Virtuoso Voices(tm)

Series produced by Listener Directed Productions, Inc.

Series image

Virtuoso Voices is a collection of timely and topical sound bites from classical music's leading performers. Each sound bite (or clip) will bring your listeners an insider's perspective to the classical music they enjoy on your station. Virtuoso Voices offers classical music announcers an additional way to enhance their breaks by using the voice of the artist whose recording they're about to play on their shift.

Virtuoso Voices is an interview clip service for classical music stations, presenting today's most influential classical music performers, conductors and composers talking in 20 to 35 second clips.

These topical and evergreen sound bites will enable announcers to bring an additional insider's perspective to the music they play on their shifts.

For example, an announcer playing Joshua Bell's recent recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto could introduce it by using a clip of Mr. Bell talking about how he tries to bring a fresh sound to this very familiar work. After the clip, the announcer returns and segues into playing the recording.

The Virtuoso Voices service provides you a Suggested Host Intro to effectively set up each clip, and includes a brief Outro to help you segue to the music. Your announcers can use this copy verbatim, or as inspiration to write their own version.

Virtuoso Voices clips are versatile. In addition to music intros, you can also use them to enhance forward promotion, create compelling billboards and create content for your website.

Virtuoso Voices provides stations with a new strategy for presenting classical music on the radio by directly involving the performer in the introduction of the music. These topical and evergreen clips enable announcers to bring an additional insider's perspective to the music they introduce and play on their shifts.

Program content is taken from interviews with internationally recognized classical music performers, such as Gil Shaham, Yo-Yo Ma, Marin Alsop, Lorin Maazel, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn and Michael Tilson Thomas.

As of January 2010, we are offering our Virtuoso Voices Performer Clips to all stations for free. We offer three types of distribution.

-- Downloaded off our ftp site: no charge

-- Downloaded from PRX: (triple PRX points) – requires PRX station membership

-- 10 months a year, receive a CD: $100 flat fee to cover postage and handling for the year.

For more information and to see additional ways to use these clips, please visit our website, www.virtuosovoices.org.

Signing up is easy and free. To receive a short subscription form, please send an email to info (at) listenerdirect.org or call (703) 751-0342.

Virtuoso Voices™ Fundraising Service

Virtuoso Voices(tm) is also Public Radio's primary source for classical music fundraising messages.

Twice a year, we provide your station with three types of fundraising messages, with options enabling you to customize each spot to the specific sound and fundraising terminology of your station. These messages, from performers like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Sarah Chang and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, follow Public Radio's Best Practices for fundraising.

These produced fundraising messages are distributed in February and September in advance of when most stations fundraise, including the nationally coordinated drives. Stations may request custom fundraising scripts read by the performers we interview. We fill these requests whenever possible and in the order in which they are received.

Our Virtuoso Voices fundraising material is offered as a separate subscription, with fees based on market size (as determined by Arbitron) – and cover a portion of the production expenses for Virtuoso Voices.

This service includes a (minimum) of 40 fundraising messages – a combination of Custom Station Spots, Straight Read Spots, Produced Funders and Unhosted Produced Funders

-- $500 for stations with a market ranking of 1 to 50;
-- $325 for stations ranked between 51-150;
-- $150 for stations with an Arbitron market ranking of 151 and above.

Please visit the fundraising page of our website for further examples and further information. www.virtuosovoices.org/fundraising.

VIRTUOSO VOICES

"Classical Music's Virtuosos Want a Word with Your Listeners."

Virtuoso Voices is a trademark of Listener Directed Productions, Inc. Hide full description

Virtuoso Voices is an interview clip service for classical music stations, presenting today's most influential classical music performers, conductors and composers talking in 20 to 35 second clips. These topical and evergreen sound bites will enable announcers to bring an additional insider's perspective to the music they play on their shifts. For example, an announcer playing Joshua Bell's recent recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto could introduce it by using a clip of Mr. Bell talking about how he tries to bring a fresh sound to this very familiar work. After the clip, the announcer returns and segues into playing the recording. The Virtuoso Voices service provides you a Suggested Host Intro to effectively set up each clip, and includes a brief Outro to help you segue... Show full description


Additional Files

642 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Anne Akiko Meyers
Actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin was also a composer. His song, "Smile," is a standard and a favorite of balladeers…and violinists. The lyrics...

  • Added: May 29, 2009
  • Length: :25
Caption: Manuel Barrueco
Cuban guitarist Manuel Barrueco has been playing guitar and making music for more than 40 years. His love affair with the guitar began almost inno...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :22
Caption: Manuel Barrueco
The benefit of working with a living composer is you can get instruction and clarification directly from the source. On the other hand, it might b...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :25
Caption: Manuel Barrueco
The innate romantic flavor of music from Spain, Mexico and South America is at the heart of its charm and appeal. But it has been known to tempt p...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :23
Caption: Manuel Barrueco
It's not unusual for a well known guitarist to play and record the most famous guitar concerto of all time, the Concierto di Aranjuez by Joaquin Ro...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :19
Caption: Sarah Chang
In the middle of her busy international career, and a somewhat hectic concert season, violinist Sarah Chang took a moment along the way to stop, sm...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :24
Caption: Richard Stoltzman
Reality checks are healthy and provide valuable perspective. But they can also be shocking, surprising and really knock us off our feet. Violinis...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :26
Caption: Richard Stoltzman
After a stormy and almost raucous orchestral introduction, the clarinet makes a quiet, almost innocent entrance in the Concertino for Clarinet by C...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :31
Caption: Sarah Chang
Practice, attention to detail, thinking, trying out new ideas… more practicing – that's what violinist Sarah Chang does to prepare for a concert. ...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :23
Caption: Richard Stoltzman
The Duetto for String Bass, Clarinet and Orchestra was written by Giovanni Bottesini, one of the greatest bass players of the 19th century. Since ...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :26
Caption: Richard Stoltzman
You'll hear some of the most brilliant virtuosic flourishes about midway through Debussy's First Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra. They're almo...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :24
Caption: Richard Stoltzman
It's not a "given" that the instrument a famous musician plays today was the very first instrument they played. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma's first instrumen...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :20
Caption: Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Numerous stories document the virtuosic piano skills of Franz Liszt. But even in those days, there were conspiracy theorists who suggested Liszt's...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :21
Caption: Jean-Yves Thibaudet
The Piano Concerto No. 2 by Liszt basically consists of one short theme that the composer recycles multiple times. While the melody is continually...

Bought by Northwest Public Broadcasting


  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :20
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Jean-Yves Thibaudet
How does a performer choose the music they'll play? First and foremost, performers play the music they love – the music that resonates for them. ...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :15
Caption: Jean-Yves Thibaudet
It's wonderful to have a large circle of friends, but the best friends are those who stand by you – the ones who've "got your back." Pianist Jean-...

  • Added: Apr 30, 2009
  • Length: :18
Caption: Simone Dinnerstein
It's not uncommon for performers to study the historical and theoretical aspects of the music they play. Pianist Simone Dinnerstein knows her hist...

  • Added: Mar 31, 2009
  • Length: :25
Caption: Simone Dinnerstein
There really is no such thing as an overnight success. It's a myth, or a misunderstanding at best. Or...is it? On one August day in 2007, pianis...

  • Added: Mar 31, 2009
  • Length: :29
Caption: Simone Dinnerstein
Beethoven's last piano sonata contains one of classical music's all-time most shocking moments. Right in the middle of the sonata, without warning...

Bought by MPR News Stations


  • Added: Mar 31, 2009
  • Length: :25
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Simone Dinnerstein
Pianist Simone Dinnerstein's most recent CD begins with the French Suite No. 5 by Bach. Here's her brief translation of the French in the French S...

  • Added: Mar 31, 2009
  • Length: :21