Mahler Mania

In our final episode of Toledo SymphonyLAB, we once again dive into the music of Gustav Mahler - whose Third Symphony brings the TSO season to a close. Special return guest (and musicologist) Effie Papanikolaou shines light both on the man and the music, joining conductor Alain Trudel and Mahler enthusiast Zak Vassar (who also happens to be the TSO's President and CEO).

We preview and celebrate the upcoming season of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra as they mark 80 years of serving the community with great music.

We welcome warmer weather with a preview of the Toledo Symphony's chamber program, Summer Music. In addition to seasonal selections from Samuel Barber and Wolfgang Mozart, we learn all about a world premiere on the program, called Mojave Sketches for brass quintet and percussion. The composer, Navdeep Singh Galen, plus one of the performers, TSO Principal Tuba David Saltzman, give valuable insight to the work, which was inspired by the seven magic mountains art installation in California's Mojave desert.

We spend the hour getting to know Kerson Leong, who brings his violin to the Peristyle as soloist for Béla Bartók's Second Violin Concerto. Kerson leads us through the intricacies of Bartók's music, and recounts his early interest in the instrument (that is, after his parents discouraged Kerson's original choice, the double-bass - fearing transportation issues). And for our quiz of the day, we check in with Kerson's updated answers to the Violin Channel's Q&A (available on YouTube) from 2016.

As the Toledo Jazz Orchestra offers up its final performance of the season, we take the opportunity to examine the complex and virtuosic artistry of Toledo's own Art Tatum. We hear behind-the-scenes stories and marvel at Tatum's uncanny ability to transform simple melodies into one-of-a-kind showpieces for piano. We also uncover some fun facts which you may not know about Toledo's Jazz maestro in our quiz of the day!

We celebrate the return of superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma to the Peristyle with a full house of Toledo Symphony personalities, including special guest Amy Chang (who is also a cellist). Hear stories and get to know Yo-Yo Ma through our conversation (and "Quiz"-versation), as he's not only a performing artist, but a driving force in the effort to use music to address global issues. Also, not to be forgotten is Johannes Brahms, whose final symphony pairs nicely with Yo-Yo Ma's rendition of the Elgar Cello Concerto on the program. Find out what these seemingly disparate works have in common with each other!

We highlight the Toledo Ballet's production of Sergei Prokofiev's Cinderella with guest appearances from the show's choreographer Eric Otto and the conductor of the program Jonathan McPhee. Think you know your Cinderella? Find out in our Fairy-Tale Quiz of the Day!

We delve into the wonderful wide world of Dimitri Shostakovich and his powerhouse Symphony No. 5 (which the TSO plays this weekend!). Also, we welcome the star of the show, Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker, who makes his Toledo Symphony debut with one of the most beloved concertos of its kind, the "Tchaik I" - a.k.a. Piotr Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto. And Did You Know? Jon Kimura Parker goes by the nickname "Jackie" when offstage. We'll explore some other well-known "Jackies" in our quiz of the day!

We spend the hour with arranger, composer, Big Band leader, Pops conductor, pianist, saxophonist, and (whew!) vocalist, Matt Catingub – who brings his talents to the Peristyle with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra. Get to know Matt as he talks about his mother, the singer Mavis Rivers (who signed on with Frank Sinatra's label in the late '60s), tells stories and drops names (George Clooney and Toni Tennille among them). Plus, we uncover some "Frank Facts" in our quiz of the day for the Sinatraphiles in our audience!

It's our April Fools Day special, as hilarity ensues with special guests Tony Geftos and Derek Emch joining us in the studio. Learn about our favorite pranks, hear some fake news reports (thank you, Tony!), and play "one true, two false" with newspaper headlines. Care to test your trivia knowledge? Try our quiz about the many shades of April. Listen in and celebrate the time of year when we all say, "April Fools!"