And podcast #28 is out now, too.

I've been doing a pretty good job of maintaining our schedule for the DCD Classical 'Cast, and getting two podcasts posted each month. A business trip and some last-minute projects have put me seriously behind, though.

Yesterday I pulled together the material, wrote the script, cut the vocal tracks, mastered and posted Episode #28, collapsing a two-week production cycle down to 24 hours.

It's a simple program -- just a selection of Mozart for a summer's evening, courtesy of Laurel Records, Gary Levinson, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.

And it features something my old bosses at WJMA would appreciate -- less talk, and more music.

I hope you enjoy it!

- Ralph

Podcast Episode #27 posted

DCD Classical 'Cast #027 has just been posted to the web. The episode, titled "Biggs, Beethoven and the Barber" features a selection from one of our newest labels -- Consort Press. California-based composer and conductor John Biggs leads a performance of his "Mass for Our Time."

We also continue our survey of Monument Records, this time presenting a world premier recording of a Beethoven string quartert.

And it all starts with probably the most unusual recording heard yet on the DCD Classical 'Cast -- an occarina ensemble performing Rossini. It's not as strange as it might sound, though. The Gruppo Ocarinistico Budriese as an organization has been around since the late 19th century, and they're performing arrangements made for the ensemble in 1901.

- Ralph

Podcast #26 posted

Early this morning I uploaded the DCD Classical 'Cast #026. The title of the episode is "Some American Classics," but its something of a cheat. Two of the three works are by Americans -- the other is a composition by a relatively unknown composer of the classical era, Christian Gottlieb Neefe.

I usually come up with the title for the episode after I've programmed all the works. I'll take a step back and see what patterns emerge. In this case, there wasn't one unifying theme -- just a two-thirds majority of American composers.

I hope you enjoy the program.

- Ralph

Welcome Consort Press!

I'm pleased to announce that Consort Press recordings are now carried by DCD Records. Consort Press is the publishing house and record label for American composer and conductor John Biggs. The two releases we'll be carrying are collections of his choral and vocal music.

In addition to his compositional efforts, Biggs also founded and conducts the John Biggs Consort, and regularly performs music ranging from the Middle Ages throught present. It's no accident that his music for the human voice works is so effective in expression and beauty of line.

I'll be featuring music from these recordings in our next few podcasts. The first step, though is to get these titles online!

- Ralph

When is Beethoven not Beethoven?

It's a question that continually plagues classical music lovers. How much (or how little) of an incompleted work be finished by someone else and still be considered a valid composition by the primary composer?

As I've been pulling together pieces for our next podcast, its something I've thought about. Probably the most famous example is Derryk Cook's completion of Mahler's 10th Symphony, which some consider an acceptable addition to Mahler's catalog and others do not.

For our next program of the DCD Classical 'Cast, we'll be playing an excerpt from a Sonata quasi una fantasia by Beethoven. The work was sketched out around 1792, but left incomplete at the time of his death.

The melody was completely written out, and a good deal of the left hand filled in as well. Beethoven left notes that the final movement, the least complete of the three, recapped large sections of the opening movement. Noted Beethoven scholar and composer A. Willem Holsbergen completed the work, using his knowledge of Beethoven's style to basically "connect the dots."

While we can debate whether the finished work is as Beethoven would have done it, I think it's well worth hearing. I'm certainly no Beethoven expert, but I didn't hear anything that sounded out of place. And more importantly, I didn't hear anything that sounded like dry academic writing -- anyone should be able to enjoy this sonata on its own merits even without knowing the backstory.

I'll be recording the vocal track for the podcast within the next day or so, so you'll soon be able to judge for yourself.

- Ralph

We Love Belgium!

There's been a noticable upswing in visits to the DCD Records site from Belgium -- as well as a substantial amount of downloads of our podcast from that country as well.

I have no idea why, but I'm excited about it. I think DCD Records offers a unique offering of classical titles, and I'm happy that we're apparently appealing to folks outside the continental United States.

Our next podcast will feature something by a Belgian composer -- we just happen to have an excellent recording by DTR of the Joseph Jongen Symphonie Concertante for Organ and Orchestra. Listen for it!

- Ralph

Podcast #24 posted

I spent this past weekend recording and editing the DCD Classical 'Cast episode #24. With everything else going on, it can be difficult sticking to a twice monthly podcasting schedule! I feel this one snuck in just under the wire.

The program continues our survey Beethoven on Monument Records. We also feature a selection from the latest release of guitar music from VGo Recordings, and finish with a sampling from the Ineditia catalog.

- Ralph