An interview with Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka. Celebrated for her performances in Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne Auf Naxos, and Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Ms. Pieczonka discusses her experience with the Strauss repertoire, singing in the legendary Patrice Chereau staging of Elektra, and keeping the voice healthy. This interview was conducted by Stepan Atamian on June 2, 2014 and broadcast during our Richard Strauss birthday broadcast from June 11-12.
An interview with Simon Wynberg, the Artistic Director of the ARC Ensemble. Founded in 2002, the ARC Ensemble is dedicated to reviving the works of composers forgotten during periods of political upheaval. The group is in New York to perform chamber works of Mieczyslaw Weinberg before the Lincoln Center Festival and Houston Grand Opera's presentation of The Passenger at the Park Avenue Armory. This interview was conducted on July 9, 2014.
A WKCR-exclusive interview with the young soprano Amanda Majeski. Having just made her debut as Countess Almaviva in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Le Nozze di Figaro, the 29-year-old American singer discusses singing the Met's Opening Night, as well as a career as a young artist in Chicago and Europe. Stepan Atamian conducted this interview on September 30 at WKCR.
An exclusive interview with mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina. For over twenty-five years, Ms. Borodina has given near definitive interpretations of roles by Saint-Saens, Berlioz, and Mussorgsky on every major stage from Tokyo to San Francisco. In this interview, Ms. Borodina discusses her current role of Amneris, technique, and what motivates her to keep singing.
This interview was conducted at Ms. Borodina's home on November 1, 2014. Nina Manoukian served as Ms. Borodina's translator.
An exclusive interview with Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni. The young singer is particularly renown for his performances in Classical and Baroque works from Argante in Rinaldo to Mozart's Leporello and Figaro. He is also acclaimed for his work in the German repertoire, particularly as Jesus in Bach's Passions and in Schubert Lieder. In this interview for our 2014 Bach Festival, Mr. Pisaroni discusses how Bach fits into his career, as a performer of both concert and opera repertoire. This interview was conducted by Stepan Atamian at WKCR on December 22, 2014.
An exclusive interview with legendary countertenor Russell Oberlin. One of the most prominent members of the New York Pro Musica, Oberlin has broken barriers for his voice type through major collaborations with musicians like Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, and Glenn Gould. In this interview produced for Bach Festival 2014, Mr. Oberlin discusses his experience singing Bach, from the Evangelist to recording Cantata 54 for television.
This interview was conducted by Stepan Atamian at Mr. Oberlin's home on December 21, 2014.
An exclusive interview with legendary countertenor Russell Oberlin. One of the most prominent members of the New York Pro Musica, Oberlin has broken barriers for his voice type through major collaborations with musicians like Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, and Glenn Gould. In this interview produced for Bach Festival 2014, Mr. Oberlin discusses his experience singing Bach, from the Evangelist to recording Cantata 54 for television.
This interview was conducted by Stepan Atamian at Mr. Oberlin's home on December 21, 2014.
December of 2014 saw the North American premiere of Petr Kotik's first opera, Master-Pieces. Founder of the S.E.M Ensemble, the Czech composer speaks with director Michael Rau about his first foray into composing for the stage, his thoughs on drama, and his fascination with Gertrude Stein's texts. Stepan Atamian conducted this interview on December 7, 2014 at WKCR.
An interview with Barnard Music department director Gail Archer. An acclaimed organist, Gail Archer discusses her work as an organist, championing female composers, and her upcoming appearance leading the Barnard-Columbia Chorus in the St. Matthew Passion on April 24 at the Church of the Ascension.
The day after Jon Vickers's death was announced, WKCR held a 24-hour memorial broadcast to commmemorate the Canadian tenor's extraordinary contributions to classical music and especially opera. The program was to conclude with his live 1983 recording of Franz Schubert's Winterreise with the gifted pianist Peter Schaaf accompanying him. Shortly before we played this recording, Mr. Schaaf called the studio and graciously agreed to be interviewed and to introduce this particular recording.
Sun Ra visits WKCR! Is he eating ice cream? Yogurt? Who knows?
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