Explore the Symphony

Canada's National Arts Centre

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

07-03-2020

Carl Nielsen’s De fire Temperamenter

Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier study The Four Temperaments, the second symphony by Carl Nielsen. The hosts find this Danish composer a little enigmatic and difficult to reach. They explore the world around him at the time of this composition, and talk about his music in that context. Find out how he lived his life, allowed his wife to pursue a career, and gave orchestral musicians a little something to talk about. Music Excerpts: NIELSON Symphony No. 2 The Four Temperaments II. Allegro comodo e flammatico Danish National Radio Symphony Nielsen: Commotio, Op. 58, FS 155 Organ Recital: John, Keith

51 min.
22-01-2020

Mozart and Religion

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss the role of religion in Mozart’s life and music. This in depth conversation focuses on Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and its beautiful celebration of universality that lead the way towards 18th-century romanticism.

57 min.
06-11-2019

Edvard Grieg

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer describe the music of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt, his A minor Piano Concerto, and his C minor Symphony. His music, his melodies and his small works for piano are simply perfect. Can you believe that his symphony, composed in 1864 when Grieg was only 21, was played in 1981 for the first time? Listen to this podcast to learn more about why his Piano Concerto is his greatest work, and what influenced his composition style.

1 u 1 m
26-09-2019

Béla Bartók and Witold Lutosławski

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer talk about two Concertos for orchestra: one by Béla Bartók and the other by Witold Lutosławski. They take a moment to explain the format of a concerto for orchestra (what do you mean, a concerto without a soloist?), and the dialog that develops within the orchestra performing it. Bartók and Lutosławski, who lived concurrently but in different contexts, composed two completely different and marvellous works.

56 min.
03-09-2019

Verdi’s Requiem

Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier discuss Verdi’s Requiem, first performed in Milan in 1874. The text for this was written in about 1250, when a requiem was meant to be music to sustain the mass of the death. Our hosts uncover some history about the evolution of requiem works and their cultural significance, and shed light on Verdi’s atheist and anti-clerical views had a role in taking the requiem into the concert hall.

56 min.
02-04-2019

Claude Vivier

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss the masterful Claude Vivier, composer from Québec. His music, which can be characterized as “beautiful, immense, tragic, inspiring,” is celebrated and heard regularly in France, Germany, Holland and Austria. Lonely Child will be featured during the NAC Orchestra’s tour in Europe in May 2019.

48 min.
30-01-2019

Brahms’ and Schumann’s first symphonies

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean Jacques van Vlasselaer compare Brahms’ and Schumann’s first symphonies. They explore the relationships between the two composers and Clara Wieck. Schumann was alive in an extraordinary and explosive decade, Clara was nine years younger and a remarkable pianist, and Brahms, a generation apart, grew up in an entirely different environment. How was their first encounter? How do the two masterworks compare? The NAC Orchestra will perform Schumann’s first symphony on February 13 and 14, 2019, and Brahms’ first on May 1 and 2, 2019. Join them in this wild goose chase!

39 min.
19-10-2018

Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. How much do you know about Benjamin Britten? There is fury in this composition. Where does it come from? Pacifism started in the 20th century, and Britten is a member of this movement. War is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable for him. So what is this Requiem about? Find out in this newest instalment of the Explore the Symphony podcast. The NAC Orchestra will perform this work on Friday November 9, 2018, in a side-by-side concert with the Bundesjugendorchester (the German Youth Orchestra) and local choirs in Southam Hall.

50 min.

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