Classics Unlocked with Graham Abbott: Recent Episodes
Universal Music Australia
Presented by beloved broadcaster and educator Graham Abbott, Classics Unlocked is a monthly podcast exploring the many wonders of classical music.
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In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham explores the dynamic between the literary themes of William Shakespeare and the music of Giuseppe Verdi. Verdi took inspiration from the works of Shakespeare three times in his career, once fairly early on (Macbeth), and then decades later for his final two operas (Otello & Falstaff). He is on record as having expressed deep admiration for Shakespeare, and he read his works from an early age.
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In this episode of Classics Unlocked, Graham looks at three of the most celebrated 'unfinished' symphonies, from the genius minds of Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler.
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In this episode of Classics Unlocked, Graham Abbott explores one of the landmarks of 20th century piano music in Claude Debussy's Preludes. Following the tradition laid down by JS Bach and Chopin (among others), Debussy wrote a set of 24 preludes (across two books of twelve), but the stress on them wasn't so much key as it was colour, expression and emotional impact.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured the following recording:
DEBUSSY: Preludes I & II
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, piano
Deutsche Grammophon
DISCOVER Book I: https://uma.lnk.to/UTg76M7nID
DISCOVER Book II: https://uma.lnk.to/CZvJdSvAID
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott explores one of the last of the German Romantic composers, Richard Strauss, who is today remembered primarily for creating stunning works in two genres: orchestral tone poems and operas. Yet Strauss should be remembered just as much for his creation of music in another genre, because he took up the challenge of continuing and developing the German song tradition in a form usually known as Lieder. An extension of the form was the orchestral song, and Strauss composed more than 40 orchestral songs, spanning most of his life.
The soloists featured in this episode of Classics Unlocked are:
Jessye Norman
https://uma.lnk.to/AQLglAiIID
Karita Mattila
https://uma.lnk.to/6thkJvcSID
Christine Schäfer
https://uma.lnk.to/KzUEkJ3CID
Renée Fleming
https://uma.lnk.to/TaYhiQocID
Lisa Della Casa
https://uma.lnk.to/uAW4T5jTID
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In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott explores another chapter in the extraordinary creative output of Ludwig van Beethoven: his piano concertos. Beethoven revolutionised the way composers composed, and the way performers performed. Today, it is easily forgotten that Beethoven's piano concertos were written for himself to display both his compositional and pianistic capabilities.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured the following recording:
BEETHOVEN ODYSSEY
Colin Davis, conductor
Stephen Kovacevich, piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
Decca Eloquence 484 1728 (12-CD)
DISCOVER: https://Eloquence.lnk.to/00028948417285OA
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott explores one of the mightiest works for the keyboard: Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Goldberg Variations'. Today, it stands alongside the St Matthew Passion, the Mass in B minor, The Art of Fugue and the Musical Offering as an eternal musical monument.
This episode features four different recordings, headed by Lang Lang's 2020 Deutsche Grammophon album:
BACH: Goldberg Variations
Lang Lang, piano
DG 481 8971
DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/usjMcRfFYP
BACH: Goldberg Variations (Extended Edition)
Lang Lang, piano
DG 481 9701
DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/zomHEe0QYP
BACH: Goldberg Variations
George Malcolm, harpsichord
Decca Eloquence 482 8439
DISCOVER: https://Eloquence.lnk.to/000289482843...
BACH: Goldberg Variations
Julian Rachlin, violin; Nobuko Imai, viola; Mischa Maisky, cello
DG 477 6378
DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/0PYI5JJY
BACH: Goldberg Variations
Catrin Finch, harp
DG 4778097
DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/SYQjBjv0
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This episode of Classics Unlocked delves into some rather recent piano music, from one of the most famous of all contemporary composers. Philip Glass is considered one of the founding fathers of the movement known as ‘Minimalism’. Graham Abbott explores one particular aspect of Glass’s canon – his Études for solo piano, using the 2017 Deutsche Grammophon album from Icelandic performer Víkingur Ólafsson.
This episode features the 2017 Deutsche Grammophon recording:
GLASS: Piano Works
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano
DG 479 6918
DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/GlassPianoID
In this episode of Classics Unlocked, Graham Abbott looks at the solo piano music of Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky. Best known for his dramatic symphonies, ballets and concertos, Tchaikovsky wrote a plethora of smaller works which rarely see the light of day. Thanks to a recording project from Decca pianist Valentina Lisitsa, Graham shines the torch on the many beautiful pieces the Russian master composed for the solo piano.
TCHAIKOVSKY: THE COMPLETE SOLO PIANO WORKS
Valentina Lisitsa, piano
Decca Classics
LISTEN: https://uma.lnk.to/cJp46ZYOWE
In this episode of Classics Unlocked, Graham Abbott unlocks the enormous orchestral output of Johannes Brahms – works which look simultaneously backwards and forwards, in the sense that they say something truly new for their times and in the sense that they provide a new foundation of their own for composers who followed.
This episode featured Decca recordings reissued on the Eloquence label:
BRAHMS: The Orchestral Music
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Kurt Masur, conductor
Decca Classics 484 0144 (8-CD)
DISCOVER: https://Eloquence.lnk.to/WwxARdcXID
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In this episode of Classics Unlocked, Graham Abbott explores the piano music of Béla Bartók. His music was, by and large, influenced by his researches into folk music traditions, but he also wrote works with starkly modernist characteristics. He was not only one of the great composers and music educators of the 20th century, but also one of its great pianists. And a pianist who wrote an enormous amount of wonderful music for the piano.
The music in this episode features:
ANDOR FOLDES COMPLETE DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON RECORDINGS
Andor Foldes, piano
DG/Eloquence 484 1256
DISCOVER: https://Eloquence.lnk.to/AndorFoldesYP
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In this episode, Graham Abbott completes his journey dissecting the 32 published piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven by examining those classified as being written in his 'late' period, with specific attention paid to the composer's use of harmony and fugal structures.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured the following recording:
BEETHOVEN: Complete Piano Sonatas
Wilhelm Kempff, piano
Deutsche Grammophon 483 7429 (8-CD + Bluray)
DISCOVER: https://UMA.lnk.to/sijPHID
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In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott provides an introduction to the two completed concertos by Sir Edward Elgar. Mention 'Elgar' and 'concerto' in the same sentence, and the chances are the piece that will come to mind will be his famous Cello Concerto from 1919; however Elgar also completed a magnificent, grand concerto for solo violin, composed a decade earlier.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured the following recordings:
ALFREDO CAMPOLI: THE BEL CANTO VIOLIN - VOL 5
Alfredo, Campoli, violin
Decca/Eloquence 482 5143
ELGAR
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello
Decca Classics 485 0241
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott discusses the middle piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven - a creative phase in which the composer breaks away from the classical model.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured the following recording:
BEETHOVEN: Complete Piano Sonatas
Wilhelm Kempff, piano
Deutsche Grammophon 483 7429 (8-CD + Bluray)
DISCOVER: https://UMA.lnk.to/sijPHID
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott explores one of Giuseppe Verdi's – indeed one of all opera's – most popular creations: his La traviata from 1853.
This episode uses the legendary recording from 1977, featuring Ileana Cotrubas, Plácido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes, with the Bavarian State Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Carlos Kleiber.
Deutsche Grammophon 479 7287
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott explores one of the most famous bodies of work in the Western music tradition: Beethoven's nine completed symphonies.
This episode of Classics Unlocked features the legendary Deutsche Grammophon recordings of Herbert von Karajan's complete cycle with the Berliner Philharmoniker, released in 1963 and reissued on the Eloquence label.
DISCOVER: https://Eloquence.lnk.to/00028942903623AM
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott looks at two beautiful English works from the first half of the 20th century which evoke the spirit of Christmas and which are inspired by seasonal carols and poetry: Benjamin Britten's 'A Ceremony of Carols' and Ralph Vaughan Williams' 'Fantasia on Christmas Carols'.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured Decca recordings reissued on the Eloquence label:
BRITTEN: A Ceremony of Carols
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Choir of King's College, Cambridge; Sir David Willcocks, Stephen Cleobury
Decca Classics 484 0781
DISCOVER: https://eloquence.lnk.to/00028948407811ID
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham explores a small but vital corner of the 600 works Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart left the world: his beautiful wind concertos.
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In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott discusses the gigantic symphonic output of Anton Bruckner. 'Once immersed in the sound world of a Bruckner symphony', says Graham, 'the experience can be truly overwhelming and deeply moving'.
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In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott discusses the early published piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven - a young man trying to impress!
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In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Hector Berlioz (1803–1869), one the greatest rule breakers in the whole history of music.
All the recordings from this episode are on the Deutsche Grammophon & Decca Classics labels, and can be discovered at: classicsdirect.com.au
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott talks about one of the most monumental works of art ever to come from the mind of man: Richard Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen'.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured the following recording:
WAGNER: Der Ring des Nibelungen
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus
Decca Classics 478 8370 (17-CD)
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott explores the powerful and emotive symphonies of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
This episode of Classics Unlocked features the following recording:
P. TCHAIKOVSKY: The Symphonies; Symphonic Poems
Mikhail Pletnev, conductor
Russian National Orchestra
Deutsche Grammophon 477 8699 (7-CD)
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott discusses the symphonic output of Gustav Mahler.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured the following recording:
Mahler: The Symphonies & Song Cycles
Bernard Haitink, conductor
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Decca Classics 483 4643 (12-CD + BluRay Audio Disc set)
In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott discusses the wonder and mystery of Johann Sebastian Bach's Six Suites for Solo Cello.
This episode of Classics Unlocked featured the following recording:
J.S. BACH: The Six Cello Suites
Pierre Fournier, cello
Deutsche Grammophon 483 6385 (2-CD + BluRay Audio Disc set)