[Car tune] Andante festivo

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... yup, they forgot how to drive, same as Friday ..."



"Andante festivo" by Jean Sibelius
Performance by Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Neeme Jarvi.

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(disclosure)

[Car tune] Andante Cantabile

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... you know, everyone's got access to Sigalert.com and Google Maps and ways, and you look around and you realize, there's a word for this, an it's a word I certainly can't say on the radio ..."

"Andante Cantabile" by Peter Tchaikovsky

Performance by Mischa Maisky, cello, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

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(disclosure)

[Car tune] Bachianas Brasileiras #5 - Aria

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... maybe yours will do better than mine did, today I was sitting at a stop light, had been there for about two minutes when the person behind me, she just got distracted with her texting, BOOM!  Right in my rear end.  No harm, no fowl, but, come on ..."

Sure glad Rich was OK!  It's not a good idea to rear end a radio show host that talks about the traffic every day...



"Bachianas Brasileiras #5 - Aria" by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Performance by Trio Concertante.

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(disclosure)

[Car tune] Dance of the Blessed Spirits

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... they forgot how to drive since Friday ..."



"Dance of the Blessed Spirits" by Christoph Gluck
Performance by Lisa Beznosiuk, flute, Academy of Ancient Music, conducted by Christopher Hogwood.

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(disclosure)

[Salon Series] Rob Slack & Friends

Went to another Pacific Symphony Salon Series concert.

Today's guest, Rob Slack, is the principal percussionist of the symphony.

He first performed his own composition on the marimba.

"Everyone in the orchestra plays their own composition."

The remaining pieces were performed along with Llew Matthews, piano and Dave Stone, bass.

I especially liked Llew, he plays like Glenn Gould - we could hear his humming while he plays.  :)

Robert Slack:  Nebull

Leonard Bernstein:  "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story

Thelonious Monk:  Round Midnight

Dizzy Gillespie:  A Night in Tunisia

Rob had lots of humor and colorful onamatopoeias.

Fun facts of the day:

The marimba is very popular among young students pursuing percussion these days.

The principal percussionist gets to decide who plays which part in the orchestra.

The percussions sometimes change where each instrument is placed, because the brass (horn) lobby to Carl, to move them away from them!

Bizet’s Carmen

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

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

Listen to Alan Chapman's preview on SoundCloud.

We went to this concert on February 21st, can't wait to hear it again!  :)

Carl St.Clair conducted Carmen, with the Pacific Chorale and the Southern California Children's Chorus.

Carmen:  Milena Kitic, mezzo-soprano

Don José:  Andrew Richards, tenor

Micaëla:  Elizabeth Caballero, soprano

Escamillo:  Konstantin Smoriginas, bass-baritone

Mercédès:  Sarah Larsen, mezzo-soprano

Frasquita:  Amanda Opuszynski, soprano

Zuniga:  Andrew Gangestad, bass

Moralès/Le Dancaïre:  Keith Harris, baritone

Le Remendado:  Jonathan Blalock, tenor

More of Rich Capparela's Afernoon Show?

Just noticed that there was a slight change in the KUSC playlists.

All of Rich Capparela's afternoon show's starting time became 3:30 PM.

The playlist says 3:30 PM - 7:00 PM.  (All the way back to January 12th!)

But the program schedule still says 4 PM - 7 PM...

Are we getting more of Rich on the weekday's?

We'll find out tomorrow.

"... starting around 4 in the afternoon, for more of the same, weather permitting ..."

[Car tune] The Last Spring

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... what's the word I'm looking for, oh that's right, I can't say that word on the radio ..."



"The Last Spring" by Edvard Grieg
Performance by San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.

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(disclosure)

[Car tune] Blumine

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... because that idiot really needs to cut you off, let 'em ..."



"Blumine" by Gustav Mahler
Performance by Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa.

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(disclosure)

[Car tune] 5 Variants of Dives & Lazarus

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... they forgot how to use their turn signals, you're the only person with working ones, evidently ..."



"5 Variants of Dives & Lazarus" by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performance by New Queen's Hall Orchestra, conducted by Barry Wordsworth.

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(disclosure)

"Pathetique"

Went to the Pacific Symphony's Sunday concert.

Music director Carl St.Clair conducted Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique symphony.

The last time I heard this live was part of the symphony's departure series, five years ago.

Back then, Carl shared his unique interpretation of the piece.

For example, of the second theme of the first movement (the love melody), "What it this was not a love melody, but a farewell to life?"

This time, the main question he left for the audience to ponder was, "Was this Tchaikovsky's auto-biography?"

Was the first movement a bunch of musical sighs, and indeed a farewell to love and life?

Was the broken waltz in the second movement moving away from the joys of the waltzes in his ballet pieces?

Was the victory march in the third movement his determination to face death?

My favorite part of this piece is when the audience applauds after the third movement.

Today's concert they were already clapping after the first and second movements!

Maybe European style?  :)

(I also heard a cricket-ish sound throughout the fourth movement...)

Carl gave a teaser for the next and final Casual Connections Concert.

Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, the "happy ending" version, with narrators and dancers!  :)

A recording of the Saturday evening concert will be broadcast on KUSC on July 5 this year.

Listen to Alan Chapman's preview on SoundCloud.

For the Love of Bernstein

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

Listen to Alan Chapman's preview on SoundCloud.

We went to the Sunday concert on February 1st, looking forward to hear the evening concert recording.

Music director Carl St.Clair conducted, with guests Benjamin Pasternack (piano), Dawn Upshaw (soprano), Erin Theodorakis (mezzo-soprano), Marcus Paige (tenor), Elliott Wulff (baritone), and special guest host Jamie Bernstein.

Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety

Three Dance Episodes from On the Town (Selections)

Slava!; A Political Overture

Little Smary from Arias and Barcarolles

Greeting from Arias and Barcarolles

Prelude (Doa Day Trio) from Trouble in Tahiti

Scene 6 (What a Movie) from Trouble in Tahiti

A Little Bit in Love from Wonderful Town

Ohio from Wonderful Town

Somewhere from West Side Story

Overture to Candide

[Car tune] Sheep May Safely Graze

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... it doesn't matter that you have lane change navigation control, and rear mirror cameras and everything else, there's some idiot who's just determined to see your licence and your registration have to be shown to some gentleman from the CHP today ..."



"Sheep May Safely Graze" by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performance by Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

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(disclosure)

[Car tune] Symphony #3: III. Poco Allegretto Op 90

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... rather than accelerate, and take out the trunk of the person who just cut you off, why don't you do this, take a deep breath, relax, chill ..."



"Symphony #3: III. Poco Allegretto Op 90" by Johannes Brahms
Performance by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marek Janowski.

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(disclosure)

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto

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

Listen to Alan Chapman's preview on SoundCloud.

Did I mention that I loved this concert back in January?

Can't wait to hear it again.  :)

Augustin Hadelich played the violin, with guest conductor Leo Hussain.

Takemitsu: Requiem

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

P.S.  Don't forget to move your clock forward an hour!

[Car tune] On Hearing the 1st Cuckoo In Spring

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... a reminder that tomorrow, the commute will pretty much be what it's like today, but on Monday, when you're driving aroung this time, the sun will be sixty minutes higher in the sky, or something, because of the whole the daylight savings time ..."



"On Hearing the 1st Cuckoo In Spring" by Frederick Delius
Performance by Northern Sinfonia of England, conducted by Richard Hickox.

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(disclosure)

[Car tune] Largo in D

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... after all, that person behind you apparently, really wants to know what's inside your trunk ..."



"Largo in D" by Antonio Vivaldi
Performance by Sharon Isbin, guitar, Zurcher Kammerorchester, conducted by Howard Griffiths.

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(disclosure)

[Car tune] Carnival of the Animals: The Swan

Rich Capparela's car tune.

"... even when we've got a power outage at downtown Los Angeles, which has interrupted our KUSC signal, although we are still available online obviously, and all of our other frequencies ..."

(All I got was static when I tuned my radio to KUSC...)

"... it's just a flay rod that's gone off skew on the treadle, it'll be repaired in moments ..."

"Carnival of the Animals: The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saens
Performance by Mischa Maisky, cello, Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Semyon Bychkov.

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(disclosure)

Beethoven & Rachmaninoff

KUSC is broadcasting the fourth 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 12/13, so I'm looking forward to listening to it on air.  :)

Pianist Alain Lefèvre performed.

Prangcharoen: Illuminating Journey

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2