From the Archives is a curated tour of the world’s greatest composers, conductors and performers, captured in distinctive and memorable audio recordings.
Building on a lifetime of collecting recordings, host Frank Byrne shares the best performances he knows, each with a special element that sets it apart. A lifelong student of classical music, Byrne’s love of collecting classical music is only eclipsed by his joy in sharing it with friends.
Thanks to the wealth of recorded classical music available today, we have the opportunity to explore and consider performances that the average listener may never have heard. Listening together on From the Archives, we will gain insights to those great musicians who truly bring this music to life. Please join us.
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There is a multitude of overtures out there, and we just don’t hear them often enough. Enjoy these gems of the repertoire - familiar and unfamiliar - in performances that set them apart. -
Beethoven’s final piano concerto was the only one he never performed. His deafness robbed him of that experience, but what he imagined in his mind is truly glorious. Hear a fascinating, intensely personal interpretation by Glenn Gould that gives new perspective to this very familiar masterpiece.
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Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto has been called the “Cinderella” of the group. We’ll hear it in a virtuoso performance that’s as close as possible to one from Beethoven’s time. Brilliant playing and inspired improvisations are the “glass slipper” that fit perfectly.
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With his third piano concerto, Beethoven truly found his own voice. His chaotic life almost sabotaged the premiere, but the music was more powerful than chaos. Enjoy this remarkable recording with Arturo Toscanini conducting and Myra Hess on piano.
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While published second, this is the first mature piano concerto Beethoven wrote. It was also his first large-scale orchestral work. It’s a work full of youthful exuberance that also has the stamp of originality and genius. We’ll explore it through two performances with a common thread.
