This weekend - Saturday Matinee

Saturday 4 July at Noon EST and Sunday 5 July at Noon EST

Film fans untie and join Beethoven Radio for a Saturday Matinee this Saturday at Noon EST! On Independance Day we will feature the best in film score soundtracks from Noon to 6PM. Classical music from our time really comes from composers writting for the movies and some of the best composers are Americans! John Williams, Danny Elfman, Thomas Newman, Richard Rodgers, Michael Kamen, are all American composers writing the best music for the silver screen. This 4th of July we pay tribute to their music. We will also feature music from other great film composers!

The on Saturday evening you can join Nicole Marie during the Saturday Night at the Opera starting at 8PM EST. On Saturday night, commercial free at 8PM EST you can hear Verdi's Rigoletto. For the première of Rigoletto, Verdi had Felice Varesi (performing as Rigoletto), the young tenor Raffaele Mirate as the Duke, and Teresina Brambilla as Gilda. Teresina Brambilla was a well-known soprano coming from a family of singers and musicians; one of her nieces, Teresa Brambilla, was the wife of Amilcare Ponchielli. The opening was a complete triumph, especially the scenica dramatica, and the Duke's cynical aria, "La donna è mobile", was sung in the streets the next morning. Due to the high risk of unauthorized copying, Verdi had demanded the maximum secrecy from all his singers and musicians. The conductor had use of his score only a few evenings before the première and was forced to swear he would not sing or even whistle the tune of "La donna è mobile". Many years later, Giulia Cori, Varesi's daughter, described her father's performance at the premiere. Playing the original Rigoletto, her father was really uncomfortable with the false hump he had to wear; he was so uncertain that, even though he was quite an experienced singer, he had a panic attack when it was his turn to enter the stage. Verdi immediately realized he was paralyzed and roughly pushed him on the stage, so he appeared with a clumsy tumble. The audience, thinking it was a gag, was very amused.

Then on Sunday you can listen to more opera with our show called "Looking through the Opera Glasses"! maestro Willie Anthony Waters will present a "Tribute to Pavarotti" Sunday at 11am EST. This tribute will feature the best performances of Pavarotti and a look at the life of the King of the High C's. T

Sunday at Noon symphony fans can tune in for Symphony Sunday with Nicole Marie. From Noon to 6PM EST hear the best symphonies for great composers like Copland, Beethovne, Bruckner, Brahms and more! What do you want to hear during the Mozart Madness Weekend? Send us an email to request@beethoven.com!