Special Programs/Mini Series

The Cradle That Rocked: Rediscovering Marc Blitzstein, Four Saturdays 9/9, 9/16, 9/23, 9/30 @ 12:00 p.m.  Composer Marc Blitzstein has largely been forgotten, but for his political musical, The Cradle Will Rock (1930s).

The 64th Met Opera Radio National Council Grand Finals concert, hosted by soprano Renée Fleming with guest artists soprano Amber Wagner, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and tenor Michael Fabiano, was recorded March 19th.  The 2017 finalists are: Natalie Image, Soprano, Cody Quattlebaum, Bass-Baritone, Samantha Hankey, Mezzo-Soprano, Richard Smagur, Tenor, Kirsten MacKinnon, Soprano, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Countertenor, Gabriella Reyes de Ramírez, Soprano, Kyle van Schoonhoven, Tenor, Vanessa Vasquez, Soprano

Traditional Independence Day specials celebrate the great American classics, from pops-style musical numbers to the expansive works of Aaron Copland. This season, Esta Tierra es Mi Tierra: Latino Composers Reflect on the American Experience, brings a fresh and timely perspective on the holiday.

  Celebrate Independence Day with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square. Julie Amacher hosts this venerable musical institution as they guide us through the canon of American patriotic music. Selections include John Williams' Hymn to the Fallen, Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land, America the Beautiful, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and Shenandoah.

Program:

Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips presents an hour-long special that explores music composed for stories of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and the post-9/11 world we inhabit today.  Selections include music from the films Glory, The Big Parade, Patton, Henry V, The Great Escape, The Best Years of Our Lives, Casualties of War, Saving Private Ryan and Zero Dark Thirty. 

The Western Wind, the internationally acclaimed vocal sextet presents an exploration of the Holocaust through music and memories. 

The narration incorporates survivor memories with music that depicts Jewish life in pre-war Europe, and songs that intimately depict the events and horrors of the Holocaust.

Kaddish draws upon the unique stories of Holocaust survivors as told to APM’s Mindy Ratner.  The narrative of courage, resilience, and serendipity is scored with works by composers whose lives were touched by the Holocaust, including composers Gideon Klein, Luka Foss, Paul Ben-Haim and Ilse Weber.

The music is especially poignant, and enhances the very special nature of the program.

Program Playlist...

J. S. Bach’s dramatic sacred masterpiece, translated from German as the Passion According to St. John, is based upon the story of the passion as told in the 18th and 19th chapters of the book of John.  Apollo’s Fire, an ensemble dedicated to the baroque ideal and named for the classical god of music and the sun, presents “a resplendent performance” (New York Times) under the direction of harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell.

Classical 91.5 celebrates President’s Day with this hour-long journey through history with Abraham Lincoln’s letters and diaries, along with songs that were sung by citizens of the time.  Folk musician Chris Vallillo brings the voices of civilians and soldiers alike to vivid life.