Peter Whorf

Join us at the East Lansing Art Festival tomorrow as Current State broadcasts live from in front of City Hall from 11a-1p. 90.5FM will be there live with music, interviews and arts coverage all day...

Hector Berlioz's monumental Symphonie Fantastique dominates our 23rd edition of the show - Kevin Noe conducts a November 2012 performance from the Wharton Center.  Also, more of Pavel Kolesnikov's new release of his performances fom the 2012 Honens International Piano Competition....and the Moscow Quartet with Beethoven.

Berlioz/Symphonie Fantastique/MSU Sym, Noe/MSU recording

Beethoven/String Qt No.11/Moscow Quartet/Finer Arts

Beethoven/Piano Sonata #14 "Moonlight"/Kolesnikov/Honens

Telemann/Sonata in A minor/Field and Franz Duo/Yellow Tail

We venture outside of Mid-Michigan for much of this edition.  First, NYC-based pianist Steven Masi plays Beethoven's 15th Sonata - Steven is recording the complete piano sonatas.  We'll also have Beethoven's early Quartet op18.#6 from the Quartet of Cremona.  These fellas are also recording a Beethoven complete cycle.  From home, the MSU Symphony and Kevin Noe play Debussy's La Mer, and we fill out What's New with Corelli and Krommer....

Beethoven/Piano Son #15/Masi/Concezio Prod.

Corelli/Sonata #3 in C/Trio Corelli/Bridge

Al Martin and the Current Sports crew has been preparing for the debut week of Mid-Michigan's newest daily sports talk show...starting Monday, May 13 at 1pm on 870AM.  Al will also be a special guest and regular sports contributor for the daily news/arts radio magazine, Current State.  Be sure to tune in to 870AM next week for special guests including a few Spartan legends, Fox Sports Southwest executive and MSU grad Jeff Genthner...and a special familiar friend to kick of Al's premiere!

Come see Current State's Mark Bashore and Emanuele Berry at our City Hall location during this year's East Lansing Art Festival on May 18th.  Watch Mark and Emanuele create your show in this 2-hour special edition of Current State from 11a-1p...then stay with us for classical music live from the festival from 1-5.

Hope you can be there with us - or listen in between 11 and 5 on 90.5, WKAR-FM...

Hope you enjoy program 21 - dominated by local recordings from Lansing and Jackson.

Mozart/Fantasy in d minor/Sergei Kvitko/Blue Griffin

Mussorgsky/Trepak/Kvitko/Blue Griffin

Chopin/Piano Concerto #2/Auer, Shanghai Qt/Culture/Demain

Barber/First Essay for Orchestra/Lansing, Muffitt/MSU recording

Dvorak/Sym #7/Jackson, Osmond/Jackson Sym recording

The Lansing Symphony and Timothy Muffitt headline our latest What's New with Antonin Dvorak's beloved Symphony #9 "From the New World"...and two selections from Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov feature piano music of Robert Schumann and another crowd-pleaser...Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto #1.

Schumann/Kinderszenen excerpts/Kolesnikov/Honens

Dvorak/Sym #9/Lansing, Muffitt/MSU recording

Tchaikovsky/Piano Concerto #1/Calgary Philharmonic, Kolesnikov, Minczuk/Honens

Dvorak/Cypresses excerpts/Cypress String Qt/Avie

Local, live recordings once again highlight this week's edition of What's New, from the MSU Symphony, to the Jackson Symphony...plus 20th and 21st century music from both ensembles.

Beethoven/Symphony #1/MSU Symphony, Noe/MSU recording

Adams/The Chairman Dances/MSU Symphony, Noe/MSU recording

Schumann/Overture, Scherzo and Finale/Atlantic Classical Orchestra/Artek

Dvorak/String Quartet #13/Cypress String Quartet/Avie

Mozart/Quintet for Piano and Winds K452/JSO members/Jackson Symphony Recording

Three MSU performances highlight today's What's New.  First, Richard Sherman and A Ram Lee bring you a February performance from the Jackson Symphony's Classical Cabaret series of Richard Strauss' Flute and Piano Sonata.  Then, Kevin Noe leads the MSU Symphony in a brilliant reading of Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid Suite.  And the MSU Wind Symphony plays Percy Grainger's Colonial Song.

Musicians from two of Mid-Michigan's most prominent ensembles highlight this week's program.  First, David Rayl's Lansing Symphony performance of excerpts from Johannes Brahms German Requiem comes to you for Good Friday.  Then, Kevin Noe and the MSU Symphony Orchestra bring you a performance of Beethoven's Symphony #1 from their February 2013 concert.  The King's Singersperform more sacred music for the season and Zuill Bailey plays Dvorak's beloved Cello Concerto in b minor.

This week we have two new releases from eastern Europe and two from the eastern U.S.  The Moscow Quartet plays one of Beethoven's most popular chamber works, the string quartet #10 called the "Harp" quartet.  Then, Bulgarian pianist Hristo Kazakov plays selections from Claude Debussy's Images.  The rarely heard Robert Schumann Violin Concerto comes to you in a new live performance by Elmar Olivera and Boca Raton's Atlantic Classical Orchestra, and the renowned Eastman Wind Ensemble celebrates 60 years with a new Stravinsky disc.

This week on What's New:

Mozart/Piano Concerto #24/Alessio Bax, Southbank Sinfonia/Signum Classics

Dvorak/Trio #4/Trio Solisti/Bridge

Beethoven/Eroica Variations/Ax/Sony

MSU assistant professor and pianist Minsoo Sohn is not only one of our state's most-talented musicians, he's also a rising star on the global classical music stage with recent acclaimed recordings and a Carnegie Hall debut.  What's New features one of our newest "in-house" recordings  - from Minsoo's January recital at Cook Hall.  Also, Daniel Barenboim conducts Bruckner's epic 7th Symphony, plus Beethoven and Handel...

Brahms/Variations on a Theme by Handel/Minsoo Sohn/MSU archive recording

This week on What's New, Peter brings you more from the Vienna Philharmonic's 2013 opener.  The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra crosses over to Brahms, the San Francisco Ballet performs Delibes and pianist Rosa Antonelli plays Granados from her new release, Remembranza.

Wagner/Prelude to Act 3 from Lohengrin

Verdi/Prestissimo from Don Carlo/Vienna Phil, Most/Sony Classics

Brahms/Serenade #1 in D op. 11/Philharmonia Baroque, McGegan/PBP

Granados/Allegro de Concierto/Antonelli/Albany

The next edition of Peter Whorf's What's New on WKAR features one of the great pianists of our age - Emanuel Ax.  He plays music on his new Sony Classical disc by Haydn and Beethoven - and this week's What's New feature, Robert Schumann's Symphonic Etudes. Also, the Banff Competition award-winning Cecelia String Quartet and more...

What's New on WKAR/Friday, February 22 at 2pm:

Schumann/Symphonic Etudes/Emanuel Ax/Sony Classical

Bach/Brandenburg Concerto #1/Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra/Hanssler Classics

Today at noon (Sat. 2/16), celebrated film composer John Lunn, the creator of the theme music for the award winning Downton Abbey television series welcomes WKAR listeners into his home. Join 90.5 for the encore presentation of At Home with John Lunn: Composer of the Downton Abbey Soundtrack.

This week at 2pm on What's New - MSU's Verdehr Trio celebrates 40 years, Lansing-based pianist Sergei Kvitko looks forward to Carnegie Hall as he releases the new disc, Ad Libitum...and we hear new releases from the Cecelia String Quartet and the Claremont Trio's new Beethoven Triple Concerto.

Beethoven/Triple Concerto op. 56/Claremont Trio, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Martin West

Haydn/Variations in F Minor/Sergei Kvitko

Granados/Escenas Romanticas excerpt/Sergei Kvitko

Bruch/Four Pieces, op. 83/Verdehr Trio