This episode of the ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award winning program Between the Keys takes an unusual path.
Between the Keys' creator, producer and host Jed Distler will pay tribute to his mother Bette Feitelson Distler (1935-1986), marking the exact 40th anniversary of her untimely passing on July 17th, 1986.
"Bette was a highly regarded New Jersey-based poet and educator, who believed in making the arts accessible to the general public," Jed says. "She nurtured and encouraged budding writers to think outside the box, as she herself did. What is more, her example played a crucial role in my own work as a musician, a writer and a public figure."
In 1986 The Montclair Art Museum commissioned Jed's large-scale song cycle The Death of Lottie Shapiro, which encompassed settings of his mother's poems. We will hear excerpts from this cycle, as well as recordings of his mother reading her poems, plus the only surviving radio interview with Bette Distler, which has not been aired since 1977. Also featured will be several of Bette's favorite recordings, with Glenn Gould playing Brahms and Myra Hess in the Schumann Concerto.
Tune in for this unique tribute to Bette Distler on Between the Keys, this Friday at 3:00 PM, with the rebroadcast Saturday at 6:00 PM, exclusively on The Classical Network and WWFM.org.
