Happy birthday to Edvard Grieg, Norway's favorite troll!
Tue, 06/05/2012 - 1:00pm | Dr. PaulEdvard Grieg, no more than 5 feet tall and rarely weighing more than 100 pounds, was a cultural giant of Norway. His birthday was June 15, 1843. He is the composer of the still-popular Piano Concerto in a minor, and of numerous pieces of nationalistic significance for his native country. Today's show features some incidental music, the "Peer Gynt Suite #1" that includes the lyrical "Morning Mood," and the rollicking "In the Hall of the Mountain King." The curtain is raised on today's show with an overture by that all-time master of overtures, Rossini. Included today are Beethoven's tour de force for piano, orchestra, and chorus that foreshadows his "Ode to Joy." For cello fans, included is a concerto by Vivaldi; for guitar lovers, we have solo works by Tarrega and a quintet by Boccherini. Aram Khatchaturian, and Monteverdi also make an appearance today. We conclude with Lalo's "Symphonie Espanole".
Yes, today's show starts with pieces by two Czech composers: Dvorak's Carnaval Overture, and Smetana's ever-popular tone poem about his country's river, "The Moldau," pictured as it wends its way through a Czech city. Included are some standard wonders of classical music: Guitar concertos by Guiliani and Vivaldi, Mozart's regal Coronation Concerto for piano, Khachaturian's well-known concert Waltz from Masquerade, as well as lovely arias by Bellini and Tosti. Included are some miniature piano solos played by Van Cliburn: Liebestraum, Minute Waltz, and Fur Elise. Jump on board and float with Dr. Paul through Europe's musical countryside. Photo by Patrick-Emil Zorner
After today's spectacular overture by Franz Von Suppe, you will hear Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"! Valkyries are Norse goddesses that collect the slain Norse warriors from the field of battle and carry them off to Valhalla, home of Odin and the other Norse gods. Hear their blood-curdling cry of "Hotohoyo!" as they sweep the battlefield in search of the dead. In honor of upcoming weddings, Dr. Paul plays Wagner's Wedding Chorus. Listen and relive your own wedding, or imagine your future. The second hour is dominated by the monumental Piano Concerto #1 by Tchaikovsky, whose concluding movement is like an out-of-control, onrushing train.
Yes, today Dr. Paul features music that showcases a wide variety of instruments.
Yes, Dr. Paul's wife, Erin, asked him to play "Something Russian." And so, Dr. Paul obliged by airing the entire piano trio in a minor by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, subtitled "In memory of the great artist." This elegaic piece was written to honor the memory of the recently deceased Anton Rubinstein, one of Tchaikovsky's mentors. You'll find it at the top of the second hour. It is beautiful, sweeping, and very Russian, like the onion-domed cathedral shown here. To start the show there is the usual overture, this time by Beethoven, then the "Archduke" piano trio, also by Beethoven. This trio was written for the son of the emperor of Austria (the archduke), who was a student and close friend of the composer. The first hour closes with a tone poem by Aaron Copland.
In the second half of today's show, we have Papageno the birdman (pictured here from a production of The Magic Flute), singing about how he's a bird catcher, and would like to catch himself a bird-wife. Papageno is one of Mozart's most endearing and enduring operatic characters. Follow 
Franz Von Suppe's stirring overture to "Pique Dame" ("Queen of Spades") raises the curtain on today's show with a bang. Beethoven's "Spring" sonata for piano and violin follows with quiet, playful beauty as in the 1884 painting "Der Fruhling" ("The Spring") by Hans Makart pictured here. Also on tap is a violin concerto by Alessandro Rolla, a contemporary of Mozart and an acquaintance of Paganini and Verdi. You will also enjoy a playful duet by Mozart from The Magic Flute, a classic Italian baroque cello concerto by Vivaldi, and a 20th century symphony by Prokofiev. In the mix are also some guitar solos played by the incomparable John Williams.