Nacocast: Classical Music Podcast With Sean Rice

As Remembrance Day approaches here in Canada, Christopher looks at The World Orchestra for Peace in a programme that first aired on CBC Radio in 2003. "The World Orchestra for Peace is an expression of harmony on all levels. It was founded in 1995 by Sir Georg Solti to reaffirm, in his words, 'the unique strength of music as an ambassador for peace'. Its players come from orchestras all over the world, many of them concert masters and section leaders in their own right, and the orchestra has no existence outside the very special occasions that call it into being."

Beethoven Symphony no. 9 is the subject, and Pinchas Zukerman and Measha Brueggergosman are Christopher's guests on this live edition of the NACOcast.

To mark the beginning of the NAC Orchestra's Beethoven Festival, Christopher offers up a guided tour of the complete 2nd Symphony. Featured in this week's podcast is the NAC Orchestra's CBC Records recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 under the the baton of Music Director Pinchas Zukerman.

Canadian mezzo-soprano Susan Platts is Christopher's guest on this edition of the NACOcast. The two discuss vocal sound production and repertoire. Musical excerpts include Verdi's Requiem and Brahm's "Gestillte Sehnsucht".

This week we continue our look at training for young orchestral players -- In Washington DC, Christopher talks with 3 participants in the National Orchestral Institute programme and we hear several excerpts of Richard Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie played by the NOI under the baton of James Ross on June 16 of this year.

Back from our summer hiatus, Christopher talks with three young and dynamic music students -- the first participants in the NAC's new Institute for Orchestral Studies -- about the opportunity to play in the NAC Orchestra, their studies, their instruments ( ... and even tuning in fifths).

Composer Gary Kulesha joins Christopher for the second part of a two part discussion recorded following the NAC Orchestra's world premiere of Kulesha's 3rd Symphony. Among other topics, Christopher and Gary discuss teaching composition and making a living as a composer.

Composer Gary Kulesha is Christopher's guest in this first part of two special NACOcast Live sessions recorded following the NAC Orchestra's world premiere of Kulesha's 3rd Symphony.

In this very special edition of the NACOcast, Christopher discusses the beauty and mystery of Stradivari instruments with one of the world's foremost violin players, Canadian James Ehnes. Music samples include Ehnes's recent recordings of the Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Violin and Walton's Violin Concerto.

The distinguished British composer and conductor Oliver Knussen is Christopher's guest on this week's edition of the NACOcast. NAC Orchestra audiences know Oliver Knussen from his appearances with the NAC Orchestra in 2001 when he conducted his own Second Symphony, and from 2004 when he conducted the Canadian premiere of his Violin Concerto with its dedicatee Pinchas Zukerman as soloist.

Douglas Burden, bass trombonist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, is Christopher's guest on this edition of the NACOcast. The two discuss everything 'trombone'; from the instrument's origins, repertoire and its role in today's orchestra. This edition of the NACOcast includes a sampling of the NAC Orchestra performing Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

Gustavo Dudamel, the 26 year-old Venezuelan conducting phenom visits the NACOcast studios to discuss "El Sistema", Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, and his mentors Jose Antonio Abreu, Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle.

Christopher chats with American conductor Andrew Litton. Litton’s more than 60 recordings include the Grammy winning Walton's Belshazzar's Feast with Bryn Terfel and the Bournemouth Symphony.

In this very special NACOcast presentation, Christopher takes us on a 30-minute guided tour of that holiday perennial, Handel's Messiah.

Christopher discusses the art of reed making with NAC Orchestra prinicpal oboe Chip Hamann with archival musical excerpts from Strauss's Don Quixote and Mozart's Oboe Concerto as performed by Chip Hamann and the National Arts Centre Orchestra

Canadian Brass members, Charles Daellenbach and Eugene Watts, are Christopher's guests on this special edition of the NACOcast

On this week's NACOcast ... the Protean Tuba. Christopher speaks with NACO Principal Tuba Nick Atkinson about the variable identity of this big bugle and about life at the bottom of the orchestra. An informative discussion of the history of the tuba, its acoustic principles and a survey of its use in the orchestra.

Hungarian Celebration - The NAC Orchestra celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution this week with a programme of Bartok, Kodaly and Brahms. Christopher welcomes NACO's Karoly Sziladi to talk about his personal experiences during and after the 1956 uprising, and the music of his native Hungary.

A Fifth of Quarrington -- In this week's NACOcast, Christopher speaks with the National Arts Centre Orchestra's remarkable Principal Bass, Joel Quarrington. Canada's foremost virtuoso of the double bass, Joel is the only great modern bassist who tunes his bass like a cello. Find out how this came about as Joel discusses the history, evolution and current state of double bass playing.

In this first episode of the 2006-2007 NACOcast season, Christopher focuses on Brahm's Piano Concerto no. 1 in D minor, Opus 15 and Brahms' Symphony No. 2. This week's podcast includes archival recordings of the NAC Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Pinchas Zukerman.