Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Swiss-American composer and conductor Bernard Hoffer is best known for his iconic scores to animated shows such as "ThunderCats" and "SilverHawks". He's also known for writing "The MacNeil-Lehrer Report", which was the opening theme to (what is now called) PBS NewsHour from 1975 to 2015.
Classically trained himself, Hoffer has written an extensive amount of concert works, including his piano concerto performed by soloist Randall Hodgkinson, which was world premiered by Hodgkinson and the Concord Orchestra in March 2001. The middle movement of this concerto, titled “Walden Pond,” imitates the sounds described by Thoreau in the fourth chapter of Walden including bird calls, a train, church bells and sounds of an owl and a frog at night.
COMPOSER: Bernard Hoffer
CONDUCTOR: Richard Pittman
PIANO: Randall Hodgkinson
ORCHESTRA: RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - I. Rhapsody
12:49 - II. Walden Pond
21:23 - III. Kalidoscope
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
Swiss-American composer and conductor Bernard Hoffer is best known for his iconic scores to animated shows such as "ThunderCats" and "SilverHawks". He's also known for writing "The MacNeil-Lehrer Report", which was the opening theme to (what is now called) PBS NewsHour from 1975 to 2015.
Classically trained himself, Hoffer has written an extensive amount of concert works, including his piano concerto performed by soloist Randall Hodgkinson, which was world premiered by Hodgkinson and the Concord Orchestra in March 2001. The middle movement of this concerto, titled “Walden Pond,” imitates the sounds described by Thoreau in the fourth chapter of Walden including bird calls, a train, church bells and sounds of an owl and a frog at night.
COMPOSER: Bernard Hoffer
CONDUCTOR: Richard Pittman
PIANO: Randall Hodgkinson
ORCHESTRA: RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - I. Rhapsody
12:49 - II. Walden Pond
21:23 - III. Kalidoscope
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
![Alex Weiser — and all the days were purple (2017) [w/ score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P5DGaYS0fcw/mqdefault.jpg "Alex Weiser — and all the days were purple (2017) [w/ score]
A finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Music, this is Alex Weisers haunting, absolutely gorgeous song cycle and all the days were purple for (soprano) voice, piano, percussion and string trio. Born and raised in New York City, Weiser composes cosmopolitan music that merges a deeply felt historical perspective with a vibrant, forward-looking creative pulse. An energetic advocate for contemporary classical music and for the work of his peers, Weiser co-founded and currently directs Kettle Corn New Music, and is Director of Public Programs at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
Alex writes in the program notes:
Meditative and devotional in scope, and all the days were purple sets Yiddish and English poems to music in a song cycle that seeks out the divine while reflecting on the longing, beauty and tumult of life. The album includes texts by Anna Margolin, Edward Hirsch, Rachel Korn, and Abraham Sutzkever, and performances by Eliza Bagg (voice), Lee Dionne (piano), Maya Bennardo (violin), Hannah Levinson (viola), Hannah Collins (cello) and Michael Compitello (percussion).
COMPOSER: Alex Weiser
SOPRANO: Eliza Bagg
ENSEMBLE:
Lee Dionne, piano
Maya Bennardo, violin
Hannah Levinson, viola
Hannah Collins, cello
Mike Compitello, percussion
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - Introduction
0:25 - I. Mayn Glik (My Joy)
3:58 - II. *
8:02 - III. I Was Never Able to Pray
10:24 - IV. Benkshaft (Longing)
12:47 - V. Poezye (Poetry)
16:10 - VI. Lines for Winter
20:28 - VII. **
26:38 - VIII. Mir zaynen gegangen durkh teg (We Went Through the Days)
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
#scorefollower #contemporaryclassical #classicalmusic")
![Edie Hill — From the Wingbone of a Swan (2014) [w/ score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q17tGyJ-CnI/mqdefault.jpg "Edie Hill — From the Wingbone of a Swan (2014) [w/ score]
This is Edie Hills gorgeous work for SATB choir and a trio of flute, cello, and percussion, From the Wingbone of a Swan.
Hill wrote in the program notes for full context:
“I believe that possessing a musical sense is inherent to being human, and that human beings, from their very beginnings, were musical before they expressed themselves with formal language. We embody counterpoint in the most basic way by virtue of simultaneous voice and heartbeat. Thus the first movement: ‘Prelude to Speech.’ The poem itself is only a portion of what the listener hears. I use vocalisms and simple “calls” that ultimately lead to the words that are the poem. The cello and drum accompany this movement. I chose the cello because it is the instrument that is most like the human voice. The ‘shape’ of the movement is a gradual transition from pure sound and melody to language – a discovery of speech through music. Flowing directly out of newly-found speech is ‘Source.’ When I gave a lecture about the origins of music at Delft University, I made reference to an ‘underground river.’ To me, music is born from this so-called river. The river is the source that is tapped and from it comes music that is as basic as water is to human beings. It IS life blood. And it is always there – now – then. It is a constant that connects us all. Finally, I believe that instruments (such as a flute) are extensions of the human voice. We make them so that we can “sing” in ways beyond the physical constraints of the human voice – so that we can sing in all manner of timbers, dynamics, and ranges. I was inspired by an article entitled ‘Magic Flute: Primal Find Sings of Music’s Mystery’ by Robert Lee Holtz, which appeared in a 2008 edition of the Wall Street Journal. The article talks about ‘the discovery of the world’s oldest musical instrument – a 35,000 year-old flute made from a (swan’s) wing bone.’ I thought, ‘what a beautiful thing!’ – a flute made from the wingbone of a swan. In this movement, I wanted to conjure imagery of this ancient instrument, and again, draw attention to music as a thread that connects us as human beings in ancient times and in the present moment. As a way of conveying progression, I add instruments movement by movement. The cello and drum accompany the first. In the second movement, marimba is added. The sound of the marimba adds a texture that conjures water and flow. And in the third, the flute joins the texture. It is the ‘Breath of Silver,’ the ‘Ribbon of Light.’”
COMPOSER: Edie Hill
POETS: Edie Hill & Tim O’Brien
CONDUCTOR: Donald Nally
CHOIR: The Crossing
ENSEMBLE:
Ted Babcock, percussion
Arlen Hlusko, cello
Mimi Stillman, flute
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - Introduction
0:15 - I. Prelude to Speech
4:04 - II. Source
10:05 - III. Paleolithic Flute
TEXTS:
————————————
(I. Prelude to Speech)
say:
I know
say:
I feel
say:
I am
————————————
(II. Source)
beneath me, a river
unseen
under skin of stone
earth blood
infusion of gold
in body of human
always
and now
gently
persuaded
to sing
————————————
(III. Paleolithic Flute)
from the wing bone of a swan:
music
breath of silver
ribbon of light
from the wingbone of a swan:
music
`ancient as stone
present as living
flesh on bone
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
#scorefollower #contemporaryclassical #classicalmusic")
