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August 23, 2012
La Valse
Maurice Ravel was 31 when he began writing a piece that he called simply, "La Valse," a light tribute to carefree Viennese waltzes. He set the piece aside, then saw the agony of World War I firsthand. When the 45-year-old Ravel came back to his waltz, the world was different place. He was a different man. And La Valse was no longer a light tribute. In 13 minutes, you can hear the waltz slowly go delirious, spin out of control, and finally, fly apart into chaos.
Today's Playlist
Performance Today audio is available for seven days following broadcast.
hour 1
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Sergei Prokofiev
First movement from Symphony No.1 in D, Op.25 (Classical)
The London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev, conductor
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R.F.M. Mann
JEWETT C.M. (Amazing Grace)
Seraphic Fire
First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables, Florida
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John Stevens
Benediction
The Sotto Voce Tuba Quartet
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
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Johann Friedrich Fasch
Concerto in F, FWV L:F3
Tempesta di Mare
Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
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Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev
Three movements from Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 12
The Mariinksy Theatre Orchestra, Valery Gergiev, conductor
Congress and Concert Centre de Doelen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
hour 2
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Erik Satie
Gnossienne No. 1
Havard Gimse, piano
Concert Hall, Oslo, Norway
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Bela Bartok
15 Hungarian Peasant Songs, BB 79, Sz. 71
The Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer, conductor
Carnegie Hall, New York City
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Olivier Messiaen
Les Offrandes Oubliees (Forgotten Offerings)
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ludovic Morlot, conductor
The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Toru Takemitsu
The Night, from Toward the Sea II
Patrick Gallois, alto flute, Fabrice Pierre, harp, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis, conductor
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Maurice Ravel
La Valse
The New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City
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Claude Debussy
Clair de Lune
The Aspen Chamber Symphony, Matthias Pintscher, conductor
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado
