Concert Calendar, October 17-31

Sunday, October 18

  • Trumpets, Pipes, Bach and Jazz.   Bach, Clarke, Torelli, Victor Young and Claude Bolling with an international trumpeter and recording artist James Ackley, now principal trumpet of Symphony Orchestra Augusta and based at the University of South Carolina.  Free, Concerts with a Cause, 3 p.m., St. John United Methodist Church, Augusta.    

Thursday, October 22

  • The University of West Georgia Department of Music presents The Atlanta5 Wind Quintet in wind music by Barber, Bozza, Ewazen and Piazzolla.  The Atlanta5 are Elisa Lyle, flute, principal flute, La Grange and Carrollton symphonies; Jeannie Ohnemus, principal oboe, LaGrange Symphony; Luan Mueller, UWG clarinet instructor; Jim Jackson, principal bassoon, Georgia Philharmonic; and John Pirtle, freelance French horn. Cashen Hall, Humanities Building, UWG, Carrollton. 8:15 p.m. Free. 
  • Karen Parks, soprano.  Falany Performing Arts Center, Reinhardt College, Waleska

October 22-24           

  • The great Canadian violinist James Ehnes soloes in Korngold’s Violin Concerto, and Donald Runnicles conducts the Atlanta Symphony in Strauss’s Also Spake Zarathustra and Weber’s Overture to Oberon. Symphony Hall, Atlanta, 8 p.m. 

Friday, October 23           

  • “Journey to the Amazon” with renowned guitarist Sharon Isbin, percussionist Thiago de Mello and saxophonist Paul Winter.  Grammy-nominated blend of Afro-Brazilian, Amazonian Indian and wildnerness sounds with jazz. Schwartz Center, Emory University, Atlanta, 8 p.m.

Saturday, October 24           

  • The Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra plays Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite, a Vivaldi concerto for oboe and violin, Godard’s Suite of Three Pieces for flute and Haydn’s Symphony No. 41. City Auditorium, Cochran, 7:30 p.m.     
  • Grammy-winning cellist Lynn Harrell, with pianist Victor Santiago-Asuncion.  Cello sonatas by Chopin and Barber, Beethoven’s sets of variations on Handel’s “See the conqu’ring hero comes” and Mozart’s “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen,” and Schubert’s Introduction and Variations on an Original Theme in B-flat.  UGA Performing Arts Center, Athens.

 Sunday, October 25

  • American pianist Thomas Pandolfi loves music popular in the “Golden Age of Pianism,” by such composers as Busoni, Godowski, Dohnanyi, Paderewski, MacDowell and Rubinstein.  He plays at 2 p.m. at the Morris Museum of Art, Augusta.
  • Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ is performed by the Vega String Quartet and speakers of seven different faiths.  Schwartz Center, Emory University, Atlanta, 4 p.m.

Tuesday, October 27

  • The LaGrange Symphony calls its pre-Halloween concert “Sorcerers, Witches and Things.”  Patricio Cobos conducts such scary seasonal favorites as Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Dukas’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice, plus Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.1 with Ukrainian-born pianist Kseniia Polstiankina, winner of the 2009 LSO Young Artists Competition.  7:30, Callaway Auditorium, LaGrange College, LaGrange
  • Symphony Orchestra Augusta presents America (the group famous for “A House with No Name” and other songs, now in its fourth decade).  The first half of the concert is orchestral; America appears after intermission.  Shizuo Kuwahara conducts. Pops! at the Bell, Bell Auditorium, Augusta

Tuesday, October 27           

  • The adventuresome Amstel Quartet (saxophone quartet) appears at the Falany Performing Arts Center, Reinhardt College, Waleska.  
  • The acclaimed Merling Trio appears in two Georgia communities in one day.  First, in Augusta, Tuesday's Music Live presents the Merling Trio in a free noon concert at St. Paul's Church. (Advance reservations are required for lunch following the concert.  The concert is free.)
  • Then the Merling Trio hits the road as Gainesville ProMusica presents the threesome in Haydn’s Trio in G major and Dvorak’s Dumky Trio. 7:30 p.m., Pearce Auditorium, Gainesville

October 29-30           

  • Brahms’ German Requiem sounds through Atlanta’s Symphony Hall, as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with soloists soprano Chen Reiss and baritone Matthew Worth, perform. Also Haydn’s Symphony No. 44, “Trauer.”  Donald Runnicles conducts. 

Friday, October 30           

  • New Trinity Baroque calls their late October concert “Handel’s Nightmare.” 8 p.m., St. Bartholomew’s Church, Atlanta.  

Saturday, October 31  

  • The Zagreb Saxophone Quartet has toured extensively around the globe and performs an eclectic repertoire spanning centuries and styles. Free concert. University of Georgia Performing Arts Center, Athens

GPB values your support!

Become a new or renewing member of GPB during our fall membership campaign. Donate at gpb.org (check out all the thank you gifts there) or call 1-800-222-4788. Support the music and information you count on. We count on you. Please join now at any level. Thank you!


Playlists and calendar links will resume appearing here in due course. Your patience is most appreciated.

Monday, October 19

New releases today. The big thing that's new around here is coming up tomorrow: GPB Radio's fall fund drive. Fund drive, membership campaign, pledge drive -- call it what you will, it's when our community of listeners bands together to support the music and information on GPB that enhances your life. Please give as generously as you can October 20-30 so we can keep bringing you the programming you love on GPB. Glad to have you listening. Playlists may not be posted as frequently during the drive; thanks for your understanding. -Sarah


11 AM
  • Sinding: Con Fuoco. Jerome Lowenthal. Bridge 9306.
  • Haydn: String Quartet in E-flat, Op. 17/3. Smithson String Quartet (with Jaap Schroeder, first violin). Dorian DSL 9095.
  • Sinding: Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 91. Jerome Lowenthal. Bridge 9306.
  • Sinding: Rustles of Spring. Jerome Lowenthal. Bridge 9306.
12 N
  • Muffat: Sonata in D major. Trio Settecento (with Rachel Barton Pine, violin). Cedille 90000 114.
  • Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503. Mvt 1: Pedja Muzijevic, Oberlin Conservatory Sym, Spano. Oberlin OC 08-1. Mvts 2-3: Mitsuko Uchida, English Chamber Orch, Tate. Philips 422 331.
  • Ravel-Chapuis/Trupin: Un Soir (An Evening, Suite for Orchestra, Piano and Bandoneon): Accroche. Fabrice Ravel-Chapuis, Jacques Trupin, National Orch of Lille, Cassadesus. Virgin 93243.
1 PM
  • Popper: Suite for Cello and Piano, Op. 69. Wendy Warner, Eileen Buck. Cedille 90000 111.
  • Monteverdi: Psalm 116, Laudate Dominum, a 5. Taverner Consort, soloists, Parrott. Virgin 66965.
  • Duarte: Joan Baez Suite. Sharon Isbin. Sony 45456.

Thursday, October 15

Trumpeter James Ackley plays Jermiah Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary (the first piece below) on his Concert with a Cause this Sunday at 3, Saint John United Methodist, Augusta. Free admission; a collection will be taken for Augusta's Jessye Norman School of the Arts. Ackley has played all over the world many genres. His Sunday performance combines Baroque music (with organ) and swingier fare (with jazz combo).

11 AM
  • Clarke: Trumpet Voluntary. Rolf Smedvig, William Kuhlman. Telarc 80614.
  • Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major. Capucon, Causse, Capucon, Angelich. Virgin 519310.
12 N
  • Alwyn: Suite of Scottish Dances. Royal Liverpool Phil, Lloyd-Jones. Naxos 8.570704.
  • Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Platero y Yo: La Arrulladora. Christopher Parkening. EMI 57591.
  • Corelli: Sonata in C major for two violins and continuo, Op. 3/8. Rebel, Schwarz. Dorian 90703.
  • Haydn: Symphony No. 97 in C major. Cleveland Orch, Szell. Sony 489042.
  • Saint-Saens: Scherzo for piano duo, Op. 87. Lilya Zilberstein, Akane Sakal. EMI 67051.
1 PM
  • Wagenseil: Symphony in E, WV 393. Stuttgart Chamber Orch, Goritzki. CPO 777 112.
  • Dvorak: "Dumky" Piano Trio in E minor. Emanuel Ax, Young Uck Kim, Yo-Yo Ma. Sony Legacy 89860.
  • Elgar: March of the Mogul Emperors. New Zealand Sym, Judd. Naxos 8.557273.

Wednesday, October 14

Thanks to Russell Wells for hosting Tuesday's show (playlist). Here's today's. You can locate details about concerts mentioned on air (chamber music at the Hardin Performing Arts Center, Evans; a ballet version of Mozart's Magic Flute; Yo-Yo Ma's sold-out concerto appearance in Atlanta) by clicking through our calendar.


11 AM
  • Bach/Holst: Fugue in G major, BWV 577. Quebec Sym, Talmi. Alma 2570.
  • Bach/Respighi: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582. Alma 2570.
  • Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13. Cleveland Quartet. Telarc 80142.
  • Raff: Symphony No. 10, "At Autumn Time": The People's Hunt. Philharmonia Hungarica, Albert. CPO 999 536.
12 N
  • Mozart: The Magic Flute, Overture. Lausanne Chamber Orch, Menuhin. Virgin 363284.
  • Mozart: The Magic Flute: "O Isis und Osiris." Canadian Brass. Sony 44545.
  • Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra. Budapest Festival Orch, Fischer. Philips 456 575.
  • Moravec: Ariel Fantasy; Evermore. Maria Machmann, Jon Klibonoff. Endeavour 1020.
1 PM
  • Schubert: Symphony No. 3 in D major. Chamber Orch of Europe, Abbado. DG 423 653.
  • Bloch: Schelomo (Solomon), Hebraic Rhapsody for cello and orchestra. Yo-Yo Ma, Baltimore Sym, Zinman. Sony 57961.

Monday, October 12

No, Columbus Day hasn't inspired gobs and gobs of concert music, but there's a bit out there. We hear three pieces.
  • In 1942 William Walton wrote music for a radio play celebrating the 450th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the Americas. From the suite from that show, we hear "Fiesta." The crowd cheers the king and queen, who have just completed the Christian reconquest of Spain.
  • Composer Nikolai Lopatnikoff was born in Estonia in 1903 and made his way through Europe to the United States, arriving in 1939. His Festival Overture was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company and dedicated to the automobile industry. The Detroit Symphony premiered it on Columbus Day 1960.
  • Joseph Bertolozzi wrote "An Age Will Come..." for the Columbus quincentennial in 1992. The title comes from Seneca's Medea: "An age will come after many years when the Ocean will loose the chain of things, and a huge land lie revealed." Christopher Columbus's son wrote into his father's copy of Medea: "This prophesy was fulfilled by my father the Admiral in the year 1492."

11 AM
  • Walton: Christopher Columbus, Suite: Fiesta. City of London Sinfonia, Westminster Singers, Hickox. Chandos 8824.
  • Bertali: Sonata No. 11 from Book 2 of A Desire for the Choicest Sonatas (1672). Chatham Baroque. Dorian 90706.
  • Godard: Violin Concerto No. 2. Chloe Hanslip, Slovak State Phil, Trevor. Naxos 8.570554.
  • Berlioz: The Corsaire, Overture. Berlin Phil, Levine. DG 429 724.
  • Traditional Flamenco: Paterna - Peteneras. Paco Pena. Wigmore 0016.
12 N
  • Lopatnikoff: Festival Overture. Albany (NY) Sym, Miller. Albany 591.
  • Arnold: Grand Fantasia. East Winds. Naxos 8.570294.
  • Hoyer: "Macbeth" String Quartet: Pride and Prophecy. Daughters of Eve. ERM 6808.
  • Corelli: Sonata in G major for two violins and continuo, Op. 4/10. Rebel, Schwarz. Dorian 90703.
  • Ginastera: Suite of Creole Dances, Op. 15. Fernando Viani. Naxos 8.557911-12.
  • Bertolozzi: "An Age Will Come..." SeattleMusic, Suben. BWP 8806.
1 PM
  • Stanford: Symphony No. 1 in B-flat. Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Lloyd-Jones. Naxos 8.570356.

Thursday, October 8

Georgia concerts this week feature pianist Orli Shaham in Athens, flamenco guitarist Paco Pena in Atlanta and soprano Christine Brewer in Atlanta; so does Georgia's midday classical program on GPB.

Symphony Orchestra Augusta opens its opener with music John Williams. The Georgia Chamber Players perform Dvorak. We play Williams and Dvorak, too.

Today's Midday Music playlist follows. Concert details for the first half of October are here.

11 AM
  • Prokofiev: Love for Three Oranges: March (transcr Heifetz). Gil Shaham, Orli Shaham. Vanguard/Canary 1555.
  • Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 94b. Gil Shaham, Orli Shaham. Vanguard/Canary 1555.
  • Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K. 459. Mitsuko Uchida, English Chamber Orch, Tate. Philips 422 348.
12 N
  • Traditional flamenco: Rizos de la Mar (alegrias); Rabanales (fandangos). Paco Pena. Wigmore 0016.
  • Williams: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Hedwig's Theme. Cincinnati Pops Orch, Kunzel. Telarc 80600.
  • Dvorak: Sextet in A major for strings, Op. 48. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble. Chandos 8771.
  • Purcell: Dido and Aeneas: Dido's Lament, "When I am laid in earth." Christine Brewer, Atlanta Sym Orch & Chorus, Shaw. Telarc 80333.
1 PM
  • Gershwin: Concerto in F for piano and orchestra. Anne-Marie McDermott, Dallas Sym, Brown. Bridge 9252.
  • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major. Academy of Ancient Music, Egarr. Harmonia Mundi 807461.62.

Wednesday, October 7

11 AM

  • Balakirev: Islamey, Oriental Fantasy. Yefim Bronfman. Sony 60689.
  • Dohnanyi: Serenade for String Trio in C, Op. 10, transcr string orch. NES Chamber Orch, Sitkovetsky. Nonesuch 79545.
  • Casella: Serenata for small orchestra, Op. 46a. Haydn Orch of Bolzano and Trento, Francis. CPO 999 195.
12 N
  • Glass: Echorus. La Pieta, Angele Dubeau. Analekta 8727.
  • Prokofiev: Two Pushkin Waltzes, Op. 120. Scottish National Orch, Jarvi. Chandos 10484.
  • Rota: The Godfather: Waltz. I Salonisti. Sony 61731.
  • Svendsen: Symphony No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 15. Latvian National Sym, Mikkelsen. CPO 777 372.
1 PM
  • Veracini: Violin Sonata in C minor, Op. 1/4. Enrico Casazza, La Magnifica Comunita. Brilliant 93809.
  • Mozart: Rondo in A major for piano and orchestra, K. 386. John O'Conor, Scottish Chamber Orch, Mackerras.
  • Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15. Beaux Arts Trio. Philips 432 125.

Tuesday, October 6

After the noon news on GPB, I talk with Eric Mitchko, Atlanta Opera director of artistic administration, about Donizetti's The Elixir of Love. Who needs a real love potion when you've got a bottle of wine and the placebo effect? The Atlanta Opera production, starring soprano Georgia native Leah Partridge as the object of desire, continues tonight, Friday and Sunday at Atlanta's Cobb Energy Centre.

We also hear music to be performed this weekend by the Augusta Symphony (Hindemith) and the Georgian Chamber Players (Dohnanyi), and we hear from soprano Christine Brewer (Strauss), who makes her Spivey Hall debut Saturday, and the chamber orchestra Sejong (Vivaldi), which plays Saturday in Athens. See calendar below for details.

11 AM
  • Weber: Der Freischutz, Overture. Berlin Phil, Karajan. EMI 74764.
  • Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber. Philadelphia Orch, Ormandy. EMI 47615.
  • Mozart: "Kegelstatt" Trio in E-flat for piano, clarinet and viola, K. 498. Domus Ensemble.
12 N
  • Donizetti: L'Elisir d'Amore: excerpts with Luciano Pavarotti et al. (London 414 461, Richard Bonynge conducting) and conversation with the Atlanta Opera's Eric Mitchko
  • Chopin: Berceuse in D-flat, Op. 57. Mac-Andre Hamelin. Hyperion 67706.
  • Strauss: Four Last Songs. Christine Brewer, Atlanta Sym, Runnicles. Telarc 80661.
  • Smetana: The Moldau. Milwaukee Sym, Macal. Telarc 80265.
1 PM
  • Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Autumn. Cho-Liang Lin, Sejong, Newman. Naxos 8.557920.
  • Dohnanyi: Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1. Georgian Chamber Players, William Preucil, Gyorgy Sebok. ACA 20102.
  • Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina, Prelude (Dawn over the River Moscow). Moscow Phil, Smith. Sheffield 25.

Monday, October 5

11 AM

  • Broughton: Tuba Concerto. Timothy Buzbee, Iceland Sym, Bairos. Albany 1133.
  • Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3. Baltimore Sym, David Zinman. Telarc 80331.
12 N
  • Leon: Bailarin. David Starobin. Bridge 9231.
  • Grantham: Southern Harmony. North Texas Wind Sym, Corporon. Klavier 11099.
  • Bach: Flute Sonata in B minor, BWV 1030. Janet See, Davitt Moroney. Harmonia Mundi 3957024.
  • Satie: Gymnopedie No. 3 for saxophone and orchestra. Branford Marsalis, Orpheus Chamber Orch. Sony 89251.
  • Del Tredici: Three Gymnopedies (2003). Tanya Bannister. Albany 1087.
1 PM
  • Vivaldi: Concerto for strings in C minor, RV 119. La Serenissima, Chandler. Avie 2178.
  • Mozart: Violin Sonata in A major, K. 305. Gil Shaham, Orli Shaham. Canary CC01.
  • Tchaikovsky: Concert Fantasy in G major for piano and orchestra, Op. 56. Jerome Lowenthal, London Sym, Commisiona. Bridge 9301A/B.

Calendar, October 1-17

Take in some live culture in your community! These listings were believed accurate when compiled, but please confirm the details as you make your plans. Corrections or additions? Email middaymusic@gpb.org.

Thursday, October 1

  • Canadian Brass. Renowned brass quintet. Schwartz Center, Emory University, Atlanta.
  • Bella Sorella. Unanimously selected by the Los Angeles Music Awards as 2007 Vocal Group of the Year, Bella Sorella is sopranos Nova and Susanna Jimenez with piano and violin accompaniment. Falany Performing Arts Center, Reinhardt College, Waleska

October 1-3

  • Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition; Brahms (arr. Lazic): Concerto in D Major (world premiere); Adam Schoenberg: Finding Rothko. Dejan Lazic, piano; Robert Spano, conductor. Symphony Hall, Atlanta

Saturday, October 3

  • Valdosta Symphony Orchestra. Grieg: Piano Concerto; Beethoven: Choral Fantasy; Dvorak: My Home; Grieg: Piano Concerto; Verdi: selections from Aida. Robert Henry, piano soloist; Howard Hsu, conductor. Memorial concert in honor of Leona Hudson. Whitehead Auditorium, Valdosta State University, Valdosta

October 3, 6, 9, 11

  • The Elixir of Love. The Atlanta Opera presents Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera. Highlights include the aria “Una Furtiva Lagrima,” a furtive tear. Yoel Levi conducts. Cobb Energy Centre, Atlanta.

Sunday, October 4

  • Atlanta Chamber Players. “Rapido!” Finals round of the ACP’s 14-day composition contest, plus Michael Gandolfi’s History of the World in Seven Acts, Jennifer Higdon’s Southern Harmony for string quartet and Beethoven’s Fourteen Variations for piano trio. High Museum of Art, Atlanta.

Saturday, October 10

  • Symphony Orchestra Augusta. “Sound the Bells, A New Era.” First Symphony Series Concert with new music director Shizuo “Z” Kuwahara conducting. Music of John Williams, Rachmaninoff and Hindemith. First Baptist of Augusta, Augusta.
  • Christine Brewer, soprano, with Craig Rutenberg, piano. Spivey Hall, Morrow.
  • Paco Pena. Famed flamenco guitarist. Rialto Center for the Arts, Atlanta.
  • Sejong, with Orli Shaham. Distinguished conductorless string orchestra and acclaimed pianist Orli Shaham. UGA Performing Arts Center, Athens.

Sunday, October 11

  • Georgian Chamber Players with guests Shai Wosner, piano, and Amy Moretti, violin. Dvorak: “Dumky” Piano Trio; Dohonanyi: Piano Quintet in C minor. Spivey Hall, Morrow.

Tuesday, October 13

  • Tuesday’s Music Live: Symphony Orchestra Augusta Woodwind Quintet. Augusta’s luncheon concert series continues its 22nd season. Free concert; advanced reservations required for lunch. St. Paul's Church, Augusta.

October 15-16

  • Yo-Yo Ma and the Atlanta Symphony. Yo-Yo Ma performs a new cello concerto, Awakening from a Disappearing Garden, by Angel Lam. Also on the program: Stravinsky’s The Nightingale. Symphony Hall, Atlanta.

October 15-18, 23-24

October 15-31

Saturday, October 17

  • Symphony Orchestra Augusta’s Columbia County Music Series presents a chamber music concert with SOA String Quartet and clarinetist Taylor Massey. Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet, Carl Purdy’s Fandango, Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor. Hardin Performing Arts Center, Evans.
  • Guitarist Robert Belinic. UGA Performing Arts Center, Athens. In addition to his performance in Athens, he will visit South Georgia for educational engagements.
  • Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville. Bluegrass and BBQ Concert.

Thursday, October 1

An October calendar of classical concerts statewide will appear here by Friday. Events mentioned on today's show included:
  • Yoel Levi conducting Donizetti's comic opera The Elixir of Love with the Atlanta Opera in Atlanta October 3-11;
  • the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, pianist Robert Henry and music director Howard Hsu offering Beethoven's Choral Fantasy in Valdosta on Saturday; and
  • the Atlanta Chamber Players presenting the four finalists from May's "Rapido!" quintet composition contest Sunday at Atlanta's High Museum of Art.
Midday Music is heard each weekday from 11:00 to 2:00 on GPB Radio and gpb.org. Sarah Zaslaw hosts the network edition of the show Monday through Thursday; on Friday we join Savannah's Eric Nauert, who hosts from coastal member station WSVH. (WSVH playlists are posted here.)

And now, today's playlist.

11 AM
  • Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major. Atlanta Sym, Levi. Telarc 80545.
12 N
  • Guryan: The Chopsticks Variations. Margo Guryan. Oglio 81619.
  • Sibelius: Karelia Suite, Op. 11. Atlanta Sym, Levi. Telarc 80320.
  • Ravel: Sonatine. Angela Hewitt. Hyperion 67341/2.
  • Brahms: Geistliches Lied. Choir of New College Oxford, Higginbottom. Erato 21659.
1 PM
  • Bach: Flute Sonata in E-flat, BWV 1031. Paula Robison, Kenneth Cooper. Bach Guild 1493.
  • Dello Joio: Trio for flute, cello and piano. Atlanta Chamber Players. MSR 1190.
  • Beethoven: Choral Fantasy, Op. 80. Revolutionary and Romantic Orchestra and Chorus, Robert Levin, Gardiner. Archiv 447 771.
  • Stokem: Brunette. Piffaro. Dorian 90301.