As Director of Music and Programming at All Classical Radio, it is my special privilege to interview some of the world’s most talented and dynamic artists. I’ve featured conversations with the likes of pianist Marc-André Hamelin, composer Christopher Tin, and actor and conductor John Malkovich, among many others. Often these conversations revolve around a new album, but sometimes an opportunity presents itself that I can’t pass up! I love sharing my discoveries with you in my reviews and interviews, and I hope you enjoy getting to know the voices shaping classical music today, and tomorrow.
John Pitman’s recent posts:
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John Pitman Review: “Babel” Speaks Clearly Through the Language of Music
Program Director John Pitman discusses the second release by the Calidore String Quartet, which contemplates the intersection of music and language. Violinist Estelle Choi, one of the four founding members of Calidore, shares how “the desire to explore the innate human drive for communication,” became the focus of their new recording. Choi describes the inspiration…
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John Pitman Review: Osvaldo Golijov on “Falling Out of Time”
John interviews composer Osvaldo Golijov about the new album that features the Silkroad Ensemble. Falling Out of Time, which was written for the ensemble by longtime collaborator/composer Osvaldo Golijov, is an 80-minute tone poem based on David Grossman’s novel about parental grief and loss. In John’s interview with the composer, Mr. Golijov likened it to…
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John Pitman Review: Miró Quartet complete their Beethoven cycle
The Miró Quartet, who visited Portland in February hosted by Chamber Music NW, is celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with the release of the complete string quartets. They began around 2005 with the Opus 18 (Beethoven’s first published set), recording them at the same age the composer was when he wrote them, in other…
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John Pitman Review: Jonathan Biss completes Beethoven journey
As a part of the celebrations this year of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig Van Beethoven, program director John Pitman is interviewing some of today’s top artists involved in the newest recordings of his music. American pianist Jonathan Biss has just completed a 9-year journey exploring the piano sonatas of Ludwig Van Beethoven.…
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John Pitman Review: Silenced Voices
String Trio debuts with “Silenced Voices” (Black Oak Ensemble) 2020 (specifically, January 27) marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the WWII concentration camp that is symbolic of the persecution and murder of millions of Jews and other groups by the Nazi regime. In addition to the handful of people who survived the camps,…
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John Pitman Review: Sound of Silence, Miloš returns
The Montenegro-born guitarist Miloš has just released his fifth album, and the first in about 3 years. Sound of Silence (Decca) is, in a way, autobiographical: in 2016, just after the release of his Beatles-inspired disc, Blackbird, Miloš began experiencing a tightness in his hand that affected his ability to play. He eventually stepped away…
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John Pitman Review: Violinist Margaret Batjer and the LA Philharmonic
Violinist Margaret Batjer has been associated with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for a number of years. In their first CD for the Swedish BIS label, Batjer and the LACO begin with a new violin concerto by Quebec-born composer, Pierre Jalbert. With movements titled “Soulful, mysterious”, and “With great energy”, Jalbert’s concerto is in good…
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John Pitman Review: Self-titled debut – Pianist Wei Luo
To introduce a pianist saying that he or she started lessons at the age of five is probably not going to raise eyebrows. However, to say that this particular pianist advanced at such a rate that she entered the Curtis Institute at age 13 is something that might catch notice. That’s the first part of…
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John Pitman Review: Sharon Isbin’s “Souvenirs”
Guitarist Sharon Isbin has recorded nearly everything in her instrument’s repertoire. Still, it’s refreshing to hear that, when an artist such as Ms. Isbin revisits a work (such as the Vivaldi D Major concerto), she gives us an interpretation with subtle differences from what came before. On “Souvenirs of Spain and Italy”, Isbin partners with…
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New York Polyphony’s “Lamentations”
New York Polyphony‘s bass, Craig Phillips, shares the story of how his group rediscovered music of the 16th century composer, Francisco de Peñalosa, and how that composer’s “Lamentations of Jeremiah” are so perfectly suited to his group’s voices, that it seems Peñalosa wrote the work for them. On the recording, New York Polyphony include works…
Your Host
John Pitman
I am a native Portlander who grew up in a household filled with classical music. My career in classical music radio and the history of All Classical are identical, as I have been a part of this organization since the summer of 1983. So, you could say that All Classical Radio and I have grown up together! So much has changed, and I’ve been witness to – and a part of – so much growth at this amazing, unique classical music radio station.
When not at work, I might be found trying to tame the plants and trees that grow so well in this Pacific Northwest climate, attending concerts, taking road trips with my wife, reading, watching films, or trying out some new recipe in the kitchen.
John Pitman is All Classical Radio’s host Sundays from 3:00 PM PT to 6:00 PM PT, and Saturdays from 3:00 PM PT to 9:00 PM PT, which includes his weekly Saturday evening series, The Concert Hall.
