Dancing from Pavane to Polonaise - This week on Harmonia, we take a journey across Europe to explore the many types of dances that inspired music from the 16th to 18th centuries. Along the way, we'll hear stately pavanes, lilting allemandes, and playful polonaises.
In the 18th century the line between "art music" and "popular music" was much blurrier. Musicians performed, composed and published music, and organized concerts without the labels or categories that we have. Many of today's classical musicians are experts in other styles of music, too. You'll hear some of those well-rounded artists demonstrate their skills on Sunday Baroque this weekend.
Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin tells of a girl forced to lure a wealthy mandarin to his tragic fate. Its theme of the tragic, dark passions between men and women is equally as gripping and powerful and controversial as when it first premiered. It's paired with a striking arrangement for string orchestra of Bartók's String Quartet No. 3, by Orchestra violist Stanley Konopka. Krenek's eclectic Kleine Symphonie and the opening movement of Mahler's uncompleted final symphony provide a bridge from late Romanticism to the no-holds-barred sounds of interwar Europe.
It's a new season of Pittsburgh Symphony Radio! This special Gala concert features superstar Renee Fleming in music from La Boheme, Gianna Schicci and more. Music Director Manfred Honeck conducts the orchestra in the Polonaise from Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky and music from Khachaturian's Spartacus.