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August 11, 2008

Making it up on the fly

We're going to spend part of each day this week exploring improvisation in classical music. It used to be a vital part of every musician's skill set. What changed and why? We'll have conversations with a pair of experts on baroque improvisation - guitarist Rolf Lislevand and recorder virtuoso Matthias Maute - and listen to them play music of Vivaldi and Johann Kapsberger.

Today's Playlist



hour 1

  • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    "The Running Set"
    The Bournemouth Sinfonietta with conductor George Hurst
  • Joseph Haydn
    Sonata in B-flat, HOB XVI: 41
    Pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin
    Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Portland, Oregon
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Symphony No. 8 in D Minor
    The Halle Orchestra with conductor Mark Elder
    The BBC Proms, London, England
  • George Enescu
    Transcription of Piano Suite No. 1 for violin
    Violinist Alexandru Tomescu and pianist Horia Mihail
    Mihail Jora Hall, Bucharest, Romania

hour 2

  • Henry Purcell
    "Prelude/Rondeau" from "The Fairy Queen"
    Red Priest
  • Johann Sebastian Bach
    Three-Part Invention No. 1 in C
    Pianist Till Fellner
    National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
  • Yuri Kuznetsov
    "Perpetuum Mobile" ("Fantasy on Themes by Bach")
    Pianist Yuri Kuznetsov
    Grand Concert Hall, Minsk, Belarus
  • Rolf Lislevand
    "Improvisation on Spanish Haqueras"
    Guitarist Rolf Lislevand
    National Public Radio Studios, Washington, D.C.
  • Johann Kapsberger
    "Improvisation on a Theme"
    Guitarist Rolf Lislevand
    National Public Radio Studios, Washington, D.C.
  • Antonio Vivaldi
    First movement from Flute Concerto in B-Flat, RV 375
    Matthias Maute, recorder, with Ensemble Caprice Analekta
  • Sergei Prokofiev
    Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat, Op. 10
    Pianist Daria Rabotkina with the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero
    Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara
Program Archive



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