Lunch & Listen: Recent Episodes
Great Bend Center for Music
Lunch & Listen is a new series from Great Bend Center for Music that launched on World Music Therapy Day in 2022. Every month, we invite the community to listen collectively to a classical piece of music with us, as we provide context and tips to deepen the listening experience. Call it an audio meditation or simply call it a short break in your busy day, we’re excited to explore some of our favorite pieces of music together!
For this month’s Lunch & Listen we’re thinking about women who have overcome society’s limitations. Amy Beach is an ideal example. The virtuoso pianist taught herself to compose when her options to pursue a performance career were limited by her parents and husband, going on not only to become the first successful woman composer in America, but also “the most performed composer of her generation.” Her Piano Quintet in F# Minor is at turns contemplative, fiery, audacious and utterly original while also being lushly romantic and stunningly beautiful.
Additional Listening Playlist
Peteris Vasks “Pater Noster”
Sigvards Klava directing the Latvian Radio Choir and Sinfonietta Riga
Peteris Vasks “Dona Nobis Pacem”
Paul Hillier directing the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
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Data from the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America™ 2021 report: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/10/stress-pandemic-decision-making
Additional Listening Playlist
Let’s listen to a sunset!
When a composer uses music to render a non-musical sound, image or idea, it’s called tone painting. For this month, we’ll be listening to composer Richard Strauss’s luminous rendering of a sunset as performed by the remarkable choir Accentus under the direction of Laurence Equilbey. The podcast also features some of the Berlin Philharmonic's performance of Strauss's most famous tone poem, "Also Sprach Zarathustra," under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel.
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Evening Friedrich von Schilling
Sink, beaming God; the meadows thirst for refreshing dew, Man is listless, the horses are pulling more slowly: Beaming God, descend! Look who beckons from the sea's crystal waves, smiling warmly! Does your heart know her? The horses fly more quickly. Thetis, the divine, is beckoning. Quickly from the chariot and into her arms springs the driver. Cupid grasps the reins. The horses come silently to a halt and drink from the cool waters. In the sky above, with a soft step, comes the fragrant night; she is followed by sweet Love. Rest and love! Phoebus, the amorous, rests.
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Listen to Great Bend's performance of Elgar's "Sea Pictures" from 2019 featuring soprano Tess Altiveros. https://soundcloud.com/greatbendmusic/sets/elgar-sea-pictures?
Additional Listening Playlist
This month we’re exploring how music can help us process difficult emotions and experiences with a short meditation on Henryk Górecki’s “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” In addition to the featured second movement for “Lunch & Listen” included here is David Zinman and the London Sinfonietta’s famous 1992 recording featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw. Relax with your camera and microphone off and catch a collective breath in community in your busy day — all you have to do is listen along with us, whether you’re joining from a busy environment, sitting in your car, or at your desk eating lunch!
Aditional listening playlist.
We are celebrating World Music Therapy Day on March 1 with a short meditation on a beautiful piece of music, "Spiegel im Spiegel," (Mirror(s) in the Mirror) by Estonian mystic and composer Arvo Pärt performed by Lisa Batiashvili and Hélène Grimaud.
In addition to the featured performance for "Lunch & Listen" included here are some additional performances for contrast. Two at a faster tempo with violinists showcasing very different colors, and one sparkling performance where both parts are played by a single guitarist!
Additional listening playlist.