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Classical News

05/18 Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dies
05/14 Ars Nova/BBCNOW - Review
05/07 The Met’s 45-Ton Diva
05/03 Vale of Glamorgan festival
04/27 Ready for My Close-Up, Mr. Puccini
04/23 Cellist David Finckel Joins Faculty of The Juilliard
04/20 Alan Hacker dies
04/16 Did Humans Invent Music?
04/12 World-Class Contenders
04/06 The Maestro’s Mojo
04/01 Unleashing Playful Music
03/28 Famed mezzo-soprano might rethink career
03/26 Shostakovich's Seventh - Review
03/22 Florian Boesch - Malcolm Martineau
03/21 Bach Bits
03/14 A chance audition launches career!
03/09 St Thomas Choir, Leipzig
03/03 William Byrd - the power of song
02/29 WCPE Worldwide!
02/28 Rusalka greeted with boos
02/24 Aida – Royal Albert Hall
02/19 NYP/Alan Gilbert – review
02/12 Aged Hands Teem With Creativity
02/11 Schubert is needed
02/09 Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette
02/04 Singing Strings
01/31 Così Fan Tutte
01/27 Nicholas Daniel to receive Queen’s Medal
01/20 Violin Masters on Parade
01/17 Gustav Leonhardt
01/14 Decoding Strauss
01/11 Carnegie Hall to Establish National Youth Orchestra
01/06 NYO - Daniel
01/03 Stradivarius v modern violins

WCPE Home Page

WCPE's 'Preview!'
Sunday, May 20, 2012; 6-9 p.m., ET

This Sunday on Preview we’ll feature Part 2 of The Peacemakers, a new work by Karl Jenkins, one of the world's most performed living composers. The Peacemakers features texts from some of the greatest peacemakers in history, including Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, The Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela. The composer conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in this epic performance.

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Also on the playlist is a world premiere recording of Rick Sowash's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, guitarist Xuefei Yang with music of Bach, and a work called City of Gold written by Tony Banks (best known the keyboardist and a founding member of the rock group Genesis).

Plus, we’ll feature Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, performed by the brilliant 24-year-old Korean pianist HJ Lim. Lim signed an exclusive contract with EMI Classics in September 2011 and, for her first project, has recorded an ambitious traversal of the Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas.

Join us every Sunday night at 6 pm eastern time for the best in new classical recordings on WCPE’s Preview!

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the country of poland during the second world war was the scene of some of the most horrific crimes against humanity. geographic names immediately bring to mind the horror that the people who were forced into ghettoes and extermination camps suffered: auschwitz-birkenau, treblinka, warsaw ghetto and katyn forest, to name only a few. the month of may marks two anniversaries: the 72^nd anniversary of the massacre of polish intelligentsia and officers in katyn forest by the soviet union army in 1940 and the 67^th anniversary of victory in europe by the allied forces, thereby freeing those held in death camps and concentration camps.

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nancy van de vate’s katyn begins wavelengths, recalling through music the 25,000+ people of the polish officer corp and intelligentsia --- and anyone else thought to be a threat to the soviet union, --- that were systematically murdered by the soviet secret police (nkvd) in late april and may, 1940. katyn forest was one of at least three places where the killings took place and the bodies dumped in mass graves after being shot in the back of the head. the composition katyn begins with a viola and clarinet playing a polish folk tune, before orchestral sounds enter abruptly, then being joined by choral music of folk tunes, gregorian chant and a renaissance motet. Occasionally, sharp percussive sounds break in, sounding like a gun being fired. While the composition is not trying to musically portray the exact events that happened, it does look at the universality of the feelings about them.

the second composition is the 3^rd movement of henryk gorecki’s symphony no. 3, symphony of sorrowful songs. the movement is about a mother’s love for a son who is missing. the poem begins:

where has he gone,

my dearest son?

killed by the harsh enemy, perhaps? …

gorecki was moved to write the symphony after visiting a former gestapo prison on which inmates had scrawled on the walls of their cells their innocence and hoping someone would save them.

arnold schoenberg wrote an intensely moving cantata titled a survivor of warsaw, which he wrote not long after the second world war ended. the composition is a first-person account of a survivor of the liquidation of the jewish inhabitants of the warsaw ghetto. the narrator of the cantata had been left for dead by the nazis, but he managed to escape through the sewers of warsaw. the text was written by Schoenberg, based on a terrifying report from the survivor. throughtout the work - sung hebrew contrasts with spoken english and brutal nazi commands. In the midst of the confusion in the ghetto comes the sound of shema yisroel (hear, o israel…).

the concluding work, krakow concerto, by nancy van de vate was written for a large orchestra and virtuoso percussion ensemble. it was written for the polish radio and tv symphony orchestra of krakow and dedicated to the victims of war and its survivors. the first, third and fifth movements use full orchestra and percussion, while the second and fourth movements are for percussion ensemble only. On several occasions during the piece, one hears the sounds of a muted trumpet (which opens the work), each time interrupted by war and the determination of the people of poland to survive and gain their freedom.

WARNING: the links below will take you to another page on wcpe’s website that contain photographs that some listeners may find too graphic or objectionable. viewer discretion is advised. the photographs are images of polish citizens and soldiers killed in katyn forest during the second world war by the soviet army in late april and may, 1940 – photographs of the warsaw ghetto in which jews were forced to live prior to their deportation to one of the death camps run by the nazis – and photographs of auschwitz. why post these photographs? so that we never forget!

Click here to see photographs related to the wavelengths works to be presented Sunday night.

wavelengths airs each sunday evening at 9 pm et featuring modern composers – the musical voices of our generation.

Questions? Comments? Please write to us here:

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Thank you for supporting WCPE 89.7 FM! The Classical Station is 1 of 4 finalists in the Independent Weekly Best Non-Profit Radio Station Category this year!

WCPE's 'Preview!'

Click here to listen to Tara Lynn's Preview Interview with Canadian composer Stephen Chatman who comes to Chapel Hill for US premieres of his works by Voices and Cantari. Be sure to listen for details on Voices' performance on Saturday, May 19th at Memorial Hall.

Reflecting on a Legacy

Thanks To You!

This year WCPE enters its 34th year in broadcasting- that's something special for any public radio station, especially a classical music station!
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At first, we only broadcast during afternoon and evening hours; then we gradually filled out to the weekend and weekday hours. Four years later, because of your help, we were able to bring you Great Classical Music, 24 hours a day.

WCPE continues in our mission to broadcast classical music and educate our listeners in a fun and entertaining manner. Today, we still strive to improve the quality and diversity of your programming, to increase the knowledge of our staff, and to manage our resources efficiently. Think of how far we've come over the last 33 years! Now, remember that WCPE counts on your financial contributions to continually improve your listening experience.

You can mail a gift to PO Box 897 Wake Forest NC, 27588 or call (919) 556.5178 or (800) 556.5178. Ask about becoming a Sustaining Member and show your support for our mission... in all seasons!

Questions? Comments? Please write to us here:

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Born This Week

14 Monday
Otto Klemperer 1885
Alan Marks 1949

15 Tuesday
Claudio Monteverdi 1567
Michael William Balfe 1808
Lars-Erik Larsson 1908

16 Wednesday
Andrew Litton 1959

17 Thursday
Erik Satie 1866
Sándor Végh 1912
Dennis Brain 1921
Paul Crossley 1944

18 Friday
Karl Goldmark 1830
Clifford Curzon 1907

19 Saturday
U.S. Armed Forces Day

May WCPE CD of the Month at Quail Ridge Books & Music

Click here to Enter the CD of the Month contest!

Philippe Quint - Bruch & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

“Quint's rendering of the Bruch and Mendelssohn concertos is pure and vibrant. The addition of the two Beethoven Romances makes this CD irresistable.”

— Paul Jordan, WCPE's Preview!

Online playlists
"What was that beautiful piece of music??" Find out now by browsing through a week's worth of playlists!

Meet the Announcer
Ever wonder what your favorite voice looks like? See photos and read brief biographies of WCPE's announcers!

"Quarter Notes"
WCPE's Member Magazine
Published quarterly, this magazine and listener guide offers featured works and program highlights for the WCPE season to come, plus station news, reviews, interviews and other articles designed to enhance your classical music journey.

Quarter Notes is sent to WCPE members in print version, and members may also choose to view this website's "green" online version. To become a WCPE member (your gift is tax-deductible!) and receive a year's subscription to Quarter Notes, click here.

Donate your car to WCPE!
If your automobile (truck, boat, motorcycle, RV, or aircraft) is no longer of use to you, it can still go a long way as a donation in support of the Great Classical Music you rely on from WCPE. Learn how!

Tell us how you feel about WCPE!
Record your message on the WCPE Listener Comment Line. Please phone (919) 570-0204 and tell us what WCPE means to you.

Volunteer!
Find out more about a fun way to support your home for Great Classical Music.

Live Metropolitan Opera Saturday radio broadcasts can be heard on this website. To see the Metropolitan Opera schedule click here.