S2.18. Strauss Violin Sonata, Zueignung -orchestrated-Offenbach, Barcarolle, 'Bowie meets Rachmaninoff' with Harriet Stubbs, Holst, Mars from The Planets.

Welcome back to Perfect Pitch with Nick Healy Hutchinson and his fresh approach to the world of classical music. Whether you're an expert or a beginner, old or young, Perfect Pitch has something for everyone.

When the renowned opera critic Rodney Milns wrote that Massine could only be viewed as a second-rate opera composer, but, as he put it, a first-class second-rate one, he included the words alongside Richard Strauss. I'm no musicologist, as by now you will know, and could never hope to accumulate the knowledge which Mills had, having been opera critic or editor of almost every journal of any significance most of his career. But now that he's been dead for nearly eight years, I feel reasonably comfortable in saying that I think he was talking to the doctor. Listen to the first moment of Beethoven's greater sonata on the recent podcast. And I want to share with you the first movement of First's only sonather of Violet Piano, which I encountered completely by accident for the first time some 25 years ago. I happened to be parting a room in which it was being rehearsed for a concert at night. And it turned out, slightly inconveniently, that my arrival was right at the beginning of the first movement, because I found myself hooked and unable to move on until I told the whole piece. The piano part is dramatic enough in itself, with flair and freedom in abundance. But the violin part has gorgeous melodies, with its frequent climbs which fill the piece with so much sweetness and light. Would you have been able to walk on by, I wonder? See what you think, as we listen to it being played by Sarah Chang on the violin and one of the great Strauss interpreters on the piano, Wolfgang Savalish. It's just got so much sunshine in it. And by the way, there's a nice little coder to Rodney Mills' clever little quip, because he actually stole the line from Strauss, who had concluded of himself I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second rate composer. Another reason Strauss will always feature in my Premier League is his ability to write for the soprano voice, in my view, without parallel. Savanna just participating in that recording reminds me that Strauss song I played way back in episode 11 to Icon Devotion, where he's accompanied Occhia Pop, and it's still there with my thoughts and comments if you're a recent follower. On that occasion, I mentioned how the song had been orchestrated later, and that gives me the perfect excuse to repeat a piece of music, which I very rarely do. This time sung by Joyce Di Zanato with a Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle. Three short verses, the second differing in its ending ever so slightly from the first, and the final with this ecstatic, exultant assertion Heilig, Heilig and Hell's design joy and bliss shall thy love impart. Thanks, sweetheart. This is a is a real gem, nothing less. Belle nuit au nuit d'amour, beautiful night, O Night of Love, is about well, exactly that. It's sung by Julietta and Niklauser, a young male and hence traditionally a trouser role played by a woman. The singers here are the mezzo soprano Fleur Baron and the Soprano Barbara Hannigan, who conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in the opening introduction before stepping down to join her fellow singer. Harriet Stubbs is a classical pianist who's given concerts all over the UK, and now divides her time between the UK and New York. She gained particular prominence for giving recitals every night in West London during COVID with her windows open, a service to the community which was recognised in the award of a British Empire Medal. She's a great champion of bringing classical music to a wider audience, but also in developing innovative ways of doing that. Harriet's latest album, released digitally yesterday and on CD on November 10th, is called Living on Mars. I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview. The album has its roots in those 200 or so 20 minute recitals he gave during COVID. Harriet worked with lifelong David Bird collaborator and pianist Mike Garson to produce an album which includes a variety of different creators such as Coldplay, Nick Cave, The Beatles, and Chopper. But then he does know Harry very well. And mesmerizing. I don't know how it started. Oh my god, I'm a mad and dream. And I've not heard anything quite like it before. But one thing I do know, and it's an important point, is that you should not be tempted to label it as a quality of the music. That's not what's going on here. It's much more than that. Applies it to an altogether different genre. An obvious example. I'm just trying to make the distinction. What Harry is doing here is bringing two different art forms together with exact intentional than the other. So here is Harriet Start. Playing the final track, Life on Mars, from her newly released album, Living on Mars. It doesn't get much more hot off the press than this. And there really is only one way to follow that and finish today. In episode 51, we listen to Jupiter from Hall's other planet this week. And we're now going to listen to Marsh which opens up just as we did in episode 51. We're going to listen to the recording of the concert I attended at the World Albert Hall in 2016, given by the National News Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner. I was overlooked in the orchestra. More than a hundred people.