Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier study The Four Temperaments, the second symphony by Carl Nielsen. The hosts find this Danish composer a little enigmatic and difficult to reach. They explore the world around him at the time o

Mozart and Religion

Jan 22nd, 2020 57m 15s

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss the role of religion in Mozart’s life and music. This in depth conversation focuses on Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and its beautiful celebration of universality that lead the way towards

Edvard Grieg

Nov 6th, 2019 1h 1m

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer describe the music of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt, his A minor Piano Concerto, and his C minor Symphony. His music, his melodies and his small works for piano are simply perfect. Can you believe

Béla Bartók and Witold Lutosławski

Sep 26th, 2019 55m 33s

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer talk about two Concertos for orchestra: one by Béla Bartók and the other by Witold Lutosławski. They take a moment to explain the format of a concerto for orchestra (what do you mean, a concer

Verdi’s Requiem

Sep 3rd, 2019 56m 12s

Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier discuss Verdi’s Requiem, first performed in Milan in 1874. The text for this was written in about 1250, when a requiem was meant to be music to sustain the mass of the death. Our hosts uncover

Le Nozze di Figaro

Jun 25th, 2019 49m 35s

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer discuss Mozart’s beloved opera Le Nozze di Figaro, touching on its history, uniqueness and sheer brilliance.

Claude Vivier

Apr 2nd, 2019 48m 14s

Claude Vivier

Apr 2nd, 2019 48m 14s

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss the masterful Claude Vivier, composer from Québec. His music, which can be characterized as “beautiful, immense, tragic, inspiring,” is celebrated and heard regularly in France, German

Brahms’ and Schumann’s first symphonies

Jan 30th, 2019 38m 34s

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean Jacques van Vlasselaer compare Brahms’ and Schumann’s first symphonies. They explore the relationships between the two composers and Clara Wieck. Schumann was alive in an extraordinary and explosive decade, Clara wa

Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem

Oct 19th, 2018 49m 33s

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer discuss Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. How much do you know about Benjamin Britten? There is fury in this composition. Where does it come from?Pacifism started in the 20th century, and Bri

Schubert's Ninth Symphony

Sep 27th, 2018 46m 4s

John Storgårds will conduct the NAC Orchestra on October 10 and 11, 2018, in their performance of Schubert’s ninth and final symphony.Marjolaine Fournier, NACO double bassist, and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer, musicologist, explore this work

You don’t have to be a music-lover to love Beethoven

Sep 13th, 2018 42m 36s

Marjolaine Fournier and Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer prepare us for the Festival Focus 2018 featuring all nine Beethoven symphonies. Did he really invent the boogie-woogie?Beethoven offered so much variety within his symphonies, and as a genius

Anton Bruckner’s eighth symphony with the TSO

Apr 13th, 2018 40m 6s

Bruckner scholars seem to focus on psychoanalysis rather than closing their eyes and listening to the music. To listen to Anton Bruckner’s eighth symphony is to listen to the summit of his music. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra performs this wor

Kaija Saariaho, Violin Concerto Graal théâtre

Mar 22nd, 2018 56m 52s

Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about Saariaho’s violin concerto which was featured as part of the 2017 Ideas of North festival produced by the NAC Orchestra. Saariaho is seen as a wonderful and intriguing contemporary

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

Feb 16th, 2018 51m 22s

This work opens many doors to wonderful and exciting musical study. It is a fine example of Orientalism and our perception of “the other”. Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about who Rimsky-Korsakov was, his 19th-century

Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor Op 77

Dec 23rd, 2017 1h 14m

Your hosts Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier talk about Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77, which will be performed by Guy Braunstein with the NAC Orchestra in January 2018. This work in four movements is

Sibelius’ Symphonic Poems

Oct 27th, 2017 57m 52s

Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer and Marjolaine Fournier present part two of their 2017-2018 podcasts on Sibelius. In this episode, hear them trace the trajectory of Sibelius’ six symphonic poems, all performed by the NAC Orchestra during the 2017 I

Jean Sibelius' First Symphony

Sep 29th, 2017 1h

Jean Sibelius , born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, was a Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as his country's greatest composer and, through his music, is often credited with

Harry Somers - Louis Riel

Jun 2nd, 2017 49m 50s

The story of the polarizing Métis leader and Canada’s westward expansion is told in this landmark work. Composed by Harry Somers for our nation’s centennial in 1967, this uniquely Canadian contribution to the opera world is returning on the wor

Sibelius' Majestic 2nd and 6th Symphonies

Mar 15th, 2017 49m 43s

Jean Sibelius, born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius (8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957), was a Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as his country's greatest composer and, throu

Robert and Clara: The whirlwind love affair of Robert Alexander Schumann and Clara Josephine Wieck

Mar 1st, 2017 46m 34s

Robert Schumann[1] (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a vi

Richard Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra

Jan 24th, 2017 1h 8m

Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra, Die Frau ohne Schatten and Salome; his Liede

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky: Pulcinella

Nov 29th, 2016 1h

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.Pulcinella is a ballet by Igor Stravinsky based on an 18th-century pla

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphonies no. 5 & 6

Nov 18th, 2016 47m 50s

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression international

Wilhelm Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Jun 6th, 2016 1h 2m

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially es