David Hyde Pierce - a.k.a. Niles Crane
4/22/202633 min
Actor David Hyde Pierce has had a long career in film, television and the theater. He’s best known to listeners for his portrayal of Niles Crane on the sitcom "Frasier." He joins Manny to talk about his life and love of classical music and listen to some of their favorite recordings. They also play a game called “Animal or Instrument.”
Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.
Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 80 "Choral Fantasy": Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 80
Beethoven
Leon McCawley, piano
City of London Choir
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.
Piano Trio No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 "Archduke": III. Andante cantabile
Beethoven
Xyrion Trio
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor": I. Allegro
Beethoven
Boris Giltburg, piano
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko
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Credits
Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.
Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.
Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.
Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
Classical Music Happy Hour is supported by Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort, offering destination-focused small ship experiences on all seven continents with a shore excursion included in every port and programs designed for cultural enrichment. And every Viking voyage is all-inclusive, with no children and no casinos. Learn more at viking.com.
David Hyde Pierce· Guest0:26
There was one wonderful exchange between me and Frasier where I think Frasier says, "Remember when we thought the 1812 Overture was good music?" And Niles says, "Were we ever that young?"
Emanuel Ax· Host0:36
[laughs] [laughs] From WQXR and Carnegie Hall, this is Classical Music Happy Hour, hosted by me, pianist Manny Ax. Each episode, we'll speak with a special guest about their lives, listen to some of their favorite musical gems, play music-inspired games, and answer questions from you, our listeners. My guest today is the actor David Hyde Pierce. You may know him for his many television, movie, and stage appearances, including the character of Niles Crane from the sitcom Frasier, where he played Frasier's fastidious but lovable brother. In that role, he won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor four times. In recent years, he's been very active in musical theater, performing in productions of Hello, Dolly!, The Pirates of Penzance, and