4 MAY 2022 · The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is playing a spectacular program this weekend: 20th century compositions determine the program: Florence Price and John Adams, but also the overture to Bernstein’s Candide, as well as Shostakovich’s 9th. The latter two have in common that the historical context in which they were produced, as well as set, deal with the trope of peace, war, victory, home and hardship. Shostakovich wrote his symphony in 1945, over the course of the defeat of Nazi Germany - the Soviet Regime was not too pleased that his symphony wasn’t as overtly triumphant as they wanted it to be – peace, Shostakovich points out, has its cruel side as well. Similarly, Bernstein felt in 1956 that the plot of the famous Voltaire Novella “Candide ou loptimisme”, originally written in 1759 – would be a good commentary to the post WWII victory — a post war world that was marked by trauma for the Jewish community as well as for many other people in Europe and abroad. Voltaire’s novella is set around the mid-19th century and takes the hero, Candide, ironically through all parills: wars, Earthquakes, human cruelty. But the novella takes off and ends in Westphalia – a place described by peacefulness, simplicity, naivite and pureness. You might have heard of “Westphalia” because the popular VW campervan from the 1970s. Today, we want to explore why “Westphalia” already had a ring for Voltaire in 1759, as well as general topics about the image of peace. I am joined by researcher Jan Hoffrogge from the University of Munster - a historian who has covered the history of Westphalia, and one of its most prominent cities, the City of Muenster, located in the North West of Germany.

2 MAR 2022 · The upcoming VSO concert is a selection of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suites – a very famous and popular piece, of which many might know the famous melody “In the Hall of the Mountain King”, or “Solveig’s Song”. It is steeped in Norwegian and overall Scandinavian folk tales, or whatever we might want to project onto that folk notion of the north. Today we want to look a bit behind the environmental and economic setup of two of the main authors of the work: Edvard Grieg who composed the music for Henrik Ibsen’s play in verse, Peer Gynt. Both of these Norwegians originate from wealthy upper-class families who made a fortune with trading the many resources the vast country of Norway was offering. Fear not, we also talk about trolls and their relationship to the landscape, and give some pointers of many possible avenues to understand these mythical (?) creatures! I am joined by Ann-Kathrine Havemose, a lecturer in Scandinavian Studies at the CENES Department of the University of British Columbia, and a native of Northern Denmark, bordering Norway. She specializes in the use of Scandinavian folklore in contemporary writing.

1 MAR 2022 · The upcoming VSO concert dedicates one of its program points to the Sinfonia Concertante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – a short piece showcasing the virtuosity of the violin and viola — a rarely featured instrument in 1779, the year of the Sinfonica Concertante’s publication. In today’s episode, we are zooming into the sociological and historical setup of Mozart and the viola. I couldn’t be joined by a more qualified person to chat with, the principal viola of the VSO, Huang Wei Hung! Born in Taipei Taiwan, Violist Hung Huang -Wei was serving as a Principal Viola in the Hong Kong, Seoul Philharmonic and Guest Principal Viola of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as a guest professor at the Korean National University of Art. And in 2020, he won the position of Principal Viola of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

1 MAR 2022 · I met up with Andrew Steiner, PhD Candidate in the Geology Department at UBC. Since he is originally from Scotland, and has done a fair amount on geological features in the Hebrides, he is the perfect addition to understand Mendelssohn’s Hebrides! Find links to some of the pictures we discuss below — note the feature of steamboats in both Mendelssohn’s drawing as well as Turner’s painting — state of the art tourism technology! https://interactive.britishart.yale.edu/critique-of-reason/360/staffa-fingals-cave

1 MAR 2022 · In our second episode, Tatiana Dardikyna from the Peletsis-Dardykina Piano Duo joins me. She grew up and lived both in Russia, the US as well as Canada and shares her experiences as a Russian emigré and pianist as well as her vast knowledge of Rachmaninoff’s spaces and places. Listen in to our assessments about the strain on mental health while being a composer, performer and teacher in the turbulent first 20th century!

1 MAR 2022 · In this first episode, the Pianist Jean-Sebastian joins me for our talk about the dynamics of Johann Sebastian Bach – we approach the topic of “dynamics”, playing low or loud, by thinking about both temperature alterations as well as sound alterations. Here you will hear us chat about the extraordinary cold spell of the 17th century, also coined the “Little Ice Age”, and the (im)possibilities of Bach’s instrumental interpretations and choices, as you will also hear both the harpsichord and the modern piano in the upcoming concert with the VSO.