Episodes: 2008

…a time for celebration, reflection, and projection of new expectations for the new season ahead.

…tantalizing treats and unusual music from sometimes unexpected sources for your holiday entertainment.

…composers and performers blend their talents in a melodious tribute to the holiday season.

…composers and performers from the global community offer up exotic musical gifts for this season of the Nativity.

…in tribute to Olivier Messiaen on the centenary of his birth, a composite performance of one of his best-loved compositions, La Nativité du Seigneur, music inspired by the birth of Jesus.

…hot to the touch, and hotter to hear, these compositions cover the keyboard with memorable sonic effects.

…a few slices from the ‘new organ’, ‘new music’, and ‘live performance’ scenes in Manhattan.

…an audition of three intriguing recent installations in concert halls in Japan, Finland and Hungary.

…from the centenary celebrations of the Robert Hope-Jones pipe organ in the world-famous auditorium of this picturesque New Jersey summer shore-side retreat.

…in celebration of the International Year of the Organ, more excerpts from the American Guild of Organist’s National Convention in Minnesota.

…youthful students from the Curtis Institute of Music perform at Spivey Hall in Morrow, Georgia, while their teacher, Alan Morrison, premieres a new work back home at Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall.

…we celebrate composer Ned Rorem with performances of his music in anticipation of his 85th birthday. On this week’s show, we visit with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ned Rorem and celebrate the remarkable and envigorating repertoire that he has composed for organists and choirs. Is it strange that an agnostic son of Quaker parents should write so compellingly for the church or is everything under the sun just a concert celebrating creativity? Insights from the artist with his art, it’s Rorem on Rorem.

…in celebration of the International Year of the Organ, excerpts (Part 1) from an event recorded during the American Guild of Organist’s National Convention in Minnesota.

…a selective survey of some recently issued recordings devoted to organ music from the period 1600-1750, everything from Boyvin to Casini plus Bach, Handel and Buxtehude, too!

…the ‘king of instruments’ in western culture has earned a place of honor in eastern venues, too, particularly in Japan and, most recently, China!

…a close-up visit with one of the most enterprising talents on the world music scene, with excerpts from recent concert performances and his newly-released Telarc Records compact disc, Revolutionary.

…excerpts from a weekend of special Pipedreams Live! events with Michael Barone in his ‘home town’ territory, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre region of northeastern Pennsylvania. In appreciation of the several musicians who influenced him during his early years in Kingston, Pennsylvania, Michael Barone dedicates this program to the spirits of Stella Pickett, Marion Wallace, and Howard Hallock, and to the continuing presence of Dorothy Turner and Robert Wech…with thanks!

…since its inauguration in 1911, what is now known as the Wanamaker Organ has prevailed as an internationally renowned fixture in downtown Philadelphia.  We explore its resources with artist-in-residence Peter Conte and curator Curt Mangel.

…a five-century survey of music played on modern instruments in historic churches in Cologne, Barcelona, Madrid and Brussels.

…the pipes, they are a-calling, in music somber, serene and sometimes silly, the ‘organ suite’ for church and concert use.

…an international sampler of instruments and players, all in recent recordings, commit to individual revelations of the spirit of the greatest of all composers for the organ, J.S. Bach.

…passionate performances by one of the world’s most celebrated organ virtuosos, the late, great Virgil Fox, with commentary by his friend and colleague Richard Torrence.

…whether in simple variations on a sacred hymn tune or complex counterpoint around a new-made melody, composers always respond to the lyric muse. This week we’ll listen to musical creations based on both familiar and newly formed tunes. One of the most common forms of composition for the King of Instruments, composers have frequently demonstrated their craftsmanship with these lyric morsels.

…whether in Renaissance style or rhumba, when the pipe organ’s in the mood there’s no better partner. This week’s program is a display of the kinetic energy that surrounds the King of Instruments.

…fountains, flowing rivers, and frothy waves, in a bathtub or lapping upon a south sea island, are but a few of the inspirations behind this collection of ‘water music.’

…concert performances of music by J.S. Bach presented by American organists on American instruments.

…an all-American program that explores the sonic and virtuosic freedoms and possibilities of pipe organs and those who play them.

…a collection of ‘organ pops’, including a centenary tribute to American composer Leroy Anderson [born 6/29/1908].

…would ‘The Three Bs’ ever have imagined being represented by organ music in quite this way?!

…in the company of the Organ Historical Society, we make a selective survey of pipe organs new and old in northern North Carolina and southern Virginia.

…In tribute to the patron saint of music, concert performances on the recently installed, multi-faceted pipe organ at the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia in Omaha, Nebraska.

…a solo appearance by one of America’s most prominent young recitalists, featuring the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Pipe Organ [2006 Dobson] at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

…American organist Frederick Swann plays the first public recital on the unique 109-rank Glatter-Götz-Rosales organ in Los Angeles…and Samuel S. Soria offers a side trip to the nearby Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, too.

…performances from the 2002 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists.

…in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Minnesota Statehood, May 11, 1858, we share varied works by Minnesota composers of today.

…a preview of some of the performers to be featured in this summer’s national convention of the American Guild of Organists.

…we trace a trail from before Bach to Bingham and beyond, with a collection of music ‘in the manner Baroque’.

…the king of instruments enjoys a comfortable visit to these residences of the rich and sometimes famous, including a music teacher, an organ builder, an industrialist, a dentist and a duke!

…these gifted youthful performers have earned awards during the last four National Young Artist Competitions in Organ Performance sponsored by the American Guild of Organists.

…instruments historic and modern in rooms where royalty communed and consorted.

…a visit with world-travelling New-Zealand-born British recitalist and teacher Dame Gillian Weir.

…celebratory music for choirs and instruments in observance of the springtime Christian Easter.

…music beyond the standard repertoire, some of it recently discovered, some of questionable authenticity, but all sounding splendid on an international collection of ‘Bach’s Royal Instruments’.

…a further foray into some home-grown repertoire from the 20th century for the ‘king of instruments’.

…birds and bees, squirrels and wolves bring smile as we listen to the sounds of this fanciful bestiary.

…history accords the ‘invention’ of the organ concerto to Handel, whose example inspired many more composers in his adopted homeland.

…these talented musicians, all in their twenties, demonstrate again that the future of the pipe organ is in good hands.

…we’ve circled the globe to bring you this collection of concert performances featuring the pipe organ in solo, in ensemble, with piano, and with choir.

…continuing our survey of recent instruments, with visits to Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Virginia.

…an audiophile’s audition of several of the best recent recordings of organ music, taped here and abroad.

…in preparation for our spring tour in Province Québec, a sampler of 19th and 20th century instruments in Montréal, Trois Riviers, Québec City and points in between.

…the first of several surveys of recent instruments in Texas, Tennessee, New Jersey and Ohio, a testament to the pipe organ’s continued vitality.