Since MPR was founded in 1967, our studios have been a regular stop for the world's master musicians, composers, and conductors. Additionally, in partnership with Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, MPR has recorded interviews and performances with many incredible visiting musicians and leaders in the classical music world, such as Bobby McFerrin, Osmo Vänskä, and Neville Marriner, to name a few. The Archive at MPR has preserved these interviews to make them accessible to you. Enjoy this collection which includes unique conversations occasionally combined with performance highlights and excerpts, as well as reports on the local classical scene.
Please note: Most content related to this topic that is contemporary or created after 2005 can be found on our main content pages of YourClassical MPR and MPR News
November 29, 2001 - MPR’s Euan Kerr interviews Osmo Vänskä, Minnesota Orchestra’s new music director. Vänskä discusses his approach in building relationship with musicians as he raised his baton to conduct the Minnesota Orchestra for the first time since being named music director. While he doesn't officially assume the post until 2003, it's apparent he and the orchestra are keen to get working.
January 10, 2002 - MPR’s Tom Crann talks with composer Daniel Schnyder about The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra world premiere of "Krisis," a symphony honoring the victims of the September 11th attacks. The piece has three movements reflecting stages in human reactions to tragedy.
January 16, 2002 - Minnesota Public Radio music host, Mindy Ratner talks with conductor Yakov Kreizberg about the renowned conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein. Kreizberg leads the Minnesota Orchestra in the second part of the Bernstein Festival, a two-week event exploring Leonard Bernstein's legacy as a conductor, composer, pianist and educator.
January 17, 2002 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews conductor Nicholas McGegan as he prepares The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for their performance of George Frideric Handel's "Gloria in Excelsis Deo," a piece that had been lost and wasn't performed for more than 300 years.
January 21, 2002 - As a young boy growing up in Duluth, Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Director Rex Levang listened to broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera and dreamed of being a contestant on the Opera's Quiz. Well, his dream came true, as Rex was part of a panel of opera fans who answered questions sent in by listeners and crafted by the Quiz Master. He recounts his experience with MPR’s Greta Cunningham.
January 25, 2002 - MPR Classical Music Host John Birge interviews Bruce Ford, a tenor playing the title role of the Emperor Titus of Mozart's "La clemenza di Tito." The Minnesota Opera production is Ford's first appearance in the part.
February 6, 2002 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson interviews Chinese American composer and conductor Tan Dun. He is in the Twin Cities to conduct The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in two performances of the Crouching Tiger Concerto.
February 11, 2002 - MPR Classical Music Host Brian Newhouse talks with Minnesota Orchestra Manager Bob Neu about the orchestra holding a gala unveiling of its centennial season.
February 22, 2002 - The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will play all nine of Beethoven's symphonies during its 2002-2003 season. SPCO Music Director Andreas Delfs tells MPR's Euan Kerr that he decided to do what he is calling the "Beethoven project" after conducting Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 with the orchestra. The season, announced by the Orchestra Thursday also includes four world premieres, and a new seating arrangement at the Ordway.
February 26, 2002 - The Fargo North High School Orchestra plays a very special concert…on borrowed instruments. The students' own instruments were destroyed in a bus fire as the orchestra was returning from performing in the Twin Cities. Orchestra Director Dan Italiano says the bus drove over a mattress in the middle of the road. He says no-one realized the mattress was hooked up underneath the bus.