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City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra goes Stateside

Live from Symphony Hall: Ives' 3 Places in New England, Zappa's Bob in Dacron and Sad Jane, George Lewis' Memex and pianist Stewart Goodyear joins for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

In tonight's concert, masterminded by Ilan Volkov who conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, four American mavericks take us on an exhilarating journey.

In the New England of Charles Ives's youth history is still vital, marching bands collide and a couple take a honeymoon stroll along the river.

Frank Zappa – rock musician, self-taught composer, satirist (and scourge) of American society – confounded all those people who like neat boundaries. His 1984 puppet ballet Bob in Dacron and Sad Jane tells the story of Bob who, during his quest for mid-life erotic gratification in a singles' bar, meets Jane.

George Lewis is one of the most exciting composers working in the US today. The starting point for Lewis's compelling piece was a 1945 magazine article which imagined 'memex', a mechanical aid to memory which taps into vast reservoirs of stored knowledge.

We end in Jazz Age New York City. Stewart Goodyear is the soloist in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, the ground-breaking piano concerto which caused a sensation at its 1924 premiere and still thrills a century later.

Presented live from Symphony Hall, Birmingham, by Tom McKinney.

Charles Ives: Three Places in New England
Frank Zappa: Bob in Dacron and Sad Jane
George Lewis: Memex
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

Stewart Goodyear (piano)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov (conductor)

2 hours, 28 minutes

Last on

Wed 27 Mar 2024 19:30
BBC Radio 3

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Recipes

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Music Played

  • Charles Ives

    Three Places In New England (Orchestral Set No.1) K.V.30

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Ilan Volkov.

  • Frank Zappa

    Bob in Dacron and Sad Jane

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Ilan Volkov.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829

    Performer: Stewart Goodyear.
    • Sono Luminus.

  • George Lewis

    Memex

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Ilan Volkov.

  • George Gershwin

    Rhapsody In Blue

    Performer: Stewart Goodyear. Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Ilan Volkov.

  • Antonín Dvořák

    4 Romantic pieces, Op 75

    Performer: Elena Urioste. Performer: Zhang Zuo.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Organ Sonata No 3 in D minor, BWV 527

    Performer: Christopher Herrick.
    • Bach Six Trio Sonatas, BWV525-530.
    • Hyperion.
    • 10.

  • Heitor Villa‐Lobos

    Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 - 2. Prelúdio (Modinha) (Arr. for 5 Cellos)

    Performer: Sheku Kanneh‐Mason. Performer: Hannah Roberts. Performer: Ben Davies. Performer: Desmond Neysmith. Performer: Max Ruisi. Music Arranger: Simon Parkin.
    • Song.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 4.

  • Heitor Villa‐Lobos

    A pombinha voou (Guia prático Book 6)

    Performer: Cristina Ortiz.
    • Villa-Lobos: Piano music: Cristina Ortiz.
    • Decca.
    • 10.

Broadcast

  • Wed 27 Mar 2024 19:30
    BBC Radio 3