Posted June 23, 2010 – Music fans looking for a respite from the heat this summer can tune to WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio each Sunday at 3 P.M. for some high country (and high culture) relief! WDAV continues its summer music festival coverage with OpenAir Brevard, a new weekly concert broadcast series from the 74th season of the renowned Brevard Music Festival in Western North Carolina. The 7-week series begins this Sunday, June 27, at 3 P.M. with a live broadcast direct from Brevard’s historic Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium.
WDAV’s Jennifer Foster and Ben Roe host an all-American program with works by Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber, as well as Aaron Copland’s stirring Third Symphony, and George Gershwin’s great Piano Concerto in F, featuring pianist Norman Krieger. The Brevard Music Center Orchestra is led by Artistic Administrator Keith Lockhart, who also conducts the Boston Pops Orchestra.
“Brevard has done a stellar job with its programming and its all-star talent this season,” says WDAV General Manager Ben Roe. “Any summer festival in the country would be proud to present this line-up. The good news for Carolinians is that we don’t have to travel to Tanglewood or Aspen or Ojai to hear it. Brevard Music Center has brought it all to us, and WDAV is honored to bring it to our listening audience.”
And the audience extends well beyond WDAV’s listeners. OpenAir Brevard will also be broadcast on Sundays at 3 P.M. by Asheville’s public radio station, WCQS 88.1.
The full summer season line-up for OpenAir Brevard features an outstanding collection of classical music’s great performers and conductors:
Sunday, July 4 at 3 P.M.
JoAnn Falletta conducts the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in Rachmaninoff’s grand and sweeping Symphony No. 2. Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 4 and George Enescu’s Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1 round-out the program. WDAV’s Mike McKay and Ben Roe host.
Sunday, July 11 at 3 P.M.
Pianist Joseph Kalichstein joins Keith Lockhart and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra for Robert Schumann’s virtuosic Piano Concerto in A minor. Also on the program: Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni and Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss. WDAV’s Joe Brant and Ben Roe host.
Sunday, July 18 at 3 P.M.
Conductor Andrés Cárdenas leads the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 featuring Irish piano soloist Barry Douglas. Rossini’s Overture to L’italiana in Algeri and “Rhenish” Symphony No. 3 by Robert Schumann complete the program. WDAV’s Frank Dominguez and WCQS’ Dick Kowal host.
Sunday, July 25 at 3 P.M.
Keith Lockhart and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra perform Beethoven’s mighty “Eroica” Symphony No. 3. Also on the program: Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto featuring soloist Steve Cohen and Wagner’s Overture to Tannhäuser. WDAV’s Mike McKay and Ben Roe host.
Sunday, August 1 at 3 P.M.
It’s a rare U.S. appearance for one of Europe’s busiest conductors, Matthias Bamert. He leads the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in Mozart’s stormy Piano Concerto No. 24 in D minor, K. 466 featuring piano soloist Jean-Louis Steuerman. Also on the program: Rossini’s Overture to La Gazza Ladra and the Symphony No. 5 by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. WDAV’s Jennifer Foster and Ben Roe host.
Sunday, August 8 at 3 P.M.
Violinist Gil Shaham brings Brevard’s season to a close with Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Brevard Music Center’s former Artistic Director David Effron conducts this program, which also includes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3. WDAV’s Joe Brant and Ben Roe host.
About WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio
WDAV is one of America’s leading producers of original classical-music programming. In addition to producing 140 hours per week for its own broadcast use on its HD-1, HD-2, and wdav.org channels, the station produces nationally-distributed programs, including NPR World of Opera, Radio Chopin, A Carolina Christmas with Kathy Mattea, and, in partnership with ETV Radio of South Carolina, Carolina Live and Spoleto Chamber Music. A service of Davidson College in Davidson, NC, WDAV’s 89.9FM signal reaches a 22-county region centered in the Charlotte, NC metro area and ranging from Rock Hill, SC to Galax, VA. WDAV’s broadcasts can be heard live online 24 hours a day at wdav.org and iTunes, as well as on any iPhone equipped with the Public Radio Player.