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Stories   >   The Best of WNYC Live - Volume2

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The Best of WNYC Live - Volume2

Posted: August 17, 2018

WNYC has, since its inception in 1924, viewed live music as an important part of our programming. But no one could have foreseen the dramatic and unexpected renaissance of live performances on WNYC in the 1990s – especially after decades of dwindling opportunities to hear live music on the radio. A series of cutbacks by the New York City administration (which still owned and contributed somewhat to the operation of the station) in 1991 resulted in the loss of the few remaining City employees at WNYC, including longtime midday host Andre Bernard. We suddenly found ourselves with a gaping hole in the afternoon. It was a problem, but also an opportunity.

A couple of phone calls and some very tentative questions soon revealed that the city was not just teeming with musicians, but that it was full of musicians who loved the idea of playing live on the radio, for an audience the size of WNYC's. And we loved the idea of bringing the musical community and the larger community of WNYC listeners together, showing that the formidable world of Classical Music was actually made up of real people – people who told us about their kids, who told bad jokes, who broke strings in mi-performance. So on John Cage's birthday, September 5, 1991, we invited Margaret Leng Tan to play some of Cage's works on our piano (which, having been neglected for many years, was perilously close to the sound of Cage's "prepared piano" anyway). And we haven't stopped since. What you have here are just a few recent examples of the diversity and the talent WNYC has presented vin our live music programs. From world-famous stars like Richard Stolzman to the young but gifted singers in the American Boychoir, from the legendary Beethoven to up-and-coming Raimundo Penaforte, WNYC takes advantage of being in New York – a city that contains a whole world of music.  Here are some highlights

 

Alexander String Quartet - Beethoven: String Quartet #9, Op. 59 #3, 2nd movement

The Alexanders came into our studio with an unusual concept: they'd take requests for any movement from any Beethoven string quartet and would play the most requested movements. Votes were cast via email in the days before their appearance, and this movement came out on top. Small wonder: it stands on its own quite well, and divorced from the rest of the 9th quartet, creates a surprisingly exotic mood through some unusual twists in the melody. 
 

Modern Mandolin Quartet - Piazzolla: Melodie in A Minor         

Born in Argentina, Piazzolla was raised in New York. And though he died in Argentina in 1992, he was a frequent and welcome visitor to WNYC. Best known for his nuevo tango style, he also had a strong lyrical bent, which he indulged to great effect in this lovely melody. The arrangement is by the Modern Mandolin Quartet, a San Francisco-based ensemble that has made many live appearances and has premiered several commissioned works on WNYC. Recorded: October 26, 1995. Engineer: Michael DeMark.
 

Christopher O'Riley - Scriabin/arr. O'Riley: Sequence from "The Lady With the Lapdog"

An unusual project brought frequent visitor Chris O'Riley back to our studios in fall of 1999. "Vers La Flamme" was a narrative but wordless dance by Martha Graham, set to piano works by Scriabin. It was O'Riley's job to not only play the music, but to help create the sequences of pieces that would accompany each part of the event. For this tableaux, O'Riley plays excerpts from the Sonata #4, as well as the Album Leaf (Op 58 #1), Poeme (Op. 59 #1), and the Prelude in G#m (Op. 11 #10). Recorded: September 21, 1999. Engineer: Edward Haber.             

This article was originally published in 1999 by John Schaefer         SEE THE WNYC PAGE