Caltech professor and organist Thomas Neenan is joined by organ builder Manuel Rosales to discuss Jane Parker-Smith's recital program, which includes Bach, Franck, Liszt, and more.   About this Performance: Having been referred to as the “Martha Argerich of the organ” (The Sunday Times), British organist Jane Parker-Smith has gained an international reputation for her prodigious technique and innate interpretative ability, making her one of the most sought-after organists in the world.   Artists Jane Parker-Smith, organ   Program   BACH (arr. Fox) - <a href= "https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/5228/nun-danket-alle-gott-from-cantata-no-79-bwv-79" data-js-disable-link="" data-js-modal="Piece" data-js-size= "size--lg" data-js-padding="padding--xl" data-js-title= "“Nun danket alle Gott,” from Cantata No. 79, BWV 79" data-js-subtitle="BACH (arr. Fox)" data-auto-translate="true" data-js-length="c. 4 minutes" data-js-text= "The hymn “Nun&nbsp;danket&nbsp;alle&nbsp;Gott” (Now thank we all our God) by protestant minister Martin Rinckart (1586-1649) served well as material for one of the more introspective and fugal organ chorale preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). When given the task of writing a cantata for Reformation Day (October 31, which was last Thursday), Cantata 79, Bach chose to set that tune with louder, more joyous instrumental forces. Flamboyant American organist Virgil Fox (1912-1980) probably reflected upon those contrasting settings, preferring the one in the Cantata to fit his style of playing the organ. Although not a type of chorale prelude representing any purist forms or models that Bach might have been concerned with, Fox’s transcription produces a rousing seasonal hymn." data-js-id="5228" data-wg-notranslate="manual">“Nun danket alle Gott,” from Cantata No. 79, BWV 79</a> <a href= "https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/artists/1849/cesar-franck" data-js-disable-link="" data-js-modal="Composer" data-js-size= "size--lg" data-js-padding="padding--xl" data-js-title= "César Franck" data-js-text= "Born: 1822, Liège, BelgiumDied: 1890, Paris, France“It little matters whether music sets out to awaken ideas about a given external subject, or limits its purpose to expressing a state of mind…; what is indispensable is that a work should be musical, and emotional as well.”The 1886 marriage of celebrated violinist Eugène Ysaÿe (a champion of CÉSAR FRANCK’s music) inspired Franck’s lone Violin Sonata (It was also published in versions for cello and for flute). Ysaÿe played the work many times on his tours, telling his listeners that he played it “con amore” since it was a wedding present.Franck originally intended the opening movement to be slow and reflective, but Ysaÿe persuaded him that it worked best at a quicker tempo, so Franck marked it Allegretto with the qualifier “ben moderato.”The second movement is a dramatic scherzo, opening as a turbulent piano toccata, then with a surging, offbeat violin line laid over it. There are lyrical or pensive interludes, but the roiling toccata always reasserts itself.The chromaticism of the third movement’s introduction shows the influence of Wagner. Midway through, the improvisatory Recitativo yields to the more insistently directed Fantasia.The finale begins with an optimistic theme played in canon, the violin following the piano a bar later. The opening theme of the movement returns in A major before swelling into exultant joy.Further listening:String Quartet (1889)Juilliard String Quartet (Sony Classical)Trois Chorals (organ, 1890)Michael Murray (Telarc)" data-js-id="1849" data-auto-translate="true" data-wg-notranslate= "manual">César FRANCK -</a> <a href= "https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/5229/fantaisie-in-a-major" data-js-disable-link="" data-js-modal="Pie

John Adams & Jay Campbell with Thomas Kotcheff, Sky Macklay, Eric Wubbels, and Jay Campbell • TUE / NOV 5, LA Phil 2019/20

Key thinkers and guest musicians share their expertise and offer historical and cultural context for an inspiring array of orchestral music, giving you a deeper understanding of the music. These talks reflect the programming of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) on stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall. New episodes are added after the first night’s concert. See the full Upbeat Live schedule at: laphil.com/ubl