Now Available—1,000 Years of Western Music—Backwards

Series of 19 lecures—a whirlwind exposure to the music of Western Civilization from today all the way back to Gregorian Chant. Going backwards instead of forwards through time widens our context first from what we know—our current aesthetics— back to the different concerns and beauty of earlier music.  The goal is to stimulate curiosity and increase appreciation for masterpieces composed throughout the past thousand years. These are recordings from a live lecture series.

Shostakovich and Prokofiev: Art & Legacy - Series of 8 Audio Downloads

Shostakovich's music particularly speaks to our current turbulent political time. It's no accident audiences flock to performances of his music ever more frequently. The destinies of Shostakovich and Prokofiev were inextricably linked to the repressive Soviet regime under Stalin. Their compositions often had dramatic political ramifications. They both feared for their lives from criticism instigated by Stalin. Their natural modernist style was labeled "formalist." But even when they wrote in a more accessible style, they were labeled "deviant" or "vulgar." Nevertheless both Soviet and world audiences identified and thrilled to their works. Today we view both of them among the most important composers in the 20th century, and in many ways, more accessible than Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and even Bartok.

In eight lectures, we will explore their music and discuss all kinds of fascinating background and details. I work hard to make these talks accessible to all curious music lovers, using a minimum of musical jargon, but at the same time, as a composer, I seek to add an interesting musical perspective that will interest experienced listeners as well. 

SHOSTAKOVICH AND PROKOFIEV—LECTURE TOPICS: 
1. Two 20th Century "Classics"
Biographical Sketches
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

2. Piano Works
Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues
Prokofiev Visions Fugitives

3. Prokofiev in depth
Classical Symphony
Piano Concerto No. 3

4. Shostakovich in depth
Cello concerto No. 1
String Quartet No. 8

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A short talk on how Aaron Copland manages to combine influences as diverse as Mahler, Holst, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky into Appalachian Spring!

Upbeat Live Los Angeles Philharmonic Podcasts