Classical Archive

Recordings of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach made in the United States of America between January 1, 1950, and December 31, 1959.

American soprano Ailyn Pérez has quickly established herself as one of the most promising lyric sopranos of our time. In 2012, Pérez became the first Hispanic recipient of the Richard Tucker Award, and she has just been announced as the 2016 Beverly Sills Award recipient. Although Pérez has already become a regular guest of almost every major opera company, last season was her first at The Metropolitan Opera, where she received rave reviews as Micaela in Bizet's Carmen.

Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka has become one of the most acclaimed interpreters of the music by Richard Strauss and Wagner. A former ensemble member of the Vienna State Opera, she has been bestowed such honorary titles as Kammersängerin by the Austrian government, as well as an Officer of the Order of Canada. She is currently appearing as Chrysothemis in the late Patrice Chéreau's legendary staging of Elektra at the Metropolitan Opera, a production that she has been a part of since its ecstatic premiere in Aix-en-Provence in 2013.

Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian has caused an international stir since her sudden debut at the Royal Opera House in 2013, when she replaced star soprano Anja Harteros as Elisabetta in Don Carlo. Earning rave reviews, she has quickly established herself as one of the world's premiere lyrico spintos, making major company debuts everywhere from Zurich to Sydney. Ms.

Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni has quickly established himself as one of the greatest Mozart singers of our time. At the Metropolitan Opera, he has become an audience favorite through his performances as Leporello, Figaro, and even the monstrous Caliban in The Enchanted Island. This month, Pisaroni returns to the Metropolitan Opera in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, this time as the lascivious Count Almaviva.

Maria Guleghina has conquered the dramatic soprano repertoire on every international stage for almost three decades. After a three-year absence from the Metropolitan Opera (where she has sung nearly every season since 1991), Ms. Guleghina returned to sing just two performances of Puccini's Tosca. Twelve hours after her first performance, she came to WKCR's studios to speak about her spectacular career.

This interview was conducted on November 7, 2015 by Stepan Atamian.

An exclusive interview with Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan. In recent years, Ms. Hannigan has distinguished herself as one of the most adventurous sopranos of her generation through the 80 world premieres in which she has performed. Her vocal virtuosity and intensity have made her an ideal collaborator for Simon Rattle and composers such as Henri Dutilleux and Magnus Lindberg. She is also a renowned conductor, and, perhaps most impressively, a singing conductor. In August 2015, Ms.

The following composition by K. Scott Warren, Anima Christi, was showcased on Thursday July 30th's Afternoon Classical (The full program playlist can be found here) during an interview with K. Scott Warren conducted by WKCR Programmer Elisabeth Stam. Anima Christi was written by K.

The following composition by K. Scott Warren, Yih'yu l'ratzon, was showcased on Thursday July 30th's Afternoon Classical (The full program playlist can be found here) during an interview with K. Scott Warren conducted by WKCR Programmer Elisabeth Stam. Yih'yu l'ratzon was written by K. Scott Warren for the Choir of Temple Emanu-el.

The following composition by K. Scott Warren, Etz Chayim, was showcased on Thursday July 30th's Afternoon Classical (The full program playlist can be found here) during an interview with K. Scott Warren hosted by WKCR Programmer Elisabeth Stam. Etz Chayim was written by K. Scott Warren for the Choir of Temple Emanu-el and is the last piece featured in the Saturday morning Jewish Torah Service.

Afternoon Classical on Thursday July 30th featured a special live in-studio interview with K. Scott Warren, organist, pianist, conductor, and composer. We explored sacred music, discovered some of Scott’s compositions, and WKCR Programmer Elisabeth Stam spoke with him about it all. The full interview with Scott is available right here! Before Scott joined us in the studio, we heard Rachmaninov's Vespers and Piano Concerto Number 2 as well as Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms.

An exclusive interview with beloved Metropolitan Opera star Lucine Amara. With stunning musicality and remarkable technique, the Armenian-American soprano was a stalwart performer at the Met who sang leading roles ranging from Gluck to Britten (and everything in between) for over 40 years. Even at ninety, Ms. Amara remains active as the Artistic Director of the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera. In this interview, Ms.

An exclusive interview with beloved Metropolitan Opera star Lucine Amara. With stunning musicality and remarkable technique, the Armenian-American soprano was a stalwart performer at the Met who sang leading roles ranging from Gluck to Britten (and everything in between) for over 40 years. Even at ninety, Ms. Amara remains active as the Artistic Director of the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera. In this interview, Ms.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 broadcast on Cereal Music on Thursday, May 29th, 2014 with Pablo Heras-Casado, principal conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke's. He joined WKCR for an interview about his performances on May 31st and June 1st for the New York Philharmonic Biennial, during which he led the Orchestra of St. Luke's in two programs titled Circles of Influence: Boulez and Benjamin.

An exclusive interview with conductor Eve Queler. The founder and emerita Artistic Director of the Opera Orchestra of New York, Eve Queler discusses her extensive career and her upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall on June 5, Donizetti's Roberto Devereux. The interview was conducted at her home on May 29, 2014.

Interview with organist Gail Archer. Having recently released The Muse's Voice, her new CD of female composers' organ music, Archer speaks about the inception of this album and her career as an organist, teacher, and director of the Barnard & Columbia Chorus. Interview conducted by Stepan Atamian

An interview broadcast on Cereal Music on Tuesday, March 18th with two members of the JACK string quartet, violinist Ari Streisfeld and violist John Pickford Richards. The recipient of New Music USA's 2013 Trailblazer Award, the quartet has performed to critical acclaim at venues across the globe, from New York to the Netherlands to Indonesia.

Interview with violinist and composer Mari Kimura. She is a specialist in violin subharmonics — credited with "discovering" and mastering the technique for use in performance — and is a pioneer in interactive computer music. Kimura has completed violin studies at the Toho School, Japan's top conservatory; Boston University; and the Juilliard School, and has studied composition with Mario Davidovsky at Columbia University.

An interview broadcast on Cereal Music on Monday, March 17th with Jeffrey Milarsky, one of the leading conductors of contemporary music in New York City. He is conductor and senior lecturer at Columbia University and conductor of contemporary music ensembles at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music. He has conducted ensembles across the globe to critical acclaim, as well as being a well-established timpanist and percussionist with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

An exclusive interview with conductor Alain Altinoglu. A young conductor famous already for his interpretations of French opera, Altinoglu speaks about French style and conducting at the greatest opera houses in the world. This interview was conducted on February 10, 2014 at the Metropolitan Opera following a rehearsal for a new production of Werther, which Altinoglu is leading.