Episode 5
Donald Macleod introduces Schuman's final years, including a rare recording of his witty Mail Order Madrigals - setting ads from a shopping catalogue.
As American music moved into the 1970 and 80s, William Schuman - born in the time of Gershwin and Cole Porter - increasingly seemed an anachronism, with his symphonies, concertos and quartets. Yet his creative fire was undiminished - in this final programme, Donald Macleod introduces a set of madrigals set to words from a 19th-century mail-order catalogue, and a virtuoso 'wine guessing game' aria from an opera to a libretto by Roald Dahl.
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Music Played
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William Schuman
Mail order madrigals for chorus SATB
Conductor: Peter BROADBENT Performer: Joyful Company Of Singers
- ASV.
- CD DCA-939.
- -22.
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William Schuman
Mail order madrigals for chorus SATB
Conductor: Peter BROADBENT Performer: Joyful Company Of Singers
- ASV.
- CD DCA-939.
- -22.
![]()
William Schuman
Quartet no. 5 for strings
Performer: Lydian String Quartet
- Harmonia Mundi.
- HMU907114.
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William Schuman
A Question of Taste [opera in 1 act]
Conductor: Gerard SCHWARTZ Performer: Scott WILDE - Bass Performer: Juilliard Orchestra
- Delos.
- DEL1030.
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William Schuman
Symphony no. 10 (American muse)
Conductor: Leonard SLATKIN Performer: St Louis S O
- RCA VICTOR.
- 09026-61282.
Broadcasts
- Fri 7 Oct 201112:00BBC Radio 3
- Fri 7 Oct 201118:30BBC Radio 3
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