WNYC; Mad About Music; Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Collection
- WNYC
- Series
- Mad About Music
- Episode
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Contributing Organization
- WNYC (New York, New York)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/80-10jsz2xs
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/80-10jsz2xs).
- Description
- Description
- Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg KAPLAN Supreme Court Justice and music lover, Ruth Bader Ginsburg on today's edition of "Mad About Music". [Theme music] KAPLAN Early as a lawyer she earned a reputation as a champion of women's rights, later she won five out of six of her appearances before the Supreme Court. Appointed to the Court by President Clinton in 1993 she is perhaps best known recently as the author of one of the dissenting opinions in the landmark Bush v. Gore battle over counting the votes in Florida. But for our listeners, Ruth Bader Ginsburg stands out for her life-long love of music. Justice Ginsburg, welcome to "Mad About Music". GINSBURG Thank you, I'm very pleased to be here. KAPLAN You know, I have an impression that of all of our government institutions in Washington, the Supreme Court Justices may constitute just the greatest concentration of music lovers. Am I right about that? GINSBURG I think you're right - we have a clear majority. KAPLAN And who would be the ones that come to mind who are as passionate as perhaps you are? GINSBURG Justice Scalia who I must confess is the only one of us who can carry a tune and he was my companion at the Washington Opera when we both appeared as supers, as extras, in a performance of Ariadne auf Naxos. KAPLAN That's interesting because I would think as a "couple" you might be an odd couple - I don't see the two of you dancing to the same tune so much on the Court. But what about music? Do you have similar tastes? GINSBURG We certainly do. We are given to beautiful music we don't shy away from admitting that we cry at Puccini and I think our musical tastes are very much alike. The Chief is also a music lover, but he prefers choral music. KAPLAN And I understand that Justice Breyer and O'Connor also love music. GINSBURG Yes, and Justice Kennedy. They all can be seen regularly at performances of the Washington Opera. KAPLAN Now for some years you and your colleagues have become impresarios, turning the Supreme Court into a concert venue. What's the story behind that? GINSBURG It all started with Justice Blackmun who regularly taught during our summer recess in Aspen, Colorado at the Aspen Institute and the music festival coincides with the Law and Society course that he was teaching. He became friendly with the then Vice President of the Aspen Institute Dr. Stephen Strickland and said it's sad that at the Court, all we have is an old upright piano. Dr. Strickland said I think we can do something about that and he arranged with the help of others to have a wonderful Baldwin piano selected for the Court by Leonard Bernstein. This was in 1988. Inside and on the soundboard in big letters in Leonard Bernstein's hand is written: "And justice for all", signed Leonard Bernstein, 1988. That's how it began and then Justice Blackmun thought it might be nice to celebrate the arrival of the piano by having a Musicale. 1988 was the first and initially it was every two years, now its every year. It's an annual event. KAPLAN What about repertoire. Do you play traditional music, how widespread is the range? GINSBURG Oh, the range is enormous - so we could go from Bach all the way to Burl Ives, Cole Porter. KAPLAN Cole Porter? GINSBURG Yes, and a sample that I have brought with me, a Cole Porter number is Samuel Ramey the rich resonant bass baritone that I am accustomed to hearing in a devilish role like Mephistopheles. Here he sings in just a delightful way Cole Porter's witty "Tale of the Oyster". [Music] KAPLAN The "Tale of the Oyster" by Cole Porter sung by Samuel Ramey with pianist Warren Jones, a selection of my guest Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and recorded during a live performance at the Supreme Court. Now let's talk about how much came into your life. Did you study an instrument as a child? GINSBURG I studied the piano first and while I have a passion for music, I have no talent as a performer. I worked hard at the piano but then in my high school years I wanted another instrument so that I could perform in the school orchestra so I would have that experience and I selected the cello. KAPLAN But you didn't stay with it? GINSBURG No, I studied long enough to be able to make at least the first note of every bar. I was in the very last row of the cellos and I did remain in the orchestra throughout my high school years. KAPLAN Now, as a parent, you must have encouraged music among your children because I understand that your son's profession is in fact classical music and he even runs his own record label. GINSBURG Yes, that is so. My son has in common with Cole Porter that they both started law school and then dropped out in favor of music. KAPLAN But the label, as I understand it, has a rather unique concept to it in that it's basically highlighting and featuring music of Chicago. Is that right? GINSBURG Yes. All of my son's artists are from or working in the Chicago area and that's his specialty - great artists who have not yet attracted the attention that their talents merit. KAPLAN All right. Well, let's then turn to your next selection, which comes from your son's label. It's the Tchaikovsky Second String Quartet. Tell me about why you selected that today. GINSBURG I selected it for two reasons and one is the performers. The group, the chamber group is known as the Vermeer Quartet. When you hear them I think you will appreciate how well they play. I found them so engaging that I'm very much hoping that they will appear at the Supreme Court's 2003 Musicale, we have the 2002 Musicale already planned. This group has done two Tchaikovsky discs on my son's label - the one we're about to hear is the very first one. It's a beautiful piece. To me it's the instrumental counterpart to a heartrending Puccini aria. [Music] KAPLAN The Third Movement from Tchaikovsky's Second String Quartet performed by the Vermeer Quartet on the Cedille label, the record company of the son of my guest Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on today's edition of "Mad About Music". You can learn more about Justice Ginsburg, read a transcript or re-hear today's show or catch up on any of our previous shows by visiting our website on WNYC.org. [Station Break] KAPLAN This is Gilbert Kaplan back with my guest Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Let's turn to opera. This really is your first love in music, isn't it? GINSBURG Yes, it is. My first and continuing love. KAPLAN Now, you mentioned earlier you were a super, or an extra once, in an opera. Did you ever fanaticize about being a performer? GINSBURG In my dreams, yes. I am ... KAPLAN What role might you pursue if you were going to be a performer? GINSBURG I might be Beverly Sills as Cleopatra, or in any of her "queen" roles. I could be Renata Tebaldi or, if I'm going down to a lower register, my great friend, a magical mezzo named Denyce Graves. KAPLAN Now, I may be doing you son an injustice here, but he did tell me that you sometimes have a dream which is a nightmare about being a performer - would you be willing to talk about that here? GINSBURG I'm not sure which dream James meant, but I do have one of coming out on stage, dressed as a diva, and then I must sing and I know that I am what my grade school teachers called a "sparrow", and not a "robin". That's my nightmare - being found out. KAPLAN That they'll actually hear you sing. All right. Now when it comes to productions I'm curious about your taste there, just to use the Supreme Court terminology, I mean, are you a strict Constructionist in that you expect the opera to look exactly the way the libretto said it should or are you open to great interpretative productions? GINSBURG I think I'm open to variations but only if the staging fits the story and the characters. One example of such a modern construction was the Rigoletto that was done at the City Opera some years ago - I think it was an English production. It was set on a waterfront, there was a tavern, the Duke comes along, he puts a coin in the jukebox and out comes La donna mobile. KAPLAN Marvelous. GINSBURG That setting fit the story ve
- Description
- Cole Porter: "Tale of the Oyster" with Samuel Ramey. Live from the United States Supreme Court, May 26, 1994, and aired on NPR "Performance Today". Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 22 [First Movement]. Vermeer Quartet. Cedille Records CDR 90000 017Menotti: The Medium, "Monica's Waltz" with Patrice Michaels Bedi. Chicago Opera Theater, Lawrence Rapchak, Conductor. Cedille Records CDR 90000 034. Puccini: Tosca [Excerpts] with Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano. Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Alla Scala. Victor de Sabata, Conductor. Musical Heritage Society 524973H. Ravel: Violin Sonata [Second Movement] with Cho-Liang Lin and pianist Ken Noda. Live from the United States Supreme Court, May 11, 1999, and aired on NPR "Performance Today".
- Genres
- Interview
- Rights
- Owner/Custodial History: Produced by WNYC Radio and funded in part by a grant from The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and by the listeners of WNYC.; Acquisition Source: WNYC; Terms of Use & Repro: 2002 WNYC Radio
- Media type
- Sound
- Credits
-
-
: Ginsburg, Ruth Bader
Host: Kaplan, Gilbert E.
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WNYC-FM
Identifier: 38868.1 (WNYC Media Archive MDB)
Format: Data CD
Duration: 01:00:00
-
WNYC-FM
Identifier: 38868.2 (WNYC Media Archive MDB)
Format: Data CD
Generation: Copy: Access
Duration: 01:00:00
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “WNYC; Mad About Music; Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed May 18, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-10jsz2xs.
- MLA: “WNYC; Mad About Music; Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. May 18, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-10jsz2xs>.
- APA: WNYC; Mad About Music; Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Boston, MA: WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-10jsz2xs