Explore the Symphony

Marjolaine and Jeans-Jacques discuss Shostakovich, his life in the Soviet Union, and his 9th Symphony.

Jean-Jacques and Marjolaine give Sibelius's Symphony no. 4 the, "Explore the Symphony" treatment.

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss Prokofiev's stirring score, Alexander Nevsky. It was composed for Sergey Eisenstein's 1938 cinematic thriller and stands as a spectacular masterpiece for chorus and orchestra.

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer discuss Dmitri Shostakovich's life, from growing up in Saint Petersburg to political manoeuvrings in Stalin's Russia. Marjolaine and Jean-Jacques focus on his first symphony, which he wrote at the age of nineteen as a graduation piece for the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1926.

Marjolaine and Jeans-Jacques explore Carl Orff; his life in early 20th century Germany and his seminal work, Carmina Burana.

In this episode, Marjolaine and Jean-Jacques talk about Robert Schumann's life leading up to the creation of his second symphony.

In this Explore the Symphony, Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer talk about a truly singular Symphonic composer -- Edward Elgar -- THE shining star of British music, who's life spanned the era of romantic and post-romantic music while keeping his style completely his own.

The first of the 2011-12 season's "Explore the Symphony" podcasts examines the 4th Symphony of Tchaikovsky. From the quiet plucking of the strings to the bombastic brass in the finale, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, declared “semi-barbaric” by the New York Post in 1890, will leave you breathless.

The third of the 2010-11 season's "Explore the Symphony" podcasts examines the 3rd and 4th Symphonies of Johannes Brahms. In this podcast, the NAC Orchestra's assistant principal double bass Marjolaine Fournier and one of Canada's foremost music journalists, Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, discuss Symphony No. 3, which was written in 1883, polished after each performance, and published the following year. Music critic Eduard Hanslick said “ … the Third [Symphony] strikes me as being artistically the most nearly perfect.” The NAC Orchestra (under conductor Andrew Grams) performed Symphony No. 3 by Brahms in late October of this year. Still to come – on January 26 and 27 – is Brahms’s Symphony No. 4, with Pinchas Zukerman conducting the Orchestra. Brahms composed this deeply emotional symphony – his final symphony -- right after the Third, in 1885. Dramatic and passionate, mournful and joyful, the Fourth Symphony was conducted by Brahms himself at its premiere. It was very well received and has remained popular ever since.

The second of the 2010-11 season's "Explore the Symphony" podcasts examines the short life and remarkable career of German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), one of the most popular composers of the Romantic era. In this podcast, the NAC Orchestra's assistant principal double bass Marjolaine Fournier and one of Canada's foremost music journalists, Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, discuss the composer and his life and works. He was a child prodigy, a pianist, organist and conductor as well as a composer, and he composed symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano and chamber music. Music by Mendelssohn will be featured in two NACO concerts in January (Hymn of Praise on January 5-6 and Dvořák’s “New World” on January 20-21).