Composer of the Week

• Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)

  Donald Macleod explores Danish composer, Carl Nielsen, through his temperaments Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is probably the most eminent Danish composer. Known mainly for his talent as a symphonist and for his incidental music for 'Aladdin', he also pushed the boundaries of Romantic music, whether in his work on the voice or his exploration of dissonance. Born in the fairy tale-looking island of Fyn, his music is indeed full of characters: Nielsen was fascinated by the multiplicity of human emotions and personalities. To the extent that they frequently were the source of his musical creativity. After all, he was himself a passionate character, something that transpires in his very scores, in which the composer often hides behind the music. This week, inspired by his second and fourth symphonies, Donald Macleod invites you to discover Carl Nielsen's story through the prism of five different aspects of his temperament.Music Featured: Saul og David (Prelude to Act II) Symphony No 2, Op 16, FS29 ‘The Four Temperaments’ Fynsk Forar, Op 42 (excerpt) Polka in A major, FS1 Little Suite for strings in A minor, Op 1 (3rd mvt) Aladdin Suite, Op 34 (excerpt) Søvnen, Op 18 String Quartet in D Minor, FS 3d (3rd mvt) Saga-Drøm, Op 39, FS 46 Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, FS 119 (1st mvt) The Heavens darken, vast and silent, FS 106 Dream about ‘Silent Night’, FS 34 Farewell, my respectable native town! String Quartet No 1 in G minor, Op 13, FS 4 (excerpt) Humoresque Bagatelles Moderen [The Mother], Op 41 (No 2, Tågen letter “The Fog is Lifting”) String Quartet No 2 in F minor, Op 5 (excerpt) Romance in D major for violin and piano Hymnus amoris [Hymn of Love] for soloists, choir and orchestra, Op 12 (No 4, Old Age) Three Motets (No 3, Benedictus Dominus) 5 Songs, FS 12 (No 4, Irmelin Rose) Piano Suite "The Luciferan", FS 91, Op 45 (excerpt) String Quartet No 3 in E-flat major, FS 23, Op 14 (excerpt) Symphony No 3, Op 27, FS 60 "Sinfonia espansiva" (3rd mvt) Maskarade, FS 39, Act III (excerpt) Symphonic Suite for Piano, Op 8, FS 19 (4th mvt, Finale) Stophic Songs, FS 42, Vol 2, No 1, "Saenk kun dit hoved, du blomst" The Spider’s Song Jens Vejmand (arr. Finn Savery) Helios, Op 17, FS 32 Violin Concerto, Op 33, FS 61 (Preludium) Symphony No 6 "Sinfonia semplice", FS 116 (4th mvt, Tema con variazioni) Symphony No 4 "The Inextinguishable", Op 29, FS 76 (4th mvt)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Julien Rosa for BBC Audio Wales & 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 Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0029j16 And 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

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• Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

  Kate Molleson navigates through the personal and professional struggles of Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler: brilliant, fiery and tyrannical – leader of some the most prestigious musical institutions of his era – fought battles his whole life. He clashed with his colleagues, scrapped with critics and wrestled endlessly with his own desires and ambitions. This week, Kate Molleson navigates us through his many personal and professional struggles, and follows Mahler to the countryside hideaways where he sought (not always successfully) to escape the drama of his everyday life. Here, among the lakes and mountains, Mahler also found space to compose and he poured the whole world into his music in all its ugliness, mundanity and transcendent beauty.Music Featured:Symphony No 3 (excerpts) Symphony No 1 (excerpts) Symphony No 2 (excerpts) by Bernard Haitink Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Lob des hohen Verstandes) Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Symphony No 4 (excerpts) Symphony No 5 (excerpts) Symphony No 6 (excerpts) Symphony No 7 (excerpts) Kindertotenlieder (No 3, Wenn dein Mütterlein) Symphony No 8 "Symphony of a Thousand" (excerpts) Das Lied von der Erde (No 2, Der Einsame in Herbst) Symphony No 9 (excerpts) Das Lied von der Erde (No 4, Von der Schonheit) Symphony No 10 (ed. Deryck Cooke (excerpt)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 Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00291fhAnd 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

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• Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953)

  Between new sounds and old songs, Kate Molleson shares the story of Ruth Crawford-SeegerRuth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) had multiple lives. As Ruth, she was an aspiring poet and teacher, who longed to become a mother. Crawford the composer wrote some of the most daring pages of 20th-century American music, granting her a place among the group of the 'Ultra-Modernists'. And, as the matriarch of the Seeger dynasty, she collected and arranged countless pieces from treasures of the folk tradition. With Kate Molleson, discover the extraordinary life and work of a major American composer, in a story of creative experimentations, of family bonds, and most of all, of joy in music-making, accompanied by the memories of Crawford's daughter and folk legend, Peggy Seeger.Music Featured: Little Waltz Five Songs to Poems by Carl Sandburg (1, Home Thoughts; 2, White Moon) Theme and Variations Selection from American Folk Songs for Children Diaphonic Suite No 2 for bassoon and cello Kaleidoscopic Changes on an Original Theme, Ending with a Fugue Diaphonic Suite No 3 for Flute Whirligig Preludes for Piano Caprice Sonata for Violin and Piano Trad: Prisoner Blues Music for Small Orchestra Marion Bauer: Four Piano Pieces Selection from 19 American Folk Songs for piano Three Songs to poems by Carl Sandburg Diaphonic Suite No 4 for oboe and violoncello Three Chants for Female Chorus String Quartet Diaphonic Suite No 1 for oboe Selection from Animal Folk Songs for Children Preludes for Piano Two Ricercare to poems by Hsi Tseng Tsiang Peggy Seeger: How I Long For Peace Selection from American Folk Songs for Christmas Andante for strings Trad: "New River Train” Trad: "Midnight Special" Trad: "Irene (Goodnight, Irene)" Charles Seeger: John Hardy Piano Study in Mixed Accents Suite No 1, for five wind instruments and piano Elizabeth Cotten: "Freight Train" Rissolty, Rossolty Piano Sonata Diaphonic Suite for two clarinets Piano Study in Mixed Accents (Version 3) Suite for Wind Quintet Five Canons, for piano Peggy Seeger: "Everything Changes"Presented by Kate Molleson Produced by Julien Rosa 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 Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0028k1vAnd 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

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  1:41:19
• Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

  Donald Macleod dives into the life and music of Maurice RavelMusic featured: Jeux d'eau Shéhérazade (No 3, L'indifférent) Valses Nobles et Sentimentales Miroirs (No 5, La Vallée des Cloches) Une Barque sur L'océan Alborada del Gracioso Allegretto (incidental music for ‘Antar’) Rapsodie Espagnole (No 3, Habanera & No 4, Feria) Gaspard de la Nuit (No 2 Le gibet) Daphnis et Chloé, Part 2 Ma Mère l'Oye Le Tombeau de Couperin (No 1, Prélude) Trois Chansons Le Tombeau de Couperin (excerpt) La Valse Sonata for violin & cello (1st & 2nd mvts) A la manière de Borodine Tzigane Trois chansons madécasses (No 1, Nahandove & No 2, Aoua! Aoua!) Piano Concerto in G major (2nd & 3rd mvts) BoléroPresented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Audio Wales & 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 Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00288rx And 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

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  53:57
• The Turkish Five

  Donald Macleod delves into the lives and music of The Turkish FiveIn 1923 the Turkish Republic came into being. On the agenda for the founding father and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatȗrk, was the aim to develop a new Turkish musical language, and to disassociate culturally with the Ottoman past. This new musical culture would be a blend of traditional Turkish music, in combination with Western classical music.A group of composers known as the Turkish Five were pioneers in this movement to form a synthesis between East and West. They included Cemal Reşit Rey (1904-1985), Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972), Hasan Ferit Alnar (1906-1978), Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) and Necil Kâzim Akses (1908-1999). The Turkish Five became hugely influential in their home country as composers, teachers, conductors and artistic directors, and also became well known abroad, receiving many honours.This week, Donald Macleod is joined by Prof. Mine Doğantan-Dack and Dr. Emre Araci to delve into the impact these composers had on the music in the Turkish Republic. Music featured: Ulvi Cemal Erkin: Camdan sakiz akiyor (Seven Folk Songs) Piano Concerto (excerpt) Duyuşlar (excerpt) Piano Quintet (Ritmico e enérgico) Seven Folk Songs (excerpt)Ahmet Adnan Saygun: Meseli, Op 25 (Anadolu’dan) Piano Concerto No 1, Op 34 (excerpt) Theme and Variations, Op 2 String Quartet No 1, Op 27 (excerpt) Yunus Emre, Op 26 (excerpt) Halay, Op 25 (Anadolu’dan) String Quartet No 2, Op 35 (Grave) Köröğlu, Op 41 (Ten Turkish Folk Songs) Piano Concerto No 2, Op 71 (excerpt)Necil Kâzim Akses: Concerto for Orchestra (excerpt) Five Turkish Piano Pieces (excerpt) Violin Concerto (Adagio – Allegro) Andante (Ten Piano Pieces) Five Pieces for Piano (excerpt)Cemal Reşit Rey: Three Turkish Folks Songs (Twelve Anatolish Folk Songs) Nomad Zeybek Air (Turkish Scenes) Feast (Instantanés) Fatih Sultan Mehmet “Le Conquerant” Andante and AllegroHasan Ferit Alnar: Piano Trio (excerpt) Şu Yamaçta (8 Piano Pieces) Uyuşuk Dans (8 Piano Pieces) Concerto for Qānūn and String Orchestra (Allegro poco moderato) Piano Trio (excerpt)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Audio Wales & 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 The Turkish Five https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002822p And 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

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