Czech-born composer Bohuslav Martinu was born in a church tower in Policka, Bohemia in 1890. He became a student in the Prague Conservatory, and played with the Czech Philharmonic before moving to Paris to study composition. When World War Two broke out, he fled Europe and moved to the United States where he taught at the Mannes School of Music in New York. All the while, he composed incessantly – including the two piano concertos on this disc. Performers include pianist Robert Kolinsky, conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Sinfonieorchester Basel.

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Catalogue No.: Ondine ODE 1158-2

Between 1902 and 1904, French film director Georges Melies made Le Voyage Dans La Lune, the world’s first science fiction film. In this CD + DVD project, composer/conductor Robert Ian Winstin has asked four different composers including himself, “Professor Louie Hurwitz, James Guymon and Don Myers to each write their own original soundtracks for this film. The result is four soundtracks that couldn’t be more different – and more effective.

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Catalogue No.: ERM Media Film ERM-5997

Huang Ruo was born in Hainan Island, China the same year the Cultural Revolution ended. This allowed him to get a unique kind of musical education as “western” music was again allowed back into China. This experience, along with his subsequent study in the United States, has helped him develop a unique compositional voice. In this podcast, he talks about his musical youth, and about his new CD with Future in REverse (FIRE) ensemble.

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Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.559653

Since the first performance of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, there has been a steady stream of arrangements of the piece. By the end of the 19th century, there were already more than 600 published arrangements. Some were note very good, but others, such as the music featured in this podcast, were excellent. On this CD, Quatour Franz Joseph performs an arrangement of Don Giovanni for string quartet, made sometime around 1800.

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Catalogue No.: ATMA ACD22559

Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, was one of the more colorful characters among Italian Renaissance composers. He wrote unusual and highly emotional music, and he was a murderer. This podcast looks at both his personal life (sometimes gruesome) as well as his music. Music by Gesualdo’s fellow composers Pomponio Nenna and Luzzasco Luzzaschi is also included. The featured artists in this podcast, and on the CD are Concerto Italiano conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini.

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Catalogue No.: Naive OP30486

Morten Lauridsen is America’s pre-eminent composer of choral music. His music, with long, arching, expressive lines is enjoyed by performers and audiences alike. In the CD featured in this podcast, the Elora Festival Singers under conductor Noel Edison present five of his pieces – O nata lux and O Magnum Mysterium, two of his most famous sacred works, plus collections of songs based on Italian Renaissance poetry, as well as poems by Robert Graves and Rainer Marie Rilke.

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Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.559304

Although Quincy Porter is better known as a teacher, he was also a fine composer, violist and conductor. A rediscovery of his music is overdue, and what better place to start than with this CD of his complete viola music, with Eliesha Nelson, recording artist and member of the Cleveland Orchestra. This CD also features John McLaughlin Williams as conductor, pianist and violinist, harpist Douglas Rioth, and the Northwest Sinfonia.

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Catalogue No.: Dorian Sono Luminus DSL-90911

Over the course of his 73 years, Franz Joseph Haydn wrote a huge amount of music, including more than a dozen Masses. This podcast looks at those masses, and a new recording by Trinity Church Choir, REBEL Baroque Orchestra, J.Owen Burdick and Jane Glover.

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Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.508009

With his CD of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Alfred Schnittke‘s Viola Concerto, New York-based violist David Aaron Carpenter puts himself onstage as one of the leading violists of the new generation. His performance of Edward Elgar‘s Cello Concerto also makes a compelling case for performing the piece more often on viola. In this CD, Carpenter is accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.

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Catalogue No.: Ondine ODE 1153-2

Orjan Sandred is a Swedish electro-acoustic composer who spends his summers in Europe, and his winters teaching at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. In this podcast, he describes his approach to sound and composition as he creates music that combines live performers with computer generated or altered sounds.

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Catalogue No.: Navona NV5814