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Thursday, February 26, 2015

[Car tune] Schindler's List: Main Theme

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... after all, until today, until you were driving, you didn't realize, that was actually a lane, that person made it one ..."



"Schindler's List: Main Theme" by John T. Williams
Performance by Itzhak Perlman, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John T. Williams.

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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

[Car tune] Lakme: Flower Duet

Rich Capparela's car tune.  (Winter Membership Drive edition.)

"... after all, they forgot where their turn signals were, and they do need to occupy the exact same space as you are in right now ..."

Join KUSC by calling 1-800-421-1717.



"Lakme: Flower Duet" by Leo Delibes
Performance by Anna Netrebko, soprano, Elina Garanca, mezzo-soprano, Southwest German Symphony Orchestra, Baden Baden, conducted by Marco Armiliato.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

[Car tune] Piano Concertos 4 Andante con moto

Rich Capparela's car tune.  (Winter Membership Drive edition.)

"... after all, they don't know where their turn signals are ..."

Join KUSC by calling 1-800-421-1717.



"Piano Concertos 4 Andante con moto" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performance by Clifford Curzon , Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch.

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Monday, February 23, 2015

[Car tune] Memories of the Alhambra

Rich Capparela's car tune.  (Winter Membership Drive edition.)

"... after all, they all forgot how to drive over the weekend, and they're really upset that that person didn't get the academy award  ..."

Join KUSC by calling 1-800-421-1717.



"Memories of the Alhambra" by Francisco Tárrega
Performance by Eduardo Fernandez.

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Sunday, February 22, 2015

Mozart & Brahms

KUSC is broadcasting the third concert of Pacific Symphony's current classical concert series tonight at 7 PM (PST).

Listen to Alan Chapman's preview on SoundCloud.



Didn't go to the concert on 11/15, so I'm looking forward to listening to it on air.  :)

Guest conductor Rossen Milanov and pianist Haochen Zhang performed.

Thomas Adès: Three Studies from Couperin
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20
Brahms: Symphony No. 2

Bizet’s Carmen

Went to the Pacific Symphony's Saturday night concert.

This concert will broadcast on KUSC on Sunday, March 22 at 7 PM (PST).

Listen to Alan Chapman's preview on SoundCloud.



What better person to write a novella about a gypsy girl in a Spanish cigar factory, than a Frenchman named Prosper Mérimée?

And what better person to create an opera from it, than another Frenchman, Georges Bizet?

And of course, everybody is singing in French.  :)



Here are fun some stuff from Alan Chapman's pre-concert talk.

This opera is rated E for "eroticism", B for "bullfighting", and S for "smoking".

Carmen is one the the ABC's of opera, with A being Verdi's Aida and B being Puccini's La Boheme.



This is the first time I've seen this opera in its entirety, and it was a wonderful performance!  :)

There will be one more concert on Tuesday, 2/24 at 8 PM (PST).

Thursday, February 19, 2015

[Car tune] Sheep May Safely Graze

Rich Capparela's car tune.  (Winter Membership Drive edition.)

"... as always, the freeways are an industry of break lights, and people using single fingers to indicate their displeasure ..."

Join KUSC by calling 1-800-421-1717.

"Sheep May Safely Graze" by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performance by Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Karl Münchinger.

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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

[Car tune] L'elisir d'amore: Una furtiva lagrima

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... obviously, a lot of folks forgot how to drive, because of the extended weekend ..."



"L'elisir d'amore: Una furtiva lagrima" by Gaetano Donizetti
Performance by Joshua Bell, violin, Orchestra of St. Luke's, conducted by Michael Stern.

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Sunday, February 15, 2015

Cathedrals of Sound

KUSC is broadcasting the second concert of Pacific Symphony's current classical concert series tonight at 7 PM (PST).

Listen to Alan Chapman's preview on SoundCloud.



We love Paul Jacobs, and wouldn't miss this concert for the world.  :)

Not only is he a great performer, he is an awesome person, too.

Very patient and calm, he is a pleasant person to be with.

Since the inauguration of the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, he has been in all but one of the classical concert series.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Joshua Bell

KUSC is broadcasting the first concert of Pacific Symphony's current classical concert series tonight at 7 PM (PST).



I went to the concert live, and it was an awesome event.

I have a feeling that the intermission interview is going to be cut.

It would be great if KUSC would air Rich Capparela's interviews again.



Rich took some questions from the listeners prior to intermission for Joshua Bell, here are a couple of them.

Q.  Why is Jascha Heifetz your favorite violinist?
A.  His intensity and honesty.

Q.  Are there any pieces that you played so many time that you dislike it?
A.  For example, there was a time he had to give the Bruch a break.


Rich also chatted with Carl St. Clair about Bernstein.



[Update]  A pleasant surprise, they DID air the intermission interviews!  I hope that's going to be a trend.  :)

Monday, February 2, 2015

[Car tune] Lullaby

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... to help you with the break lights, the idiots that are trying to cut you off, tailgating, that really want to know what's inside your truck, so what you do is you see, you turn up the radio, let off the gas a little bit, so you get some room between you and the idiot in front of you, and let the idiot behind you pass you comfortably ..."



"Lullaby" by George Gershwin
Performance by Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, conducted by Erich Kunzel.

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Sunday, February 1, 2015

The Bernstein Legacy

Went to the Pacific Symphony Sunday Casual Connections concert.

The first time I've heard Leonard Bernstein was as a conductor of the New York Philharmonic.

I especially loved the Peter and the Wolf.

He starts off with "Usually the conductor explains to the audience what each instrument represents, but you already know that, right?", or something like that.  :)



Later on, I would listen to "West Side Story", and find out that he composes as well!

And it turns out, he was a composer first, and conductor second.

He can even play the Piano, so what more can you ask?  :)

(Hint:  He wasn't a very good singer.)



So anyways, this concert featured "Symphony No. 2" with pianist Benjamin Pasternack, "Slava!", and "Overture to Candide".

There were also a couple songs with Celena Shafer, not on the program.

Conductor Carl St. Clair is a protégé of Bernstein, so it makes perfect sense to position Bernstein in Carl's 25th anniversary concert series.



Symphony No. 2

This piece parallels with the poem by W. H. Auden.

The Prologue starts with two clarinets, a unique way to start a symphony.

Then there are fourteen variations (The Seven Ages and The Seven Stages), the final notes of the variation becomes the theme of the next variation.

The winds opening The Dirge may have represented Bernstein singing.

The Masque shows his jazz influence, and The Epilogue his Aaron Copland influence.

For an encore, Benjamin Pasternack played his arrangement of a piece from "On the Town".



Celena Shafer

Not on the program, she sang "A Little Bit in Love" from Wonderful Town, and "Glitter and Be Gay" from Candide.



The concert concluded with the overture from "Candide" without Carl conducting, so the audience can imagine how it might be like if Bernstein was still there.



A recording of the night concert will be broadcast on KUSC on March 15 this year.