Tuesday, August 14

What, you've never thought of Ludwig van Beethoven and Harrison Ford with the same set of neurons? Here's how some clever marketing person described Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony for the 1994 recording in our first hour: "a swashbuckling thriller which, for sheer passion, romance, and gusto had to wait for Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark to find its visual counterpoint." (You don't say!)

The third hour goes to Aram Khatchaturian, a Soviet composer of Armenian extraction and sometimes Armenian inspiration. We hear three of Khatchaturian's greatest hits: the raucous, driving Sabre Dance; the gorgeous, melodic Adagio from Spartacus; and his Violin Concerto in D minor, which passes through both the rhythmic and lyrical realms.

11 AM
  • Clementi: Piano Sonata in B-flat, Op. 1/2. Susan Alexander-Max (Naxos 8.557695)
  • Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, "Eroica." Revolutionary and Romantic Orch, Gardiner (Archiv 445 944)
12 N
  • Dukas: Villanelle for horn and piano. Barry Tuckwell, Daniel Blumenthal (Etcetera 1135)
  • Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat, K. 495. Barry Tuckwell, Royal Concertgebouw Orch, Leitner (RCO box 06004)
  • Verdi: Il Trovatore: Miserere. Rosalind Plowright, Placido Domingo et al. (DG 447 270)
  • Liszt: Miserere from Il Trovatore, after Verdi. Alexandre Dossin (Naxos 8.557904)
  • Lully et al., arr. D'Anglebert, ed. Feuillet: Entree (dances from 1700). Andrew Lawrence-King (Harmonia Mundi 907335)
1 PM
  • Khatchaturian: Gayaneh: Sabre Dance. Cincinnati Pops, Kunzel (Telarc 80625)
  • Khatchaturian: Spartacus: Adagio. Cincinnati Pops, Kunzel (Telarc 60657)
  • Khatchaturian: Violin Concerto in D minor. Itzhak Perlman, Israel Phil, Mehta (EMI 47087)
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