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Edvard Grieg: Våren
I spent the school breaks of my college years in Norway, while my parents lived there for a work assignment. It was impressed upon me during that time that the Norwegians are an entirely proud bunch, and nothing makes them more proud than their stunning landscape of rugged coastlines, vast mountain-scapes, and steep fjords.
Reynaldo Hahn: À Chloris
I can’t say for sure the first time I heard this song, but I remember distinctly when it first made a serious impression—as an encore at Susan Graham’s recital at Carnegie Hall in 2003. I was absolutely swept away by the beauty of it. Up until then I didn’t really know anything about Reynaldo Hahn (1875-1947), a Venezuelan-born composer who lived in France. Now I see his songs pop up on recital programs frequently.
Protest
It was just three days after the last election, and I was booked for lunch...
Donny Hathaway: Someday We’ll All Be Free
This was the hardest decision. I know I’ve already made that statement about Stevie Wonder, who I love, but this was even harder with Donny Hathaway. Why? Because I love Donny Hathaway. I really love Donny Hathaway.
Peter Warlock: The Full Heart
While the other songs have been chosen for their objective beauty and ability to touch anyones heart regardless of musical ability, I selfishly chose this one because it titilates my ears as a musician. I find this piece to be a testament to the power of the human voice, and the depth of color that can be created when many people sing together.
Stevie Wonder: Visions
This was a hard decision. I knew that with any piece on my favorite songs and songwriters of all time I would have to put in a Stevie Wonder song (because, um, duh? He’s only one of the greatest songwriters of all time), but picking one was extremely difficult. Ultimately I chose this song because of its beauty and simplicity in context with the rest of his music.
Gustav Mahler: Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n
This is going to be a relatively eclectic list. While Mahler is not someone who I would always list among my favorite composers of all (he’s absolutely phenomenal, don’t get me wrong, just not someone who I always think to listen to) but this piece, and this movement in particular, always gets to me. Mahler’s incredible orchestration combined with the Rückert’s heart wrenching poetry creates an absolutely unforgettable aural experience.
Nina Simone: I’ll Look Around
Nina Simone is simply one of the greatest artists of our time. Trained at Juilliard in classical piano, only starting to sing later in life, she embodies a true renaissance musician to me: someone who loves all genres of music and is interested in being a part of all aspects of it.
Alfred Hayes/Earl Robinson: Joe Hill
“I never died, says he”—and thus Paul Robeson sings of the union organizer Joe Hill, a man who did die for his cause. Perhaps today, as so much is said about dark times we live in, it is critical to remember there were much darker. And the society grew through such struggles, and eventually grew that much stronger.
Yoko Ono: Approximately Infinite Universe
For me, this is a woman exploring the joy and trauma of love, existence, being with a man, and her voice within the universe. The emotions are just as base, raw, and conflicted as any masculine rocker but she asks you to contemplate, think, stare, hold a snowflake. She speaks of the sorrow and loneliness that settles into a soul after protest making the anger feel flawed yet delicate.
Melissa Etheridge: Silent Legacy
It was the winter of 1993 and I was in my grandmother’s kitchen nervously...
Stevie Wonder: If It’s Magic
What a wonder Stevie is! I have always been a fan of his uplifting and inspiring music. He is the magic that is everlasting. “If It’s Magic” is a song I listen to to keep faith alive.
Yves Montand: Bella Ciao
Adolfo Bella was a legendary heroic partigiano (Partisan). He was born, one of five children, in 1916 in Positano, Italy. He loved to sing, as did his Sicilian father who died young.
In late 30’s, to survive, he joined Mussolini’s military and was stationed in Crete. The Germans took Crete in 1943. Adolfo escaped the German’s camp in the melee and was hidden by a man named Manoli and his family until he could escape in a small aircraft to Albania. There, he joined the Resistance Movement.
Queen: Don’t Stop Me Now
Google “the happiest song ever written.” You’re welcome.
Guilio Caccini: Perfidissino volto
For the last 10 years, I’ve spent nearly every waking hour thinking about early music, as the administrative director of Juilliard Historical Performance. So I could not let the opportunity to share songs with the erudite NYFOS audience pass by without at least one example of repertoire from whence it all started. This is a piece from the early days of sung drama by Giulio Caccini. It’s from a set of songs called Le nuove musiche (The New Music) that aimed to explore new possibilities of expression. Imagine being there for the first time this piece was ever heard!