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
December 11, 2002 - Mainstreet Radio’s Cara Hetland reports on modern violin makers who want to unravel the mysteries of how the old great instruments were made. The Stradivari violins are among the most mysterious and most expensive instruments. For centuries, makers have wanted to copy the techniques used by Antonio Stradivari but they don't know how.
December 12, 2002 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson interviews Knut Jørgen Moe, who wrote the libretto for "Olav Tryggvason," and is looking for support in bringing a full-scale touring production to Minnesota. Moe says many Americans are familiar with the Viking hero because he was such an influential and charismatic man.
January 1, 2003 - MPR's Euan Kerr reports on Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov and his composition "La Pasión según San Marcos" (St. Mark Passion) draws from many influences. There is the classical music and klezmer he learned through his Russian Jewish immigrant parents; passionate tango of Astor Piazzola which resonates through Argentina; as well as the deep, and at times militant, Christianity of South America.
February 13, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio’s Bob Reha attends final rehearsals of "Memorial," which debuts at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Moorhead. For Rene' Clausen, conductor of the Concordia College Choir, it was a daunting task. Clausen was commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association to write a piece that captured the emotional and spiritual elements of the September 11th tragedy.
March 13, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson profiles four North Dakota State University students competing in Salt Lake City for a national championship. The NDSU Saxophone Quartet won a six-state competition to reach the national contest and hope to bring home top honors in the National Collegiate Chamber Music Competition.
April 2, 2003 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles Vern Sutton, a living Minnesota opera legend, who is retiring. Sutton is ending 36 years as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota School of Music. However, Sutton is not leaving the stage. As he explained to Olson, Sutton loves to perform.
April 25, 2003 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews violin virtuoso Gil Shaham, who will perform Korngold's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Shaham discusses Viennese composers, his instrument, and touring.
May 1, 2003 - The VocalEssence music series presents the North American professional premiere of Swedish composer Sven-David Sandström’s "High Mass." It is a huge event, featuring two full choirs, an orchestra and five soloists, with close to 250 people on stage at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.
May 2, 2003 - MPR's Marisa Helms reports that the University of Minnesota's School of Music is marking 100 years of developing many of the region's foremost music teachers, performers and composers. Helms looks into the school and its history.
May 6, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio’s Bob Reha reports on the National Symphony Orchestra visit to North Dakota, as part of the American Residency Program that the orchestra began in 1992. In two weeks, the musicians will have performed 200 concerts and workshops across the state.