Rudolf Firkusny

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Today is the 99th anniversary of the birth of Czech pianist Rudolf Firkusny.  He studied with composers Leos Janacek and Josef Suk, and pianists Alfred Cortot and Artur Schnabel.  He fled Nazi Europe in 1939 and settled in New York, becoming an American citizen.  He refused to return to Czechoslovakia until the fall of the Communist regime in 1989.  We’ll listen to the recording he made of the Dvorak Piano Concerto with the Czech Philharmonic in Prague in 1990.

 

 

Playlist:
10:02 am
  • Christmas Oratorio: opening chorus
  • Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Ensemble: Blanche Moyse Chorale and Orchestra of St. Luke's
  • Conductor: Blanche Moyse
  • CD/Album: J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio
  • Record co./Cat #: New England Bach Festival 1987
10:15 am
  • Piano Concerto in g , Op. 33
  • Composer: Antonin Dvorak
  • Ensemble: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Soloists: Rudolf Firkusny, piano
  • Conductor: Vaclav Neumann
  • CD/Album: Dvorak - Piano Concerto - Janacek - Concertino - Capriccio
  • Record co./Cat #: RCA 60781
11:01 am
  • Symphony #22 "Philosopher" in Eb , HOB 1/22
  • Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn
  • Ensemble: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
  • CD/Album: Haydn Symphonies 22, 63, & 80"
  • Record co./Cat #: Deutsche Grammophon 427337
11:24 am
  • Horn Sonata in F , Op. 17
  • Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Soloists: Hermann Baumann, horn ; Leonard Hokanson, piano
  • CD/Album: Works for Horn and Piano-Baumann-Hokanson
  • Record co./Cat #: Philips 416816
11:43 am
  • Symphony #8: Scherzo (2nd mvmt) in c , WAB 108
  • Composer: Anton Bruckner
  • Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Conductor: Pierre Boulez
  • CD/Album: Bruckner: Symphony No. 8
  • Record co./Cat #: Deutsche Grammophon 459678
12:01 pm
  • Symphonie Fantastique: A Ball (Waltz) , Op. 14
  • Composer: Hector Berlioz
  • Ensemble: Cleveland Orchestra
  • Conductor: Pierre Boulez
  • CD/Album: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Tristia
  • Record co./Cat #: Deutsche Grammophon 453432
12:12 pm
  • Nocturnes: #2 - Fetes ("parties" or "celebrations")
  • Composer: Claude Debussy
  • Ensemble: Cleveland Orchestra
  • Conductor: Pierre Boulez
  • CD/Album: Debussy: La Mer - Nocturnes - Jeux
  • Record co./Cat #: Deutsche Grammophon 439896
12:24 pm
  • Christmas Oratorio: Cantata #5: opening chorus
  • Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Ensemble: Blanche Moyse Chorale and Orchestra of St. Luke's
  • Conductor: Blanche Moyse
  • CD/Album: J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio
  • Record co./Cat #: New England Bach Festival 1987
12:33 pm
  • Quartettsatz in c , D 703 ("Quartet movement")
  • Composer: Franz Schubert
  • Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet
  • CD/Album: Schubert: Late String Quartets & Quintet
  • Record co./Cat #: Deutsche Grammophon 459151
12:48 pm
  • Music Hall Suite
  • Composer: Joseph Horovitz
  • Soloists: Metropolitan Brass Quintet
  • CD/Album: Brass Bonanza
  • Record co./Cat #: Crystal 200
1:01 pm
  • Four Renaissance Lute Duets
  • Composer: Various
  • Arranger: (transcribed for guitar)
  • Soloists: Sharon Isbin, guitar
  • CD/Album: Journey to the New World
  • Record co./Cat #: Sony 745456
  • Note: (Sharon Isbin plays both parts of these duets)
1:18 pm
  • Piano Sonata #17 in D , K 576
  • Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Soloists: Mitsuko Uchida, piano
  • CD/Album: Mozart: 3 Piano Sonatas K. 279, 457 & 576; Fantasia K. 475
  • Record co./Cat #: Philips 412617
1:37 pm
  • Dance Suite
  • Composer: Bela Bartok
  • Ensemble: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
  • Conductor: Georg Solti
  • CD/Album: Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra / Dance Suite
  • Record co./Cat #: London 400052
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