Episode 18: American Conductor Leonard Slatkin For the Culture Monster season finale, I speak with conductor Leonard Slatkin about his remarkable career and his new book, “Classical Crossroads.” I also endorse music by David Lang and Alan Hovhaness.   LINKS The film “Olympia” documenting the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin https://thesportjournal.org/article/leni-riefenstahls-olympia-brilliant-cinematography-or-nazi-propaganda/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3LOPhRq3Es   David Lang is an American composer known for his association with “Bang on a Can” https://www.npr.org/2011/01/24/89442735/david-lang-wins-music-pulitzer https://bangonacan.org/about_us/   “Cheating, Lying, Stealing” originally for chamber ensemble, heard here in a later version for band. https://davidlangmusic.com/music/cheating-lying-stealing-arr-band/   Leonard Slatkin conducted the premiere of Lang’s first orchestral work with the Boston Symphony in 1991.  “International Business Machine” https://davidlangmusic.com/music/international-business-machine/   Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) https://hovhaness.com/hovhaness-biography.html Mysterious Mountain- Symphony no. 2 https://hovhaness.com/hovhaness-mysterious-mountain.html   “Five Sacred Trees” Album from John Williams & London Symphony Orchestra which includes “Mysterious Mountain” https://open.spotify.com/album/4pjd4sL03OuKTp9nxsyAJo https://music.apple.com/ca/album/hovhaness-mysterious-mountain/263090524   Leonard Slatkin is an internationally acclaimed conductor, most recently Music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra https://www.leonardslatkin.com/timeline/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Symphony_Orchestra   in 2016, Slatkin made a series of videos showing how conducting works. Conducting School 1.0 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2_S0hFw3zDl47TtV7iYbu-XhiuSrkgaW   Slatkin’s latest book is entitled “Classical Crossroads.” https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538152225/Classical-Crossroads-The-Path-Forward-for-Music-in-the-21st-Century https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/classical-crossroads-the-path-forward/9781538152225-item.html?ikwid=classical+crossroads&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=83201876771428de3e0ddae5987b9caa   Slatkin wrote about his appearance at the Aspen Music Festival at his blog https://www.leonardslatkin.com/august-2021-a-tale-of-two-orchestras/   Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony has had many differing interpretations  https://medium.com/the-gleaming-sword/socially-distant-beethovens-fifth-symphony-5b457b0bb019   Leonard Slatkin referred to Leonard Bernstein’s deconstruction of Beethovens’s fifth for a 1950s Television show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu2HJerMp8A&t Julia Perry “Short Piece for Orchestra” https://music.apple.com/ca/album/short-piece-for-orchestra/554425306?i=554425313 Brahms Serenade no. 1 Brahms Serenade No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 Copland “Organ Symphony” recorded by Leonard Slatkin and the St Louis Symphony Orchestra https://music.apple.com/ca/album/copland-dance-symphony-short-symphony-organ-symphony/1362101560 Mason Bates “B-Sides” performed by Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrnsy9KHdwQ Slatkin also recommended music by James Lee III https://www.jameslee3music.com   Support the podcast at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster Published August 2021 https://www.culturemonster.ca    

I speak with Holly Mathieson about her personal musical journey and endorse a Giller Prize winner.    LINKS NYTimes on subway chimes: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/13/arts/subway-train-sounds.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUyYiZ_tU1Gw5CRWySB4B991re1b-Wm_s1nGPlazOIQylL3qEJGYGB_QLWYrdla8B13yieQJUJFo4Tc8FI770VOV1xGU7vo52YlY4MKDk0t4_0Bjxu08KdBL59rTS3Pizkc-wkge3nsUjDbmbtXKbf1yd1cQwysoIlIQ_xoQEAxqjCGuBw0tZ-zK1hUsg8HWFcEXHM6_r4CBx-OMGEZwXc6GQ1XeJYWTLSmr2M-u5KMVUSWR-dEiQJsStr48hcOdgUIK_0MxckHcL7ir8SAWZtR5y7pmYAt83CIxgl0vBWC_GFfg&smid=url-share   Do Not Say we have nothing, by Madeline Thien https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/259732/do-not-say-we-have-nothing-by-madeleine-thien/9780345810434   Interview with the Author in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/08/madeleine-thien-interview-do-not-say-we-have-nothing   R. Murray Schafer https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/r-murray-schafer-emc   50th Anniversary of the World Soundscape Project https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/world-soundscape-project-1.4640278 Acopolypsis-2015 https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/the-end-is-nigh-apocalypsis-production-to-blow-people-s-minds-1.3129522   A CBC story about another long-running participatory project https://www.cbc.ca/music/why-people-gather-each-year-in-the-haliburton-forest-to-take-part-in-murray-schafer-s-wolf-project-1.5406731     Holly Mathieson is music director of Symphony Nova Scotia https://www.hollymathieson.com https://symphonynovascotia.ca   Excerpts from R Murray Schafer’s Trio for Flute Viola and Harp-performed by Trio Verlaine https://music.apple.com/ca/album/trio-for-flute-viola-and-harp-ii-slowly-calmly/905067700?i=905067733 https://open.spotify.com/album/4rEp8TtftbHqIaK6GJNdiI?si=Nihhj1O-S960-sQiDPKH9A&dl_branch=1   Holly Mathieson recommended—— William Grant Still - Symphony No. 5 “Western Hemisphere” https://music.apple.com/ca/album/still-w-g-symphonies-nos-4-autochthonous-and-5/332767908 https://open.spotify.com/album/6H5G9x9y5suBLveGNtq3zk?si=0CmfLQ2ZSUqrAmiox9hjEA&dl_branch=1 Franz Schreker - “Der Geburtstag der Infantin” (Birthday of the Infanta) https://music.apple.com/ca/album/zemlinsky-die-seejungfrau-schreker-der-geburtstag-der/1562851792 Thea Musgrave “Phoenix Rising” https://music.apple.com/ca/album/thea-musgrave-phoenix-rising/1440067691   Franz Schreker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schreker William Grant Still https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Grant_Still Rebecca Thomas (Halifax Poet Laureate 2016-2018) https://www.dal.ca/about-dal/dalhousie-originals/rebecca-thomas.html     Published August 2021 https://www.culturemonster.ca https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster

I speak with conductor Dina Gilbert about her life and career and tell the story of the great Olympic Hymn by Richard Strauss, that time forgot.   LINKS Darius Milhaud was a busy well-known composer during the 20th Century. The New Yorker published a guide to his music in 2017 https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-indomitable-humanism-of-darius-milhaud   Arthur Fiedler conducted the Boston Pops for 50 years. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1217.html   The “Boston Pops” an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is one of the most recorded ensembles in the world—known for its association with Arthur Fiedler, John Wiliams, and current conductor Keith Lockhart https://www.bso.org/brands/pops/about-us/historyarchives/the-history-of-the-boston-pops.aspx   Richard Strauss was an important German composer who lived from 1864-1949 ClassicFM’s 15 facts about Strauss https://www.classicfm.com/composers/strauss/guides/facts-gallery/   “Olympische Hymne” by Richard Strauss was premiered August 1, 1936 during the opening ceremony of the Berlin Olympics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympische_Hymne Photo of Strauss in rehearsal at the Olympic Stadium https://web.archive.org/web/20091027074318/http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Studio/2891/olympia.htm   Dina Gilbert is Music director of the Kamloops Symphony http://www.dinagilbert.com https://www.kamloopssymphony.com Gilbert is also directrice musicale of Orchestre Symphonique de l’Estuaire https://ose.qc.ca and principal conductor Les Grand Ballets’ Orchestra https://grandsballets.com/en/   Kent Nagano is a notable American conductor who was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006-2020. https://www.kentnagano.com/about-kent/ The english language version of his memoir “Classical Music: Expect the unexpected” is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press https://www.mqup.ca/classical-music-products-9780773556348.php?page_id=73&   Samy Moussa is a busy Canadian composer with a long association with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra http://www.samymoussa.com/biography   Moussa’s Violin Concerto has been recorded by Andrew Wan-with Nagano conducting the OSM https://music.apple.com/ca/album/ginastera-bernstein-moussa-works-for-violin-and-orchestra/1533874089 https://open.spotify.com/album/6nTReYFzI0mZHhco5cX7Q3   Dinuk Wijeratne is an award-winning composer who lives in Nova Scotia https://www.dinukwijeratne.com/biography/ Dina recommended his Tabla Concerto https://www.dinukwijeratne.com/tablaconcerto/ You can support the podcast at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster Published August 2021

Episode 15: Paul Dornian and spectacle of the Olympics   As he exits his role at the Calgary Philharmonic, Paul Dornian chats with me about his life and career. Also    LINKS “Rhapsody in Blue” from the 1984 Olympic opening ceremony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylUF32pwvtI Premiere of John Williams “Olympic Fanfare and theme” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0fEAFBOoM&t=168s Lighting the 1984 Olympic Cauldron, featuring music by Philip Glass https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbbVk3AGVhE   “The Raven Conspiracy” by Carmen Braden, performed by members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iphtKI_Mg6M&t=135s   The Edmonton Symphony returns to perform in Symphony under the sky https://www.winspearcentre.com/more/visit/symphony-under-the-sky/   Paul Dornian has been CEO of the Calgary Philharmonic since 2015 https://calgaryphil.com In August 2021, the Calgary Philharmonic announced March Stevens would be its new CEO https://calgaryphil.com/portfolio-items/marc-stevens/   Carmen Braden is an award-winning composer/performer from Yellowknife, NWT https://www.carmenbraden.com   Paul Dornian mentioned the CalgaryPhil Project “an Orchestra Adventure with Maestro Karl and friends” https://calgaryphil.com/kids-project/   support the podcast at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster Published August 2021

I speak with violist Nick Pulos about his life and career, and recommend a new novel heating up the Alberta Bestseller list.    Unlocking, by Amy Leblanc — published by UCalgary Press https://press.ucalgary.ca/books/9781773851396/   Amy Leblanc received the 2020 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award: https://artsawards.ca/artist/amy-leblanc/     Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa was formed in 1969. https://nac-cna.ca/en/orchestra/about/history   Nick Pulos was principal violist of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for many years. https://www.winspearcentre.com/more/about/about-eso/   Josef Suk “Into a new Life” March performed by Czech Philharmonic Orchestra - Vaclac Talich, conductor historical performance from 1938 available here https://music.apple.com/ca/album/v-novy-zivot-into-a-new-life-op-35c/369420608?i=369420621   Support the podcast at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster published Aug 2021

I speak with multi-instrumentalist and conductor Jeremy Brown about his varied career and endorse a book which isn’t a book. Also, can cats compose?   LINKS   Zez Confrery, jazz pianist and composer: https://syncopatedtimes.com/zez-confrey/   Sacrlatti, “Fuga del Gatto” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhCBn3-4JKI   Amy Beach, American Composer (1867-1944): https://www.amybeach.org/about/biography/     Jeremy Brown is a professor at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, University of Calgary: https://contacts.ucalgary.ca/info/scpa/profiles/204-29912   His book “The Wind Band Music of Henry Cowell” The Wind Band Music of Henry Cowell https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781351239264/wind-band-music-henry-cowell-jeremy-brown-michael-budds   Audio of Andrew MacDonald’s Concerto for tenor saxophone “Orchid Garden” featuring Jeremy Brown, Ottawa Symphony orchestra, Alain Trudel, Conductor: https://ottawasymphony.com/rejoyce-episode-9   Kelly Marie Murphy is a Canadian composer: https://kellymariemurphy.com “I will dream Beyond the Stars” for Band: https://kellymariemurphy.com/i-will-dream-beyond-the-stars/ “Fallibility, Logic, and the Return of Wonder” Alto Saxophone Concerto, commissioned by Jeremy Brown: https://kellymariemurphy.com/fallibility-logic-and-the-return-of-wonder/ Fantasy for saxophone and string quartet by Nova Pon: http://novapon.com/music/chamber-music/fantasy     Jeremy Brown is on the board of JazzYYC: https://www.jazzyyc.com Jeremy Brown is music director of the Calgary Wind Symphony https://calgarywindsymphony.com/about-cws/directors/jeremy-s-brown/   Claude Lapalme is music director of the Red Deer Symphony: https://www.rdso.ca   Listen to the complete archive of Culture Monster: https://www.culturemonster.ca June 2021

Episode 12: A chat with Grant Harville | “Papa Bach” I speak with Grant Harville about making music in the heart of Montana, and make a recommendation for your next visit to Hamburg Germany.    LINKS Minitur Wonderland, Hamburg: https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com   Watch the world record wining train performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBNHmUT3GPg&t=17s Behind the scenes of the trick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfNEzpjY2Ho   “The Motherland hears the Motherland Knows” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uacEN-JtB9Q   Grant Harville is the Music Director of the Great Falls Symphony, Great Falls Montana. https://www.gfsymphony.org https://www.grantharville.com   De Boek Symphony in G: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/boeck-symphony-violin-concerto/19447673   Julia Perry Short Piece for Orchestra: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/short-piece-for-orchestra/554425306?i=554425313   Andrew Norman “Play”: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/andrew-norman-play/951454831   excerpts of Bach performed by Jeremy Brown and Su Jeon from the album “Ornamentology” https://music.apple.com/ca/album/ornamentology/1530844818   https://open.spotify.com/album/7GzcuF70VNOkYlYy7kRXJQ   Support the podcast at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster see the complete Culture Monster Archvie at: https://www.culturemonster.ca Published June 2021

I speak with Red Deer Symphony Conductor Claude Lapalme about his career and what does a conductor do when he can’t conduct for a year? Also the strange life of Adolphe Sax, and the German composer who got himself on the cover of TIME magazine.   LINKS TIME Magazine’s 1938 article featuring Richard Strauss: http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19380725,00.html   “Ben Folds Composes a Song LIVE for Orchestra In Only 10 Minutes” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BytUY_AwTUs   Adolphe Sax’s 201st birthday doodle: https://www.google.com/doodles/adolphe-saxs-201st-birthday   The Metropolitan Museum has a collection of instruments associated with Sax: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2014/celebrating-sax   Public Radio International’s report on Adolphe Sax https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-12-03/meet-dangerous-belgian-who-invented-sax   Claude Lapalme is the music director of the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra: https://www.rdso.ca/musicians   “Behind the Red the Red Door” for String quartet composed by Arthur Bachmann and presented by the RDSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX-TUNSS9dM   Claude is artistic director of the baroque ensemble Rosa Barocca: http://www.rosabarocca.ca/home.html   Claude Lapalme’s recommendations— Mahler Symphony No.5: https://music.apple.com/us/album/mahler-symphony-no-5/1566087845?app=music https://open.spotify.com/album/4HfSZiDvcUOcoaLdLpZWIP   Mahler Symphony No.4: https://open.spotify.com/album/35QVkJzvDOxwQWRISo0Ndc https://music.apple.com/us/album/mahler-symphony-no-4/1466028476   Corigliano Clarinet Concerto: https://music.apple.com/us/album/barber-third-essay-corigliano-clarinet-concerto/393436361 https://open.spotify.com/album/4CBEI9htRG14HfzM1aOGuq   Liberson King Gesar: https://open.spotify.com/album/4CBEI9htRG14HfzM1aOGuq   Vincent Ho Arctic Symphony: https://open.spotify.com/album/2x8qSrgsS711NH93Tj4xM3 https://music.apple.com/us/album/vincent-ho-the-shaman-arctic-symphony-live/1293250081   John Estacio: Orchestral Works: https://music.apple.com/us/album/frenergy-the-music-of-john-esacio/320290175   Jan Zelenka: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/zelenka-pisendel-concerti/361263786 Early Italian Masterpieces: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/perla-barocca-early-italian-masterpieces/913838720   Support the podcast at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster   excerpt from Richard Strauss: Don Juan performed courtesy of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony excerpt from Jakob Dont: Caprice arranged for tenor saxophone, courtesy of David Hernando Vitores excerpt from Bach, performed by Jeremy Brown  https://www.culturemonster.ca First published June 2021

 I speak with conductor, vocal coach and pianist Kimberley-Ann Bartczak about her journey to the podium and what making opera in Canada is like. Haydn’s skull was very useful to him while he was alive, but also had an unusual time after he was dead.  Plus a double-dose of Culture Monster recommends…   SHOW NOTES Kimberley-Ann Bartczak is Principal Coach and Accompanist, Pacific Opera Victoria: https://pacificopera.ca/person/kimberley-ann-bartczak/   The Terminal (2004) directed by Steven Spielberg: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-terminal/   CBC Radio “As it Happens” original story about Hassan al Kontar: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-full-episode-1.4618548/syrian-stranded-at-malaysia-airport-says-canadians-renewed-his-hope-in-humanity-1.4618550   CBC Radio update on his book: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-monday-edition-1.6038621/he-spent-7-months-living-in-an-airport-until-canada-took-him-in-now-he-s-written-a-book-about-it-1.6038622   “Man @ the_airport” book website:  https://www.manattheairport.com   Other people who have lived in airports: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_lived_in_airports   work from the Pacific Opera Civic Engagement Quartet can be found here: https://pacificopera.ca/event/music-alive/   POV’s two recent opera films are here: https://pacificopera.ca/event/the-italian-lesson-bon-appetit/   Kim’s recommendations: Toothpaste by Alexina Louie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSAsn9u3e8U   Burnt Toast by Alexina Louis (sequel to Toothpaste) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DrN57bRe4Y   The Argument by Alexina Louis (part of Burnt toast 8 mini-opera) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LXUrnVdV7M   CHEESE! https://youtu.be/fTgm36y884c   The Queen of the night aria by Mozart referenced during the conversation is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuBeBjqKSGQ   Haydn excerpt courtesy of Wikicommons.  John Williams excerpt courtesy of US Marine Band   https://www.buymeacoffee.com/culturemonster complete Culture Monster archives at  https://www.culturemonster.ca   Originally published May 2021  

Episode 9: Tim Shantz | Bach, Handel & Eye Surgery I tell the story teased from the beginning of Culture Monster—what is the connection between Bach, Handel and eye surgery? I also speak with notable choral conductor Tim Shantz on the power of ensemble singing, and recommend a British novel from the 1990s.   LINKS News story on the Toronto Gallery heist: https://cp24.com/four-pieces-of-art-worth-combined-265-900-stolen-from-gallery-in-toronto-1.5395704…   Medical Journal article on Bach’s eye problems: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/417322   University of Wisconsin Medical School’s version of the story: https://www.med.wisc.edu/news-and-events/2009/december/handel-bach-blinded-18th-century-quackery/   Tim Shantz is a faculty member at the University of Alberta Department of Music: https://www.ualberta.ca/music/index.html   Tim Shantz is founder and artistic director of the Luminous Voices: https://luminousvoices.com/artistic-director https://luminousvoices.com   He was also the former director of the Spiritus Chamber Choir and Calgary Philharmonic Chorus: http://www.spirituschamberchoir.ca https://calgaryphil.com/orchestra/chorus/   The most recent Luminous Voices recording is “Sea Dreams” Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/sea-dreams/1522347176   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1gmIVzH2KgF8vPJyQh6DEZ?si=h68Hh305SxiPKBj5vbkoYg   Tim Shantz and the Luminous Voices have recorded  “The Far West” by Zachary Wadsworth Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/zachary-wadsworth-the-far-west/1525796302 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0pPYLosqkFmokl5C5lOzIu?si=ZCyNRaniT7mahlzpPhVQGg   Tim also mentioned  Frank Martin “Mass for Double Choir”: Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/frank-martin-choral-works/69170555   Monteverdi “Vespers 1610” Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/monteverdi-vespers/418622377   J.S. Bach “St John Passion” Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/bach-st-john-passion-bwv-245-johannes-passion-deluxe/1087775578     The excerpt of Handel’s “Total Eclipse” is provided by the Internet Archive, and was performed by Richard Lewis.  HIs 1963 Calgary recital is available here: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/in-recital-calgary-1963-live/1386196451   Episode First published April 2021 https://www.culturemonster.ca