Explore The Symphony

English
71 Episodes

About the podcast

Join the National Arts Centre Orchestra's Marjolaine Fournier and one of Canada's foremost music journalists, Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, as they explore the symphonic form from Haydn to Shostakovich.

About the host

  • host, music journalist Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer
  • Double Bass Marjolaine Fournier
  • You don’t have to be a music-lover to love Beethoven

    English Sep 13, 2018 42:36

    Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer prepare us for the Festival Focus 2018 featuring all nine Beethoven symphonies. Did he really invent the boogie-woogie? Beethoven offered so much variety within his...

  • Anton Bruckner’s eighth symphony with the TSO

    English Apr 13, 2018 40:06

    Bruckner scholars seem to focus on psychoanalysis rather than closing their eyes and listening to the music. To listen to Anton Bruckner’s eighth symphony is to listen to the summit...

  • Kaija Saariaho, Violin Concerto Graal théâtre

    English Mar 22, 2018 56:52

    Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about Saariaho’s violin concerto which was featured as part of the 2017 Ideas of North festival produced by the NAC Orchestra. Saariaho is...

  • Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

    English Feb 16, 2018 51:22

    This work opens many doors to wonderful and exciting musical study. It is a fine example of Orientalism and our perception of “the other”. Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier...

  • Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

    English Feb 16, 2018 51:22

    This work opens many doors to wonderful and exciting musical study. It is a fine example of Orientalism and our perception of “the other”. Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier...

  • Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor Op 77

    English Dec 22, 2017 1:14:48

    Your hosts Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77, which will be performed by Guy Braunstein with the NAC...

  • Sibelius’ Symphonic Poems

    English Oct 27, 2017 57:52

    Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier present part two of their 2017-2018 podcasts on Sibelius. In this episode, hear them trace the trajectory of Sibelius’ six symphonic poems, all performed...

  • Jean Sibelius’ First Symphony

    English Sep 29, 2017 1:00:26

    Jean Sibelius , born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, was a Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as his country's greatest composer...

  • Harry Somers - Louis Riel

    English Jun 02, 2017 49:50

    The story of the polarizing Métis leader and Canada’s westward expansion is told in this landmark work. Composed by Harry Somers for our nation’s centennial in 1967, this uniquely Canadian...

  • Sibelius’ Majestic 2nd and 6th Symphonies

    English Mar 15, 2017 49:43

    Jean Sibelius, born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius (8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957), was a Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely...

  • Robert and Clara: The whirlwind love affair of Robert Alexander Schumann and Clara Josephine Wieck

    English Mar 01, 2017 46:34

    Robert Schumann[1] (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic...

  • Richard Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra

    English Jan 24, 2017 1:08:07

    Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which...

  • Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky: Pulcinella

    English Nov 29, 2016 1:00:12

    Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century. Pulcinella is a ballet by...

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphonies no. 5 & 6

    English Nov 18, 2016 47:50

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian...

  • Wilhelm Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

    English Jun 06, 2016 1:02:49

    Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the...