News from 105.9 WQXR and Q2: summer 2010
This summer, Classical 105.9 WQXR – New York’s sole dedicated classical station – will honor an important anniversary: Gustav Mahler’s 150th birthday on July 7. Q2, the station’s 24-hour contemporary music stream, will present a live webcast of an all-Varèse program (July 7); highlights from the 2010 Bang on a Can Marathon (Aug 15); and more installments of Cued Up on Q2, featuring an eclectic mix of new-music events recorded live in New York City.
Summer highlights from 105.9 FM WQXR
Independence Day Weekend with songs of Stephen Foster
WQXR will celebrate Independence Day Weekend with music by American composers and works inspired by the holiday, including a special show dedicated to the songs of Stephen Foster on Saturday, July 3 at 5pm. Foster (1826-64) – who was, incidentally, born on the fourth of July – is known as the “father of American music” for such enduringly popular songs as “Oh! Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” and “Swanee River.”
The 150th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s birth
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s birth on July 7, WQXR will present a special range of multiplatform programming. Each day from July 7 through 14 from 7am to 9pm, www.wqxr.org will feature a special online stream devoted to his works. The stream will kick off with three days of Mahler’s symphonies performed by top conductors, aired in sequence without interruption. Additionally, a two-hour edition of Mad About Music – hosted by Gilbert Kaplan, who is well known for his performances of Mahler’s Second Symphony, the only piece he conducts – will be dedicated to the composer on Wednesday, July 7 at 9pm.
Concert broadcasts from the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Each Thursday at 9pm, WQXR will present concerts from Gustavo Dudamel’s inaugural season with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The first broadcast will air on July 1, featuring Dudamel conducting Verdi’s Requiem. Upcoming concert performances include Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathétique.
The Best of “The Vocal Scene” with George Jellinek
WQXR’s series, The Best of “The Vocal Scene” with George Jellinek, continues on Saturdays at noon through July 31. Upcoming show themes include soprano duets; Wagnerian soprano Leonie Rysanek; and a comparison of Caruso, Titto Rufo, and Chaliapin – arguably the greatest tenor, baritone, and bass of all time.
Summer highlights from Q2 (www.wqxr.org/q2)
Live audio webcast of Varèse’s Amériques
On Wednesday, July 7 at 7pm, Q2, WQXR’s 24-hour contemporary music stream, will present a live audio webcast of Edgard Varèse’s Amériques performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble, live from the Yamaha Piano Salon in New York City. ICE, this year’s winner of the American Music Center’s Trailblazer Award, will perform the New York premiere of a new two-piano, eight-hand piano arrangement of Amériques, which was originally scored for full orchestra. Dubbed the “father of electronic music,” Varèse placed an emphasis on timbre, rhythm, and new technologies that ensured his influence not only on composers like Stockhausen, Cage, and Schnittke, but also on artists such as Frank Zappa – one of his greatest fans. The live video webcast will be hosted by WNYC’s John Schaefer, and will feature interviews, including one with ICE cofounder and flutist Claire Chase. For further details, visit: www.wqxr.org/articles/q2-music/2010/jun/22/varese-live-on-ice.
Bang on a Can Marathon 2010
On Sunday, August 15 at 7pm, Q2 will present highlights from the 2010 Bang on a Can Marathon, which returned to New York’s World Financial Center Winter Garden on June 27. Described as “the country’s most important vehicle for contemporary music” (San Francisco Chronicle), the Bang on a Can Marathon has been one of the most celebrated and anticipated new-music events of the year since its inception in 1987. As Vanity Fair put it, “Imagine Lollapalooza advised by the ghost of John Cage. There are other places to hear new contemporary music, but it is seldom offered with such a potent blend of intensity, authority, and abandon.”
Cued Up on Q2
Cued Up on Q2, a new summer festival of new-music concerts recorded live in New York City, continues streaming each Sunday at 2pm on Q2, with encore plays on Tuesdays at 8pm and Thursdays at 4pm, throughout July and August. Listeners have the chance to hear pivotal moments in new music, discover exciting emerging artists and venues, and help share New York City’s great music-making with the rest of the world. The series is one of the ways that Q2 invites listeners worldwide to become part of its locally rooted but internationally extended new-music family.
For the Cued Up on Q2 festival schedule, please visit www.wqxr.org/articles/q2-music/2010/jun/10/cued-q2.
Composer Introductions: Florent Ghys
On Monday, July 26, Q2 continues its series of Composer Introductions with a weeklong focus on the work of young French composer/bassist Florent Ghys. In the style of JacobTV and Steve Reich, Ghys has made a name for himself with a playful re-appropriation of pop culture soundbites. Composer Introductions will showcase Ghys’s music with a free, limited-time download, music commentary by the composer himself, and regular programming of his works all week on Q2.
A full list of programming highlights, ordered chronologically, follows below.
WQXR & Q2: summer programming highlights:
Thursday, July 1, 9pm
Gustavo Dudamel conducts Los Angeles Philharmonic in concert of Verdi’s Requiem (WQXR)
Saturday, July 3, noon
New episode of The Best of “The Vocal Scene” with George Jellinek (WQXR)
Saturday, July 3 and Sunday, July 4
Celebration of American music for Independence Day Weekend (WQXR)
Saturday, July 3, 5pm
Stephen Foster feature for Independence Day Weekend (WQXR)
Sunday, July 4, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents In C from (Le) Poisson Rouge (Q2)
Wednesday, July 7, 9pm
Special two-hour edition of Mad About Music celebrates Mahler’s 150th anniversary (WQXR)
Wednesday, July 7, 7am – 9pm, throughout the week
Special online stream celebrates Mahler’s 150th anniversary (WQXR)
Wednesday, July 7, 7pm
ICE premieres arrangement of Varèse’s Amériques from Yamaha Piano Salon: audio webstream (Q2)
Saturday, July 10, noon
New episode of The Best of “The Vocal Scene” with George Jellinek (WQXR)
Sunday, July 11, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents Maya Beiser from LPR (Q2)
Sunday, July 11, 9pm
Special two-hour edition of Mad About Music celebrates Mahler’s 150th anniversary (WQXR)
Saturday, July 17, noon
New episode of The Best of “The Vocal Scene” with George Jellinek (WQXR)
Sunday, July 18, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents MATA Festival (Q2)
Saturday, July 24, noon
New episode of The Best of “The Vocal Scene” with George Jellinek (WQXR)
Sunday, July 25, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents VOX from New York City Opera (Q2)
Monday, July 26 throughout the week (series)
Composer Introductions features Florent Ghys (Q2)
Saturday, July 31, noon
Final new episode of The Best of “The Vocal Scene” with George Jellinek (WQXR)
Sunday, August 1, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents Look & Listen Festival (Q2)
Sunday, August 8, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents Yale Composers Collective, Sleeping Giant from LPR (Q2)
Sunday, August 15, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s “New Music in the Rose” (Q2)
Sunday, August 15, 7pm
Highlights from 2010 Bang on a Can Marathon (Q2)
Sunday, August 22, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents Elizabeth and the Catapult from New Sounds Live at Merkin Concert Hall (Q2)
Sunday, August 29, 2pm
Cued Up on Q2 presents Missy Mazzoli and Victoire from LPR (Q2)
New York Public Radio is New York’s premier public radio franchise, comprising WNYC FM, WNYC AM, and WQXR, as well as www.wnyc.org and www.wqxr.org. As America’s most listened-to AM/FM news and talk public radio stations, reaching 1.1 million listeners every week, WNYC extends New York City’s cultural riches to the entire country on-air and online, and presents the best national offerings from networks National Public Radio, Public Radio International, American Public Media, and the British Broadcasting Company. WNYC 93.9 FM broadcasts a wide range of daily news, talk, cultural, and music programming, while WNYC AM 820 maintains a stronger focus on breaking news and international news reporting. Classical 105.9 WQXR is New York City’s sole 24-hour classical music station, presenting new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic, among other New York City venues, immersing listeners in the city’s rich musical life. In addition to its audio content, WNYC produces content for live, radio, and web audiences from The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, the station’s street-level multipurpose, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance space. For more information about WNYC, visit www.wnyc.org.
Q2, available at www.wqxr.org/q2, is a music stream dedicated to exploring contemporary composers and the modern classical music movement. Q2 offers not only recordings by some of the most passionate and plugged-in musical minds of today, but also notable live events from venues around New York, including New York Public Radio’s broadcast studio and performance venue, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, and (L)e Poisson Rouge. Q2 may also be accessed through iTunes or on WQXR 105.9’s HD Channel 2.
For further information, please contact:
Jennifer Houlihan, WNYC/WQXR: [email protected], (646) 829-4497
Glenn Petry, 21C Media Group: [email protected], (212) 625-2038
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