Composer of the Week Podcast Folgen

Donald Macleod & Dr Jennifer Martyn explore the remarkable, tragic story of gifted violinist and composer, Amanda Maier Amanda Maier was one of the 19th century’s most brilliant musicians, yet whose story was almost lost to history. Born in the small Swedish town of Landskrona, her virtuoso talent at the violin saw her rise to become one of Europe’s most in-demand performers: giving private and public concerts of major works by Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Bruch, as well as her own dazzling compositions. Maier was a friend of Grieg, Brahms, Clara Schumann and Ethel Smyth and her music was reviewed in newspapers across Europe. Tragically, ill health would see her pass away at the age of just 41 and her musical legacy slowly forgotten. This week, Donald Macleod is joined by musicologist and violinist Dr Jennifer Martyn to celebrate Amanda Maier's life and work - with performances of all her extant compositions alongside works by key figures in her life, including Edward Grieg, Carl Reinecke and Maier's husband, Julius Röntgen, with whom she enjoyed a close and loving relationship in music and in life.Music Featured:Violin Sonata in B minor (3rd mvt) Preludes in E major, G sharp minor, and E flat major Violin Sonata in B minor (2nd mvt) Den sjuka flickans sång (“Song of a sick girl”) Carl Reinecke: Symphony No 2 “Hakon Jarl” (1st mvt) Piano Trio in E flat major (3rd and 4th mvts) Aftonklockan (“The Evening Clock”) Violin Sonata in B minor (1st mvt) Julius Röntgen: Serenade for Wind No 1, Op 14 (1st mvt) Piano Trio in E flat major (2nd mvt) Violin Concerto in D minor Sången (“Song”) Nine Pieces for violin and piano Piano Trio in E flat major (1st mvt) Karol Lipinski: Violin Concerto No 2 “Militaire” (2nd mvt) Nacht-mittags Potpourri (St Nicholas-Schwank) St Nicholas-Schwank (excerpt) String Quartet in A minor (2nd and 3rd mvts) Grieg: Sarabande (Holberg Suite) Swedish Tunes and Dances Allegretto (Zwiegespräche) Piano Quartet in E minor (1st and 2nd mvts) Brahms: Violin Sonata No 3 (1st mvt) Zwiegespräche (excerpts) Piano Quartet in E minor (3rd and 4th mvts)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Steven Rajam for BBC Audio Wales and WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Amanda Maier-Röntgen (1853-1894) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zmwnAnd you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Donald Macleod surveys the life and music of Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-KorsakovThis week, Donald Macleod traverses the dramatic and vivid musical landscapes of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: a vital, fascinating, and perhaps under-appreciated figure in the evolution of the canon of western art music. His life alone was extraordinary: beginning as a cadet in the Tsar’s navy, it ended soon after the tumult of the 1905 revolution; the prospect of far greater upheaval, national and international, looming.Music Featured: Flight of the Bumblebee The Tsar of Sultan Suite, Op 57 (3rd mvt, The Three Wonders) Symphony No 1, Op 1 Capriccio Espangnol, Op 34 (excerpts) The Maid of Pskov: Overture Mussorgsky arr. Rimsky-Korsakov: Night on the Bare Mountain Legend of Sadko, Op 5 Quintet Scheherazade, Op 35 (excerpt) The Golden Cloud Slept, Op 3, No 3 Trombone Concerto in B flat major Symphony No 3, Op 32 (3rd & 4th mvts) The Tatar Captivity, Op 18, No 2 The Octave, Op 45, No 3 Mussorgsky arr. Rimsky-Korsakov: Gopak from Sorochintsi Fair Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op 36 String Quartet in F major, Op 12 (3rd mvt) Mlada Suite The Snow Maiden: Prologue; Dance of the birds Against the Cruel Crag from Sadko The Invisible City of Kitzeh Suite (A Hymn to Nature) The Golden Cockerel Suite Four Songs, Op 2 (No 2, The Nightingale and the Rose)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Lyndon Jones for BBC Audio Wales and WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001z5dzAnd you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Kate Molleson sets out so show us why Elizabeth Maconchy deserves much more of our attention Elizabeth Maconchy is surely the greatest composer of string quartets ever to emerge in the British Isles; and yet her music is often ignored in favour of lesser works by more famous British composers. So says Maconchy’s biographer, Erica Siegel, who joins Kate Molleson to explore the life and works of this key figure in Britain and Ireland’s musical story. Across the week, Kate and Erica set out to show us why Maconchy deserves much more of our attention. We’ll hear stories of personal crises, public apathy and outrageous institutional sexism, and how Maconchy met each challenge with characteristic grace and perseverance. Her works fizz with invention and purpose and she described her own music as “impassioned argument”.Music Featured:String Quartet No 2 (4th mvt) Clarinet Quintet (3rd & 4th mvt) Four Shakespeare Songs (No 1, Come Away, Death) The Land - A Suite for Orchestra Concertino No 2 for Piano and String Orchestra String Quartet No 1 (4th mvt) Concertino for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (2nd mvt) Oboe Quintet Sonata for Viola and Piano String Quartet No 3 Nocturne Dialogue for Piano and Orchestra (2nd & 4 mvts) Two Dances from Puck Fair String Quartet No 5 (2nd & 3rd mvt) Concertino for Bassoon and String Orchestra String Quartet No 7: (4th mvt, Scherzo I) Proud Thames Overture The Sofa (excerpts) The Departure (excerpts) Serenata Concertante There is no rose Trittico Epyllion Morning, Noon and Night String Quartet No 13 'Quartetto Corto'Presented by Kate Molleson Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Audio Wales and WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yyf6And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z