Anthony Newman

A Newman for All Seasons

…performances by and conversation with the vibrant and provocative American virtuoso, composer and musicologist Anthony Newman.

Program Broadcast dates:

• Week of August 08, 2011

Interview Audio:

• Anthony Newman chats with Michael Barone about his life and work:
  
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Links and Resources:

• Printable program listings

Music played in the program

Hour 1

J.S. BACH: Prelude in a, BWV 543 –Anthony Newman, organ (1974 Henderson & Wilson/Wooster School, Danbury, CT) Vox Box 5013

J.S. BACH: Fugue in D, BWV 532 (1974 Henderson & Wilson/Wooster School, Danbury, CT) Vox Box 5100

J.S. BACH: Chorale-prelude, Wer nur den lieben Gott, BWV 691 (1974 Henderson & Wilson/Wooster School, Danbury, CT) Vox Box 5013

J.S. BACH: Prelude in b, BWV 544 (1995 Russell/St. Matthew Episcopal, Bedford, NY) Kleos Classics CD-5107

ANTHONY NEWMAN: Communion (1972 Gress-Miles/St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Bay Shore, NY) Second Hearing 9005

ANTHONY NEWMAN: Fantasy on Te Deum (2008 Beckerath/Mount Kisco Presbyterian, Mount Kisco, NY) PCMK 2008

RICHARD WAGNER (transcribed Lemare): Ride of the Valkyries, from Die Walküre (1954 Aeolian-Skinner; 2008 Quimby/Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, NY) Columbia MS-33268

ANTHONY NEWMAN: Organ Symphony Number 3, Giocoso-Totentanz-Largo-Toccata (1995 Russell/St. Matthew Episcopal, Bedford, NY) 903 Records 240

Filler –ANTHONY NEWMAN: Communion (see above)

 

Hour 2

J.S. BACH: Chorale-prelude, Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 614 (1974 Henderson & Wilson/Wooster School, Danbury, CT) Vox Box 5100

J.S. BACH: Toccata in C, BWV 564 (1693 Anonymous/Bazylika Bernardynów, Leżajsk, Poland) Helicon CD-1010

G.F. HANDEL: Organ Concerto in B-flat, Opus 4, number 2 –Collegium Antiquum, Mary Jane Newman, conductor; Anthony Newman (Berkshire; 1993 Russell additions/Mount Kisco Presbyterian, Mount Kisco, NY) Becker CD-940

J.S. BACH: Dies sind di heil’gen zehn Gebot, BWV 678, from Clavierübung III (2008 Beckerath/Mount Kisco Presbyterian, Mount Kisco, NY) 903 Records 552

ANTHONY NEWMAN: Requiem, selections –Susan Lewis, soprano; Amy Butler, alto; Raymond Diaz, bass; BachWorks Chorus & Orchestra, Anthony Newman, conductor & organist (1979 Rieger/SUNY-Purchase Recital Hall, Purchase, New York, NY) Khaeon 600102

Filler –J.S. BACH: Toccata in C, BWV 564 (see above)

 

Anthony Newman [b. 1941] burst upon the sixties scene with vivid and athletic interpretations on harpsichord and mechanical-action pipe organ. His engaging performances, and thoughtful connection to Eastern religions, immediately established Newman as a ‘Bach guru’ for the Age of Aquarius, a young-person’s foil to that other, older organist already established in the Columbia Masterworks catalog, E. Power Biggs. But Tony was more than a hyped-up ‘high priest of Bach’.

Credentialed as teacher, chamber musician and conductor as well as recitalist and recording artist, Newman brought an individual approach to tempos, articulation, embellishment. His repertoire embraces everything from Baroque to modern, including his own intriguing, attractive, and eclectic compositions. His playing, as Dean Farwood of ClassicalNet describes it in an anniversary encomium, is ‘powerful and expressive’, and perhaps still a challenge accepted practice.

To mark Newman’s 70 th birthday year, we present select items from his extensive discographyc…including the legendary album of Wagner transcriptions taped at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City…along with Tony’s own reflections on his life and career, a reminder that he remains a lively and iconoclastic presence. May his vigorous example remain undimmed.