Raymond Bisha introduces the world premiere recordings of remarkable orchestral works by Maria Herz. Born in Germany, a resident of England and, her final resting place, the United States, her life was beset not only by two World Wars and ravages of the Spanish Flu, but also the attendant anchors of being a female, Jewish composer. Only two of her works were published in her lifetime. Now that her estate of manuscripts has been replanted in the Zurich Central Library, the renaissance of her engaging music has begun.

Join Rebeca Omordia as she continues her exploration of African piano music with her new album African Pianism, volume 2. It is a collection of music that combines European music with the traditional music of many different countries in Africa. The results are by turns joyous, beautiful and challenging as this music shows how classical music can be enriched by embracing other cultures. This multicultural heritage is also part of Rebeca’s own background, raised in Romania by a Romanian mother and a Nigerian father.

Raymond Bisha's podcast spotlights two classic recordings in the Vox Audiophile Edition that were first released in the mid-1970s and feature two former music directors of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in their prime – Walter Susskind, who directs orchestral extracts from Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride, and Jerzy Semkow, who leads a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, one of the most popular suites in the entire orchestral canon.