Special Feature - Leroy Anderson

Sunday June 29th marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of American composer Leroy Anderson.

The preeminent American composer of light concert music, Anderson wrote the familiar tunes Sleigh Ride, The Syncopated Clock and Blue Tango. His music captures the imagination of millions of people around the world with its memorable, optimistic melodies and impeccably crafted orchestrations.

We recently spoke to the composer's son Kurt about his father's music and the anniversary.

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Conductor Leonard Slatkin is currently recording the complete Leroy Anderson works on the Naxos label. Volume 3 has just been released and we talked with the maestro about Anderson and his music.

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Tune in Friday and Monday during Performance Today on KTXI and KPAC to hear Anderson's music with the interviews.

John Clare, afternoon host

Celebrate

What did you do on your last birthday? Meet up with friends? Surprised by your loved ones? Pretend ala Jack Benny that you're 39?

Musicians love birthdays, and will often program music to honor a composer or another performer. You might remember back in 1985 the world celebrated Bach and Handel's 300th birthdays with their music, and back in 2006, the 250th birthday of Mozart featured lots of his music and new recordings.

Today is Igor Stravinsky's (right) birthday (born in 1882) and we'll hear one of his early ballet scores, The Firebird.







Next Monday, conductor James Levine (left) turns 65 years old. We'll celebrate with some of his performances as well as feature him on The Basic Library, Saturday evening at 5:30pm.

Also, Leroy Anderson (below right), composer of Sleigh Ride, the Syncopated Clock, the Typewriter, and other popular light classics, would have been 100 years old June 29th. Keep an eye out for some special features around this centary!