Bagatelles generally are definied as short, humorous piano pieces.
“But not all of them,” says the Classical Network’s Artist-in Residence Jed DIstler, who is the creator, producer and host of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Virgil Thomson Award winning program Between the Keys.
“For this week’s Between the Keys episode, I’ve come up with an amazing variety of bagatelles , not to mention wonderful pianists. You’ll hear Beethoven and Smetana alongside Earl Kim, George Tsontakis, Jack Gallagher, and Arthur Whiting, just to name a few."
How did Distler mix and match these selections? “At first I poked around my collection, simply looking for Bagatelles. Spotify was a big help, too, so I wouldn't have to pull down hundreds of CDs right away, or dig up my back-up hard drives packed with sound files. I listened at first for contrast in style, mood and texture. Then I started putting together a play list. It took several tries before I got it to where the program’s totality sounded fluid and well balanced, yet full of contrast.”
Tune in Tuesday night October 19th at 10, and Wednesday October 20th at noon for Between the Keys Episode 330: “Behold the Bagatelle,” exclusively on The Classical Network and WWFM.org