Explore the Symphony
68 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 56 ratingsA classical music podcast. Join the National Arts Centre Orchestra's Marjolaine Fournier and one Canada's foremost music journalists, Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, as they explore the symphonic form from Haydn to Shostakovich.
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Episodes
Carl Nielsen’s De fire Temperamenter
March 07, 2020 00:26 - 51 minutes - 47 MBJean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier study The Four Temperaments, the second symphony by Carl Nielsen. The hosts find this Danish composer a little enigmatic and difficult to reach. They explore the world around him at the time of this composition, and talk about his music in that context. Find out how he lived his life, allowed his wife to pursue a career, and gave orchestral musicians a little something to talk about. Music Excerpts: NIELSON Symphony No. 2 The Four Temperam...
Mozart and Religion
January 22, 2020 15:59 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss the role of religion in Mozart’s life and music. This in depth conversation focuses on Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and its beautiful celebration of universality that lead the way towards 18th-century romanticism.
Edvard Grieg
November 06, 2019 21:45 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer describe the music of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt, his A minor Piano Concerto, and his C minor Symphony. His music, his melodies and his small works for piano are simply perfect. Can you believe that his symphony, composed in 1864 when Grieg was only 21, was played in 1981 for the first time? Listen to this podcast to learn more about why his Piano Concerto is his greatest work, and what influenced his composition style.
Béla Bartók and Witold Lutosławski
September 26, 2019 20:16 - 55 minutes - 51 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer talk about two Concertos for orchestra: one by Béla Bartók and the other by Witold Lutosławski. They take a moment to explain the format of a concerto for orchestra (what do you mean, a concerto without a soloist?), and the dialog that develops within the orchestra performing it. Bartók and Lutosławski, who lived concurrently but in different contexts, composed two completely different and marvellous works.
Verdi’s Requiem
September 03, 2019 19:02 - 56 minutes - 51.6 MBJean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier discuss Verdi’s Requiem, first performed in Milan in 1874. The text for this was written in about 1250, when a requiem was meant to be music to sustain the mass of the death. Our hosts uncover some history about the evolution of requiem works and their cultural significance, and shed light on Verdi’s atheist and anti-clerical views had a role in taking the requiem into the concert hall.
Claude Vivier
April 02, 2019 14:28 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss the masterful Claude Vivier, composer from Québec. His music, which can be characterized as “beautiful, immense, tragic, inspiring,” is celebrated and heard regularly in France, Germany, Holland and Austria. Lonely Child will be featured during the NAC Orchestra’s tour in Europe in May 2019.
Brahms’ and Schumann’s first symphonies
January 30, 2019 19:33 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean Jacques van Vlasselaer compare Brahms’ and Schumann’s first symphonies. They explore the relationships between the two composers and Clara Wieck. Schumann was alive in an extraordinary and explosive decade, Clara was nine years younger and a remarkable pianist, and Brahms, a generation apart, grew up in an entirely different environment. How was their first encounter? How do the two masterworks compare? The NAC Orchestra will perform Schumann’s first symphony on ...
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem
October 19, 2018 18:02 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. How much do you know about Benjamin Britten? There is fury in this composition. Where does it come from? Pacifism started in the 20th century, and Britten is a member of this movement. War is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable for him. So what is this Requiem about? Find out in this newest instalment of the Explore the Symphony podcast. The NAC Orchestra will perform this work on Friday November ...
Schubert's Ninth Symphony
September 27, 2018 20:49 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MBJohn Storgårds will conduct the NAC Orchestra on October 10 and 11, 2018, in their performance of Schubert’s ninth and final symphony. Marjolaine Fournier, NACO double bassist, and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, musicologist, explore this work and uncover that Schubert never heard it performed in his lifetime. Schubert died in 1828 at the early age of 31. The changing politics and aesthetics of the day, his health, and the legacy of his predecessors, influenced the evolution of Schubert’s comp...
You don’t have to be a music-lover to love Beethoven
September 13, 2018 19:51 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer prepare us for the Festival Focus 2018 featuring all nine Beethoven symphonies. Did he really invent the boogie-woogie? Beethoven offered so much variety within his symphonies, and as a genius, is a guiding light. Concert halls continue to be filled for performances of Beethoven symphonies. Find out why.
Anton Bruckner’s eighth symphony with the TSO
April 13, 2018 20:00 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBBruckner scholars seem to focus on psychoanalysis rather than closing their eyes and listening to the music. To listen to Anton Bruckner’s eighth symphony is to listen to the summit of his music. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra performs this work with conductor Peter Oundjian on May 7, 2018. Listen to Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about Bruckner’s eighth symphony.
Kaija Saariaho, Violin Concerto Graal théâtre
March 22, 2018 19:17 - 56 minutes - 78.2 MBJean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about Saariaho’s violin concerto which was featured as part of the 2017 Ideas of North festival produced by the NAC Orchestra. Saariaho is seen as a wonderful and intriguing contemporary composer who will stand the test of time, with master works into the turn of the century.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade
February 16, 2018 20:25 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBThis work opens many doors to wonderful and exciting musical study. It is a fine example of Orientalism and our perception of “the other”. Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about who Rimsky-Korsakov was, his 19th-century influences from Mendelssohn to Wagner, and his contributions to the music of the 20th century.
Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor Op 77
December 23, 2017 02:42 - 1 hour - 68.6 MBYour hosts Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77, which will be performed by Guy Braunstein with the NAC Orchestra in January 2018. This work in four movements is technically and emotionally challenging for the soloist. It’s been termed “probing” and “sarcastic” – which may be why it spent time on the shelf after being completed in 1947-48, before seeing the light of day after Stalin’s death in 1953. Jean-Jacque...
Sibelius’ Symphonic Poems
October 27, 2017 17:49 - 57 minutes - 53.1 MBJean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier present part two of their 2017-2018 podcasts on Sibelius. In this episode, hear them trace the trajectory of Sibelius’ six symphonic poems, all performed by the NAC Orchestra during the 2017 Ideas of North festival. Composed between 1896 and 1927, they delineate the “itinerary of Sibelius, the young composer who wanted to express Finnish worlds.” Drawing from the myths of Northern countries, he “moved from the creation of the world [with the...
Jean Sibelius' First Symphony
September 29, 2017 20:32 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBJean Sibelius , born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, was a Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as his country's greatest composer and, through his music, is often credited with having helped Finland to develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia. Sibelius started work on his Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39, in 1898 and completed it in early 1899, when he was 33. The work was first performed...
Harry Somers - Louis Riel
June 02, 2017 15:41 - 49 minutes - 45.8 MBThe story of the polarizing Métis leader and Canada’s westward expansion is told in this landmark work. Composed by Harry Somers for our nation’s centennial in 1967, this uniquely Canadian contribution to the opera world is returning on the work’s 50th anniversary, and will help mark the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation. The National Arts Centre has joined with the Canadian Opera Company to proudly present this new production of Louis Riel. Music by Harry Somers Libretto by Mav...
Sibelius' Majestic 2nd and 6th Symphonies
March 15, 2017 20:38 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBJean Sibelius, born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius (8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957), was a Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as his country's greatest composer and, through his music, is often credited with having helped Finland to develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia. - Wikipedia
Robert and Clara: The whirlwind love affair of Robert Alexander Schumann and Clara Josephine Wieck
March 01, 2017 19:40 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBRobert Schumann[1] (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. In 1840, Schumann married Friedrich Wiec...
Richard Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra
January 24, 2017 15:38 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBRichard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra, Die Frau ohne Schatten and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; his tone poems, including Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration, Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Also sprach Zarathustra, Ein Heldenleben, Symphonia Domestica, and An Alpine Symphony; and other instrumental works such...
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky: Pulcinella
November 29, 2016 22:24 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century. Pulcinella is a ballet by Igor Stravinsky based on an 18th-century play—Pulcinella is a character originating from Commedia dell'arte. The ballet premiered at the Paris Opera on 15 May 1920 under the baton of Ernest Ansermet. The dancer Léonide Massine created both the libretto and choreography, and Pablo Picasso designe...
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphonies no. 5 & 6
November 18, 2016 19:43 - 47 minutes - 44 MBPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, bolstered by his appearances as a guest conductor in Europe and the United States. Tchaikovsky was honored in 1884, by Emperor Alexander III, and awarded a lifetime pension. The Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was com...
Wilhelm Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
June 06, 2016 18:25 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Weber and Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionized opera through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, by which he sought to synthesize the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with mu...
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: The Man Who Changed Movie Scores Forever
April 22, 2016 18:08 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MB"Treating each film as an 'opera without singing' (each character has his or her own leitmotif) Korngold created intensely romantic, richly melodic and contrapuntally intricate scores, the best of which are a cinematic paradigm for the tone poems of Richard Strauss and Franz Liszt. He intended that, when divorced from the moving image, these scores could stand alone in the concert hall. His style exerted a profound influence on modern film music." — Brendan G. Carroll, Korngold, Erich W...
The Music of George Gershwin
November 20, 2015 20:59 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBBy far the bulk of Gershwin’s output is devoted to songs – more than five hundred of them, most of which come from his more than four dozen works for the musical stage. Two of these stage works are operas – the short Blue Monday Blues and the full-length Porgy and Bess. Gershwin also wrote music for four films (Shall We Dance is the most famous), a few piano pieces and a handful of concert works: Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, Cuban Overture, Concerto in F, Second Rhapsody and Varia...
Episode 43: Mahler Symphony No. 4
September 30, 2015 01:37 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MBIn the first of the 2015-16 season's "Explore the Symphony" podcasts, the NAC Orchestra's assistant principal double bass Marjolaine Fournier and one of Canada's foremost music journalists Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss Mahler's Symphony No. 4.
Episode 42: Anton Bruckner and his Ninth Symphony
June 15, 2015 20:53 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBWords like “epic” and “timeless” are regularly applied to Bruckner symphonies. They have a pace of their own. But let yourself get in synch with their pulse, and you’ll be richly rewarded. The Ninth inspires awe, as its sweeping score unfolds, rising—like spires of a grand cathedral—to God.
Episode 41: Maurice Ravel and his two Piano Concertos
March 23, 2015 19:33 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MBJoin Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer for an intriguing look into Maurice Ravel's life and his two piano concertos.
Episode 40: Jean-Marie Beaudet, founding father of the NAC Orchestra
March 13, 2015 20:34 - 23 minutes - 22 MBA conversation with Josée Beaudet, the author of Jean-Marie Beaudet, l'homme orchestre. Beaudet was the very first music director at the NAC - he founded the orchestra, secured its first conductor, concertmaster and new members, and then quietly disappeared.
Episode 39: Schumann and the Rhine
January 19, 2015 16:19 - 51 minutes - 47.6 MBMarjolaine and Jean-Jacques reveal Schumann's relationship with the Rhine.
Episode 38: Brahms' Symphonies
December 09, 2014 21:08 - 49 minutes - 46.5 MBIn this week’s Explore the Symphony, Marjolaine and Jean-Jacques dig into not one, but all four of Brahms’ symphonies! Musical Excerpt: NAC Orchestra Brahms, Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 Performance date: March 09, 1988 Date composed: 1876 Listen to the entire piece at: nacmusicbox.ca
Episode 37: Hindemith
October 08, 2014 16:59 - 46 minutes - 43 MBIn this episode of Explore the Symphony, Marjolaine and Jean-Jacques discuss Symphonic Metamorphoses of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber by Paul Hindemith. Musical excerpts: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber by Paul Hindemith performed by the NAC Orchestra on April 5, 1995. Available in full on the NACMusicbox.ca
Episode 36: Shakespeare
September 22, 2014 21:55 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBIn this Explore the Symphony, Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer talk about Shakespeare, Nicolai, Korngold and Mendelssohn.
Episode 35: Fauré
May 06, 2014 13:14 - 38 minutes - 36.5 MBIn this episode, Marjolaine and Jean-Jacques delve into Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, once called, “a lullaby of death” and “a Requiem without the Last Judgment” for its gentle nature and sublime choral writing.
Episode 34: Schoenberg
March 20, 2014 17:33 - 40 minutes - 38.3 MBIn this Explore the Symphony, Marjolaine Fournier and Jeans-Jacques van Vlasselaer talk about the life of Arnold Schoenberg and his string sextet, Verklärte Nacht.
Episode 33: Bruckner (Symphony no. 2)
February 20, 2014 16:32 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBToday on Explore the Symphony Marjolaine and Jeans-Jacques discuss Anton Bruckner and his second symphony.
Episode 32: Shostakovich and his 10th Symphony
January 20, 2014 20:28 - 41 minutes - 38.6 MBMarjolaine and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer sit down and discuss Dmitri Shostakovich and his 10th Symphony.
Episode 31: Hector Belioz
November 26, 2013 13:11 - 56 minutes - 52.2 MBMarjolaine and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer sit down and discuss Hector Berlioz and his Symphonie Fantastique.
Episode 30: Richard Strauss
October 23, 2013 18:13 - 44 minutes - 41 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Dr. Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer dive into the 2013-2014 season with Richard Strauss. They discuss his life, and focus on "Also Sprach Zarathustra", and the suites from "Der Rosenkavalier" and "Die schweigsame Frau".
Episode 29: Sibelius
March 05, 2013 01:30 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss Jean Sibelius, his life, his struggle with depression, alcoholism, and his 3rd Symphony.
Episode 28: Shostakovich
January 15, 2013 14:16 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBMarjolaine and Jeans-Jacques discuss Shostakovich, his life in the Soviet Union, and his 9th Symphony.
Episode 22: Sibelius Symphony No. 4
January 07, 2013 19:52 - 47 minutes - 44 MBJean-Jacques and Marjolaine give Sibelius's Symphony no. 4 the, "Explore the Symphony" treatment.
Episode 23: Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky
January 07, 2013 19:52 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss Prokofiev's stirring score, Alexander Nevsky. It was composed for Sergey Eisenstein's 1938 cinematic thriller and stands as a spectacular masterpiece for chorus and orchestra.
Episode 24: Dmitri Shostakovich
January 07, 2013 19:52 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MBMarjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer discuss Dmitri Shostakovich's life, from growing up in Saint Petersburg to political manoeuvrings in Stalin's Russia. Marjolaine and Jean-Jacques focus on his first symphony, which he wrote at the age of nineteen as a graduation piece for the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1926.
Episode 25: Carmina Burana
January 07, 2013 19:51 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBMarjolaine and Jeans-Jacques explore Carl Orff; his life in early 20th century Germany and his seminal work, Carmina Burana.
Episode 27: Schumann
October 16, 2012 15:28 - 31 minutes - 29 MBIn this episode, Marjolaine and Jean-Jacques talk about Robert Schumann's life leading up to the creation of his second symphony.
Episode 26: Elgar
September 10, 2012 13:02 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBIn this Explore the Symphony, Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer talk about a truly singular Symphonic composer -- Edward Elgar -- THE shining star of British music, who's life spanned the era of romantic and post-romantic music while keeping his style completely his own.
Episode 21: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
November 03, 2011 11:34 - 1 hour - 62.2 MBThe first of the 2011-12 season's "Explore the Symphony" podcasts examines the 4th Symphony of Tchaikovsky. From the quiet plucking of the strings to the bombastic brass in the finale, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, declared “semi-barbaric” by the New York Post in 1890, will leave you breathless.
Episode 20: The NAC Orchestra and Brahms’s final symphonies
December 14, 2010 15:43 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBThe third of the 2010-11 season's "Explore the Symphony" podcasts examines the 3rd and 4th Symphonies of Johannes Brahms. In this podcast, the NAC Orchestra's assistant principal double bass Marjolaine Fournier and one of Canada's foremost music journalists, Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, discuss Symphony No. 3, which was written in 1883, polished after each performance, and published the following year. Music critic Eduard Hanslick said “ … the Third [Symphony] strikes me as being artistically...
Episode 19: The NAC Orchestra and Felix Mendelssohn
November 12, 2010 13:40 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBThe second of the 2010-11 season's "Explore the Symphony" podcasts examines the short life and remarkable career of German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), one of the most popular composers of the Romantic era. In this podcast, the NAC Orchestra's assistant principal double bass Marjolaine Fournier and one of Canada's foremost music journalists, Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, discuss the composer and his life and works. He was a child prodigy, a pianist, organist and conductor as well as...