Higdon, a significant factor in her own musical language. She's now one of the most performed living American composers. Having just completed her second opera and a concerto in the past year, Higdon is much in demand, with commissions on her books that take her right up to 2024. Recorded at the end of May, speaking to Donald Macleod from Articulate Studios in Philadelphia, USA, in an extended interview Jennifer Higdon gives a fascinating insight into her life and her musical preoccupations. Starting with strings on Monday, they move on to vocal writing, the influence of colour on music, the natural world and writing concertos, an area which has now become something of a speciality. Today Jennifer Higdon and Donald Macleod discuss her musical roots, her earliest attempts at composition, and how she would find success with her Concerto for Orchestra. Dance Card No 5 Machina Rockus Chicago Sinfonietta String Poetic II: Nocturne arr for cello and piano Louise King, cello Therese Milanovic, piano III: Blue Hills of Mist Jennifer Koh, violin Reiko Uchida, piano Echo dash Hilary Hahn, violin Cory Smythe, piano Voices Pacifica Quartet Viola Sonata II: Declamatory Molly Carr, viola Charles Abramovic, piano Second movement Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Robert Spano, conductor Donald Macleod in conversation with award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. |
2021 | 02 | Writing For The Voice | 20210727 | Donald Macleod continues his conversation with the Pulitzer and three-time Grammy Award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. Their focus today is her vocal writing. If you were to ask Jennifer Higdon what her biggest musical influence might be, she's more likely to cite Lennon and McCartney than Bach or Beethoven. Born in 1962 in New York, the soundtrack of her childhood was the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and Peter Paul and Mary, the Rolling Stones, and reggae. A move to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to a farmhouse in rural Tennessee, added bluegrass and country music. It wasn't until Higdon was in her teens that her musical curiosity directed her towards classical music. Formal studies followed, and she began to compose when she was 21 years old. Coming to classical music later on, has been, according to Higdon, a significant factor in her own musical language. She's now one of the most performed living American composers. Having just completed her second opera and a concerto in the past year, Higdon is much in demand, with commissions on her books that take her right up to 2024. Recorded at the end of May, speaking to Donald Macleod from Articulate Studios in Philadelphia, USA, in an extended interview Jennifer Higdon gives a fascinating insight into her life and her musical preoccupations. Starting with strings on Monday, they move on to vocal writing, the influence of colour on music, the natural world and writing concertos, an area which has now become something of a speciality. Writing for voice has led Jennifer Higdon to use some original combinations of voice and instruments, and learn how to overcome some challenging obstacles. Love Sweet no 2: The Giver of Stars no 5: A Fixed Idea Sarah Shafer, soprano Lysander Piano Trio Itamar Zorman, violin Michael Katz, cello Liza Stepanova, piano O magnum mysterium Haydn & Haydn Society Chorus Christopher Krueger & Wendy Rolfe, flutes John Grimes, glasses & chimes Grant Llewellyn, director The Singing Rooms III: The Interpretation of Dreams (excerpt) IV: Confession (text Jeanne Minahan) Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra Jennifer Koh, violin Robert Spano, director Cold Mountain Chorus: Our Beautiful Country Chanticleer A Quiet Moment Essential Voices USA Judith Clurman, director Love Came Down Maureen McKay, soprano Stacey Shames, harp Producer Johannah Smith Donald Macleod in conversation with award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. |
2021 | 03 | Colour And Music | 20210728 | Donald Macleod in conversation with the Pulitzer and three-time Grammy Award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. Today they're discussing colour and her most popular work Blue Cathedral. If you were to ask Jennifer Higdon what her biggest musical influence might be, she's more likely to cite Lennon and McCartney than Bach or Beethoven. Born in 1962 in New York, the soundtrack of her childhood was the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and Peter Paul and Mary, the Rolling Stones, and reggae. A move to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to a farmhouse in rural Tennessee, added bluegrass and country music. It wasn't until Higdon was in her teens that her musical curiosity directed her towards classical music. Formal studies followed, and she began to compose when she was 21 years old. Coming to classical music later on, has been, according to Higdon, a significant factor in her own musical language. She's now one of the most performed living American composers. Having just completed her second opera and a concerto in the past year, Higdon is much in demand, with commissions on her books that take her right up to 2024. Recorded at the end of May, speaking to Donald Macleod from Articulate Studios in Philadelphia, USA, in an extended interview Jennifer Higdon gives a fascinating insight into her life and her musical preoccupations. Starting with strings on Monday, they move on to vocal writing, the influence of colour on music, the natural world and writing concertos, an area which has now become something of a speciality. Jennifer Higdon's orchestral work `Blue Cathedral` is the most performed work by a living American composer. She talks with Donald Macleod about how, as she was writing the music, it became a musical elegy for her brother, Andrew. Blue Cathedral (excerpt) Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Robert Spano, director Scenes from the Poet's Dreams for piano left hand and string quartet No 4: In the Blue Fields they sing Gary Graffman, piano Lark Quartet City Scape III: Peachtree Street Robert Spano, conductor Piano Trio: 1: Pale Yellow 2: Fiery Red Anne Akiko Meyers, violin Alisa Weilerstein, cello Adam Neiman, piano Producer Johannah Smith Donald Macleod in conversation with award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. |
2021 | 04 | The Natural World | 20210729 | Donald Macleod in conversation with the Pulitzer and three-time Grammy Award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. Today they're discussing the role of the natural world in her music. If you were to ask Jennifer Higdon what her biggest musical influence might be, she's more likely to cite Lennon and McCartney than Bach or Beethoven. Born in 1962 in New York, the soundtrack of her childhood was the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and Peter Paul and Mary, the Rolling Stones, and reggae. A move to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to a farmhouse in rural Tennessee, added bluegrass and country music. It wasn't until Higdon was in her teens that her musical curiosity directed her towards classical music. Formal studies followed, and she began to compose when she was 21 years old. Coming to classical music later on, has been, according to Higdon, a significant factor in her own musical language. She's now one of the most performed living American composers. Having just completed her second opera and a concerto in the past year, Higdon is much in demand, with commissions on her books that take her right up to 2024. Recorded at the end of May, speaking to Donald Macleod from Articulate Studios in Philadelphia, USA, in an extended interview Jennifer Higdon gives a fascinating insight into her life and her musical preoccupations. Starting with strings on Monday, they move on to vocal writing, the influence of colour on music, the natural world and writing concertos, an area which has now become something of a speciality. The environment is important to Jennifer Higdon. We hear music inspired by places she's visited or imagined, and she describes how the aural possibilities of the natural world fired her imagination in a work for two marimbas . City Scape II: River sings a song to trees Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Robert Spano, conductor Scenes From the Poet's Dreams II: Summer Shimmers Across the Glass of Green Ponds The Lark Quartet Gary Graffman, piano Autumn Music Musical Arts Woodwind Quintet Secret & Glass Gardens (excerpt) Mary Kathleen Ernst, piano Splendid Wood (excerpt) New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble Frank Epstein, director All Things Majestic I: Teton Range: Nashville Symphony Orchestra Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor Producer Johannah Smith Donald Macleod in conversation with award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. |
2021 | 05 LAST | Musical Form And Innovation | 20210730 | Donald Macleod concludes his conversation with the Pulitzer and three-time Grammy Award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. Today they're discussing how she's refreshed the concerto form. If you were to ask Jennifer Higdon what her biggest musical influence might be, she's more likely to cite Lennon and McCartney than Bach or Beethoven. Born in 1962 in New York, the soundtrack of her childhood was the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and Peter Paul and Mary, the Rolling Stones, and reggae. A move to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to a farmhouse in rural Tennessee, added bluegrass and country music. It wasn't until Higdon was in her teens that her musical curiosity directed her towards classical music. Formal studies followed, and she began to compose when she was 21 years old. Coming to classical music later on, has been, according to Higdon, a significant factor in her own musical language. She's now one of the most performed living American composers. Having just completed her second opera and a concerto in the past year, Higdon is much in demand, with commissions on her books that take her right up to 2024. Recorded at the end of May, speaking to Donald Macleod from Articulate Studios in Philadelphia, USA, in an extended interview Jennifer Higdon gives a fascinating insight into her life and her musical preoccupations. Starting with strings on Monday, they move on to vocal writing, the influence of colour on music, the natural world and writing concertos, an area which has now become something of a speciality. As performers queue up to ask Jennifer Higdon to write them a Concerto, and garnering a Pulitzer for her Violin Concerto, Higdon talks about her ideas and her approach to a genre that dates back to the 16th century. III: Fly Forward Hilary Hahn, violin Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Vasily Petrenko, conductor Concerto 4-3 for String trio and Orchestra I: The Shallows Forth Worth Symphony Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor Percussion Concerto (excerpt) Colin Currie, percussion London Philharmonic Orchestra Marin Alsop, conductor Zaka (excerpt) Eighth Blackbird Matt Albert, violin Lisa Kaplan, piano Nicholas Photinos, cello Molly Alicia Barth, flutes Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinets Matthew Duvall, percussion Concerto for Orchestra Third movement Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Robert Spano, conductor Harp Concerto III: Lullaby Yolanda Kondonassis, harp The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Ward Stare, conductor Donald Macleod in conversation with award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. |