For this month’s Lunch & Listen we’re thinking about women who have overcome society’s limitations. Amy Beach is an ideal example. The virtuoso pianist taught herself to compose when her options to pursue a performance career were limited by her parents and husband, going on not only to become the first successful woman composer in America, but also “the most performed composer of her generation.” Her Piano Quintet in F# Minor is at turns contemplative, fiery, audacious and utterly original while also being lushly romantic and stunningly beautiful.

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Peteris Vasks “Pater Noster”

Sigvards Klava directing the Latvian Radio Choir and Sinfonietta Riga

Peteris Vasks “Dona Nobis Pacem”

Paul Hillier directing the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra

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Data from the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America™ 2021 report: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/10/stress-pandemic-decision-making

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Let’s listen to a sunset! 

When a composer uses music to render a non-musical sound, image or idea, it’s called tone painting. For this month, we’ll be listening to composer Richard Strauss’s luminous rendering of a sunset as performed by the remarkable choir Accentus under the direction of Laurence Equilbey. The podcast also features some of the Berlin Philharmonic's performance of Strauss's most famous tone poem, "Also Sprach Zarathustra," under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. 

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Evening Friedrich von Schilling 

Sink, beaming God; the meadows thirst for refreshing dew, Man is listless, the horses are pulling more slowly: Beaming God, descend! Look who beckons from the sea's crystal waves, smiling warmly! Does your heart know her? The horses fly more quickly. Thetis, the divine, is beckoning. Quickly from the chariot and into her arms springs the driver. Cupid grasps the reins. The horses come silently to a halt and drink from the cool waters. In the sky above, with a soft step, comes the fragrant night; she is followed by sweet Love. Rest and love! Phoebus, the amorous, rests. 

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Listen to Great Bend's performance of Elgar's "Sea Pictures" from 2019 featuring soprano Tess Altiveros. https://soundcloud.com/greatbendmusic/sets/elgar-sea-pictures?

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