Posted by Matthew Gardner in Announcements on August 27, 2018
In 2018, the classical music community celebrates the centenary of Leonard Bernstein. PCE’s Joe Horowitz has been writing on Bernstein’s life and legacy in his blog The Unanswered Question. LEONARD BERNSTEIN AT 100: An American Archetype Leonard Bernstein prophesied an American classical music; his disillusionment and disappointments mirrored the nation’s. In 1980, at the age of […]
Read MorePosted by Matthew Gardner in Announcements on August 15, 2018
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) is America’s most iconic poet, a beacon of American democracy both at home and abroad. His years as a Civil War nurse were spent in DC, where he worked at the Patent Office Building. PostClassical Ensemble celebrates the Whitman Bicentennial with three programs of music, readings, film – and a classic 1944 [...]
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Posted by Matthew Gardner in "Unanswered Question" by Joe Horowitz on July 2, 2018
As I’ve had occasion to observe in my various George Gershwin blogs, Gershwin and J. S. Bach are the two composers most malleable in performance. There is no Gershwin style. And if there is, there’s full license to ignore it. The most recent “PostClassical” broadcast on WWFM includes two little-known but essential Gershwin performances that break the mold. […]
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Posted by Matthew Gardner in "Unanswered Question" by Joe Horowitz on April 29, 2018
Leonard Bernstein prophesied an American classical music; his disillusionment and disappointments mirrored the nation’s. In 1980, at the age of 62, Leonard Bernstein undertook the composition of a formidable full-scale opera, commissioned jointly by La Scala, the Kennedy Center, and Houston Grand Opera. He called it A Quiet Place. It’s the story of an unquiet […]
Read MorePosted by Matthew Gardner in NEWSLETTER on February 13, 2018
Doppelgängers “NOT IN MY WILDEST IMAGININGS COULD I HAVE ENVISIONED SUCH REVELATORY INTEPRETATIONS” Sudip Bose, the wonderful music critic for The American Scholar (of which he is also managing editor), recently extolled PCE’s singular radio showcase: “PostClassical” on the WWFM Network. The next “PostClassical” episode is a LIVE BROADCAST of “Deep River: The Art of [...]
Read MorePosted by Matthew Gardner in NEWSLETTER on January 22, 2018
THE MUSICAL ODYSSEY OF MIN XIAO-FEN In 2005, I profiled Min Xiao-fen – our soloist for the PCE Gala on April 28 -- for The New York Times. Xiao-fen is one of the world’s great instrumentalists. She’s also a quintessential “postclassical” artist, transgressing musical boundaries of every kind. She’s long been part of the PCE [...]
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Posted by Matthew Gardner in Recordings on December 28, 2017
Shostakovich Trio No. 2 performed at Washington National Cathedral in PostClassical Ensemble's MUSIC IN WARTIME Recorded at Washington National Cathedral on December 7, 2017 during the program MUSIC IN WARTIME: A Pearl Harbor Day Commemoration. Alexander Shtarkman, piano Netanel Draiblate, violin Benjamin Capps, cello Shostakovich Trio No. 2https://postclassical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Shostakovich-Trio-No.-2.mp3
Read MorePosted by Matthew Gardner in Uncategorized on December 18, 2017
BEHROUZ JAMALI is now PCE's Resident Documentarian As you may have noticed, the last PCE trailer – Joe Horowitz talking about Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon – was professionally produced. This is the work of Behrouz Jamali, who this season becomes our Resident Documentarian/Photographer. Actually, Behrouz has been filming PCE for some time. One of his [...]
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Posted by Matthew Gardner in Podcasts on October 20, 2017
Herrmann Centenary Pt. 1https://postclassical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Part1Web.mp3 Herrmann Centenary Pt. 2https://postclassical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Part2Web.mp3 LISTENING GUIDE PART I 5:08: Bernard Herrmann speaks -- irascibly 6:33: His daughter Dorothy describes accompanying “Daddy” to Psycho 12:02: Herrmann’s Psycho Symphonic Narrative performed by PCE conducted by Angel Gil-Ordonez (DC premiere) 28:30: An influence on Psycho? Bartok’s Divertimento, movement 2 41:10: Herrmann’s Sinfonietta for Strings [...]
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Posted by Matthew Gardner in Podcasts on September 1, 2017
Copland and the Cold War Pt. 1https://postclassical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/PCECopland090117Part1.mp3 Copland and the Cold War Pt. 2https://postclassical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/PCECopland09017Part2.mp3 LISTENING GUIDE PART I – Copland the modernist turns populist 6:30 – Copland the wild man: Piano Variations (1930), performed by Benjamin Pasternack on Naxos 22:00 – Copland speaks at a Communist picnic in Minnesota (1934) 28:00 – “Into the Streets” [...]
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