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Marin Alsop on Music In September, 2007, Marin Alsop became music director of the Baltimore Symphony, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She was named a 2005 MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive the award. Here, she offers commentary on a broad assortment of classical music.
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Special Series

Marin Alsop on Music

The Baltimore Symphony music director offers commentary on a broad assortment of classical music.

Friday

Getting Hooked on the 'Rite' Sound

Igor Stravinsky's exotic, propulsive ballet The Rite of Spring captured conductor Marin Alsop's imagination at an early age. She says the music's "swing and sheer abandon" got her hooked, and the orchestra became her passion.

Hear Alsop discuss Stravinsky on Weekend Edition Saturday

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Friday

Mahler's Fifth Symphony: The Everest of Music

Even as a young man, Mahler was after the big picture. When other twentysomethings might have been writing lighthearted music, Mahler was trying to solve the riddles of the universe through his epic symphonies. They were vehicles for him to express his beliefs and pose questions.

Hear Alsop discuss Mahler on Weekend Edition Saturday

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Saturday

'Too Hot to Handel': A Modern 'Messiah'

While talking to friends, Marin Alsop realized that Handel's "Messiah" was in dire need of an update. She had already entertained the idea that "Messiah" would lend itself to a 20th-century remake, and once she got inspired about the idea, everything else began to fall into place.

Hear Alsop discuss Handel on Weekend Edition Saturday

Transcript
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  • Transcript

Saturday

Love, Lust and Drinking Stir 'Carmina'

The music itself toggles between huge forces and a single voice, juxtaposing majesty and intimacy with ease. At its largest, Carmina Burana employs a chorus of 200 or more voices, an orchestra of 100 players and a children's choir of 50 or more, plus three soloists: soprano, tenor and baritone.

Hear Alsop discuss Orff on Weekend Edition Saturday

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Saturday

Hearing History in Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony

For Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony beginning in 2007, the centennial of Dmitri Shostakovich's birth presents an opportunity to explore the complexity and lesser-known pleasures of the legendary Russian composer's music.

Alsop discusses Shostakovich on Weekend Edition Saturday

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