The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Works by Brahms and Beethoven performed by Daniel Lebhardt on March 12, 2017.

• Brahms, Johannes: Six Pieces, Op. 118
• Beethoven, Ludwig van: Sonata No. 18 in E-Flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3, "The Hunt"

Hungarian pianist Daniel Lebhardt is one of a long line of Young Concert Artists competition winners to make their Boston debut at the Gardner, and on this podcast, we’ll hear two recordings from the 24-year-old’s rec...

Works by Schumann performed by Miriam Fried, violin and Jonathan Biss, piano on January 15, 2017.

• Schumann, Robert: Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 121
• Schumann, Robert: Gesange der Fruhe, Op. 133

For many years, musicologists and music-lovers have tried to understand what it was that led to Robert Schumann’s troubling symptoms and ultimate death at age 46 in a psychiatric hospital. And for years, writers dismiss...

Works by Webern and Brahms performed by A Far Cry and Stefan Jackiw, violin and Anna Polonsky, piano on December 11, 2016 and October 5, 2014.

• Webern, Anton: Langsamer Satz
• Brahms, Johannes: Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78

Hope you’re ready for a trip down memory lane: On this podcast, we hear two works tinged with the melancholy sweetness of youthful passion, remembered.

Sweetness and passion aren’t necess...

Work by Korngold performed by Alexi Kenney, violin and Dina Vainshtein, piano on March 6, 2016.

• Korngold, Erich: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 6

The piece we’ll hear on the podcast today was written when Erich Korngold was in his teens: his Violin Sonata in G Major, Op. 6. Why is this fascinating work, by such a promising composer, so little known today?

In the 1930s, Korngold’s life took a dram...

Works by Bach and Bartók performed by the Borromeo String Quartet and Yoo Jin Jang, violin and Renana Gutman, piano on August 14, 2016 and March 8, 2015.

• Bach, Johann Sebastian: Preludes and Fugues from Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1 trans. Nicholas Kitchen: C Major, C Minor, E-flat Minor
• Bartók, Béla: Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75

Today’s podcast features two works that present tests of sorts—for the listener, th...

Works by Mozart performed by Charlie Albright on February 14, 2016.

• Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: 12 Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman”
• Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: 9 Variations on a Minuet by Duport, K. 575

Many of us think of “improvisation” as a modern concept, usually linked to jazz. But throughout the centuries, so-called “classical” keyboard players were often expected to improvise, whether they were vampi...

Works by Vivaldi and Beethoven performed by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra and Musicians from Marlboro on September 11, 2004 and October 19, 2014.

• Vivaldi, Antonio: Concerto in C Major for Soprano Recorder and Orchestra
• Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quintet in C Major, Op. 29

The two pieces on this podcast have many points of difference: different eras (Baroque and Classical), different instrumentation (a recor...

Works by Bach and Brahms performed by the Borromeo String Quartet and Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute on August 7, 2016 and April 10, 2016.

• Bach: Preludes and Fugues from Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1 arr. Nicholas Kitchen: F Major, F Minor, B-flat Minor
• Brahms: String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 111

Both of the works on our podcast this week have a sort of finality, a sense of summing things up, or making a...

Works for string quartet by Bartók and Webern performed by the Omer Quartet on November 27, 2016.

• Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7
• Webern: Six bagatelles for String Quartet, Op. 9

In this podcast, we’ll follow two 20th century composers on their quest for new directions and inspirations, in a musical landscape increasingly reaching beyond traditional ideas about form and tonality.

We begin with Béla Bart...

Works for clarinet and piano by Berg and Weber performed by Raphaël Sévère, clarinet and Paul Montag, piano on October 23, 2016.

• Berg: Four Pieces, Op. 5
• Weber: Grand Duo Concertant, Op. 48

On this podcast, number 253, we’ve got a couple great pieces that come in smaller packages than you might expect: a set of four miniatures by Berg and a duet masquerading as a concerto, by Carl Maria von Weber. Both pieces ...

Works for piano by Handel and Brahms performed by Charlie Albright, piano on October 2, 2016.

• Handel: Chaconne in G Major, HWV. 435
• Brahms: Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel, Op. 24

This podcast starts with the Baroque composer George Frideric Handel, in more ways than one.

The first work on the podcast is, indeed, by Handel: his Chaconne in G Major, a set of about 20 very brief variations, each bui...

Works for solo piano by Falla and Albeniz performed by Alessio Bax, piano on May 17, 2015. Work for string quartet and guitar by Boccherini performed by Jason Vieaux, guitar with Escher String Quartet: Adam Barnett-Hart, violin, Aaron Boyd, violin, Pierre Lapointe, viola, and Dane Johansen cello on May 17, 2015.

• Falla: Danza del molinera from El sombrero de tres picos for Piano
• Albeniz: Tango from Espana: Seis Hojas de Album fo...

Works for solo piano by Beethoven, performed by Charlie Albright, piano on March 27, 2016.

• Beethoven: Sonata in E Major, Op. 109
• Beethoven: 15 Variations and Fugue in E-flat Major on an original theme "Eroica Variations" Op 35

You know when you just can’t get a tune out of your head? Well, starting around 1800, Beethoven seems to have had the tune from the finale of his ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus, stuck in his head f...

Work for voices by David Lang, performed by Lorelei Ensemble on January 10, 2016.

• Lang, David: Love Fail

This month’s podcast tend towards the introspective: an hourlong work by contemporary composer David Lang for women’s voices, a timeless meditation on the allures and disappointments of love, titled Love Fail.

Lang started with one of history’s most famous tales of star-crossed love: the Tristan and Isolde myth. But he add...

Work for harp by Zabel performed by Emmanuel Ceysson, harp on January 6, 2008 and work for string orchestra by Sibelius, arranged by Frank Shaw, performed by A Far Cry on February 7, 2016.

• Zabel: Fantasy on Gounod's Faust
• Sibelius: String Quartet No. 2 "Voces Intimae" arr. Frank Shaw

Chamber music is one of the most intimate forms of classical music: quieter moments, smaller ensembles, and generally shorter works. On this pod...

Work for string orchestra and voice by Olga Bell, performed by A Far Cry and Olga Bell on November 1, 2016.

• Bell, Olga: Krai arranged for A Far Cry

Today, we’re going on a journey across the vast expanse of Russia: lush forests and blustery tundra, uninhabited landscapes and small villages. Our guide is composer Olga Bell, whose evening-length work Krai had its string orchestra version premiere at the Gardner in March 2016,...

Work for string orchestra by Phyllis Chen performed by A Far Cry on April 17, 2014 and works for clarinet and piano by Peter Sculthorpe and Richard Stoltzman performed by Richard Stoltzman, clarinet and David Deveau, piano on January 11, 2015.

• Chen, Phyllis: Three Lullabies
• Sculthorpe, Peter: Songs of Sea and Sky
• Traditional: Amazing Grace, arrangement by Richard Stoltzman

On this podcast, we’ll hear three works that we’re gro...

Works for chorus by various composers performed by Boston Children’s Chorus on November 17, 2015.

• Selections from 10th Anniversary concert

For more than a decade, the Boston Children’s Chorus has brought together children of diverse backgrounds to discover the power of singing and transcend social barriers. In 2015, the chorus celebrated its tenth year under the baton of artistic director Anthony Trecek-King with a concert a...

Work for harp by Salzedo performed by Catrin Finch, harp on April 14, 2001 and work for violin and piano by Ravel performed by Benjamin Beilman, violin and Alessio Bax, piano on May 17, 2015.

• Salzedo: Ballade
• Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Piano (1923)

Harpist and educator Carlos Salzedo was born in France and trained at the Paris Conservatoire in piano at the age of nine, before taking up the harp and returning to the Conserva...