Sunday Matinee

Classical music is still very much alive in our community. Tune in to 91.1 WSHU-FM (central Long Island and Connecticut) or 89.9 WSUF-FM (on the eastern end of Long Island, where very week David Bouchier puts a different spin on the great era of music from baroque to classical, and romantic to modern. Enjoy anecdotes about the great composers, poetry, musical history, and even musical jokes. Sunday Matinee may explore the hidden links between music and literature, composers’ letters, music for a special season of the year, or music designed to make you think. Whatever the theme, Sunday Matinee gives classical music a new dimension on Sunday afternoons, and you can hear it anywhere in the world from our live stream at www.wshu.org

All through the week you can hear more great music on 91.1 WSHU-FM. For details and play lists please go to our web page at www.wshu.org – look for “music” on the navigation bar.

Sunday, January 31, 2010 – Musical Horoscopes:

Sunday Matinée will take off into the realms of astrology with a program of Musical Horoscopes. David Bouchier will lead you on a tour around the Zodiac with the great composers. Mozart was an Aquarian, like David. But Mozart’s rival Salieri was a Leo, like Count Basie. What does it all mean? To find out, tune in to “Musical Horoscopes” on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque on WSHU and streamed live in the web at wshu.org

Sunday, February 7, 2010 – Classical Music in Classic Movies

Just about every well-known piece of classical music has been used by a movie director, and often by several. Mozart’s music turns up in movies as diverse as “Alien,” “JFK,” “Out of Africa,” and “Fame,” not to Mention “Amadeus.” Beethoven provides musical background for “Death in Venice,” “Howard’s End,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” and many more. Join David for ‘Classics of the Silver Screen’ on Sunday Matinee, from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, February 14, 2010 – Music for your Valentine

Join David for a celebration of romance on Valentine’s Day – a whole afternoon of music for lovers and dreamers – Beethoven, Bizet, Ravel, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and many more, plus romantic poetry by Shakespeare, Byron, and Coleridge.It’s on Sunday Matinee, from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, February 21, 2010 – Music of My Country

This week on Sunday Matinée David Bouchier will look at how national pride has been expressed through music. Different cultures have always produced their own distinctive music, and in the 19th century composers like Chopin began to weave folk and traditional themes into their concert works. Patriots like Smetana, Mussorgsky, Grieg, Sibelius, and Aaron Copland created a whole new genre of nationalistic music, and that’s the theme of Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, February 28, 2010 – Musical Inventions

Musical instruments, like other human tools, have been invented and re-invented over the centuries. This week on Sunday Matinee you can hear the instruments of the orchestra as they were and as they are – historic harpsichords and baroque flutes alongside the highly developed modern versions of the same instruments – and you’ll hear some marvelous music along the way. Join David Bouchier for “Musical Inventions” on Sunday Matinee from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Monuments and Miniatures

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is a grand piece of music that lasts for about seventy minutes. His Bagatelle Op. 19 No. 10 is just nine seconds long. Mahler composed a symphony for a thousand performers, but Chopin wrote most of his music for just one pair of hands. Large or small, it’s all great music and you can enjoy the contrasts along with a special anniversary tribute to Maurice Ravel, on Sunday Matinee with David Bouchier. from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, March 14, 2010 – Words into Music

This week on Sunday Matinée David Bouchier brings you a program about music and literature that explores the curious alchemy of words and music. Shakespeare, Pushkin, Voltaire and Alfred Lord Tennyson will all put in appearance, to show how often and in so many different ways composers have been inspired by the written word. That’s from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, March 21, 2010 – The Music of Springtime

This week Spring will officially arrive at last. It’s the best, most optimistic season of the year, when everything begins afresh, and anything seems possible. Join David Bouchier this afternoon for a whole program of joyful springtime classics – from Beethoven to Aaron Copland – and some seasonal poetry too. That’s from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, March 28, 2010 – Love Lives of the Great Composers

Spring is the season for romance . Many composers were romantically inclined, and had complicated love lives. Berlioz turned his grand passion into a unique symphony. Beethoven was often in love, but was never much loved in return. Franz Liszt was adored by just about every woman he met. Join David Bouchier for the stories and the music in a program called “Love Lives of the Great Composers” on Sunday Matinee, from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, April 4, 2010 – Heroes and Villains

This week Sunday Matinée celebrates the good guys and the bad guys, with a program called ‘Heroes and Villains.’ If you want to be immortalized in music it doesn’t pay to be ordinary. Think of Don Giovanni for example, or Robin Hood, or Spartacus, or William Tell. To catch the attention of a great composer, you must be something of an historical celebrity – good or bad, it doesn’t matter. Join David Bouchier, for ‘Heroes and Villains,’ from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, April 11, 2010 – Music with a Message

Music that paints a picture, or tells a story. We’ll hear the dramatic Symphonie Fantastique of Hector Berlioz, which evokes the dream of a doomed love affair, tales from the Arabian Nights captured in Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and a dozen more allegories in music including musical portraits of London and Scotland. Join David Bouchier for “Music with a Message,” from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, April 18, 2010 – Music for Earth Day

Earth Day falls in the coming week – on April 22nd. Earth Day was established forty years ago to help us to appreciate, to give thanks for and to preserve the world we live on. So this week on Sunday Matinée we have a celebration of the earth in music – the land, the rivers, the sea and the sky – themes that have inspired composers for hundreds of years, including Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony, John Rutter’s hymn to the beauty of the earth, some sea songs from Ralph Vaughan Williams and much more. Join David Bouchier for “Music for Earth Day,” from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, April 25, 2010 – Sounds Unfamiliar

This week on Sunday Matinée David Bouchier will introduce some music that doesn’t appear in the classical top one hundred list, but probably should. We’ll hear the beautifully crafted “Grand Symphony” of Carl Czerny, the trio for piano, oboe and bassoon of Francis Poulenc and many other unusual pieces that may soon be added to your list of favorites. That’s “Sounds Unfamiliar” on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, May 2, 2010: Music and Matrimony

It’s wedding season, which sets the stage for a program about Musical Marriages. Mendelssohn was delighted with his marriage, but Berlioz was not. Bach, Wagner and Rossini were all married twice. Beethoven, of course, stayed single all his life, so we won’t be hearing from him. Hear the happy and sad stories of great composers and their marriages, plus some great music, on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, May 9 2010: Listen to Your Mother

On Mother’s Day Sunday Matinée puts musical mothers in the spotlight. Many composers were very much influenced by their mothers, who were often also their first music teachers – Bizet, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky, to name only three. Join David Bouchier, for a program called “Listen to Your Mother,” on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, May 16, 2010: Music Fit for a King

George the first of England scarcely spoke a word of English, but his patronage made Haydn the most famous musician in the land. Every composer in those days needed a patron – preferably a royal patron – and this afternoon on Sunday Matinee we’ll hear the music written for (and sometimes by) European royalty from the seventeenth century to the twentieth. Join David Bouchier, for “Music Fit for a King” on Sunday Matinee from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque,streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, May 23, 2010: A Musical Grand Tour of Europe

The Grand Tour of Europe was the way that a wealthy young man in the 19th century, like Felix Mendelssohn, would complete his education and learn about the world. He might spend two or three years touring in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Greece and even England — the kind of vacation that most of us can only dream about. Join David Bouchier for the European Grand Tour in Music on Sunday Matinee. from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque,streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, May 30, 2010: Musical Memorials and Dedications

For Memorial Day weekend David Bouchier has a program of musical memorials and dedications. The obscure sixteenth century Flemish statesman, the Count of Egmont, has a memorial more durable than anything in stone: Beethoven’s Egmont Overture. Hear the fascinating stories of individuals and historical events immortalized in music, in a program called “Musical Memorials” on Sunday Matinee. from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque,streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday June 6, 2010: The Music of London

David Bouchier returns to the theme of musical cities with a program about London. From Purcell to Elgar, London has been a musical center for more than four hundred years. Everybody who is anybody in music comes to London sooner or later, and we’ll hear their music and their stories throughout the afternoon, on Sunday Matinee. from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque,streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday Matinée June 13, 2010: Venice and Vienna

In Antonio Vivaldi’s time Venice was the centre of musical life in Europe. But, fifty years later, Vienna was the place to be. When young Mozart arrived there in 1781 he wrote to his father that Vienna was “The best place in the world for my profession.” This week on Sunday Matinée David Bouchier returns to the heart of Europe for a program about the inexhaustible musical heritage of Venice and Vienna. That’s from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque,streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday June 20, 2010: Fathers, Sons, and Daughters

Sunday Matinée will celebrate Father’s Day this week. Music was and is often a family affair – think of the Bach family, the Mozarts, or the Haydns Yet these were not always model families by modern standards. Many of the great composers had unusual and eccentric fathers, and were often very strange fathers themselves. Join David Bouchier to hear their stories and their music on a program called “Fathers, Sons, and Daughters” on Sunday Matinee from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday June 27, 2010: The Musical Cities of Germany

This Sunday David Bouchier will introduce another program in his occasional “Musical Cities” series. This time it’s the richest theme of them all – the Musical Cities of Germany. So you can expect to hear a lot of grand music and some fascinating stories about musical life in Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Weimar, Mannheim, Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin – cities that were and are at the heart of European musical history. That’s on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, July 4, 2010: Europe Comes to America

On this July 4th, David Bouchier offers a transatlantic tribute to the European musicians who brought their genius to America. Many great conductors, composers and performers came to visit or to settle in the New World, including Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff. Hear their music and their stories in a program called “Europe Comes to America.” That’s on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, July 11, 2010: Composers on Vacation

Most of us like to leave work behind when we go on vacation, but when Beethoven took a holiday in Heiligenstadt in 1802, he composed his cheerful Symphony No. 2. Camille Saint-Saens conceived his popular Piano Concerto No. 5 on a trip down the Nile in Egypt. Many of the great composers did their best work on vacation, and you can hear what inspired them, and listen to the music they created. That’s on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, July 18, 2010: Musical Cities – Paris

Paris has an extraordinary cultural history – in fact it’s virtually the story of western music summed up in a single city – from Pérotin in the 12th century to Poulenc in the 20th. Enjoy a musical trip to Paris on Sunday Matinee from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, July 25, 2010: Musical Cities – Moscow and Saint Petersburg

Three hundred years ago Peter the Great, ruler of Russia, declared that his nation needed more and better music. His policy succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, and the rival cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg produced such great composers as Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Mussorgsky and Stravinsky. Hear the stories and the music of Moscow and St. Petersburg this week on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, August 1, 2010: Musical Cities – Prague

This week we have a new program in the “Musical Cities” series. This time his destination is the beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic, or what used to be called Bohemia. This apparently rather obscure corner of Europe has an extraordinary musical history – and indeed an extraordinary history in general. Prague has a long tradition of musical education, and it has been and still is a source of internationally famous performers and fine composers. Hear the stories and the music of Moscow and St. Petersburg this week on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org

Sunday, August 8, 2010: Musical Cities – New York

Sunday Matinée’s “Musical Cities” concludes this afternoon with a program about New York. Composers and performers from around the world have been drawn to New York by its rich musical culture. Tchaikovsky came in 1891 and was astonished by the tall buildings. Gustav Mahler arrived in 1907, and had a difficult time with orchestras and audiences. George Gershwin and Aaron Copeland were native New Yorkers. Join David Bouchier for The Music of New York on Sunday Matinée from 1 till 6, right after Sunday Baroque, streamed live on the web at www.wshu,org