Explore the Symphony

Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier study The Four Temperaments, the second symphony by Carl Nielsen. The hosts find this Danish composer a little enigmatic and difficult to reach. They explore the world around him at the time of this composition, and talk about his music in that context. Find out how he lived his life, allowed his wife to pursue a career, and gave orchestral musicians a little something to talk about. Music Excerpts: NIELSON Symphony No. 2 The Four Temperaments II. Allegro comodo e flammatico Danish National Radio Symphony Nielsen: Commotio, Op. 58, FS 155 Organ Recital: John, Keith

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer describe the music of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt, his A minor Piano Concerto, and his C minor Symphony. His music, his melodies and his small works for piano are simply perfect. Can you believe that his symphony, composed in 1864 when Grieg was only 21, was played in 1981 for the first time? Listen to this podcast to learn more about why his Piano Concerto is his greatest work, and what influenced his composition style.

Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier discuss Verdi’s Requiem, first performed in Milan in 1874. The text for this was written in about 1250, when a requiem was meant to be music to sustain the mass of the death. Our hosts uncover some history about the evolution of requiem works and their cultural significance, and shed light on Verdi’s atheist and anti-clerical views had a role in taking the requiem into the concert hall.

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean Jacques van Vlasselaer compare Brahms’ and Schumann’s first symphonies. They explore the relationships between the two composers and Clara Wieck. Schumann was alive in an extraordinary and explosive decade, Clara was nine years younger and a remarkable pianist, and Brahms, a generation apart, grew up in an entirely different environment. How was their first encounter? How do the two masterworks compare? The NAC Orchestra will perform Schumann’s first symphony on February 13 and 14, 2019, and Brahms’ first on May 1 and 2, 2019. Join them in this wild goose chase!

John Storgårds will conduct the NAC Orchestra on October 10 and 11, 2018, in their performance of Schubert’s ninth and final symphony. Marjolaine Fournier, NACO double bassist, and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, musicologist, explore this work and uncover that Schubert never heard it performed in his lifetime. Schubert died in 1828 at the early age of 31. The changing politics and aesthetics of the day, his health, and the legacy of his predecessors, influenced the evolution of Schubert’s compositions. How does this unfinished Great symphony, born in 1825 and first performed in 1829, fit into the new Romantic era of music and in Schubert’s expansive catalog? Discover how we can relate to Schubert today and much more through the story-telling of these two learned scholars of music.

Bruckner scholars seem to focus on psychoanalysis rather than closing their eyes and listening to the music. To listen to Anton Bruckner’s eighth symphony is to listen to the summit of his music. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra performs this work with conductor Peter Oundjian on May 7, 2018. Listen to Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about Bruckner’s eighth symphony.

This work opens many doors to wonderful and exciting musical study. It is a fine example of Orientalism and our perception of “the other”. Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about who Rimsky-Korsakov was, his 19th-century influences from Mendelssohn to Wagner, and his contributions to the music of the 20th century.

Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier present part two of their 2017-2018 podcasts on Sibelius. In this episode, hear them trace the trajectory of Sibelius’ six symphonic poems, all performed by the NAC Orchestra during the 2017 Ideas of North festival. Composed between 1896 and 1927, they delineate the “itinerary of Sibelius, the young composer who wanted to express Finnish worlds.” Drawing from the myths of Northern countries, he “moved from the creation of the world [with the first symphonic poem] to the end of his musical writing.”

The story of the polarizing Métis leader and Canada’s westward expansion is told in this landmark work. Composed by Harry Somers for our nation’s centennial in 1967, this uniquely Canadian contribution to the opera world is returning on the work’s 50th anniversary, and will help mark the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation. The National Arts Centre has joined with the Canadian Opera Company to proudly present this new production of Louis Riel. Music by Harry Somers Libretto by Mavor Moore with the collaboration of Jacques Languirand

Robert Schumann[1] (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. In 1840, Schumann married Friedrich Wieck's daughter Clara, against the wishes of her father, following a long and acrimonious legal battle, which found in favor of Clara and Robert. Clara also composed music and had a considerable concert career as a pianist, the earnings from which, before her marriage, formed a substantial part of her father's fortune. - Wikipedia

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century. Pulcinella is a ballet by Igor Stravinsky based on an 18th-century play—Pulcinella is a character originating from Commedia dell'arte. The ballet premiered at the Paris Opera on 15 May 1920 under the baton of Ernest Ansermet. The dancer Léonide Massine created both the libretto and choreography, and Pablo Picasso designed the original costumes and sets. It was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev. - Wikipedia

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Weber and Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionized opera through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, by which he sought to synthesize the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama. - Wikipedia

By far the bulk of Gershwin’s output is devoted to songs – more than five hundred of them, most of which come from his more than four dozen works for the musical stage. Two of these stage works are operas – the short Blue Monday Blues and the full-length Porgy and Bess. Gershwin also wrote music for four films (Shall We Dance is the most famous), a few piano pieces and a handful of concert works: Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, Cuban Overture, Concerto in F, Second Rhapsody and Variations on “I Got Rhythm.” Gershwin’s style is derived from the American soul and spirit. “Epitomizing the Jazz Age in every pore of his suave being,” writes critic Alex Ross, “Gershwin was the ultimate phenomenon in early-twentieth century American music, the man in whom all the discordant tendencies of the era achieved sweet harmony.” Many of Gershwin’s works are infused with jazz, and if he can be said to have made one single overriding accomplishment in his life, it was to create a bridge between jazz and the concert hall. - Robert Markow