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December 31, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-31-07 at 08:00 PM
Not to be a misanthrope, but to be a misanthrope, I've always found the concern over what to do on New Year's Eve irksome. I've spent several of the things doing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, consequently waking with a clear head to greet the dawn of the New Year. (Well, the lazy holiday version of the dawn, at any rate.)
But the one thing about New Year's Eve I do rather like is the count down. There's something so pleasantly silly and kind of vaguely tatty about it, in a Times Square kind of way. So I was glad to hear that Laurie Brown will be ringing in the New Year tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) in a nice old-fashioned manner, with a count down with The Signal team, a little bubbly, and Spike Jones and His City Slickers. And before that she'll share her ten "Dos and Don'ts" for successful New Year's celebrations. Hmm, I wonder if being slightly misanthropic about the whole thing is on the "don'ts" list?
So since I'm probably going to be asleep by midnight, (or perhaps wake up just for the countdown then go down for the count again), you heard it hear first, unless you're in Australia or something: TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX ETCETERA...HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-31-07 at 05:00 PM
Actually, that subject heading is a tad misleading, since tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) you can hear a range of music, from romance, with vocalist Chiaro Civello, to mambo from DePhazz, jazz from the Canadian trio Coldfront, and a set of tunes recorded live at the Cafe Montmartre in Copenhagen featuring Brazilian singing star Tania Maria -- a nice pre-party party mix. So just forget about that disco nap!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-31-07 at 02:00 PM
Speaking of Louis Lortie, as we were earlier today, today he and violinist Gidon Kramer tackle variations on Auld Lang Syne, on DiscDrive.
Now here's a question for you about Auld Lang Syne. How far can you get with the lyrics? I found myself humming it as I wrote the song title, but realized that what was going through my mind was: should old aquaintance be forgot, ta dum, da dum dum dummmmm. Should old aquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne.
Proof, perhaps, that I don't take New Year's Eve all that seriously. That said, I do indeed hope that if you are celebrating, you have a lovely evening! (And that you know all the words.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-31-07 at 12:30 PM
Many are turning their minds back to the musical year that was, including Radio 3, who are holding their Year-End Musical Marathon, New Year's Eve @ 3 pm ET, and again on New Year's Day @ 6 am ET.
And as always, Large Hearted Boy updates his large hearted list of lists of bloggers and other assorteds, creating lists of favourite music from the past year.
I kind of like Blogs Are For Dogs approach -- he predicted which albums were going to be his favourites of the year -- before they were released.
Also in New Year's Eve pop music notes: Radiohead will be "broadcasting a pre-recording of some songs and other bits on New Years Eve.." at some point on Radiohead TV.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-31-07 at 10:30 AM
Perhaps this (looking back while looking ahead) is an impossibility, but 'tis the time of year for figuratively speaking, and Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) does both today, first with a look ahead to mark the upcoming 100th anniversary (in April, 2008) of the birth of legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan. Host Eric Friesen talks with Vas Polakis, for 30 years the head of Polygram Classics in Canada. Polakis knew von Karajan, worked with him, and saw him conduct many times.
Then, it's a look back via an encore presentation of the Studio Sparks' Glenn Gould special, first heard on Gould's birthday earlier this year. You'll hear memories of and reflections about Gould from many renowned musicians: Andre Previn, Murray Perahia, and Emanuel Ax, among others...plus a lot of wonderful music played by Gould himself.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-31-07 at 08:00 AM
Here's To You (9 a.m.) celebrates the upcoming New Year this morning, but also a wedding anniversary - and (I'm not quite sure how this request came in, presumably by ecatmail) a pair of faithful felines ask for a Brahms Violin Sonata to close out the year. And the requests wind up in grand style with the gala party scene from Strauss' Die Fledermaus.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-31-07 at 12:00 AM
No, not that they're in a funk, what with all that rain, but that they're playing funk -- at least Soulstream is, as well as soul and R&B. You can hear them Monday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.), with a mix of originals and covers of classic tunes by the likes of Stevie Wonder,Tower of Power, and James Brown. Very danceable!
Led by drummer Randall Stoll, the band has lots of talent well known on the Vancouver scene, including Brad Turner, Bill Runge, Chris Gestrin, Russ Klyne and vocalists Rebecca Shoicet and Tim Fuller. The 10-piece band must also be one of the longest running house-bands in the country, playing Vancouver's Bar None for a decade now, each and every week -- in fact this concert comes from the bar, and it also features Canada Live host , Andrew Craig, on keyboards.
If for some reason you can't make the broadcast, you can also hear the Soulstream concert as a Concert On Demand.
Also on the show Monday night, the great jazz singer Tierney Sutton, one of the few people to do interesting, original work with jazz standards these days...all of which led to being named Vocalist of the Year by Jazz Week two years ago, not to mention performing to SRO crowds at venues like Birdland and Carnegie Hall. This concert comes to you from the 2007 Vancouver International Jazz Festival.
December 30, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-30-07 at 09:00 PM
The other day I was thinking how exhausted I was from the holidays. All that challenging eating and drinking and making small talk. And as lovely as visiting family is (in my case, I know this is not true in all, and yes, I consider myself fortunate) there is something of a relief in finding oneself alone in one's own home again.
Or, as the weekend crew of The Signal (10 p.m.) put it, "houseguests are like fish, they start to go off after three days." So tonight on the show Pat plays beautiful music to "sit back and chill to," with no obligations other than to listen.
First the choral concert, Byzantine 2007, where UK composer John Tavener collaborated with Greek-Canadian composer Christos Hatzis. Among other compositions, Pat features Hatzis' piece The Troparion of Kassiani, featuring the voice of Patricia Rozario.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-30-07 at 07:00 PM
Colleen Brown has a new recording called Foot In Heart -- pretty much summed up by this quote from the singer:
"All of my life I can recall my cheeks turning rosy, a change of stomach tide, and that ominous internal voice 'what did I just say?' sounding off in my head. It happens every time I put my foot in my mouth, as that play on words would have it. But that is the reality of my existence: leaping before looking - and then looking, and looking some more. It occurred to me that this is also how I've approached love, which explains my pre-occupation in writing songs about that."
You can hear her tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), and here -- Colleen Brown, Live In Edmonton -- as a Concert On Demand.
Also on Can Live tonight, consider it a little warm up for New Year's Eve -- Colin James and his Little Big Band, with some jump blues and R&B, performed live at the final stop of the "Little Big Band 3" Canadian tour this year.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-30-07 at 04:00 PM
This eve on Tonic (6 p.m.) Tim Tamashiro presents his Top Five Tunes of 2007. Now there's a brave man, going for five -- really concentrates the mind. I bet one of them is from Laila Bialli, at least, if his pick for Musical Gifts From The Radio 2 Hosts is any indication.
Also on the show, profiles of two very different artists - producer Phil Ramone and Cuban-Canadian guitarist Alexis Puentes, a.k.a "the pride of Smither's B.C.," that hotbed of Cuban music.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-30-07 at 12:00 PM
In case you missed the earlier post, today Sunday Afternoon In Concert celebrates the performers that they've featured since the show first went to air. The music includes live performances from Louis Lortie, Andre Laplante and Marc André Hamelin.
Also the TSO performs planetary music in the shape of Holst and by Abigail Richardson (who earlier this season set the show's email address, SAIC@CBC.CA as a twelve tone row!).
The show also marks the end of Stravinsky's 125th year with the TSO and a performance of his Capriccio, performed by pianist Alexander Toradze, with conductor Valery Gergiev. Also a chamber concert with Montreal pianist Paul Stewart, focussing on the work of keyboard master Nikolai Medtner.
Finally, just a hop skip and a jump across a considerable landmass and a couple bodies of water, there's also music by some Continental Britons, in performances by the Grammy nominated ensemble Artists of the Royal Conservatory.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-30-07 at 11:05 AM
Today, Inside The Music (12:00) continues with episode nine of the Concerto According to Manny . This episode features the music of John Adams, said to “map fragments of romantic harmony onto the electric grid of minimalism.” Many consider Adams the essence of America today, and that essence is exemplified by his piano concerto Century Rolls.
Commissioned by Emanuel Ax, who co-hosts this series with Studio Sparks' host Eric Friesen, John Adams was inspired to write this concerto after listening to a CD of piano rolls from the 1920s. He heard piano roll music as having a "bright, edgy quality and a rhythmic alertness," regardless of the actual music -- it could be Jelly Roll Morton or Rachmaninov. Adams is of course not the first composer to be inspired by piano rolls, and this piece references composer Conlon Nancarrow’s hand-punched piano rolls, among other music.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-30-07 at 09:30 AM
This Sunday on In The Key Of Charles, at the close of the year 2007, no lists of best-ofs or massive retrospective of the past year from Gregory Charles, no, instead he has music fit for a king – or queen – taking us from Shakespeare to The Sex Pistols.
He tries to choose his favourite song by Nat 'King' Cole, while spinning the royal turntable with recordings by Abba, the Police, Ashley MacIsaac, Joni Mitchell, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Les Violons du Roy, Elvis and many others -- apparently he even impersonates Freddie Mercury. (Of the band Queen, of course!)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-30-07 at 07:00 AM
A quick Choral Concert bulletin -- this week on C.C. (8:00, 8:30 Newfoundland) you can hear Haydn’s Creation oratorio, (Die Schöpfung) with William Christie conducting the orchestra and choirs of Les Arts Florissants.
December 29, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-29-07 at 09:00 PM
The X Avant Festival is a fest run by The Music Gallery, a real hub for new and improvised music, based in Toronto. Naturally The Signal was there to record some of the music, including the performance you can hear tonight (the show begins at 10 p.m.) by the Madawaska String Quartet.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-29-07 at 05:03 PM
One of the marvelous things about jazz, (and something I don't think you hear as much in other kinds of music), that has a long history, is taking any kind of melody or song and playing with it, literally, turning it into something new. So in jazz it's a habit of turning something seemingly un-jazzlike into jazz.
A couple of examples of that on Tonic tonight, including the Nat King Cole Trio's rendition of Three Blind Mice, and an interpretation of Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Also, a feature on Vancouver guitarist Bill Coon -- interviewed here by Karen Plato, a fine jazz singer in her own right.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-29-07 at 02:49 PM
Percussion fans may want to check out this Concert On Demand, when percussionists Rodrigo Muñoz, leader of the Latin band Papa Mambo, and Scott Senior of The Duhks joined forces for some serious Latin-based percussion music.
The stage was covered with percussion instruments, and a few guest musicians as well, including Marco Castillo from Brazil, jazz bassist Steve Kirby, turntablist Grant Paley and Samantha Chrol on clarinet and sax.
Percussion Explosion at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-29-07 at 12:00 PM
A quick reminder that this week Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel And Gretel is being broadcast today on SATO, live from the Met. And for more info, just check this previous post, If You Go Out In The Woods Today.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-29-07 at 09:00 AM
The other night I was watching the Coen brothers movie movie "Fargo." There's a scene where two people are standing in a driveway talking about police business, and it's a little awkward, until one of them looks to the sky and makes a comment about the weather.
Ah yes, weather, the great leveler. The one topic, in northern climes, we seem never to tire of. Some of us, in fact many of us, even find the extraordinarily neutral music on the Weather Network so soothing that we are able to watch the local forecast every ten on the tens in a state akin to a Zen calm.
So it's no surprise that the Vinyl Cafe 10:00 (10:30 NT) takes on weather -- today it's all about snow squalls, and white Christmas' and, yup, weather.
Say, what's it doing out your way? Been crazy here lately, snow then rain then a little warm patch, looks like we won't get any more snow here 'til the new year, though you know, it is possible we could get the odd flurry today...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-29-07 at 12:01 AM
A: In this case six, but it was by commission.
I'll explain, but first, a radio producer joke of the same ilk. (Though it could also be applied to many other kinds of "producers.")
Q: How many Producers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: I don't know -- what do you think?
Well, maybe it's only funny if you've ever worked as a producer.
Anyway, here's the scoop with the Song For 2007, performed Saturday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
At the beginning of 2007, CBC asked 6 musicians to write 27 words (as in 2___7, get it?) that described how they felt about the new year. Those 27 words were passed along to someone else in the group, who then wrote the first draft of a song based on the words.
As the year progressed, the drafts passed hands, until finally there were six new songs that involved all of these musicians -- Jim Bryson, Zaki Ibrahim, Sandro Perri, Jenny Whiteley, Andre Ethier and Catriona Sturton. Kind of reminds me of that old camp game, where one person starts a story, leaving it at a cliff-hanger, then the next person in the circle picks it up. Very fun. (At least, if you're of a certain cast of mind.)
And tonight the songs are being performed by the composer(s), in a mass collaboration on the "final drafts" of each song.
My only quibble is I think they should have used seven musicians, just for some form of arithmetical satisfaction. Then they could continue, so 2008, 8 musicians, etc. Just think of the year 2049!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-29-07 at 12:00 AM
This weekend Sunday Afternoon In Concert takes a look back at some of the performers that they've featured since the show first went to air.
So some pretty great music -- including live performances from Louis Lortie, Andre Laplante and Marc André Hamelin.
Also the Toronto Symphony Orchestra exploring both known and newly ranked planets in music of Holst and by Abigail Richardson (who earlier this season so cleverly set the show's email address, SAIC@CBC.CA as a twelve tone row!).
The show marks the end of Stravinsky's 125th year with the TSO, and a performance of his Capriccio, performed by pianist Alexander Toradze and conductor Valery Gergiev. And in case that's not enough Russians for you, there's a chamber concert with Montreal pianist Paul Stewart, focussing on the great keyboard master Nikolai Medtner.
Finally, just a hop skip and a jump across a considerable landmass and a couple bodies of water, there's also music by some Continental Britons, in performances by the Grammy nominated ensemble Artists of the Royal Conservatory.
December 28, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-28-07 at 08:00 PM
For weeks now Pat Carrabré has been having fun looking at Musical Trends of 2007 -- you know, things like SHOUTING, CLAPPING, playing UKULELES, and so on. (Why are they in CAPS? No particular reason, really, it's just that the word SHOUTING always seems to demand that, and the others fell into place.)
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), Pat does a grand count down of all the trends, awarding the one performer or band in 2007 who exploited and used the greatest number of top ten trends in just one song. I really couldn't hazard a guess as to who managed to SHOUT and CLAP and play UKULELE and bring in the BRASS BAND and the NATURE SOUNDS etc. etc. all in one piece.
Unless maybe Feist got together with Ohbijou and National Parcs and Beirut when I wasn't looking?
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-28-07 at 07:00 PM
Paul Brandt, said (by Wiki) to be "the most awarded country musician in Canadian history," based himself in in Nashville for a long time, nearly a decade before moving back to Calgary. Brandt is also a philanthopist -- among other things he works with terminally ill children -- harkening back to earlier life experience when he worked as a nurse. This spring some of this work will be honoured, when he's presented with the newly minted Allan Waters Humanitarian Award during the Juno Awards in Calgary.
Meantime, you can tune into Canada Live (8 p.m.) tonight to hear this concert with Brandt, or check it online -- Paul Brandt at Concerts on Demand.
And a quick note that there is also a second concert on Can. Live tonight -- another Calgarian, Chad vanGaalen, singer-songwriter, visual artist, animator and instrument builder!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-28-07 at 03:22 PM
On this day, back in 1944, the musical On The Town premiered on Broadway.
If you're thinking, "huh? what songs come from On The Town?" being told that I Can Cook Too is among them probably won't help. But the Bernstein/Comden/Green collaboration also contained such songs as Some Other Time and New York, New York. (Played at the end of every game in Yankee stadium, just to rub it in for the out of towners. Unless, of course, the Jays win. But I get ahead of myself, spring training isn't even around the corner yet, sigh.)
Anyway, back to On The Town -- tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) Katie has a bit of a salute to the musical. As well, Tommy Flanagan fans take note -- this evening you can hear a live trio set from the Village Vanguard -- the trio eminent jazz writer Garry Giddins once said was "the standard by which piano trios are measured."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-28-07 at 12:35 PM
I notice that today on DiscDrive, Jurgen will be playing Norbert Kraft performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and this, in a handy segue, reminds me that there is also a Concert On Demand you may be interested in, from the CBC Radio Orchestra, a programme called Sketches Of Spain.
Guitarist Alvaro Pierri joins the orchestra and music director Alain Trudel for Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, and contralto Claire Gignac sings music by Manuel da Falla. Also,a new work commissioned by the CBC from the Montreal composer Robert M. Lepage.
Sketches of Spain at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-28-07 at 10:00 AM
Back by popular request, the special that Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) did with Murray Perahia, who at 60 is one of the great pianists of our time.
Earlier this year Mr. Perahia began his North American tour in Vancouver, which is where Studio Sparks interviewed him -- at a Steinway piano in a music studio. So today you can hear Murray Perahi in live performance, and from in his recordings, and talking about music.
I came across this quote from Murray Perahia, which seems apt for the pianist at this stage in his life and career. (And, come to think of it, a wise observation for music and life in general...)
"You can spend a lifetime on a masterpiece, but it's not a question of perfection, it's a question of deepening. And to do that, you need other experience."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-28-07 at 12:00 AM
Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel And Gretel was premiered on December 23, 1893, so maybe that's why it's a holiday favourite. When you think about it, why else? Abandonment, sinister gingerbread houses, being locked in a cage?
Turns out there is another reason though. The librettist (the composer’s sister Adelheid Wette) had requested a Christmas gift from her brother one year, that he write some songs based on the Brothers Grimm tale for her kids. Eventually it grew into a whole opera. Also --Met Trivia Bulletin -- The Met’s live Saturday radio broadcast series began with Hansel and Gretel on Christmas Day, 1931.
So it is indeed a holiday tradition, and this weekend on SATO, live from the Met, you can hear the opera, with Philip Langridge as the Witch -- in a new English adaptation.
Following the Met broadcast Bill Richardson features other operatic tales conceived for children, or at least, the child in all of us.
And here are those all-important cast details:
Hansel: Alice Coote
Gretel: Christine Schäfer
Gertrude: Rosalind Plowright
The Witch: Philip Langridge
Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski
December 27, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-27-07 at 08:35 PM
There's been quite a buzz in recent months about the band Ohbijou, led by a young singer named Casey Mecija, who have a very au courant sound, with glockenspiels and melodicas and ukuleles turned pop/indie/folk --it's quite charming. And you can hear for yourself tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), as they feature the band.
Also on the show, a concert from the Glenn Gould Studio featuring the music of Gary Kulesha and Michael Hynes.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-27-07 at 04:30 PM
A little earlier today I mentioned Barbie at the Symphony as one way (perhaps an extraordinarily commercial way but one way nonetheless) of getting younger audiences interested in classical music. (Though I was amused to see a competition for tickets where to win, you had to know the name of Barbie's boyfriend. Now there's a way to challenge young minds.)
Anyway, on a somewhat related note, the ever enterprising Metropolitan Opera has taken its live opera simulcasts at the movies into the schools -- simulcasting the opera in a number of New York City public high schools. Can you imagine, sitting in the gym, and instead of listening to someone droning on about whatever it is gets droned on about at school assemblies, seeing and hearing Anna Netrebko singing Juliet?
For the full story, here's a piece in the New York Sun.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-27-07 at 03:30 PM
Steve Bell has been called “a Canadian musical treasure.” It must be nice to be a treasure, I've often wondered what that would be like. In any event, Mr. Bell is a treasure because of his songs and stories, which many find inspirational, and for his engaging stage presence. In this performance you can hear him with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Prairie Voices choir and conductor Rei Hotoda.
By the way, some of his stories, very much a part of his shows, are based on time spent in Kenya and Ethiopia. And as some kind of quantification of how people react to his work -- last year’s sold out performance in Winnipeg resulted in a cross Canada tour, and three nights (also sold out) again this December on stage with the WSO.
A Feast of Seasons at Concerts on Demand
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-27-07 at 01:30 PM
If you are in Liverpool today, and have charge of some little girl so old-fashioned as to not be fixating on Miley Cyrus or whatever other au courant fixations a little girl may have, you could be going to see/hear Barbie at the Symphony. Yes, Barbie kicks off her tour today with a date at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, with selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and Swan Lake, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony and Dvorak’s Symphony from the New World.
As the orchestra plays, a large screen behind the orchestra features characters from Barbie movies singing and dancing -- AND interacting with the conductor. I wonder how Barbie's time is?
To be less cynical, perhaps, aside from the obvious commercial ploy, I suppose it is one way of connecting with younger audiences. (Though give me Peter Ustinov and Peter, any day!)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-27-07 at 11:03 AM
At least, for three hours today...on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) Today Eric presents an all-Brahms extravaganza, including the Academic Festival Overture, excerpts from symphonies and the violin concerto, piano works, chamber music, and even a little Celine Dion, (think: lullaby), and the Ramsey Lewis Trio.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-27-07 at 08:00 AM
If you've ever gone downstairs in Massey Hall in Toronto (there's a bar there, admittedly the main lure other than product sales) you'll have seen that there are rows of glass cases containing archival newspaper clippings, reviews of performances at Massey, notes about the building itself. You could literally be there for hours before reading them all.
It's particularly interesting if you write or read music reviews in the 21st century -- to see how writers of pervious eras thought and wrote about music. Once I copied a paragraph from a review written in 1909 of a performance by dancer Isadora Duncan interpreting Gluck. (Sorry, in an old journal with no citation as to the writer or publication.) Its insight was, I thought, very acute:
"There are many paths to the musical heart," read the review. "And no authority have we to prescribe this or that as certain or correct."
Today Massey Hall is being celebrated on Here's To You (9 a.m.), as part of their Musical Excursions series, with music that underscores some historic performances. You can hear music by Stravinsky, and music featuring the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, (who performed their first concert there in 1895!) Jascha Heifetz, the Heartbeat Drummers of Japan, Gordon Lightfoot, Artur Rubinstein and many more great musicians who performed in the "old lady of Shuter Street."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-27-07 at 12:00 AM
Quebec folk-based music continues to thrive -- at least that's what it looks like from outside the province, with newer groups like Le Vent du Nord gathering strength.
Interesting to note that there was a point, in the late 19th, early 20th century, that folk music in Quebec was performed by opera singers as well as popular singers -- in part as a symbol of cultural survival. And I imagine that the music is still viewed that way in some quarters. But back to Le Vent du Nord.
Thursday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.), the band performs their versions of trad Quebecois music -- for which they've received a Juno award and a Canadian Folk Music award to date. Aside from the official commendations, let me chime in here -- yes, they're good, spirited and fun and accomplished. This concert was recorded by CBC when their third recording, Dans les airs was released; the performance was in l'Assomption, east of Montreal.
btw, should you be in Burlington Vermont on Jan. 5, you could hear a double bill with Le Vent du Nord and La Bottine Souriante! Killer.
Thursday night's second concert on Can. Live is the Roberto Lopez Project, a Montrealer who is originally from Colombia, and put together a pan-South American/Quebec group to perform original music rooted in styles from Afro-Colombian and Afro-Cuban to hip-hop, jazz and electronica. Or, as the band describes it, they're a "polycultural orchestra, which gathers an arsenal of rhythms and sonic colors to create a fantastic audio world."
This concert comes to you from the Theatre Outremont, recorded in September after they spent much of the summer playing festivals around the country.
December 26, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-26-07 at 07:17 PM
Sometimes, writing about Canada Live (8 p.m.) concerts, it's easy to mislead with subject headings for posts. So just to be clear from the beginning, no this isn't The Art Of Time with Isabel Bayrakdarian, but two distinct concerts.
First, it's what I think of as The Art Of Time's "Schubert Show," where Artistic Director Andrew Burashko invited singer-songwriters Sarah Slean, Andy Maize, Martin Tielli, Danny Michel and John Southworth to interpret music from Franz Schubert's iconic E flat Piano Trio D. 929.
Here's what Burashko had to say about his intention: "I asked each of these wonderful musicians to take as little or as much as they wanted from this rich Schubert work. I didn't want to limit their creativity in any way."
And if you can't catch the broadcast, Schubert -- Source And Inspiration, is also available as a Concert On Demand.
And then, Isabel Bayrakdarian and Amici in concert at the Glenn Gould Studio. In this concert Bayrakdarian sings Spanish songs by Fernando Obradors, and the Amici Chamber Ensemble plays a piano trio by Armenian composer Arno Babadjanian.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-26-07 at 04:00 PM
Guys and Dolls is a musical that pretty much passed me by, until about two years ago. I think it was the title, so, well guy and dollish. But then, under fierce prodding from family members who love G&D, I went to a performance in London that was truly awesome. An amazing production, with great singing and dancing, and they even served ice cream in little dixie cups in the interval.
Tonight Tonic (6 p.m.) plays some music from Guys And Dolls, which songs I don't know, but I'm hoping If I Were A Bell, a standard I've always loved but confess I hadn't realized was from the musical, before going to see the production. (I know, for shame.)
Plus, there's a set of tunes from singer/pianist/comedian Dave Frishberg recorded live at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, which should be lots of fun -- Frishberg is the guy (not the doll) who wrote such gems as My Attorney Bernie and I'm Hip.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-26-07 at 01:00 PM
I've often wondered, given the vast amounts of Christmas music and accompanying love or hate relationship some people have to it, why there isn't music for Boxing Day. If only to dilute the emotional responses to the Christmas Day music.
Well, lo and behold, I sense the faint beginnings of a Boxing Day Music movement -- via this original, rocking song and video from the Holiday Hipsters, called Carol Of The Boxing Day Music Video. (The "carol" includes this appealing line, "what does google say, about this holiday," rather a nice rhyming scheme.)
The Holiday Hipsters (who feature one Canadian in their otherwise American contingent) have a simple and sound mission: "Giving musical merit to less fortunate holidays."
And clearly they are plumbing the depths of this potential mine of inspiration, given that their latest song is called "The Legend Of Quilting Day."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-26-07 at 10:30 AM
The Thames has frozen forty times in recorded history. (Clearly doesn't have a patch on the Rideau Canal!) Helen Humphries, an author who lives in Kingston, has written a collection of stories about this, called, appropriately enough, The Frozen Thames. Here's a lovely description of the book, admittedly from the publisher, but still:
"Like a photograph captures a moment, etching it forever on the consciousness, so does Humphreys’ achingly beautiful prose. She deftly draws us into these intimate moments, transporting us through time so that we believe ourselves observers of the events portrayed. Whether it’s Queen Matilda trying to escape her besieged castle in a snowstorm, or lovers meeting on the frozen river in the plague years; whether it’s a simple farmer persuading his oxen the ice is safe, or Queen Bess discovering the rare privacy afforded by the ice-covered Thames, the moments are fleeting and transformative for the characters — and for us, too."
Today Ms. Humphries is on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), with music and stories and -- a non-Thames moment -- you can also hear Part 2 of J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio, from a recording by the Bach Collegium of Japan.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-26-07 at 08:00 AM
Here's To You (9 a.m.) is broadcasting three favourites from their "Excursion" series this week, beginning with Inspired By Bach, exploring Bach's music through musicians who have been inspired by him. Which presents much scope, so no surprise this doesn't mean solely classical performers/composers/conductors. In fact you'll hear music from the likes of Bela Fleck, Wendy Carlos, Leopold Stokowski and many more.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-26-07 at 12:00 AM
I don't know about you, but when I think of Kylie Minogue (which is almost never, except at weddings) my next thought is not, "oh, I hear her all the time on The Signal."
Well, Wednesday night Kylie has her Signal moment, albeit one that has been created by the imaginative guitarist Noel Akchoté.
And on a more expected but equally interesting note, you can also hear Gorecki's Harpsichord Concerto, recorded live in concert by the Composers Orchestra at Glenn Gould Studio. Let it never be said that The Signal (10 p.m.) walks a musically ordinary path...
btw, can't seem to find a website for Noel Akchoté, but here is an interview with him from SKUG magazine that's a few years old, but quite unbridled, and interesting.
December 25, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-25-07 at 12:00 AM
'Tis December 25th. Mice are now stirring, since Christmas Eve (the day upon which mice are forbidden to stir, as well as other creatures all through the house) has passed, and now we are into Christmas Day proper.
On a more prosaic, less whimsical note (though speaking of the latter, could not resist Santa on the railroad, despite the lack of snow) CBC Radio 2 has a full day of special holiday programming that replaces the regular daily schedule.
And here, without further ado, is the entire broadcast day:
The day begins at midnight, as it so often does, but in this instance with Holly & Maple, hosted by Catherine Belyea, featuring recordings from around the world.
6:00/6:30 Newfoundland: Tom Allen will be on the airwaves as per usual with Music & Company, (he's over on Radio 1 as well, how Tom multi-tasks) with music and stories befitting the season.
10:00/10:30 Newfoundland brings us the Montreal Sing-In, hosted by Dave Bronstetter. I like the notion of a sing-in, rather than a sit in, particularly if it includes the cast that this Sing-In includes: choir, brass, percussion, organ and an audience of 1500 from The Church of St Andrew and St Paul in Montreal.
This event, as many will know, has a venerable history with CBC, in fact It’s the 28th annual CBC Christmas Sing-In, featuring the Choir of The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. The organist is Jonathan Oldengarm, trumpeter is Niklas Eklund, the brass ensemble is led by Guy Bernard, all under the direction of Julian Wachner. Also featured is special guest soprano Marianne Fiset, winner of the 2007 Montreal International Musical Competition. (Note: You can also hear the CBC Christmas Sing-In at Concerts On Demand.)
Noon O'Clock/Noon O' Thirty Newfoundland brings the annual broadcast of Handel's Messiah, music that many will be waiting for, some to bring out their scores and sing along with (including my mother, happy singalong Messiah, Mom!).
This year Eric Friesen presents a "made-in-Canada Messiah": a live concert recording by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, soloists, and two choirs: the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, and Seventeen Voyces, all under the direction of leading Baroque interpreter Trevor Pinnock.
The soloists include some of Canada's finest vocal stars: Kathleen Brett, soprano; Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto; Gordon Gietz, tenor, and Joshua Hopkins, baritone.
3:00/3:30 Newfoundland, it's Andrew Craig's Gospel Christmas, from Old Town Hall in Almonte, Ontario. Jackie Richardson, Sharon Riley & Faith Chorale and others join Andrew Craig for Christmas carols, gospel-style. The concert covers a wide range of musical genres, all under the Gospel umbrella - from traditional old-time gospel to modern funk and calypso. Andrew also has released a recording of the Gospel Christmas Project, at CBC Records.
5:00/5:30Newfoundland: A New Kind of Light celebrates Christmas with music from singer/songwriters Jill Barber, Rose Cousins and Meaghan Smith - three talented performers from the East Coast music scene. Also their CD release celebration for their recording of the same name as the concert, the performance was a fundraiser, with proceeds from the concert ticket sales and the CD sales going to Maritime food banks. This concert was performed at the Rebecca Cohn Theatre in Halifax, hosted by Heidi Petracek. (Note: You can also hear A New Kind Of Light at Concerts On Demand.)
6:00/6:30 Newfoundland brings you A Canadian Country Christmas, which was recorded at the CBC Galleria in Regina. Another benefit -- audience members for the acoustic show were encouraged to make donations to the local food bank. A Canadian Country Christmas has lots of original seasonal music by country-based singer/songwriters including Sean Hogan, Julian Austin, Duane Steele, Samantha King, and Greg Hanna.
7:00/7:30 Newfoundland: Baby It's Cold Outside, hosted by Andrew Craig, recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio, features Molly Johnson and special guest Ben Heppner, with a great backup band, saxophonist Colleen Allen, Guido Basso on trumpet, Mike Downes on bass, Mark Kelso on drums, and Joe Sealy on piano. (Note: You can also hear Baby It's Cold Outside at Concerts On Demand.)
6:05/6:35 Newfoundland, it's highlights from Joy To The World, hosted by Howard Dyck, the annual day-long holiday special (broadcast last Sunday on Radio 2), featuring choirs and songs from across Europe.
10:00/10:30 Newfoundland, Laurie Brown hosts the Christmas Day version of The Signal, with a quiet celebration of "winter music." This includes music from Sufjan Stevens's collection of Christmas music, as well as the music of Winnipeg composer Glenn Buhr and his Winter Poems. For those listening in the wee smalls, Laurie will be playaing Michael Nyman's The Infinite Complexities of Christmas as well as fascinating electronic remixes of Handel's Messiah.
Thank you for reading/listening; best of the season to all, and to all a good night!
December 24, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-24-07 at 07:00 PM
Tonight the programming on Radio 2 turns towards Christmas, with a number of special broadcasts, and here's what's in the hopper. (I suppose "hopper" is a bit inappropriate in midwinter, since isn't it usually associated with funneling grain? Although maybe coal, too, come to think of it.) Anyway, just to be on the safe side: take two, here's what's coming down the radio chimney this evening.
A Montreal Choral Christmas, hosted by Kelly Rice, 8:00 p.m.
The CBC/McGill Youth Choir Gala
From Pollack Hall in Montreal, the CBC/McGill Concert Series presents its 5th annual Youth Choir Gala. Guest conductor Zimfira Poloz leads two hundred young singers from Montreal and Ottawa: The McGill Conservatory Youth Choir, the EMSB Senior Chorale, Les Voix Boréales, the Montreal Children's Choir, the Ensemble Vocal Senior De La Salle, and the South Shore Children's Chorus, in a programme of holiday favourites from around the world. Also, podorhythmist Pierre Chartrand, (I'm going to assume this means he "play feet"!) accordionist Frank Sears, and fiddler André Brunet join the singers in a grand finale featuring a CBC commissioned suite by Erica Phare of Christmas songs made famous by Quebec social activist-folksinger Mary Travers, a.k.a. La Bolduc.
And the second concert:
Les Violons du Roy et La Chapelle de Québec
From the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Montreal, conductor Bernard Labadie leads les Violons du Roy, la Chapelle de Québec, and an all-star Canadian cast of soloists in J.S. Bach's Magnificat. It's performed in its original version, first heard in Leipzig, Germany, on Christmas Day, 1723.
Feast of Seasons, Hosted by Wabanakwut Kinew, 10:00 p.m.
Juno Award winning Steve Bell and his band join the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for a Feast of Seasons, a programme including holiday classics, traditional hymns and storytelling.
Home for Christmas, Host - Francesca Swann 11:00 p.m.
Francesca Swann takes you to one of Newfoundland's historic homes for a Christmas house party in St. John's, the home of Cantus Vocum's Choir Director, Chad Stride. Cantus Vocum will perform seasonal favourites, and there will also be a performance of The 3 Minute Messiah! Local accordionist, Stan Pickett, and Andrew Lang on mandocello will perform some Christmas tunes and tell a few Newfoundland stories to round out the evening. The 3 Minute Messiah, eh. Wonder if it goes something like this: All We Like Sheep, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-24-07 at 02:00 PM
It's hard to write these words -- Oscar Peterson died last night. He was eighty-two.
Just this morning, on Here's To You, there was a track of Oscar playing a Jobim tune. I came into it part way through, and not knowing it was him, was just blown away by the playing. I was working though, and didn't consciously think about who was playing. When I heard it was him, my reaction was, "of course!" Of course, because who else played exactly like that?
There is much to be said about "O.P.," as he was called. (I'll never forget being in a jazz club years ago when he came in, just to listen, and across the entire room you could hear people whispering, "O.P., O.P. is here." It was like royalty had just entered the room, and indeed royalty had.)
And there will be much said, in all media in days to come. Even now there are of course initial obituaries, one here on this website at CBC.ca news.
Tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) Katie will pay a special tribute, and starting on January 2nd, Tonic will also be airing an award winning 8 part documentary series by Chris Brookes, called About Oscar in the first hour of the weekday version of the show -- so from Jan 2-4, and 7-11.
And right now, if I could request something for Oscar, it would not be a moment of silence. It would be that everyone would just listen to some of his great music.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-24-07 at 12:02 AM
In the halls and byways of CBC radio buildings across the land, the lead up to Christmas is often, well, frenzied. Not because of any excess of nog and shortbread, although sometimes these "mood enhancers" do come into play. But mostly because producers and hosts are doing more work than usual, so that they can take a little holiday, so that they can come back and do more work than usual to catch up from the little holiday. I'm sure you know the scenario from your own life.
But this is why I was really pleased that a number of R2 hosts found time in the mad rush to choose some music that they would like to give to you -- had they your address and very large bank accounts. So, from some of your Radio 2 hosts (in alphabetical order) to you, here are their musical gifts:
Tom Allen, host of Music & Company: "I really liked Fabio Biondi's new recording of Vivaldi concertos for Viola d'Amore. It's passionate playing and driving energy, with lyricism and grace. That, and played on the Viola of Love... who wouldn't want passionate music played on the Viola of Love? And in pop, me and millions of others and the Grammy Nominations Committee, we all liked Feist's The Reminder. It's smart and leaves more questions than answers."
Catherine Belyea, host of Here's To You: "I've chosen just one of thousands of possible CDs featuring amazing vocalists: Mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson with Roger Vignoles, piano, Songs by Mahler, Handel & Peter Lieberson. I'm joining the chorus on this one, which pays tribute to the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, a consummate artist who's radiant voice spun a web of enchantmant around all who heard her—in concerts, recitals or opera. Her 1998 recital at Wigmore Hall in London has been released this year through a partnership with BBC Radio 3 on the new Wigmore Hall LIVE series. The sense of occasion and audience involvement add greatly to the power of this CD, but its the radiant power of Hunt Lieberson's voice that will haunt you."
Laurie Brown, weekday host of The Signal: "I'd like to give Ma Fleur by The Cinematic Orchestra. The whole album is superb - with different vocalists adding their talents - but for my money it's the songs with Patrick Watson on vocals that really shine. An inspiring collaboration.....and an album that makes you stop what you're doing - lie down in the living room and listen hard..."
Pat Carrabré, weekend host of The Signal: " There are two I'd like to give, the first one is Montreal's National Parcs, they put out a great first CD this year. Timbervision's full of energy from the great beats they create to go along with their infectious singing. How did they do it? Well, they went out into the bush and used whatever they could find - piles of pine cones, kindling, stumps, loon calls... you name it. Its a nice reminder of summer on a cold winter day. For the best effect, try Tropical Winter. It combines samples of Inuit Throat singing and Steel Pan Drumming. I'm also enjoying Nevertheless by Christine Fellows. She has a way of making these everyday little stories special. How can you not love an album with a track called The Goddess of Macrame. My current favorite is The Spinster's Almanac. I'd love to meet the grand old lady in that song. She reads Yeats to her chickens!"
Eric Friesen, host of Studio Sparks: "Top of my musical gift list this year is Simone Dinnerstein's new recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations on TELARC. I know, I know - heresy in the Gould year to suggest that another Goldbergs should be the top of anyone's list. Yet, because of the Gould year, this recording hasn't penetrated our consciousness here as much as it has in the US (Dinnerstein is from Brooklyn, NY) or in the UK. This is very different from Gould, but really compelling.
And I love the story: a 30-something pianist who dropped out of Julliard and never won any competitions, and whose career really isn't going anywhere, records the Goldbergs with her own money (and $$ borrowed from friends). Then an angel from Israel, who'd heard about her, paid for a recital at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, to which he invited all the New York critics and agents and people in the business, and Simone played the Goldbergs for this crowd and it became a New York sensation. Shortly after that, TELARC signed her up and released her privately produced recording. To huge response. William F. Buckley, no less, called this recording 'the single most striking musical experience of my life.'
It's a very personal reading of the Goldbergs, very warm, almost maternal. Simone was pregnant at the time of recording this (with her son Adrian who is now 5), and that may have had something to do with it. And I love this quote she gave to GRAMMOPHONE: 'Having a child has certainly made me firmer in my musical ideas....as a matter of fact, how different is breastfeeding from being a pianist? At the keyboard, you're thinking about what you're putting into it, and what someone else is going to get out of it.' It's certainly worth adding to your Gould and Angela Hewitt and Murray Perahia recordings of the Goldbergs."
Jurgen Goth, host of DiscDrive: Jurgen was very busy with his own Hit List, so no annotations, but here are two pieces of music he'd like to give: Feist's Sealion from her CD The Reminder, and Six Days On The Road from the band Nightlosers' CD, Rhythm & Bulz.
Katie Malloch, weekday host of Tonic: "I think I'd choose the title track from the CD You Are There by singer Roberta Gambarini and pianist Hank Jones. She's a jazz vocalist with a beautiful voice and very sensitive and mature delivery, especially given that she's still young, and grew up in Italy, learning English from her parents' record collection! Pianist Hank Jones is now in his late 80's; the 'professor emeritus' of jazz piano, and he's lost nothing of his talent: tasty, intuitive, a great accompanist. You Are There is a Dave Frishberg song. Dave usually writes cute, acerbic tunes about contemporary life, especially from a cranky and aging viewpoint. But this song is all about missing someone, and about feeling their presence even when they're not really there. It demands simplicity and class, and Roberta and Hank have both!!"
Rick Phillips, host of Sound Advice: "I'd like to suggest Reges Terrae (Rulers of the World) - Music of the Time of Charles V, with Nordic Voices on the Chandos label. The sound and performance standard of this 6-member choir are stunning, breathtaking. They’re all grads of the Norwegian Academy of Music, and it's gorgeous Renaissance music beautifully performed and recorded. (Also, a quick plug -- Nordic Voices are coming to Canada, on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 3 at Walter Hall at U. of T. in Toronto.) Best of the season!"
Bill Richardson, host of Saturday Afternoon At The Opera, and Sunday Afternoon In Concert: "I've been listening to a few Indie rock bands, mostly pretty easy-going acoustic stuff. The Shins I like, their CD from early on in the year, Wincing the Night Away, and Stars, In Our Bedroom after the War. I'm quite bullish on this year's Goljov CD from DG, Oceana, especially the Dawn Upshaw and Kronos Quartet contributions, and have also loved Marc Andre Hamelin's recording of Haydn piano sonatas: such crisp, warm playing. Tango Notturno, with Isabel Bayrakdarian and an ace ensemble led by her husband Serouj Kradjian is thrilling, from CBC records, as is Surprise!, Measha Brueggergosman's new release on DG. Rufus Wainwright's Carnegie Hall Judy Garland tribute is a fascinating, slightly creepy homage. But above all, I've been smitten by River: The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock's tribute to Joni Mitchell - a demonstration of what can occur when one genius in his sixties loves and respects another genius in her sixties and does that thing that geniuses can do."
Tim Tamashiro, weekend host of Tonic: "This wonderful recording, From Sea To Sky from Toronto's Laila Biali is an 'aural bowl of chocolate.' It's delicious to listen to. Rich, thoughtful and the perfect compliment for any home or automobile. Pay particular attention to Tears of Hercules, which is a song written by Marc Jordan. The arrangement, Laila's voice, the horns...everything about it is superb.That's my schpeil. Now go buy the album!"
Jowi Taylor, weekday host of Nightstream: "In a year of new Feist, new Stars, new Rufus Wainwright, new Weakerthans, new Wyclef, new Wilco and new New Pornographers - all of whom delivered beyond expectations - it's hard to pick any one as a standout. But I'm going to go with the brilliant 5 Roses album by Stratford, Ontario native Graham Van Pelt - aka Miracle Fortress. What he shares with those other artists is an unabashed attraction to pure pop melodies. Where he really stands out is in a kind of exuberant sense of play in a field of sonic textures that ranges from vintage Beach Boys to Taking Tiger Mountain-era Eno to B. Fleischmann-like chamber electronics. When I put this in my playlist, I feel all glow-y and joyful. It's not earnest or urgent - just a little bit innocent and full of major/minor curiosity. I'm only sad when it's over."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-24-07 at 12:01 AM
Twas the day before the night before Christmas, and on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) you can hear a concert performance from Ottawa of Festive Moods, a suite of three Christmas pieces by three Russian composers, Glazunov, Lyadov, and Rimsky-Korsakov.
(And if that doesn't put you in the frozen tundra frame of mind, I recommend re-watching Dr. Zhivago. Or you could watch a Green Bay Packers game, but it might not have the exact same effect.)
And if you haven't seen it but would like to, here is the full roster of December 25th programming on Radio 2.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-24-07 at 12:00 AM
Here's To You (9 a.m.) has what they're calling the "Christmas Stocking" version of the show today, with Radio 2 hosts making requests, a rather nice radio accompaniment to some of the host "musical gifts" right here on the blog today. And, blush, Catherine was kind enough to invite me to request some music too, so the Blog Goes Audio for a few seconds on HTY this morning as well.
December 23, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-23-07 at 08:00 PM
Composer Arvo Pärt is featured tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), with a piece commissioned by London's Tate Gallery and performed there in 2003, entitled Lamentate. Lamentate is a composition for piano and orchestra, and was inspired by Pärt’s encounter with the enormous sculpture Marsyas, by Bombay-born artist Anish Kapoor. The sculpture is 150 metres long, and it was installed in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall for a year.
And in case you happen to be listening to the music while reading this -- the piece is three huge steel rings connected by red PVC membrane -- intended, apparently, to suggest blood and the body. Kind of like the opening of the TV series Dexter, but with different elements. But seriously, the sculpture was huge, it dwarfed the viewer, so you may want to have that in your mind's eye as you listen. And of course it also made a huge impression on those who saw it, including Arvo Pärt.
He's been quoted as saying: “My first impression was that I, as a living being, was standing before my own body and was dead – as in a time-warp perspective, at once in the future and the present. ... In this moment I had a strong sense of not being ready to die. And I was moved to ask myself just what I could still manage to accomplish in the time left to me.”
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-23-07 at 03:25 PM
You know, I totally understand why people get sick of Christmas music, but I have to admit, other than a couple of specifics (pa rum pum pum pum), and a few approaches to Christmas music, shrill voices belonging to either children or anthropomorphized animals), I actually really like a lot of it.
And jazz has the leading edge, in my books, when it comes to Christmas music. At least, depending on the kind of Christmas music it is -- choirs still have carols covered. But the popular Christmas song? Give it to jazz. Things like Joe Williams doing Let It Snow, or Emilie Claire Barlow doing that funny Little Jack Frostsong, Vince Guarldi's music for Charlie Brown etc. etc.
Tonic (6 p.m.) is reveling in this these days, and tonight's show is no exception. Not actually playing all of the above pieces on this show, but you can hear Charlie Brown from Vince Guaraldi and gospel takes on Christmas songs among other Christmas choices -- though tomorrow, Christmas Eve, is when the show really goes to town and celebrates the genre.
But back to the whole love/hate thing over Christmas music. Even I, a fan of much Christmas music, cannot imagine the task that this man undertook -- he CHOSE to spend 18 hours in a car listening to Christmas music, all in the name of journalism. Later, he called it his "Holiday Hellride."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-23-07 at 12:00 PM
You may well have missed a much earlier post about the Christmas music special on Sunday Afternoon In Concert, so here is a reprise. Today's show features Bach Cantatas for Christmas, presented by Early Music Vancouver at the Chan Centre at UBC. The musicians of Vancouver's Bach Cantata Project Players are led by violinist Marc Destrubé and the vocal soloists include soprano Shannon Mercer, alto Laura Pudwell, tenor Colin Balzer and baritone Sean Watson.
And a lovely programme called Legends and Carols, which features music, conversation and stories with host Bill Richardson and special guests in a concert recorded this week at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. Bill and actor Lally Cadeau narrate Christmas stories, and are joined by a stellar cast of musical friends:
Michael Barrett, tenor
Peter Barrett, baritone
Adi Braun, vocalist
Measha Brueggergosman, soprano
Lally Cadeau. actor
Aaron Davis, piano
Molly Johnson, vocalist
Taborah Johnson, vocalist
Robert Kortgaard, piano
Suzie LeBlanc, soprano
Patti Loach, piano
Michael Schade, tenor
Jean Stilwell, mezzo-soprano
Peter Tiefenbach, piano
and True North Brass!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-23-07 at 11:00 AM
Back in the 19th century, Russian nationalism and romanticism led to some very memorable music, particularly when nurtured by the Russian piano tradition cultivated in the conservatories of St. Petersburg and Moscow. You know, stuff like immortal concertos by Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.
Today Inside The Music moves on to Part 7 of The Concerto According to Manny, and Manny (a.k.a. Emanuel Ax) explores Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Opus 18.
Now let me set the scene, the scene, a kind of Cole's Notes version cribbed from the Concerto According To Manny site. (Hey, I'm not too proud.) Here goes:
Rachmaninov’s career had ground to a halt. In 1897, the premiere of his First Symphony was marked by hatred from critics, plus the conductor was drunk. Understandably, Rachmaninov was bummed out. So much so he took to drink, and by the end of 1899, boozing meant his hands shook very badly -- not what you want when you sit down to play the piano.
Roll around 1900, a new century, and Rachmaninov, possibly making a new year's resolution, I can't say, went to Dr.Nikolai Dahl, a Moscow specialist in "neuropsychotherapy," which translates to hypnosis. Whilst under the spell, the suggestion that he compose a new piano concerto was made, and voila, this concerto was born.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-23-07 at 12:01 AM
Plenty of people celebrate Christmas and plenty of people find it tough, (and plenty of people try and ignore it altogether, but that's another story). Today on In The Key Of Charles, Gregory has a blue Christmas, musically speaking that is.
From the piano bench at home (his home, I mean, though he's welcome to broadcast from mine, once I get the piano tuned) it's "music in the key of blue": choral music by Charles Villiers Stanford, jazz by Miles Davis, (hmmm...possibly beginning with the words "Kind Of?") rock 'n' roll by Fats Domino, crooning by Harry Connick Jr., country by Shania Twain and even some blues by Quebec's own Offenbach . . . not to mention Sarah McLauchlan, the Cowboy Junkies, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and some of Gregory's favourite singers like Ann Murray, Ella Fitzgerald and Peter, Paul & Mary.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-23-07 at 12:00 AM
No, Howe Gelb, front man for the alt-rock band Giant Sand, is not entertaining at a Newfoundland House party, but he did team up with Voices of Praise, an Ottawa gospel choir, for a concert you can hear Sunday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
And then it's a Newfoundland house party, as host Francesca Swann hangs out at a historic St. John’s home belonging to the director of Cantus Vocum chamber choir, Chad Stride. Sounds like fun, canapés, mulled wine, and Cantus Vocum singing seasonal favourites. (Funny I'll be at a similar party in Toronto at around that time, but somehow I don't think the singing will be quite up to that mark. Though after a certain amount of mulled wine we may well believe that it is.)
And note -- if you've ever thought you'd like a, well, somewhat shorter version of Handel's Messiah, this one's for you -- a "3 Minute Messiah" will also be performed.
December 22, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-22-07 at 09:00 PM
The Signal (10 p.m.) features music by Philip Glass, Andrew Bird, and Caribou tonight. (For some reason this made me start thinking, Glass, Bird, Caribou, which is a satisfying combination of words. Try it yourself.
Anyway, there is also a feature tonight on Polaris winner Patrick Watson, plus variations for guitar and orchestra by John Corigliano.
Glass, Bird, Caribou.
'Night.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-22-07 at 04:38 PM
Just a quick note about some Tonic (6 p.m.) highlights this Saturday evening...
Some "career driven" music with two versions of Work Song, and a few tunes from An Album of Under-Appreciated Job Songs by the Barmitzvah Brothers. There's new music from Manitoba and from saxophonist Joel Miller, and some tunes from Alex Pangman, Megan Fanning and Herb Alpert.
OK, I can't just let Barmitzvah Brothers go by without a little elaboration.
They're a band from Guelph, I don't think they're brothers, and I can't attest to whether or not they've ever been bar mitzvah'd.Certainly the female singer is not a brother, nor is she likely to have had a bar mitzvah. They are quite a fun band though, in a peppy and odd indie pop music kind of way. And yes, that's meant as a positive.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-22-07 at 02:09 PM
If you're opera-hall-history curious, you might want to have a look at this quite interesting short video documentary on the making of the Sydney Opera House. I particularly like people's initial responses to the building, "interesting, different." Anyway, happened upon the video and wanted to recommend.
Personally I love the way the hall looks, though I confess when I was there I was a tiny bit let down once inside, since outside it's so fantastic -- hard for anything to live up to that. That said, I'd go again. There's just that little matter of airfare to Australia...
And of course the Sydney Opera House is the source of much inspiration -- witness Dame Edna, pictured above, for example.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-22-07 at 11:00 AM
Saturday Afternoon At The Opera begins an hour earlier this week, preempting Sound Advice, but Rick will make an appearance on the opera show.
Today's performance is from The Met, it's Prokofiev's War And Peace, with Russian conductor Valery Gergiev conducting. And for more info, please go to War And Peace And Opera.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-22-07 at 08:45 AM
I could have sworn just last week Dave was becoming too attached to a turkey he raised, but I didn't hear how it all turned out. Hopefully not with his pet bird in this week's oven, but maybe that's hypocritical of me, as an eater of fowl.
Regardless of Dave's relationship with this bird though, he can't get the stove to work to cook it, so he scarpers off to a hotel, hoping that their kitchen will do the deed.
If this is sheer nonsense to you but you'd like to make it make sense, tune into the Vinyl Cafe this morning, where all will be explained. Also, host Stuart McLean will play all kinds of Christmas music for you, whether or not you've been naughty or nice.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-22-07 at 12:01 AM
Much Christmas music ahead on Sunday Afternoon In Concert, with Festive Bach Cantatas for Christmas, presented by Early Music Vancouver at the Chan Centre at UBC.
The musicians of Vancouver's Bach Cantata Project Players are led by violinist Marc Destrubé and the vocal soloists include soprano Shannon Mercer, alto Laura Pudwell, tenor Colin Balzer and baritone Sean Watson.
Also on Sunday, a little special called Legends and Carols, an intimate, informal afternoon of conversation, stories and song with host Bill Richardson and special guests in a concert recorded this week at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. Bill and actor Lally Cadeau narrate some of Bill's original Christmas stories, and many, many musical friends (some of whom are also family) drop by -- here's the full magnificent list:
Michael Barrett, tenor
Peter Barrett, baritone
Adi Braun, vocalist
Measha Brueggergosman, soprano
Lally Cadeau. actor
Aaron Davis, piano
Molly Johnson, vocalist
Taborah Johnson, vocalist
Robert Kortgaard, piano
Suzie LeBlanc, soprano
Patti Loach, piano
Michael Schade, tenor
Jean Stilwell, mezzo-soprano
Peter Tiefenbach, piano
and True North Brass!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-22-07 at 12:00 AM
Two Christmas concerts on Saturday night's Canada Live (8 p.m.). First, the family sometimes called "Alberta's first family of Celtic music," The McDades. They do an annual Christmas concert featuring Christmas songs from around the world, and this broadcast is from this year's concert.
And second up, the B3 Kings featuring Denzal Sinclaire. So Christmas carols and songs funkified with Hammond B3.
Not to steer anyone away from the radio, of course, but you know, if Christmas music isn't your thing (and for sure it's not everyone's cup of eggnog) you might want to peruse Concerts On Demand...
December 21, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-21-07 at 08:00 PM
The brass band trend is one that I'm all for -- love the sound of brass in indie bands. And tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) Pat celebrates this trend as the final Top 10 Trend of 2007. So you can hear some of the likely suspects (eg. Beirut) and also Bjork and Emily Haines as they get on the brass bandwagon.
Later in the show, music from Arvo Part, as Pat takes a look at the composer’s legacy.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Pat will also be playing a REMIX of Handel's Messiah. Curious to hear that. Certainly one doesn't need to sample and repeat the word "hallelujah," that's pretty much built in.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-21-07 at 04:00 PM
An anniversary I'm sure is in your date book, but in case you've been too busy to celebrate, remember, today is the 70th anniversary of the premiere of the Walt Disney film Snow White and Seven Dwarfs (70th!).
Tonic (6 p.m.) is celebrating in the best possible way tonight, through music from the film, performed by Canadian pianist Mark Eisenman and Brazilian vocalist Moreno Veloso (Caetano's son). Also on the guaranteed-to-please-the-inner-kid front, Dr. Seuss as channeled by Canadian vocalist Rita di Ghent.
And Robert Mr. Tonic-Producer tells me that as well there will be a nod to Frank Zappa, which might, come to think of it, please the kids too, outer or inner. I've often thought kids would like Zappa. Think of it, by title alone, Frogs With Dirty Little Lips, Shut Up N' Play Your Guitar, Lumpy Gravy...though I don't speak from experience, either from a childhood where I was played Zappa instead of lullabies, or as an adult, playing Zappa for children. (Actually, that's not a bad title unto itself: Frank Zappa For Children.)
But I digress. Happy Birthday Snow White! Some day your Prince will come.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-21-07 at 02:30 PM
This Jim Cuddy concert was played recently on Canada Live, but it's also available as a Concert On Demand.
Cuddy is most associated with the band Blue Rodeo, but he's also produced two solo albums as the Jim Cuddy Band, featuring musicians like Bazil Donovan and Colin Cripps.
In 2006 he released the follow up to his 1998 solo debut called “All in Time” and his new CD, “The Light That Guides You Home” won the 2007 Juno award for “Adult Alternative Album of the Year.(” Cuddy’s song, “Pull Me Through”, also earned a 2007 Juno award for “Single of the Year.”)
So there's the bumpf, for the music check out Jim Cuddy at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-21-07 at 12:00 PM
Composers take note -- the Living Music Project invites you to submit scores, starting in February 2008. They'll be looking for the following:
• Piano solo
• Solo woodwind (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon) or saxophone and piano
• String ensemble (1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, ‘cello, double bass)
• Saxophone quartet (soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones)
If they select your work, it will be available to the "digital music-buying public" via Freehand Music, which they say is the "biggest online music store in the world."
At about this point you may be thinking, sounds interesting, but what about the moolah? This is how it work -- compensation will be royalties, if the work is used. It's an interesting attempt at creating a new(ish) model for disseminating contemporary composition -- I'd be curious to know how composers feel about it.
I came across this at The Collaborative Piano Blog, btw, which is devoted to "encounters with classical music, collaboration, chamber music, opera, administration, teaching, and technology." In other words, they're pretty busy.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-21-07 at 12:02 AM
This may be a personal peccadillo of mine, but I have to say that I've always found nutcrackers vaguely sinister. Or maybe it's all down to the nut bowl that my parents had when I was a child, which had a built in nutcracker that seemed to be lying in wait to crush one's fingers.
And now that I'm coming out of the fear-of-nutcrackers closet, I might as well admit it -- I'm also afraid of giant mice.
All that said, I'm still looking forward to a live concert performance of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), performed by the Kirov Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-21-07 at 12:01 AM
On Saturday Afternoon At The Opera this week, live from The Met, it's Prokofiev's War And Peace. Russian conductor Valery Gergiev conducts this operatic adaptation of Tolstoy's novel about the struggle during the Napoleonic invasion of Russia in 1812. Prokofiev created this work during the Second World War, when the Soviet Union was once again under attack.
And a note to Sound Advice fans -- the show is pre-empted this week to accomodate an early curtain time, but Rick Phillips drops by SATO to join host Bill Richardson with the pre-performance features.
btw,if you've ever wondered what it's like backstage at The Met on the opening night of an opera like this -- here's one perspective, at the Met's blog.
And finally, the cast:
Natasha Rostova: Marina Poplavskaya
Sonya: Ekaterina Semenchuk
Mme Akhrosimova: Larisa Shevchenko
Pierre Bezukhov: Kim Begley
Prince Andrey Bolkonsky: Alexej Markov
Napoleon: Vassily Gerello
Field-Marshal Kutuzov: Samuel Ramey
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-21-07 at 12:00 AM
At the beginning of the Canadian Country Christmas tour, one of the singers and organizers, Sean Hogan, was pretty pumped. "There's a tremendous spirit for the nature of the Canadian Country Christmas tour, and the volunteers involved have also made a serious contribution to presenting the shows," he wrote on the Canadian Country Christmas website.
Friday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear how that spirit translated into music, with an evening of mostly acoustic, mostly countryfied sounds, and much original music by Canadian singer songwriters including Hogan, Julian Austin, Duane Steele, Samantha King and Greg Hanna.
December 20, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-20-07 at 05:00 PM
It's Anita Baker's 50th today, the soul/R&B/blues singer who has eight Grammys to her name, and on Tonic (6 p.m.) Katie celebrates with a Baker singing Rogers and Hammerstein's My Favorite Things.
She's a singer who has a voice, as one fan says, that "drips with love." And of course the song itself seems to be pretty timeless, at least without the lyrics, mittens kittens and whatnot. Here's a version that's not really dripping with love, but certainly is dripping with invention, from John Coltrane.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-20-07 at 03:00 PM
Yes, I know, it's days away from December 25th, but I thought for those who want an advance peek at what will be broadcast that day, you might want to check out the Christmas Day Schedule. Actually, special programming begins the evening of December 24th.
Also on December 24th, some of CBC Radio 2's hosts give some music to the listeners, right here on the R2 Blog. Not literally, but by suggesting music from the past year they'd like to give, if they only had everyone's addresses, and unlimited budgets.
So do check out Ye Olde Blogge on December 24th, to see what Tom and Catherine and Bill and Laurie and Jurgen and Katie and Prancer and Dancer and Dixon and Bixon, whoops, sorry, got a little carried away...would like to share with you. No reindeer games on the 24th, promise, just some fine music close to the hearts of some of our radio hosts.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-20-07 at 12:05 PM
File this in the really?!? department. According to the Guardian, Nick Clegg, the new leader of Britain's Liberal Democrat party, has hired musician and former Roxy Music member, Brian Eno, in an attempt to engage more young people in politics.
Clegg, who is just 40 years old, is quoted thusly:
"For ages we have had this political rhetoric coming from the prime minister and a succession of home secretaries that seemed to vilify young people all the time and make [them] into a kind of problem...I remember thinking: How can you hope to govern with any sense of optimism if you are saying the people who have the future of the country in their hands are a problem?"
According to the article, Eno told the BBC Radio 4 that his work as a record producer meant he has credibility with young people. I imagine this will be a test of how true this is -- the ways in which people connect to Eno's music are legion, but I'm not really sure how young his audience skews...perhaps that's because I associate him primarily with older music, things like My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, or even as producer of The Joshua Tree, which is late eighties, right? We'll have to wait and see how is life in the swamp of politics goes...
First saw this on Boing Boing, btw,and want to give them credit. That way I can have the fun of thinking, as I write, boing boing, boing boing, boing boing. It's the little things in life, isn't it?
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-20-07 at 10:17 AM
Radio 3's Bucky Award winners have been announced, a hotly contested race in categories such as Best Song To Listen To In The Fetal Position, Best Sweatin' To The Indies song and more. Over on Radio 3 you can watch the "ceremony" on video, which is pretty funny. Or you can download the podcast, and listen again and again and again.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-20-07 at 12:02 AM
Ottawa-based jazz pianist Brian Browne comes by Studio 40 for some conversation and Christmas jazz in front of a live studio audience today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.).
Browne is one of many Canadian musicians (often pianists, for some reason, I wonder why that is) to have relocated to NYC for a long period of time, but his musical career actually began in Ottawa -- he was playing in clubs at the tender age of eighteen, and soon had his own CBC radio programme. (Maybe not at eighteen, but not long after, I don't think.)
And then he went off to Berklee in Boston, studied with O.P., opened a club in the Chateau Laurier before hightailing it off to to New York. But he's back in Ottawa -- and at Studio Sparks --this very Thursday afternoon!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-20-07 at 12:01 AM
Earlier this fall, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens announced his Christmas song contest, the Great Sufjan Stevens Song Exchange. The deal was you had to write an original Christmas song, and send it into his label, Asthmatic Kitty. They picked a winner, and got rights to the song -- but in exchange, you got rights to a new song by Sufjan.
Apparently they got tons of entries, and when I last glanced at the Asthamatic Kitty (what a name) site, they were on the verge of deciding. But what will the winner do with the Stevens song? Re-gift it, along with the I-didn't-have-a-clue-what-to-get-you-Body Wash and the took-the-easy-out-bottle-of-sweet-liqueur? Doubt it.
Meantime, on The Signal (10 p.m.) on Wednesday night, you can hear selections from Sufjan Stevens's own Songs For Christmas - a five CD set from the prolific Stevens, including several weird and wonderful arrangements of traditional carols.
Also tonight, part two of the Soundstreams Canada Byzantine Festival concert, featuring Michael Oesterle's Big City, Small City and John Tavener's The World. Speaking of the latter composer, I heard the most beautiful Tavener piece a few weeks back, the composition Svyati, from Steven Isserlis Plays The Music of John Tavener. Maybe you already know it, but if not, do listen if you get a chance, very sombre, very beautiful.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-20-07 at 12:00 AM
Canadian jazz chanteuse Molly Johnson and her sextet present an evening of wintery tunes in new arrangements by Mike Downes and others Thursday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.), plus some Molly originals. Also, she's joined by tenor Ben Heppner, singing some Christmas classics, gospel numbers, and of course a duet of the concert's theme song, Baby, It's Cold Outside.
And if for some reason you can't catch the broadcast, it's also available as a Concert On Demand.
Molly Johnson with special guest Ben Heppner at Concerts on Demand.
December 19, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-19-07 at 05:00 PM
Jazz musician Frank Morgan died on Friday, and this evening Tonic (6 p.m.) remembers him, playing music by the alto sax player.
I think it's fair to say that Morgan had a tough life! He was a Charlie Parker disciple, and sadly also had Parker's heroin addiction. Only in his case, he ended up spending a fair bit of time in jail, since his habit lead to theft.
This didn't mean he stopped playing music though. In fact, he once said that: "The greatest big band I ever played with was in San Quentin. Art Pepper and I were proud of that band. We had Jimmy Bunn and Frank Butler, and some other musicians who were known and some who weren't, but they could play. We played every Saturday night for what they called a Warden's Tour, which showed paying visitors only the cleanest cell blocks and exercise yards. But people would take that tour just to hear the band."
I'm sure Katie will have more stories (and of course music) on the show tonight. And I should say -- Morgan did resume a career on the outside, as it were, in the 1980s and 90s, even winning the Downbeat Critics Poll for Best Alto Saxophonist in 1991.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-19-07 at 02:40 PM
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the list-makers have been/are busy with year end wrap-ups, cataloging of perceived bests. And the list of lists, over at LargeHearted Boy, has been updated.
But lists in the area of "world music" tend to get overshadowed by those in the pop/alt/indie world, so I was pleased to see a couple getting some attention, including this one on Sound Roots, which puts Canada's Kobo Town at # 1. Yay, Kobo Town. (Pictured here.) And Autorickshaw also make the cut. Also, fRoots' annual world music critics poll picks have recently been announced.
In general the mania for "best of" type list-making continues to strike me as partly an urge to make order from chaos (too much music), partly a battle of egos (my taste is better than your taste), and partly a genuine impulse to share music that moved the list-maker.
And sometimes, often, in fact, list-making is solicited. As is the case with the upcoming annotated list that will be posted right here on December 24th. I've asked our CBC Radio 2 Hosts if they would be so kind as to suggest a piece of music from 2007 they'd like to give CBC listeners.
So check back on December 24th for Radio 2 Hosts' Musical Gifts. Of course, most couldn't restrain themselves to just one piece of music!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-19-07 at 12:30 PM
Radio listening habits are funny things. Just as some people seem to listen mostly to weekday radio, but not weekend, or vice versa, I figure some of us listen to daytime, but not evening. So I thought I should sometimes make sure to let you know about music coming up at night in the day. (This is starting to sound like a bad paraphrase of a Cole Porter song...)
Anyway, all that to say that on The Signal (10 p.m.) tonight, you can hear choral music by Eric Whitacre, a composition called Winter, scored for voices and sitar, and performed by The Choral Project. (Not sure who the sitarist is.) And in keeping with the season, the concert music tonight features the music of Michael Oesterle, with sopranos Patricia Rosario and Agnes Zsigovics performing Oesterle's Chaucer Canticles I, and violinist Annalee Patipatanikoon playing In ricordanze in feste.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-19-07 at 11:05 AM
I'm sure that's an exaggeration. Mahler will no doubt be back on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) again.
But today is the final Wednesday in the Mahler Wednesdays series, and, appropriately enough, it goes out with an excerpt from Symphony No. 9, the last symphony he completed. Sometimes interpreted as his farewell to the world, as Gerald S. Fox, President of the Gustav Mahler Society of New York, explores in an essay where he also takes a look at the notion that "Mahler feared 9, at least for numbering his symphonies."
And I leave you with one last Mahler Aside Of The Day: Did you know that Mahler has a MySpace site? He Does.
P.S. On a non-Mahler front, on today's Ssparks conductor Trevor Pinnock introduces Bach's Brandenburg No.5 from a recent recording he did with musicians from all over Europe.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-19-07 at 05:00 AM
It's White Christmas vs. Green Christmas, Round Two on Music & Company Wednesday morning, as Irving Berlin's White Christmas is in one corner, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia On Greensleeves in the other.
I sense this contest doesn't have quite the weight of Messiah vs. Nutcracker, nor the sugar high intensity of Little Drummer Boy vs. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, but there's still time to get to the heart of your inner Berlin or Vaughan Williams and cast your vote, at The Cage Match.
And of course feel free to say why you prefer one or the other right here on the Radio 2 Blog via the comments button.
The music? Tune in to hear it played Wednesday morning on Music & Co at around 6:40, with results on Fridays between 7:00 and 8:00.
And while I know of course that snow has caused some folks significant difficulty of late, still, just think about those treetops glistening/children listening. Not that I'd ever try and influence your choice or anything, but you wouldn't want what happened to this child to happen to children all over Canada, would you? 
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-19-07 at 12:00 AM
From Paris to Kyiv, via Winnipeg…the Mantoba Chamber Orchestra, conductor Alain Trudel and vocalist Alexis Kochan teamed up recently for an interesting meeting of musical worlds. You can hear the results on Canada Live (8 p.m.), and also as a Concert On Demand.
The sounds of the Paris To Kyiv ensemble come from Ukraine, via the Canadian prairie. For the past 10 years vocalist Alexis Kochan, jazz-violist Richard Moody, and bandura player Julian Kytasty have blended ancient Ukrainian music with contemporary influences.
The material draws on medieval ritual songs, old Slavonic chant and traditional dance tunes. (Plus it gets pretty jazzy at times!) Richard Moody orchestrated the music for the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and the concert also includes works by Albert Roussell, Edvard Grieg and Adrzej Panufnik.
And if you can't make a date with the broadcast, here's Paris to Kyiv with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra at Concerts on Demand.
P.S. The second concert on Canada Live (8 p.m.) on Wednesday night is with songwriter Jimmy Rankin (first famous for his work as the main writer for The Rankin Family), performing with multi instrumentalist Dave McKeough.
December 18, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-18-07 at 09:00 PM
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) it's part two of a seasonal piano concert from Barbara Pritchard in Halifax. You can hear Barbara (who does not seem to have a website -- anyone know any different?) performing George Crumb's A Little Suite for Christmas and Ian Crutchley's Nativitas. Also on the show, improvising Neil and Joni -- new music (on CD) from pianist Andy Milne, where he interprets famous (Canadian) songs from the likes of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-18-07 at 04:30 PM
I'm pretty sure these guys have been on Tonic (6 p.m.) before, and I know for sure you can hear them in live performance now as a Concert on Demand.
The Hogtown Syncopators are five young musicians from downtown guess where, yes, hogtown, a.k.a. Toronto. They have a bit of a 30's sound -- it's been described as simultaneously like Django Reinhardt’s Quintette of the Hot Club de France plus the group vocals of the Boswell Sisters and Mills Brothers.
They released their first self-titled CD in 2007, and this concert was recorded at the Palais Royale, located on the shore of Lake Ontario just west of downtown Toronto. (Back in the 30s it was home to much big band jazz and romantic evenings on the lake -- so it's a fitting venue for the band.)
The Hogtown Syncopators play the Palais Royale at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-18-07 at 12:45 PM
This little "meme" was going around a few weeks ago, didn't get to it until now. Instead of making egg nog from scratch, or reading endless pages about the relationship between Elvis and the Colonel, (I'm finally getting to that Guralnick bio), or even, heaven forbid, working, I am sitting around with my ipod on shuffle, answering the following questions with the song titles that randomly pop up.
You can to, and you know, as time wasters go, it's quite a fun one.
All you do is:
1. Put your music player on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer
3. Write down the title of song that appears, no cheating
So here' s how I got shuffled, annotated with my responses to the shuffling:
1. If someone says ‘Is this OK?’ you say?
I've Got The World On A String (Art Tatum)
Well thanks, that's excellent news.
2. What would best describe your personality?
Boxing My Shadow (K'naan)
Uh oh, so much for that string.
3. What do you like in a guy?
Surrey With The Fringe On Top (Tierney Sutton)
Last time I looked he wasn't balding.
4. How do you feel today?
Inflammatory Writ (Joanna Newsom)
I think if I knew what it was, I'd definitely be feeling it.
5. What is your life’s purpose?
God's Gonna Cut You Down (Johnny Cash)
Well, after all, I do have the world on a string!
Continue reading "Shuffle Through Your Life Story " »
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-18-07 at 12:01 AM
Great double bill on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Tuesday night, first, country star George Canyon in a special recording called My Song is My Gift: A George Canyon Christmas, where Mr. Canyon performs with guests Tyler Connolly, Jully Black, Dave Gunn, Andrea Menard, and Johnny Reid for a Christmas concert at the Banff Springs Hotel.
This show is also broadcast at other times on TV and on R1 in Alberta:
Key of A on Radio One in Alberta, December 22 at 5:00 pm
CBC Television December 19 at 9:00 pm Also on Canada Live (8 p.m.)
Plus, you can hear it as a Concert On Demand: George Canyon Christmas.
Also on Canada Live Tuesday night, a reprise of a concert that got a lot of attention when first broadcast, also from Banff, in this case the Banff Centre -- Bruce Cockburn, solo. Whoops, Cockburn's official site is being revamped. Hmmm, why don't you go over to Gavin's Woodpile then, or The Cockburn Project, both interesting sites.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-18-07 at 12:00 AM
Tonic (6 p.m.) is in a singing mood Tuesday night, with a lot of vocal music from a diverse array of singers including Mario Biondi, Diana Krall, Angie Stone, Aaron Neville, Carol Sloane, Ivan Lins and Dinah Washington.
You know, sometimes I forget how young Dinah Washington was when she died -- only 39, on December 14, 1963. When you listen to her later recordings they could be a woman in her late forties or fifties singing, still in amazing voice, but with all that life experience. Anyway, glad that she did record so much -- and that Tonic keeps on playing her!
December 17, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-17-07 at 08:39 PM
As is The Signal's (10 p.m.) wont, Monday's are New Music Mondays and today that means latest music from Colleen who, bizarrely, I heard opening up for Beirut earlier this year...kneeling on stage playing her various instruments, performing for a rather confused seeming but ultimately receptive audience.
And concert material tonight includes music from pianist Barbara Pritchard, recorded live in Halifax at St. Mary's University Art Gallery -- performances of selections from Olivier Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-Jésus and Peter Togni's O Magnum Mysterium.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-17-07 at 05:35 PM
Katie Malloch returns to the host's chair on Tonic (6 p.m.) this Monday evening with tunes from pianist/vocalist Diana Krall, pianist McCoy Tyner, and the Dave Brubeck Quartet -- plus seasonal music from R&B singer William Bell, Manhattan Transfer and from the new Andrew Craig Gospel Christmas Project on CBC Records.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-17-07 at 01:30 PM
There's starting to be quite a bit of buzz about the prestigious Glenn Gould Prize -- which is only awarded every three years. The eighth award will be given out next fall. This means the cut-off for nominations, which may be made by the public (yes, that means you or I) is coming up soon.
Originally I think it was sometime in December, but the Glenn Gould Foundation has decided to extend the cut-off date to January 15th, 2008. Apparently they're receiving many fascinating nominees, and want to leave a little more time for a few more. Certainly not all are classical musicians, nor are they necessarily even musicians, but all have a significant connection to music, and the winner will be an extraordinary person without question. (Previous winners include Oscar Peterson, Yo-Yo-Ma, R. Murray Schafer...here's the full list.) Also, here are the Guidelines for Nominations, should you wish to participate.
The prize is given to a leading figure in the fields of music, the arts and communication for a lifetime of extraordinary creative achievement and innovation. It seems to be gathering momentum internationally, not surprising, given the interest people around the world take in Glenn Gould.
Just check out the jurors for the 2008 prize -- Peter Schickele, (a musician and humorist whose work Gould loved), Anthony Minghella (film and opera director, yes, the English Patient guy), Ben Heppner (you all know him!), Janice Price (the new CEO of the Luminato arts festival that made such a splash last year), Paul Hoffert (multi-talented composer, public speaker, and much more, and yes, the Lighthouse guy) and a pianist, of course, Helene Mercier.
Now, in case you're wondering about the eye-catching painting of Gould that accompanies this post...it was commissioned by the GG Foundation to commemorate the "Year of Glenn Gould," and it's by Halifax-based painter Yana Movchan. There are a limited number of prints available, but the painting itself is on auction.
Will definitely update as the nominees are announced, meantime, you still have time to put forward a deserving candidate yourself.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-17-07 at 12:05 PM
Those who love Christmas music for choir, brass, organ (and percussion) take note!
The 28th annual CBC Christmas Sing-In features the Choir of The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, organist Jonathan Oldengarm, trumpeter Niklas Eklund, and a brass ensemble led by Guy Bernard, all under the direction of Julian Wachner. Also featured, special guest soprano Marianne Fiset, winner of the 2007 Montreal International Musical Competition.
The entire performance was in front of an audience of 1500 from The Church of St Andrew and St Paul in Montreal, and is now available as a Concert On Demand.
CBC Christmas Sing-In from Montreal at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-17-07 at 11:02 AM
If you are in certain parts of the country,it goes without saying that there was a wee snowfall yesterday. It was and is staggeringly beautiful -- and makes it a perfect time for wintery music. To oblige, today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) you can hear Tchaikovsky's Symphony N.1 (subtitled Winter Dreams), a live performance by conductor Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Theatre Orchestra. Meantime, hoist those shovels, pick that ice!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-17-07 at 08:00 AM
The ties between memory and music are very strong -- and I fully expect that in the next wave of research about the brain and music, we'll find out more about why it is that these two things are linked. But ultimately (at least for those of us non-scientist types) it's more satisfying to simply hear the music that triggers the memory, rather than to understand why it is so.
On Here's To You (9 a.m.), people sometimes request music that holds a key memory for them, sometimes it's more about personal associations, and frequently the two are intertwined. For instance on today's show, one listener in Whitehorse wanted to hear music performed by the VSO, as she would be in Vancouver visiting her parents, both of whom have played in the orchestra for more than 20 years. So hearing the VSO is a vital part of her memories of family. And another listener, in Calgary, wanted to hear countertenor Matthew White, after hearing him in a performance of Messiah -- no doubt this listener will recall the concert as they hear White sing.
And speaking of music associated with Christmas, you can also hear Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols today, plus lots of other Christmas music sprinkled throughout the show.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-17-07 at 12:00 AM
There really aren't too many jazz clarinetists these days. And I know you can't call Don Byron solely a clarinetist -- he also plays sax, and he's a composer and arranger, but he is nonetheless strongly associated with the clarinet, possibly because he's just been so inventive and adventurous in his use of the instrument -- and the range of music he plays. (Try classical, salsa, hip-hop, funk, rhythm & blues, klezmer, and oh yeah, jazz.)
As a journalist writing in The Nation put it: "“Byron’s clarinet is at once ancient and modern... His circuitous, unxexpectedly jumping lines are stamped with his harmonic knowledge and melodic invention, informed by Bach and Schoenberg, Armstrong and Trane."
His last recording was a tribute to Junior Walker, who he describes as "an important part of 'soul music' as a movement," contributing to the creation of an instrumental improvisational music based on gospel and blues singing.
On Monday night you can hear a concert featuring Byron on Canada Live (8 p.m.) with a band including Dean Bowman vocals, David Gilmore guitar, George Colligan Hammond B-3, Brad Jones bass and Rodney Holmes drums. Now I confess, I'm not sure if this is part of the Walker tribute or not -- if it is you're more likely to hear Byron on sax than clarinet, of course, but either way, he's just a terrific musician, so it should be good!
And a quick note to say there's also a concert with tenorman David 'Fathead' Newman on the show -- he's one of the many great sax players from Texas (think Booker Ervin, Ornette Coleman, Arnett Cobb...) In this performance he's joined by the Tilden Webb Trio, a Vancouver-based group he has also recorded with -- a CD called Cellar Groove (Cellar Live).
December 16, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-16-07 at 08:00 PM
In case you missed this post miles ago when it first went up, here it is again - - closer to broadcast time...
As I'm sure you know, the brilliant composer Karlheinz Stockhausen died recently. Sunday night the weekend edition of The Signal (10 p.m.) honours his genius with an hour-long tribute. I only say "weekend," as I know some of you may have heard Laurie Brown's tribute on the weekday version of the show -- but Pat Carrabré is presenting different pieces of music, as well as his own take on the composer's life and work.
He explores the composer's attitude towards new music in society, as well as how his style evolved over the years, starting with earlier works like Zyklus, composed in the late 50s, and moving onto Klavierstucke XI for piano, and Hymnen, based on national anthems from around the world. Finally, a concert recording of one of Stockhausen's most performed pieces, Zodiac.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-16-07 at 07:00 PM
François Bourassa has become one of Canada's leading contemporary jazz pianists -- and recognized as such, with honours like the Oscar Peterson Award coming his way -- he was presented with the award at this summer's Montreal jazz fest. (Fitting, given that in 1985, the François Bourassa ensemble won the Montreal International Jazz Festival’s "new talent competition." The O.P. award honours a musician who's made outstanding contributions to jazz in Canada.)
You can hear some of the concert he performed in Montreal with his quartet plus guest sax player David Binney, tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
The second performance of the evening is from violinist Olivier Thouin and cellist Yegor Dyachkov -- you can find out more about Thouin at Latitude 45 Arts.
And there's also a third concert on the bill, from the eclectic Quatuor Bozzini -- eclectic because they explore "new, contemporary, experimental and classical music." The Irish Times described them as "a group which gets its teeth into music: quiet or loud, fast or slow, these Canadian musicians play with compelling engagement."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-16-07 at 05:00 PM
Tonic (6 p.m.) broadcasts music from "the doctors" tonight, featuring the late Doug Riley ("Doctor Music"), Dr. John, and Dr. Lonnie Smith.
Speaking of, if you haven't already seen this you might enjoy -- Doug Riley with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Paul Shaffer and Joey DeFrancesco, posted at JazzTVCorner.
P.S. If you admire the Tonic theme music, tune into tonight to hear a little feature on the man who plays it -- Jake Langley. (And in the coincidence department, or maybe just the small world nature of jazz department, Langley plays on the Joey Defrancesco release Authorized Bootleg.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-16-07 at 12:02 AM
JOY TO THE WORLD ! That's the name of the annual Euroradio Christmas Music Day, which is being broadcast on CBC Radio 2 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, Sunday.
It's twelve hours of Christmas programming, hosted by Howard Dyck, and broadcast live from 11 different European centers and Canada .
And without further ado, here is the schedule:
GREECE 6:00 am
Metamorphosis (Sotiros) Church, Athens GRERT
Christmas hymns and Anthems
PORTUGAL 7:00 am
Belém Cultural Centre, Lisbon PTRDP
Baroque Christmas music
ROMANIA 8:00 am
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Orthodox Church, Lugoj ROROR
Orthodox and Traditional Christmas music
FINLAND 9:05 am
Kallio Church, Helsinki FIYLE
Buxtehude Celebration
ESTONIA 10:00 am
Auditorium, Estonian Art Museum, Tallinn EEERR
Traditional Christmas Folk music
BELGIUM 11:00 am
St Nicholas' Church, Ghent BEVRT
Flemish and Bach Christmas works
LATVIA 12:00 noon
Great Guild, Riga LVLR
Seasonal orchestral works
CANADA 1:00 pm
Glenn Gould Studio, Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Molly Johnson / Ben Heppner: ‘Baby Its Cold Outside’
BULGARIA 2:05 pm
Studio 1, Bulgarian National Radio, Sofia BGBNR
Seasonal works for big band
SWEDEN 3:00 pm
St Clare's Church, Stockholm SESR
Swedish Christmas music for choir and wind ensemble
ICELAND 4:00 pm
Langholt Church, Reykjvaík ISRUV
Icelandic Christmas carols
DENMARK 5:00 pm
Frederiksberg Church, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen DKDR
Danish Christmas music with DR National Youth Ensemble and Girls Choir
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-16-07 at 12:01 AM
As I'm sure you know, the brilliant composer Karlheinz Stockhausen died recently. Sunday night the weekend edition of The Signal (10 p.m.) honours his genius with an hour-long tribute. I only say "weekend," as I know some of you may have heard Laurie Brown's tribute on the weekday version of the show -- but Pat Carrabré is presenting different pieces of music, as well as his own take on the composer's life and work.
He explores the composer's attitude towards new music in society, as well as how his style evolved over the years, starting with earlier works like Zyklus, composed in the late 50s, and moving onto Klavierstucke XI for piano, and Hymnen, based on national anthems from around the world. Finally, a concert recording of one of Stockhausen's most performed pieces, Zodiac.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-16-07 at 12:00 AM
As you may have heard, Joy To The World (the Euradio Christmas Music Day concert) pre-empts the following R2 shows on Sunday: Choral Concert, In The Key of Charles, Inside the Music, Sunday Afternoon In Concert, and Skylarking.
But both In The Key Of Charles and Inside The Music can be heard over at R2's stablemate, Radio 1. So for fans of both of these programmes, here are the details of this weekend's broadcasts -- again, these two shows are pre-empted on Radio 2, but still air on R1.
First, In The Key Of Charles. (Radio 1 at 9 p.m. 10 p.m. AT; 10:30 NT.) This week, Gregory takes on a wee theme that's dear to all of us who takes inordinate pleasure in the "little" things in life. Yes, the theme is "little."
Music includes performances by the Choir of King’s College Cambridge, the Swingle Singers, the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Lizz Wright, Coral Egan, The Mamas & the Papas, Ozzie Nelson, Bebel Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Diana Krall ... and as always Gregory himself, unscripted and unpredictable, at the piano in his living room.
And on Inside The Music, (Radio One at 8 p.m.) episode seven of The Concerto According To Manny -- this week, the Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Opus 18.
December 15, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-15-07 at 08:37 PM
The Signal (10 p.m.) takes a little trip back to the 50s, with a story from poet/musician C.R. Avery that they describe as a little "beat." Then it goes offbeat, heh, with much syncopation and all things percussive at Toronto’s Cool Drummings festival, featuring Nexus - marimba, piano, steel drums and anything else a mallet can smack.
Everything? I think Six Drummers One Apartment also take a crack, so to speak, at that...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-15-07 at 04:33 PM
This evening, (among a wealth of music), there's a celebration of Billy Joel's tunes on Tonic (6 p.m.), performed by Ottawa’s Brian Browne, and by Curtis Stigers.
btw, in case you missed it, Joel was in the news a few weeks ago for penning an anti-war song, Christmas In Fallujah. But he doesn't actually sing it, since he felt it should be sung by someone younger, "about a soldier's age." So it's performed by a young singer named Cass Dillon, if you're wondering, and you can hear him performing it here. Not a jolly Christmas song, that's for sure.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-15-07 at 01:34 PM
Daniel Lanois is releasing his new album Here Is What Is today online as a digital download only, via his company, Red Floor Records. It's not available in CD stores until mid-March. (You can also get the DVD of the film, Here Is What Is today too. It documents Lanois over the course of year, in and out of recording studios, starting in Toronto and ending in Morocco.)
OK, so it's not quite a Radiohead In Rainbows scenario, but it does only cost about ten bucks and precedes any physical representation of the music -- by several months.
btw, on this new recording, he sings one of my all-time favourite Lanois songs -- made famous by EmmyLou Harris Where Will I Be. Her version is scarily beautiful, his a little more understated, but still good.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-15-07 at 12:00 PM
Just a wee note to link you to the original post with cast details etc. for this afternoon's opera, Romeo Et Juliette Starring Netrebko & Alagna.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-15-07 at 10:30 AM
Today Rick Phillips celebrates on Sound Advice (12 p.m.) with a Christmas holiday special. He'll play Christmas music old and new, from music ranging over a period of about five hundred years.
So Christmas tunes, arrangements, medieval carols, and more. Rick suggests pouring a glass of eggnog (and, after all, the sun is over the yardarm when Rick's show starts, so why not) and skipping the shopping...just tune in instead.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-15-07 at 09:00 AM
No one could accuse the Vinyl Cafe of ignoring Christmas, as Christmas concert #3 comes your way today with some great music -- western swing orchestra The Bebop Cowboys and blues singer Roxanne Potvin.
Plus, forget the Tofurkey, Dave becomes deeply involved with a real bird -- he doesn't just COOK the turkey...he RAISES it! I sure hope he didn't give it a name...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-15-07 at 12:00 AM
I heard Jim Cuddy and other members of Blue Rodeo singing some impromptu stuff live one day over on R1's "Q," and was struck anew at what great musicians those guys are.
And Cuddy, who is heard in concert on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Saturday night, just has one of those timeless, perfect voices for country inspired pop-rock. As a solo performer he also has a nice, understated (in a good way) way about him. (To get a little hint of what I mean, check out the live tracks at Cuddy's MySpace site, as well as tuning into the broadcast, of course.)
His non-Blue Rodeo career seems to be going well in general -- in 2006, he released a follow up to 1998's solo debut All In Time, called The Light That Guides You Home, which won a 2007 Juno for "Adult Alternative Album of the Year." (The single Pull Me Through also took the "Single of the Year" award.)
NOTE: Bonus hit of vintage Canadiana on Canada Live (8 p.m.) tonight in the country/roots vein, with a concert from Prairie Oyster, playing tunes off their most recent recording, One Kiss.
December 14, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-14-07 at 08:02 PM
The Signal (10 p.m.) goes into the wilds for this week’s top ten musical trend - NATURE SOUNDS. Yes, absolutely a trend, right up there with CLAPPING, and SHOUTING, and UKULELES and the rest of the '07 trends that Pat has been duly noting.
Along with the trendometer, Pat also explores Montreal composer Linda Bouchard’s career, and music from Halifax’s I See Rowboats, Vancouver’s sweet Bells Clanging and The Sea And Cake. (Now, this strikes me as another trend, the obscure but evocative titles trend.)
And in the final hour Pat features Newfoundland’s Sound Symposium, with a concert from Parisian composer Olivier Coupille.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-14-07 at 03:30 PM
A bit of a Louis fest on Tonic (6 p.m.) Friday night, with music from Louis Armstrong, St Louis Blues (performed by Doc Severinson) and Louis Prima.
I've always like both Louis (and the song is fine, though not necc. one of my own favorites), but realized when I sat down to write this that I really only know Prima from the music -- I don't have a visual image the way I do of Armstrong. So I set about to correct this situation, and in so doing was amused to find something that would appear to be a bit of a tribute from one Louis (Prima) to another (Armstrong). At least for the first half of the medley....
Louis Prima with When You're Smilin'/Oh Marie.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-14-07 at 02:16 PM
The blues concert from McLean and MacLean, broadcast the other night, is now available as a Concert On Demand.
As to those Mac/Mc Leans, Doc you may know from his work as an accompanist on harmonica and washboard, or from his solo gigs as a guitarist, singer, arranger and band leader.
Big Dave McLean is a gravelly-voiced Canadian bluesman who you certainly will know if you're a music fan on the prairies -- he's toured a lot through towns big and small there.
And in fact the two first came together on the prairies -- specifically at the 1975 Winnipeg Folk Festival, where they bonded over a mutual admiration for Muddy Waters. Jumping ahead to the recent past -- they finished a marathon cross-Canada tour together this fall, and the show you can hear online is from the gig they played in Calgary.
Big Dave McLean & Doc MacLean’s Big Road Blues Tour at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-14-07 at 10:45 AM
And finally all sectors have heard the results on air, so here are the results on blog of this week's Cage Match.
Messiah won with 64% of the votes. Nutcracker had 35% and 1% of you voted for both pieces.
Regardless of which piece of music "won," it was fun to read the spirited and interesting comments people made about why they felt the way they did about one or t'other.
And thank you to Patrick who mentioned that mishearings such as "Are we like sheep" for "All we like sheep" are called mondegreens. I did not know that. Also to Jane's children -- keep on thinking "All We Like Sheep" means that we all love sheep. We should, after all.
As for the next Cage Match, who knows what contest lurks in the heart of Tom and Company. Stay tuned...(UPDATE: I'm told next week it's going to be green vs. white Christmas. I'll leave you to puzzle out which music might represent "green.")
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-14-07 at 07:05 AM
Ah, some of the country now knows, but not all of the country, so in the interest of waiting for the left coast, I'll post the results of The Nutcracker vs. Messiah Cage Match once you've all heard it first on the radio, so as not to steal Tom's thunder. Stand by...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-14-07 at 12:02 AM
There are three concerts on Canada Live (8 p.m.) on Friday night, and the first features the legendary Chilean group, Inti Illimani, in concert from Winnipeg's Pantages Playhouse. I recall hearing them in concert years ago, and it was very moving, but have not heard them live since, so I look forward to hearing this show.
A few basics about the group -- they've been together for 40 years (!) and their name is from the Ayamara dialect: Inti = sun, Illimani = a mountain near La Paz, Bolivia. The music, if you're unfamiliar, is rooted in Latin American traditions, with a very rich sound -- they play more than 30 wind, string and percussion instruments, and of course they sing, beautifully at that. The band sees its music as "Latin America's visceral link between pueblo and people," and I don't think you better that description.
The second concert is called Song For Sudan, a performance featuring a number of Sudanese-Canadian musicians, including Teresa Dut with Mijok Lang, A.K.A. Hot Dogg. He's a rapper and hip hop artist (did you guess that?). Hot Dogg also performed with the group Marusala , doing traditional traditional Sudanese music based on voices and drums.
And speaking of percussion, the final concert on the boadcast is a percussion concert, featuring Rodrigo Munoz, leader of the Latin band Papa Mambo and Scott Senior of The Duhks -- a Latin pecussion jam thick with the sound of congas, cajon, bata and pandeiro, with guests Marco Castillo from Brazil, jazz bassist Steve Kirby, turntablist Grant Paly and Samantha Chrol on horns.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-14-07 at 12:01 AM
I'm feeling a tad grumpy at having to write about this Saturday's Met production of Gounod's Romeo et Juliette. Only because I had planned to attend one of the movie simulcasts of the opera but then, in the way of things this time of year, was derailed by family plans. However, I intend to insist that the SATO broadcast be on the radio at least, so whilst finding out what the neighbours of various family members are up to and other rivetting matters, will still be able to have the music in one corner of my ear.
Gounod’s interpretation of Shakespeare has been described as "ultra-sensual," and this production, conducted by Placido Domingo from the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, stars the incandescent Russian soprano Anna Netrebko as Juliette, and the French heartthrob Roberto Alagna as Romeo. (It is appropriate at this juncture to say "wow!")
The original performance met with enormous success at its 1867 world premiere in Paris, and when the 19th century diva Adelina Patti sang with her Roméo, Ernesto Nicolini, at the Paris Opéra, she lengthened the balcony scene with an unprecedented twenty-nine kisses! She soon divorced her husband, the Marquis de Caux, and became Mrs. Adelina Nicolini. No such promises from this week’s cast : Roberto Alagna is happily married to another superstar soprano, Angela Gheorghiu.Still, we may be counting kisses.
The Cast
Conductor: Plácido Domingo
Romeo: tenor Roberto Alagna
Juliette: Anna Netrebko
Stefano: Isabel Leonard
Mercutio: Nathan Gunn
Frere Laurent: Robert Lloyd
Following the Met Opera broadcast , Saturday Afternoon at the Opera celebrates another prominent literary figure, (W.H.) Auden(it's the the centennary of his birth) with musical settings of his work, from Igor Stravinsky to William Bolcom.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-14-07 at 12:00 AM
The annual Christmas music extravaganza is coming up on R2 -- this Sunday, from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. The programme is transmitted LIVE from 11 different European locations, (and from Canada), and is hosted by Howard Dyck.
And here, for you keeners, is the schedule! The day begins in Greece and ends in Denmark, and includes many different kinds of Christmas music, from Baroque Christmas music, to traditional Christmas folk music, to Bach's Christmas works...and the proverbial (but in this case true!) much more.
December 13, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-13-07 at 08:00 PM
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) dark and electric music from composer George Crumb, as the Art of Time Ensemble and the Tokai String Quartet plug in, and dig down into two works by Crumb:
Black Angels, and Vox Balaenae (Voice Of The Whale). Both were recorded at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto as part of the concert America And The Black Angel.
Also available, btw, as a Concert On Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-13-07 at 04:23 PM
Tonight's Tonic (6 p.m.) has a spotlight on a label, Chronograph Records (devoted to western Canadian musicians) and on Vancouver cellist Peggy Lee.
I've never met Peggy Lee, but I've often wondered if she gets tired of being jokingly asked to sing Fever, or get tricked out in elbow length gloves. (Difficult to play the cello wearing them, I should think.)
I'm sure, on the other hand, that she does not tire of accolades such as this:
"With her deeply sonorous instrument in hand, Lee has more-than-shared the stage with creative improvisors from all over the world: Joelle Leandre, Dave Douglas, Mark Dresser, Susie Ibarra, and Barre Phillips to name but a few. Her playing blends grace and precision, yet when the music demands it she can be equally challenging and vibrant."
-Jon Morgan, Signal to Noise
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-13-07 at 02:00 PM
I noticed that DiscDrive (3 p.m.) is playing what they describe as "organic delights" from the Vegetable Orchestra Of Vienna today. Sure, you may be thinking, there's a cutesy way of getting your orchestra noticed, call it a "Vegetable Orchestra," yeah right.
But no, this really IS an orchestra made up of crudités, and I'm not talking about what the the trombones say when the conductor leaves the room. (Groan.) Clearly these musicians believe, to paraphrase Zappa, "call any vegetable -- and it will perform for you."
Here's a story that will explain all: If Music Be The Food, Play On.
And of course you want to see the veggies being played live, don't you?
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-13-07 at 12:30 PM
Some days a look at music news headlines makes the mind boggle.
Baby Spice Sprains Ankle In Vegas, and Britney Calls In Sick To Lawyers, proclaims the BBC! Lock Of John Lennon Hair A Snip At 24,000 Pounds, trumpets The Times!
Oh well, suppose it makes a change from reading about Led Zeppelin. (Though there is still more "news" trickle-down from their much talked about reunion -- for instance this jaw-dropping headline: Supermodel Flies Into Rage At Led Zeppelin Concert!)
And on a far more serious front, you will have heard the real news that Ike Turner, best known as the other half of Tina, has died. CBC.Ca arts has the story.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-13-07 at 11:00 AM
English conductor Trevor Pinnock comes by to talk to Eric about Bach's Christmas Oratorio today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), and you can also hear part of that work in a recording by the Bach Collegium Japan, with Masaaki Suzki conducting.
Now, if Eric is in the market for a harpsichord, he might also quiz Mr. Pinnock on that subject.
"Many harpsichordists use copies of 18th century instruments as all purpose harpsichords," Mr. Pinnock has written. "Many of these late 18th century instruments were built to serve the new musical ideas coming into vogue. It would be wise to consider instead, instruments designed and built to support the character of the original music."
He goes on to counsel: "Keep in mind that there is not such thing as an ideal harpsichord suitable for all harpsichord literature."
To read more...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-13-07 at 09:41 AM
Just a quick note to Gregory Charles fans -- the host of In The Key Of Charles will be on Radio 1's Q this afternoon (after local noon shows), chatting with host Jian Ghomeshi.
And since we're on the subject of Gregory, early warning that this week his show will be pre-empted for the EURORADIO CHRISTMAS MUSIC DAY 2007 on Radio2, which runs from 6:00am – 6:00pm. But you WILL be able to hear Monsieur Charles on Sunday night on his Radio 1 broadcast, (10:00 ATL; 10:30 NT).
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-13-07 at 12:00 AM
A very nice looking (and no doubt sounding) double bill on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Thursday night. First, a concert featuring the return of Compadres, a.k.a. Oscar Lopez and James Keelaghan, who like to call their Celtic/Latin mix "Celtino."
Yes, it's been about ten years since Juno award-winning singer-songwriter James Keelaghan and (soon-to-be Juno-winning) Latin guitarist Oscar Lopez put out one of the most notable Canadian indie recordings of the late 90’s, calling the project "Compadres." And last year they got back together, for a successful winter tour of Australia and New Zealand, and to record a new album, also performing this concert, recorded at Jack Singer concert Hall in Calgary.
The second concert is a MacLean/McLean fest -- as in Canadian bluesman Big Dave (McLean) & Delta bluesman Doc (MacLean). This fall they toured together from coast to coast, and along the way Canada Live recorded them. The blues brothers also kept a blog of their tour -- The Big Road Blues Tour. They did 55 shows and logged 20,000 Kilometres!
December 12, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-12-07 at 07:32 PM
Tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear two concerts, the first from Dadawa, (sorry not to find a website for her, oddly, but this is a good b.g about her career and life) recorded at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts in Vancouver.
Dadawa, who's been called "the Chinese Enya" has inspired much passion for her music, and a certain amount of controversy in some quarters, as a Chinese person interpreting Tibetan music. Recently she's focused more on Chinese-based folk music.
The second concert is from one of Canada's leading African-Canadian musicians, Alpha Yaya Diallo, in concert with a band that included bassist David Marion from Paris, cellist Peggy Lee and percussionist Myles Bigelow.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-12-07 at 05:00 PM
Today marks the birthdays of both Frank Sinatra and Joe Williams, and Tonic (6 p.m.) celebrates with music from both singers.
Sinatra would have been 92 today, and, as you may have heard last week, is going to be honoured this spring by the U.S. Postal Service with a stamp,.
Dave Failor, executive director of "Stamp Services," (now there's a nice title to trot out at cocktail parties) told CBS News that they'd had "a lot of requests for a Frank Sinatra stamp." Featuring Sinatra on a stamp, he said, was going to be a "big thrill."
I guess. I've never really understood the stamp thing. I mean, they're tiny. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a national Frank Sinatra day or something? When people could slope aroiund saying things like "The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-12-07 at 03:07 PM
Much buzz about the upcoming Christmas special starring country star, George Canyon, which is being broadcast on both radio and TV next week -- details below. But consider this a little early present -- some of the music is already available as a Concert On Demand.
George Canyon (is that not the perfect country name?), his band and an eclectic group of guest artists, including Andrea Menard, Johnny Reid, Jully Black, Dave Gunning, and Tyler Connolly from Theory of a Deadman, all came together at the Banff Springs Hotel to record this show, and each performed a song that holds personal meaning for them during the holidays.
Here are the all-important broadcast details:
Canada Live on Radio 2, December 18 at 8:00 pm
Key of A on Radio One in Alberta, December 22 at 5:00 pm
CBC Television December 19 at 9:00 pm
My Song is My Gift: A George Canyon Christmas at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-12-07 at 11:30 AM
I'll go out on (not much of) a limb and say that the most talked about music book of the year is Alex Ross' The Rest Is Noise. He's also well known for his writing in The New Yorker, and for his excellent blog. The Rest Is Noise was voted last week as one of the top ten books of the year in the New York Times Book Review, and today you can Mr. Ross on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), chatting with Eric about his book.
Of course it is also Mahler Wednesday and today it's excerpts from Mahler's Symphony Number 8, known as the Symphony of a Thousand. And also of course, this means it's time for the Mahler Aside Of The Day: Today, not racehorses named Mahler, not property defaced in the name of Mahler, but an essay about Mahler, titled: Gustav Mahler: Alienation and Spirituality , from a blog called The Culture Club.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-12-07 at 12:01 AM
So far, this week's Cage Match on Music & Company (6 a.m.) is no "Little Drummer Boy Vs. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus ".
But I sense it's starting to heat up, and there's still time for you to proclaim which seasonal favorite you prefer, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, or Handel's Messiah.
You can vote at The Cage Match, but voice your opinion right here on Ye Olde Blogge.
I'm still torn. I've been walking around the house singing my version of All We Like Sheep ( "ARE We Like Sheep"). But then I think about the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairies! Almost like Oz, before they got there and discovered the truth about the Wizard.
So go forth and comment, vote, and tune into Music & Company Wednesday at 6:40 as Tom once again puts the opponents in their corners, and on Friday between 7:00 and 8:00 to hear the final tally.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-12-07 at 12:00 AM
John Kameel Farah is someone who "revels in 16th century keyboard music," and has also been described (by the Toronto Star) to be "re-defining electronica." Clearly the two are not incompatible, and Kameel Farah is known in Toronto circles for performing with all kinds of musicians, playing all kinds of music.
So not a surprise he was voted top keyboardist of 2006 by Now Magazine, which tends towards the populist vote. So there you are. To hear where you are though, tune in Wednesday night to The Signal (10 p.m.) (harpsichord meets laptop!) for a concert recording from the Music Gallery in Toronto -- which also includes a set by Germany's Hauschka.
December 11, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-11-07 at 09:00 PM
Danny Oore is a pianist, writer, filmmaker, juggler, painter and computer animator. (What doesn't he do? Windows, maybe?) Anyway, he also happens to be a sax player and it's in this guise that you can hear him tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.).
The concert was recorded at the 2007 Atlantic Jazz Festival in Halifax, and features Dan Weiss on drums, Matt Brubeck on cello and Christian Koegel on the guitar.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-11-07 at 07:00 PM
Canada Live (8 p.m) broadcasts a concert recorded at the Arden Theatre in St. Albert, Alberta, featuring the group Lunch At Allens. Those lunching are songwriters Murray McLauchlan, Cindy Church, Marc Jordan, and Ian Thomas, who you probably know from their solo careers -- but after playing music and stopping for lunch at the swank diner, Allen's, (in my hood, very close to the place that sells amazing chocolates but that's another story) they decided to play together as a band -- and name themselves as a tribute to their lunch spot.
And here's some of what a reviewer named Robert Reid had to say about LAA....."Whether playing international hits recorded by the likes of Rod Stewart or America, hits on Canadian radio, fan favourites or new songs written specifically for Lunch at Allen's, the songwriting bar is raised very high..."
There's a second concert on the broadcast tonight too, with songwriter Bob Jahrig, collaborating with Marc Ladouceur on guitar, mandolin, and vocals. Another one from way out west -- recorded at the Blue Chair cafe in Edmonton.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-11-07 at 05:00 PM
A concert broadcast on the weekend by the ensemble Winter Harp is now available as a Concert On Demand.
From two-thousand-year-old Hellenic songs to Celtic dances, flamenco rhythms and even the blues, they sample an array of traditions, featuring 17th century Celtic and Spanish instruments. (Including pedal and wire-strung harps, a medieval lap harp, percussion, and other rare medieval instruments.) Harp fans take note!
Winter Harp at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-11-07 at 11:36 AM
2000%20MeredithHeuer.jpg "Carter(c)2000 MeredithHeuer")
In popular culture, is bad the new good? This seems to be the conclusion of an interesting piece in the New York Times about Barry Manilow, called He Was Nerdy but He Made The Shows. A recent release of some TV specials Manilow did in the 70s and 80s suggests to the writer that acts like Manilow were really hinting at what was just around the 21st century corner -- American Idol and all of its many offshoots.
But it seems to me that really there has always been this tradition in variety shows, and in minstrelsy, heck, in human nature. The buffoon. The comical extremes. And of course, Manilow can sing, regardless whether or not you like his material.
Not coincidentally, there seems to be a bit of a Manilow moment right now, what with these DVDs of the specials, and his album of remakes that came out this fall, The Greatest Songs of the Seventies. But weirder still, in a spate of channel surfing the other night I came across Manilow On Ice, his songs, their blades. We're talkin' Dorothy Hamill and Brian Boitano type blades. (Sadly can't find a video, but here's the ET look at why Barry sang while Dorothy skated...which ultimately ends up being Dorothy talking about drinking wine with friends, as a zamboni glides behind her.)
But back to the weekend's activities. In between surfing and humming Mandy, I also happened on a really interesting article in the same edition of the paper about composer Elliott Carter, whose opera What Next opened recently in NY. It's written by pianist Charles Rosen, (An Old Master Still in Development) in celebration of Carter's ongoing creativity, and in honour of his 99th birthday, which is today.
Proof, perhaps, that good is the old good. Happy Bday, Mr. Carter!
P.S. As always, a note that NYTimes articles are in fact free -- if you hit a sign-up wall, all you have to do is create a user name and password. Say, for instance USER: Barry Manilow PASSWORD: Elliott Carter. (Just a thought.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-11-07 at 12:00 AM
Weekend Tonic (6 p.m.) host, Tim Tamashiro, takes over from Katie Malloch this week...tonight with a typically diverse Tonic grab bag of tunes, from Moving Nicely from the Savoy Remixes to Ray Charles' I'm Movin' On, to Stacey Kent's take on a Dixie Chicks tune and a whole lot more, including some Leonard Cohen.
And of course, any mention of Leonard Cohen in a jazz context makes me think of that amazing Cohen/Sonny Rollins collaboration on Cohen's Who By Fire. So thanks Tim, for providing me with the perfect excuse to link to that!
December 10, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-10-07 at 05:21 PM
As you've probably heard, the legendary, groundbreaking, controversial and inspiring composer Karlheinz Stockhausen died on December 5th, 2007. Tonight The Signal (10 p.m.) will present a tribute, with concert performances and selections from his famous vocal work Stimmung, as well as highlights from his early electronic repertoire and interview clips with Stockhausen himself.
There have been any number of obits over the weekend, and I will just point you to a comprehensive list on ANAblog for that. But but I'd also like to point you to some music before The Signal gets underway -- the mid-1950s electronic work Gesang der Jünglinge. It's like walking in a forest of sound...and presages much sampling to come in all forms of music.
Also, a colleague forwarded me the official press release that was sent out following Stockhausen's death, and it is, well, "unusual" might be the best way of describing it. Perhaps it's the translation into English, I couldn't say. See for yourself in Continue Reading, below.
But before I get to that, one other quick note about tonight's Signal broadcast -- you can also hear the "long lost" piece by John Cage, Dance Music for Elfrid Ide which he wrote in 1940, but filed away. Nearly sixty-five years after it was originally written, it was revived by Vancouver's Fringe Ensemble, who performed the Canadian premiere of this work as part of an all-night event sponsored by the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Continue reading " Karlheinz Stockhausen Tribute Tonight On The Signal" »
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-10-07 at 03:30 PM
People's radio listening habits are very idiosyncratic, no doubt more-so than ever in this age of multiple listening possibilities. So I wonder how many fans of Tonic (6 p.m.) and The Signal listen to both weekday and weekend editions. Well, if you're a Monday to Friday Tonic-ite, this week it's your chance to check out what the weekend Tonic-ites tune in for, as weekend host Tim Tamashiro (who is both a singer and a broadcaster) takes over for Katie Malloch this week.
Tonight some of the highlights on the show include The New Radicals, Kenny Burrell, Verve remixes and a spotlight on Toronto pianist David Braid.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-10-07 at 12:30 PM
Last week was a very big week for Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian.
Let's see, Tuesday her new disc Tango Notturno was launched on iTunes.
Wednesday she gave birth to her first child, a baby boy! She and her husband Serouj Kradjan named him Ari (Armenian for "brave").
Thursday the Grammy nominations were announced and a remix of a track from her first CD on CBC Records (Joyous Light) was nominated for "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical," a CD by Delerium called (Angelicus, with Andy Moor, remixer.)
(As I mentioned on an earlier post, The Envelope Please our own Peter Cook (a.k.a. The Blog's Best Friend) was involved with the original recording, as were fellow CBC-ers Doug Doctor and Neil Crory.)
But what will Isabel do this week? I think we can guess, and it involves much singing of lullabies...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-10-07 at 11:05 AM
Last year someone gave me a copy of Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes' recording Horizons, subtitled "a personal collection of piano encores."
I'm listening to it as I write, and just as with the first time I heard it, it's a delight -- many short little pieces composed or arranged by Sibelius, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Grieg and others -- all played beautifully.
If you're an Andsnes fan, or this piques your curiosity, today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) you can hear Andsnes in a concert performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto no.20 in D Minor. So not the sweet or stirring little encore pieces, but still his remarkable playing.
Also on the show -- Eric chats with Eric and Jon Feidner, whose company ArkivMusic has been signing deals with major classical labels so they can supply out-of-print recordings, on demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-10-07 at 08:45 AM
In case you missed this concert on the weekend, it's now available as a Concert On Demand! From its roots in the small clubs of Toronto, to major shows at Massey Hall, The Women’s Blues Revue has consistently delivered an eclectic mix of excellent women blues and blues-oriented singers (and backup bands).
The 21st annual celebration featured Dawn Tyler Watson, Roxanne Potvin, Shawne Jackson, Treasa Levasseur, Layla Zoe and Nikki Yanofsky, with the Women’s Blues Revue Band directed by Suzie Vinnick. This year's edition included Lily Sazz, Marg Stowe, Brandi Disterheft, Michelle Josef, Sarah McElcheran, and Carrie Chesnutt.
The 21st Annual Women’s Blues Revue at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec-10-07 at 12:00 AM
Monday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.), multi-talented vocalist Karen Young leads the Âme, corps et désir ensemble in a recital of mediaeval songs from France and Italy. I say multi-talented, because I've heard her singing jazz and soulish/old school R&B stuff, but I didn't realize she also sings medieval music, until very recently. (She has a range of audio samples of work on her website, so if you're not familiar with her singing that's a nice starting point...) She has an amazingly flexible voice, with a quality of real purity to it...anyway, as you can probably tell, I like her.
And as usual, Can Live broadcasts more than one concert per show, and tonight the second performance is taken from the gala conclusion of the International de Guitare Classique de Montréal. Performances include music by Heitor Villa-Lobos, as well as compositions from Italy, Spain and Latin America. Brazilian guitarist Fabio Zanon (sorry, could not find a webpage for him, but this is a video featuring him playing some Jobim) performs with the Canadian Guitar Quartet.
December 09, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 9-07 at 08:00 PM
Tonight The Signal (10 p.m.) features a concert from Victoria by the new music ensemble, Aventa. They're presenting the Canadian premiere of Pierre Boulez piece called Derive II. Here's what Aventa say about the piece:
"Drawing on influences of Ligeti and Nancarrow, Dérive II revolves around the phenomenon of periodicity and the way we perceive. In this work Boulez overlays several differently structured periodic processes, which blithely intersect, concealing their periodicity rather than revealing it."
And they go on to say that the piece has been described (by Anne Ozorio of Seen and Heard International) as "surprisingly sensual music, exquisitely vivid and expressive with lyrical passages where snatches of near-melody flit past, tantalizingly elusive."
Goodness. Hang onto your hats. Or your radios.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 9-07 at 04:40 PM
You probably heard that the nominations for the 50th Grammy Awards were announced at the end of the week. I'm happy to say that CBC recordings are featured in two categories.
The first, in Best Instrumental Solo Performance with Orchestra, is the recording, Barber, Korngold, Walton Violin Concertos, featuring James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony conducted by Bramwell Tovey.
The recording was produced in Vancouver by Denise Ball, with recording engineer Don Harder, and with technical assistance from Bruce Dierick. Congrats, folks!
And in the second category -- Best Remixed Recording, Non Classical -- CBC is involved via a remix by Delirium of a track from Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian's first release on CBC Records, Joyous Light. Andy Moor gets the nomination for Angelicus (Nettwerk Records). The original team for Joyous Light includes producer Neil Crory, recording engineer Doug Doctor and digital editor, Peter Cook -- a.k.a. Blog's Best Friend! Way to go Peter et al!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 9-07 at 02:30 PM
Yes, it's that time of the year. You know the one, when the logical thing to do is stay home and skip all the shopping madness, or avoid dealing with the shopping madness of others (if you do not partake in that annual ritual, for religious or other reasons)? So yes, staying in and turning on the radio is about the sanest thing you can do. And this afternoon you can do that to the tune of Jurgen Goth's annual Hit List.
Today is Part 2 and Part 3 of the "HL," (it pre-empts the last bit of Sunday Afternoon In Concert and Skylarking), and it features music from Measha Brueggergosman, Bucky Pizzarelli, The Who, Angela Hewitt, Dal Richards with Jim Byrnes, a choral version of the Pachelbel Canon, and a little-known newly-released Charles Mingus concert from 1964. Mingus! A hit on my list too.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 9-07 at 10:45 AM
Inside The Music continues The Concerto According To Manny, and this week, Mr. Emanuel Ax (Manny when he's at home, or on CBC Radio!) talks about Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor.
Brahms wrote the concerto, his first foray into concerto and orchestral writing, when he was 25 (!), and yet many (and maybe Manny too) feel it's the strongest orchestral statement since Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
It premiered in Hanover, Germany on January 22, 1859 and received a second performance in Leipzig five days later at which an unappreciative audience hissed at the end. (Funny how often the music that dismays one generation is the music that delights the next, and the next, and the next...)
In a letter to violinist Joseph Joachim after the performance, Brahms wrote, "I am only experimenting and feeling my way. All the same, the hissing was rather too much!"
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 9-07 at 08:15 AM
In case you missed this post earlier, The King Of Instruments will give you the scoop on today's broadcast of In The Key Of Charles. Or if you'd prefer, just meditate on the image below, (from the Parish Church of St. Luke in Winnipeg), and see if the theme of today's show is revealed to you, even before you turn your radio on.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 9-07 at 06:15 AM
I think choral music is lovely at any time of year, but particularly at this time of year -- in part as an antidote to certain other seasonal music.( Just think, for instance, about such gems as I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Or don't.)
Today Choral Concert presents, from the Chapel of St John’s College, Cambridge, the Advent Carol Service. It’s a service of traditional Advent hymns, antiphons and carols under the direction of David Hill, Director of Music.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 9-07 at 12:00 AM
q: What's the national instrument of Norway?
a: You can hear it (the hardangerfiddle or hardingfele) with the Norwegian quintet, Spindel, tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.)
Also, the ensemble Lori Pappajohn and Winter Harp performing music from Hellenic to Celtic to flamenco and more in their tribute to the harp. (I like Winter Harp's attitude towards winter, btw -- on their homepage they say "Winter is the pause that gives life meaning.")
And finally on Can Live tonight -- one more harp highlight with Heidi Krutzen, principal harpist with the Vancouver Opera and the CBC Radio Orchestras. In this concert she covers three centuries of music beginning with Scarlatti (early 18th century), then jumping ahead to Debussy's Danse sacrée et Danse Profane and ending with a contemporary piece written by R. Murray Schafer for harp and string quartet.
December 08, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 8-07 at 07:30 PM
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) it’s a very special concert by multi instrumentalist Anthony Braxton, who conducts an orchestra of Toronto musicians...also, music from Hauschka, Torngat, Ween, Quebec songstress Gaele, and a track from Montreal’s Plants and Animals.
Plants and Animals (on Secret City Records, same label as Polaris winner Patrick Watson) are going to release their first full length CD, Parc Avenue (can you tell they're from Montreal?) in the new year, btw. I imagine the track Pat is playing tonight is from their EP that came out in the fall, described by Exclaim! Mag as, “powerful yet gentle, profound yet unpretentious, this is the kind of stuff that can make people cry and fist pump at the same time.”
I have to say, crying and fist pumping at the same time has never been that big a draw for me, but I like the music on the EP too. It made me want to sit down and listen -- at the same time! (Sorry, Exclaim!, feel free to rag about something I've written any old time.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 8-07 at 04:30 PM
Some highlights for Tonic both today and tomorrow, just so you can hunker down and get ready for your jazz fix:
Tonight "the good the bad the ugly and the musical," with Clint Eastwood's After Hours Live at Carnegie Hall recording. Clint's son Kyle teams up with Jamie Cullum's brother Ben on a track and then Jamie covers a Radiohead tune. Also game show music, yes, game show music, from Elizabeth Shepherd and Joshua Redman as well. Plus tunes from Don Thompson, Leah State and Billie Holiday.
Then on Sunday's Tonic, Mozart meets Cuba with Klazz Brothers and Cuban percussion. Plus some jazzgrass, with music from The Creaking Tree String Quartet. (Did I just coin that term, "jazzgrass?" I hope so.) Also, a spotlight on Toronto bassist Kieran Overs and music from David 'Fathead' Newman, Shirley Horn and Sophie Milman. Speaking of, nice to see a feature on Milman in the Globe, earlier this week...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 8-07 at 02:30 PM
You may know Rita Chiarelli as a blues gal, an accomplished singer-songwriter, and someone who also likes to harken back, musically, to her Italian roots with Italian folk songs. Well, she's all that, and more -- in this concert you can hear her with what she calls "my most expensive backup band ever," The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, performing special arrangements by Joseph Phillips.
As well, this concert is part of tonight's broadcast on Canada Live (8 p.m.), where you can also hear the annual Toronto Blues Society's Women's Blues Review, which took place last weekend at Massey Hall.
Rita Chiarelli with The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 8-07 at 10:30 AM
The Met operas resume on Radio2 this weekend with a new production staged by Stephen Wadsworth of Iphigénie en Tauride, by Christoph Willibald von Gluck. It's broadcast, of course, on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera, and for more info, please see the earlier, fairly comprehensive post (if I do say so myself) Met Season Resumes On SAATO.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 8-07 at 08:15 AM
I remember when the Toronto Blues Society's Women's Blues Revue was a little, community kind of event. It was always good though -- tons of energy and a passel of good Canadian women singers doing blues and blues-related music.
Well, "little" no more. The event, in its 21st year, is an annual mega-concert, held at Massey Hall in early December. Saturday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear the show, including singers Dawn Tyler Watson, Roxanne Potvin, Shawne Jackson, Treasa Levasseur, Layla Zoe and Nikki Yanofsky. The Women’s Blues Revue Band, directed by Suzie Vinnick (also on Vinyl Cafe earlier today!) joins these talented artists on stage.
Also a second concert on Canada Live (8 p.m.) on the blues tip, from the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, Rita Chiarelli and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra performing her original roots/blues compositions.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 8-07 at 08:00 AM
Another Christmas concert on the Café Vinyl, as they call it in Paris, featuring music from Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy, the He Poos Clouds guy, which is musically far, far more attractive than that album title), and young New Brunswick slide wizard Joe Grass, plus award-winning blues vocalist Suzie Vinnick.
Also a Dave and Morley story. For those of you who know Dave, imagine what could happen if Dave ended up driving a float in the Santa Claus Parade. Imagine!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 8-07 at 12:00 AM
Winnipeg-based Alexis Kochan has been making music that's a blend of ancient, often ritualistic Ukrainian songs, with hints of jazz and contemporary folk for many a year now, with her ensemble, From Paris To Kyiv. Tomorrow on Sunday Afternoon In Concert, she collaborates with the Mantoba Chamber Orchestra and conductor Alain Trudel with music selections that range widely, but, according to the producers of Sunday Aft., "still resonate at home at the corners of Portage and Main." (Possibly this means songs from her "Winter Cycle?")
Also on a Sunday, that is to say, tomorrow, host Bill Richardson catches up with conductor Yannick Nézet Séguin - who is definitely one of today's HOTTEST young conductors -- recently appointed principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2008-2009 season.
At 4:00 P.M. (4:30 NT) the final portion of Sunday Aft. (and Skylarking with Andre Alexis) is given over to our CBC Vancouver colleague Jurgen Gothe and his annual Hit List of recommended recordings. More on that a little later this weekend...
December 07, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 7-07 at 05:00 PM
I knew it was only a matter of time before the weekend edition of The Signal (10 p.m.) got to one of my favourite trends of 2007, what they describe as "the lowly uke." Now, I would only take issue with that word "lowly." Even though I have been guilty of having a little fun with uke obsession myself, I actually really love the sound of the instrument.
Anyway, quibbling over language aside, tonight Pat Carrabré takes a look at the ukulele in some of its recent, revivalist glory.
btw, in terms of traditional uke playing, you should check out Canadian ukulelist James Hill's concert online here at Radio 2's Concerts On Demand. It's a peach.
P.S. In case you're wondering who the lady with the uke is, it's actress Amy Gordon.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 7-07 at 03:00 PM
What is the mystique of music that comes from islands? Or is it a mystique -- perhaps it's just mere coincidence that the music of places like Cuba, Cape Verde and Corsica has been met with such enthusiasm in the last decade. (Remember the brief passion for polyphonic Corsican singing? Would that it was still in flower...)
Anyway, one island music that IS still popular is the music of Cape Verde, and I wanted to let you know that Cape Verdean singer Gabriela Mendes' concert from Club Balattou, as part of the 2007 Festival nuits d’Afrique, is now available as a Concert On Demand.
Mendes hails from the northern island of Sao Vincente, (just like Cesaria Evora), and she sings original and traditional Cape Verdian songs in Portuguese and Creole.
Gabriela Mendes at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 7-07 at 02:05 PM
I'd like to note the passing of one of the 20th centuries most influential composers, Karlheinz Stockhausen, who died at age 79.
The Guardian has a brief obituary, and I'm sure more in depth pieces about his life and work are to come.
And you may want to see this small documentary that includes an interview with Stockhausen as well.
I'm adding to this post a little later in the day, as I've learned that on Monday night The Signal (10 p.m.) will pay tribute to Stockhausen with concert performances of Klavierstueck XI, Kontakte, and selections from the vocal work Stimmung, as well as highlights from his early electronic repertoire and interview clips with Stockhausen himself.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 7-07 at 12:00 PM
To my mind, one of the positive classical music stories of the past few decades is the breaking down of traditional boundaries of style, of what kinds of music classical musicians perform. Of course not every musician would want to play multiple styles of music -- but some do. And for them, ah, the freedom! The new audiences! The potential to dress cool! All these rewards may come to the new breed of multi-disciplinary classical musicians.
So it's almost no longer a surprise when you hear about a musician like guitarist Sean Kelly, who plays classical guitar and has also toured with Alice Cooper, and fronted his own rock band, Crash Kelly.
Almost. If you were to go to his MySpace Rock page before his Classical page, there is still something of a, how shall I put it, a slight sense of gleeful disconnect?
And you can hear Mr. Kelly talk about his guitar life today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), also hear music from his new recording The #1 Classical Guitar Album. (Is that a bit like calling your novel A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius?Admire the hutzpah!)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 7-07 at 06:15 AM
Finally, what we've all been waiting for -- the results of Music & Co.'s re-gifting Cage Match: Little Drummer Boy vs. I Saw Mommy Kissing S. Claus. Who's it gonna be, Pa-Rum-Pum-Pum, or the kid who witnessed the chimney-side indiscretion? Tune in at 7:30 to hear Tom reveal the song that listeners decided to remove from the playlist...forever.
UPDATE! This just in: 50% wanted I saw Mommy... to go the way of the Christmas Dodo. 41% pressed the Mute button on The Little Drummer Boy. 9% wanted Tom to say "Merry Christmas" to both and send them on their way. So....they've decided to re-gift Mitch Miller and the Gang singing I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus to As It Happens. Tom tells me he's "taking it up there right now." I bet they'll be thrilled.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 7-07 at 12:02 AM
Some years ago I had the honour of working with legendary CBC broadcaster Max Ferguson. As I remember it, he used to sometimes refer to our technician, (the inimitable "Sweeney"), behind the soundboard, as controlling "the mighty console," or sometimes, "the mighty organ." There was something so apt about that -- all that power. After all, the organ is, as Gregory Charles puts it, "the king of instruments."
This Sunday on In The Key Of Charles, Gregory pays homage to the king, playing music of pipe organs, wurlitzers and Hammond B-3s.
Music includes organ classics by Charles-Marie Widor & Camille Saint-Saëns, great jazz players like Jimmy Smith, Earl Grant and Joey DeFrancesco, choral music by Maurice Duruflé and Leonard Bernstein...and, of course, a a few surprises, like J. S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor -- as you've never heard it before. (But no Monty Python stuff, right, Gregory? Though, come to think of it, how would we ever know, he's at home, and besides, it's radio!)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 7-07 at 12:01 AM
Last week when I posted about the Canadian Folk Music Awards someone wanted to know when they'd be broadcast -- and while I was able to say it would be on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Friday Dec. 7th, was not too sure who was being featured.
I'm happy to say I do have that info now -- so, here goes: live performances are from Ron Hynes, Vishten, Ian Tamblyn, Florent Volent, Galitscha, Sylvia Tyson, The Duhks, T. Nile, all recorded at the the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.
There's also a second concert on the folk side of things, from veteran Ottawa folk singer and playwright Ian Tamblyn. Tamblyn is a songwriter who has often explored Canadian landscape, in various ways, so it's not surprising that part of this concert (recorded at the brand new theatre of the Great Canadian Theatre Company) features some new material connected to Lake Superior and Northwest Ontario.
Tamblyn, writing at his website (tamblyn.com), explains the Superior connection in a lovely (and so Canadian!) way:
"I chose to begin with Superior because, in many ways that where my creative and musical journey began and the reference point for all subsequent journeys. I grew up in Fort William and camped on the shores of Thunder Bay and had a relationship with the lake but I rediscovered its power, its vastness, beauty and spirit when I began canoeing the north shore in the early 1970’s. It was also the time when my musical journey began."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 7-07 at 12:00 AM
Something I know some of you have been waiting for...the Metropolitan Opera returns to the CBC Radio Two airwaves with Iphigénie en Tauride, by Christoph Willibald von Gluck, broadcast on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera this week.
Iphigénie en Tauride, the tale of two siblings, stars American soprano Susan Graham in the title role (Iphigénie) and superstar Placido Domingo as her brother, Oreste.
As usual, the Greek Gods are meddling in the affairs of just about everyone. (What's a girl to do but take a forced vacation on a Mediterranean Island?) Gluck reinterpreted the ancient myth by Eurpides in his innovative masterpiece. And getting serious here for a minute... the story is really about rejecting the limitations of the past and insisting on a better future.
The opera also embodies Gluck’s ideas about artistic reform as well. The SAATO folks put it this way -- Gluck "rejected the excessive ornamentation of the past operatic practice, and simplified the musical line and made the drama more natural in its delivery."
And now the broadcast details: Curtain time is 1:30 ET. In the preceding half-hour ( and again following the Met's broadcast) host Bill Richardson has more on Gluck and his importance in the world of opera.
More info is available here on the Met broadcast season.
December 06, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 6-07 at 08:46 PM
Tonight The Signal (10 p.m.) broadcasts a concert by The Esprit Orchestra, Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to new music. If you miss the broadcast or would like to hear the concert again, it's also now available as a Concert On Demand.
The concert was to celebrate the Esprit's 25th anniversary, and along with performances of some of their favourite compositions, the orchestra was able to publicly celebrate music director and conductor Alex Pauk as winner of the 2007 Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize.
You’ll hear music by five Canadian composers, including what has to be Esprit’s “ Greatest Hit”, Colin McPhee’s Tabuh-Tabahan.
The Esprit Orchestra’s 25th Anniversary Gala Concert at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 6-07 at 05:00 PM
Tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) you can hear music from Pink Martini, who Tonicians describe as "the thinking person's lounge band."
Well, considering the band was founded by a Harvard graduate and classically trained pianist to play political fundraisers focussing on things like civil rights, the environment, affordable housing and -- get this -- public broadcasting -- that's probably as good a description as any. You can check out their music at Pink Martini's MySpace site, or, of course on Tonic, as well as loads of other tunes on tonight's show.
Can't resist sending you to one more place though -- this very charming and funny video from their debut Sympathique. (Also very useful for anyone trying to improve her or his wretched high school French!)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 6-07 at 02:30 PM
Noticed that DiscDrive is playing a track today from David Buchbinder and Hilario Durans' Odessa/Havana collaboration -- where they explore the connections between Cuban and Jewish music.
And then, within minutes, happened on a recent feature piece at Spinner on this collaboration, called Afro-Cuban? How About Klezmer-Cuban?. Impossible to resist noting this synchronicity, and nice to see some attention paid to this project "Stateside." (Or should that be "virtualside," given it's online?)
btw, a concert recording of the Odessa/Havana Project is also available here at CBC R2 as a Concert On Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 6-07 at 11:00 AM
Funny how part of the sound of a city is the sound of its public transit -- for me the defining transit sound of my hometown is the streetcar bell -- in Montreal, it's the four note Metro chime. Though perhaps some underdwellers feel the defining transit sound of Toronto is actually the subway chime as well. (Courtesy of The Green Peugeot). But I think no one would dispute that public transit becomes an inextricable part of a city soundscape.
Today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) some Montreal jazz musicians create music based on those four notes of Montreal's Metro. And on the non-transit front -- the featured work is the Dvorak Violin Concerto, with soloist Midori and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 6-07 at 07:31 AM
If you've ever wondered what the origins of musical notation were, but were afraid to ask, now's your chance to find out in the safety of your own radio -- Mr. Equipment drops by Tom Allen's Music & Co. studio this morning to illuminate. (Mentions of The Little Drummer Boy vs. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus will be kept to a minimum, I'm sure.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 6-07 at 12:01 AM
Were I a gambling woman, I'd put money down to say that The Rheostatics are one of Canada's best loved bands. But I'm not a betting woman, and besides, who can prove such a claim? Still, the fact that the Rheostatics placed in the top twenty of Bob Mersereau's Top 100 Canadian Albums, released earlier this year, seems to substantiate this theory.
And even if you think you don't know their music (they weren't really hit-makers, except for the beautiful song, Claire,) I bet you've heard them without realizing it, or you know of them through the ubiquitous and multi-talented Dave Bidini, one of the band's founders.
Anyway, to the point. Last March The Rheostatics said goodbye with a farewell concert at Massey Hall, and tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear it for yourself.
The second concert on the show is a tribute to guitarist/composer/producer Domenic Troiano, who passed away in May 2005 at the age of 59. It was the 2nd annual tribute, not sure who exactly played at it, but it featured performances from family and friends. Speaking of tributes -- here's a nice video tribute to Mr. Troiano...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 6-07 at 12:00 AM
Thursday night on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear music from the Esprit Orchestra's 25th Anniversary Gala, recorded at the St. Lawrence Centre in Toronto. It's a live performance of Sinfonia by Dutch composer Tristan Keuris, and Overtime by Canadian composer John Rea, celebrating the 25th year of Canada's premiere contemporary orchestra.
Allow me to quote one of our own -- Radio 2's Robert Harris -- writing in the Globe, about the Esprit:
"It's time to put aside ancient prejudices about 'new' music and taste the delicious range of musical art being produced today. And there's no better place to do so than with the Esprit Orchestra, Canada's only orchestra devoted to contemporary and new music. Expand your horizons. You won't regret it."
December 05, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 5-07 at 08:00 PM
The Signal (10 p.m.) describes The Inhabitants as "purveyors of post-rock/amplified jazz goodness." To find out what they mean by that -- tune in tonight for a concert recording.
But in the meantime, here's what I can tell you about them. They're a four-man instrumental band from Vancouver, with a sound that's shaped (among other things) by trumpet and trumpet effects. All of these musicians are active in Vancouver's music scene, so you may have heard them with bands like Fond of Tigers, the Veda Hille Band, etc. and in collaborations with people like François Houle and Peggy Lee.
Down Beat magazine apparently described their debut self-titled CD of a few years back as "an aural introduction to a dream." Which, if the music on The Inhabitants MySpace site is anything to go by, is not a bad description at all.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 5-07 at 05:00 PM
First up tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) is Montreal’s “Queen of the Blues,” Dawn Tyler Watson. Want a little hint as to why she might have earned this title? Here she is at the Maple Blues Revue., having some fun, and getting a little scat/jazzy in the process.
Dawn T-W is on a roll right now -- she'll be hosting the upcoming (upcoming as in January 21 that is) Maple Blues Awards (Canada's national blues awards) and she's also a nominee for female vocalist of the year and acoustic act of the year, with Paul Deslauriers. (Last year she took home the Canadian Maple Blues Award for Female Vocalist of the Year.)
I could go on -- she's won all kinds of awards, worked as a screen and stage actor as well as a vocalist, but no, I'd rather steer you to some more music from Dawn, as a preamble for tonight's concert broadcast.
And another heavyweight concert on the show tonight: From this year's Jazz Festival in Montreal -- virtuosic electric bassist and singer Richard Bona (Cameroon/New York), Lokua Kanza, from Congo, and a third singer, Gerald Toto of Martinique. The three have been working together for the past three or four years as Toto Bona Lokua, and have really focussed on the way their great voices sound together -- I hear this concert from Montreal really blew people away. That link will give you a hint, though it's primarily an interview with the three of them.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 5-07 at 03:30 PM
From the Chan Centre at the University of British Columbia, music director Alain Trudel leads the CBC Radio Orchestra in a celebratory concert titled “Let’s Hear it for Haydn.”
The orchestra performs two of the 104 symphonies that Haydn composed in his lifetime. As well, from the pens of Johannes Brahms and Alfred Schnittke, music inspired by Haydn.
Let’s Hear it for Haydn at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 5-07 at 12:30 PM
After all the skirmishing over The Little Drummer Boy vs. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, (see: Drummer Boy Vs. Mommy Kissing) I thought we should take this in a completely different direction, but one that still befits the season, it being the second day of Hanukkah and all.
I think a mashup is the way to go today, so was amused and pleased to come across the Klezmer Nutcracker. (Here's an audio sample, the Dance of the Dreydls. ) It's not new at all, but in my years of programming "seasonal" music for various radio shows it's one I somehow failed to come across, from the band Shirim.
Thanks to Sound Roots for the tip...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 5-07 at 12:01 AM
On Wednesday Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) has a live performance in Studio 40 featuring Lara St. John. She'll talk violin, she'll play violin -- music she features on her new recording Bach: The Six Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo.
Bet just clicking on that link and hearing the music on her homepage will make you want to tune in -- she's quite a performer. And of course well known for being, well, not shy. (Hey, anyone who liked to hang out with their pet iguana on their shoulder must be something of a character...)
But back to the music -- recent reviews of her Bach performances have been good -- try this one on for size, from a performance in Miami: "St. John's effortless virtuosity was stunning. Acclaimed for her Bach performances, St John is clearly a versatile, extraordinary gifted musician."
btw, the Iguana's name was "Ancalagon."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 5-07 at 12:00 AM
A fine array of Canadian talent on Wednesday night's Tonic (6 p.m.). from pianists Oscar Peterson, Richard
Whiteman and Mark Eisenman, plus the Doxas Brothers quintet, and vocalists Divine Brown and Kiran Singh.
Canadian jazz has its ups and downs, and certainly as oft' reported the club scene is precarious at best, non-existent (in some places) at worst. So I'd like to give a few plugs to some sources for Canadian jazz, for instance the blog Jazz Elements, ("jazz & blues music blog with news, reviews, concerts and downloads, with a Canadian Focus"), and Vancouver Jazz ("website of the Vancouver Jazz Society...a compendious guide to jazz culture around Vancouver).
There's also IAJE Canada (the annual conference of this U.S. based jazz education organization happens in Toronto January 9-12), and Jazz Festivals Canada. And of course, for historical info, any jazz book by Mark Miller... so there's a starting point, at least, but feel free to tell me about some significant sites/blogs I might be overlooking...
December 04, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 4-07 at 07:00 PM
Way earlier today some of us got our knickers in a knot over Christmas music -- specifically, The Little Drummer Boy and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, two songs Tom Allen invited listeners to "vote off the island" as it were, in a Cage Match.
Thankfully there is some Christmas music that does not tend to arouse this degree of ire. It's a subjective, personal thing of course, but I'll go out on a limb here (a very scrawny, Charlie Brown Christmas tree type limb) and say that I think that Vince Guaraldi's music, composed for that show, is usually better received. OK, I like it. There, it's OTR.
But did you know that the drummer for that music was Halifax-based Jerry Granelli? Yes? Well, guess you actually don't learn something new every day. But if you didn't know, that trivia might interest you. Either way you can hear Granelli tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) in a completely different context, with his group, (named for the power of a tour bus), The V16 Project.
The concert is Granelli with guitarists Christian Koegel and David Tronzo, and bass guitarist J Anthony Granelli in a performance recorded live at the 2007 Atlantic Jazz Festival in Halifax.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 4-07 at 03:16 PM
The deadline for a proposal call for Canadian composers (to write a piece celebrating the St. Lawrence String Quartet's 20th anniversary) has been extended to January 25th, 2008, "due to overwhelming response."
No doubt an indication of the limited number of opportunities, but also, on a more positive tip -- of the numbers of creative and energized composers in this country.
The work is going to have some exposure too -- it will be performed first during a series of SLSQ concerts in communities across Canada and abroad.
Lesley Robertson, the violist, has said that “through this project, we hope to not only recognize this significant milestone, but also to showcase and provide continued support to the work of living Canadian composers.”
The rules: it's open to all Associate Composers of the Canadian Music Centre. Works are for string quartet alone, must be no more than eight minutes, and should reflect the SLSQ’s Canadian roots. Gentlemen, start your music software programmes.
(For details: St. Lawrence String Quartet.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 4-07 at 02:20 PM
Meant to do this yesterday, but there's something so slippery about Mondays, they're like big fish that don't want to be caught. (Hopefully a slightly more literary excuse than saying I'm less organized than usual on Mondays.)
Anyhoo, today, a Tuesday, is not too late to point you to the rest of the week's highlights on DiscDrive. You know Jurgen is gearing up for his annual Hit List, (broadcast on Radio 2 Sunday Dec 9 from 4-6pm), but until then, here are some reasons to tune in this week:
Continue reading "A Week Long (Disc)Drive" »
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 4-07 at 11:00 AM
Some say that Chris Bliss juggling may be the most watched video in internet history. I doubt it, but still, it's one way to lure you in. Chris Bliss is a comedian who describes what he does as "smart comedy for the information age."(Apparently he majored in comparative literature at Northwestern University and the U. of Oregon before deciding he wanted a career in juggling, and then moving on to comedy.) But he's also an incredibly musical juggler.
Maybe you've already seen his famous juggling to The Beatles Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight but I'm telling you if you haven't, it's worth the trip to Youtube. (Or Google video, if you prefer to patronize the underdog.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 4-07 at 07:30 AM
Yes, once again, music and passion are always the fashion at The Cage Match, and this week's bout is no exception.
The music, well, take a deep breath -- Music & Company wants to know which tune YOU would rather "re-gift," The Little Drummer Boy or I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus? The passion? The fury with which so many of us greet these tunes.
Had I my way they'd be locked in mortal combat in that cage forever, one to expire from an onslaught of pa-rum-pum-pum-pums, the other from the high pitch of extremely annoying kid-imitators.
But don't let me put you off or anything. Tune in! Make your low-pitched voice heard. Bang that drum! (Tuesday 7:30, Wednesday 6:40, results Friday 7:30.)
P.S. Tom -- Mitch Miller! Well, that's one way of getting around the shrillness, but does not truly lessen my pain...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 4-07 at 12:01 AM
Leon Bibb is a legend on the Vancouver music scene -- his big break came with a role in the original Broadway production of Annie Get Your Gun, and in the 1970's he settled in Vancouver after touring with Bill Cosby. Eric Bibb is Leon's son, he lives in England but was back in Vancouver on tour when this concert, recorded at the Capilano College Theatre, was recorded for broadcast on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Tuesday night. His dad was in the audience, and those who were there tell me that it was "just a magic night" of Eric's blues and gospel styled music.
Then after son you can hear father Leon performing with the Tuned Air Choir from Saltspring Island, BC.
A third concert on the broadcast is from a guitarist who's been described as sounding "like a four piece band." That's Don Alder, who among other things is the 2007 International Fingerstyle Guitar Champion. If you have a minute, here's quite a lovely example of one aspect of his playing, on the "harp guitar."
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 4-07 at 12:00 AM
Tuesday evening's Tonic (6 p.m.) broadcast has a little feature on jazz guitar, with music from Duane Andrews, (a Newfoundlander inspired by Django Reinhardt), Nelson Symonds (a legendary figure on the Canadian jazz scene, in the Charlie Christian vein) and Russell Malone, a very talented player who's worked with a wide range of people from Jimmy Smith to Harry Connick Jr. to Diana Krall.
If you are reading this because the subject heading caught your eye and you have an interest in jazz guitar, (and are on the verge of getting into nitty gritty chattering and nattering about this very subject), you might want to visit the discussion forums at playjazzguitar.com. Hours of fun ahead...
December 03, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 3-07 at 08:20 PM
It's Monday, the beginning of a week that launched itself, in my neck of the woods, with snow then ice then rain. Tonight, appropriately enough, you can hear some music that the folks at The Signal (10 p.m.) describe as "wintery improvised music perfect for the wee hours."
This includes the latest recording from Chris Gestrin and Wayne Horvitz. Also highlights from an intense and passionate concert by the Art of Time Ensemble -- Allen Ginsberg's Howl narrated by Ted Dykstra, plus songs by Woody Guthrie performed by Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson of The Skydiggers. (btw, Andy and Josh are just about to perform another show with Art of Time, called Source and Inspiration ll, coming up in mid-December.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 3-07 at 05:01 PM
Tonic (6 p.m.) marks the anniversary of two Broadway shows today, Camelot and Kismet, with music from pianists Oscar Peterson and Don Grolnick, bassist Curtis Counce and saxophonist Stan Getz.
btw, if you're ever looking for a list of Broadway shows (and movie scores) interpreted by jazz artists -- you should check out this one compiled by Will Friedwald and others -- no doubt there are more up-to-date lists, but it's a nice start.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 3-07 at 02:33 PM
BACKStrings perform traditional middle-eastern music with new arrangements, and a concert of their performance from this year's Festival du Monde Arabe is now available as a Concert On Demand.
By the way, there are now 206 concerts available online as CODs, as we call them, and more coming -- so do check them out at Concerts On Demand.
But back to BACKStrings. They're eight musicians from different origins, who came together in Montreal to perform original music inspired by traditions of Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Spain and Tunisia -- with lots of contemporary western musical influences as well.
BACKStrings at Festival du monde Arabe at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 3-07 at 12:23 PM
Two Canadian music awards shows took place over the weekend, the Canadian Folk Music Awards (here's the list of winners) and the Aboriginal Music Awards. Shane Yellowbird was the big winner at the latter, as reported by my colleagues over at cbc.ca arts.
And there were a number of multiple award winners at the (don't call them "The Folkies" -- apparently the organizers don't like that) Folk Awards, including Penny Lang, a singer-songwriter of considerable significance in Canadian folk music who has re-emerged in her 60s. She took home two awards -- reportedly her first ever, despite a career that's spanned many decades.
The Junos may get most of the media attention, the Polaris Prize may get most of the money, but these "niche" awards get a lot of passion from the musicians and fans involved -- and hopefully will continue to grow...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 3-07 at 11:01 AM
On Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) today you can hear Angela Hewitt, recorded in concert, playing Schumann's Piano Sonata N.1 in F # minor, op. 11.
And the annual Studio Sparks musical Advent calendar begins, with a twist. I guess this means no candy?
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 3-07 at 08:01 AM
Here's To You gets requests from all manner of folk, including (as you'll hear if you tune in this morning), a professor in London, Ontario who spent last summer working with researchers and students from the U. of Western Ontario cleaning, restoring and cataloguing Bolivian baroque music. To thank his colleagues and to honour the Bolivians, he requests music from the Bolivian Baroque, played by Florilegium.
Nice story, eh? And just one of many on HtY...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 3-07 at 12:00 AM
Music writers chafe and strain to find new and glorious (or at least new) ways to describe music and bands. This is why you so frequently get what I think of as the "Meets" description. You know, Bjork-meets-Anne Murray-meets-Led Zeppelin.
So it's always refreshing to hear an original description of a band, for instance this description by an (un-named) film critic of the acoustic band MacCrimmon's Revenge, that their sound is like "moldy trolls wheezing in caves."
Alright then. But just in case you want a more traditional approach, Irish Music Magazine says, "Those of you outside Nova Scotia may not have heard of the music phenomenon known as MacCrimmon's Revenge - rest assured that in the very near future you will." (btw, the band must like the moldy troll thing -- as they are the source for that bit of "praise.")
You can hear MacCrimmon's Revenge on Canada Live (8 p.m.) on Monday night, with their tin whistles, uilleann pipes and guitars, but also instruments of some non-Celtic cultures, including the oud, didgeridoo and banjo. This recording was live at the Deep Roots Festival in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Note: Two other concerts on the broadcast follow MacCrimmon's Revenge, singer-songwriter Annabelle Chvostek, followed by Mary Gauthier.
December 02, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 2-07 at 07:30 PM
The weekend's Vancouver city profile on The Signal (10 p.m.) comes to an end tonight. Pat plays music from composers Jocelyn Morlock, Jesse Zubot, Veda Hille, Jeff Ryan and Owen Underhill. Also, you can hear composer Bradshaw Pack's work in a concert by the Turning Point Ensemble.
Alex Varty at The Georgia Straight talked to Pack about the collaboration with the Turning Point Ensemble, and the composition The Madonna in the Banana Leaves, in an article called Passionate Logic. You may want to read that to accompany your listening!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 2-07 at 04:00 PM
There's Scandinavian jazz from Sweden and Denmark on Tonic (6 p.m.) today -- and of course there's lots to choose from, as the jazz scene in both countries is strong -- particularly in Sweden, I believe. Although Danes feel free to disagree.
I came across an interesting piece of writing on that very subject recently, by the author of Music In Sweden, Lars Westin, who asks "what makes Swedish jazz so Swedish?":
"What does [Swedish jazz] have that Belgian, French, English ... or American jazz lacks?" he asks. But it's a tough question to answer -- so first he tries by example.
"One musician who immediately springs to mind, of course, is baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin (1928-76), whose folkloristic and romantic music definitely fits the description; during the 1950s disparaging voices even referred to it as "fäbodjazz" (goatherd’s jazz). However, Gullin’s music is more a reflection of his own personality and of the scope that jazz allows for individualism in general, rather than a typical expression of the specific qualities that characterise Swedish jazz."
But then he goes a little deeper:
"Nevertheless, the music is sometimes said to have a character of its own which non-Swedish musicians and critics from time to time have tried to define: a sparse, lyrical quality, often in combination with a typically Nordic melancholy that is sometimes thought to be an expression of our climate - the dark, cold winters and the long, light summer evenings - and of the Swedish scenery, with its deep forests and high mountains..."
Interesting, I think we all have a tendency to believe, however unscientific that belief may be, that music is informed by landscape and climate. But is it?
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 2-07 at 03:30 PM
Today on Skylarking Andre Alexis asks "have you ever wondered why men have such low voices?" Fortunately others before Mr. Alexis asked the same question, fer' instance the Greek philosopher Harris Tottle. Good old Harris Tottle. (Honestly, I don't make this stuff up, the unusual minds at Skylarking do.) Anyway, good old Harris Tottle's answer was via intriguing music, as you will hear, if you tune into Skylarking, for a little unusual thinking on the radio...
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 2-07 at 02:00 PM
Just a quick note about this story in case you missed it Friday --The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is planning to record more of its concerts and offer them on CD and as downloads. You can get the details at CBC | Arts News.
Particularly interesting in light of the news last week of the TSO's improved financial status. A $2.3-million infusion from the TSO Foundation helped to reduce a $9.44-million deficit by $500,000. (You can read more about that at the Globe.)
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 2-07 at 11:00 AM
Today on Inside The Music another episode of The Concerto According to Manny, when pianist Emanuel Ax joins Radio 2's Studio Sparks host Eric Friesen for this special series about the piano concerto.
Today Manny (I'm sure I'd address him as Emanuel, or perhaps Mr. Ax were I to meet him, but it is such a delight to discover that he also goes by "Manny") turns his attention to piano in the Romantic tradition with Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor.
And, my lovelies, since every week someone asks me if they can hear this series after the fact, I will be more preemptive today and send you to the CBC online shop, where a 12-CD set of The Concerto According To Manny is available.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 2-07 at 12:01 AM
You know that kind of late afternoon winter sky, when it almost looks pewter, with just the faintest cast of yellowing setting sun? You know in your bones what will happen, and sure enough, the snow begins to flurry, a dance, a tiny frenzy of snowflakes turning in the air.
OK, that's it, I'm totally out of the snow closet now. I love snow. I fail to understand why people get so angsty when it begins to fall, and long for tropical climes. So I was thrilled, thrilled I tell you, to find out that Gregory is presenting a snow-themed show Sunday morning on In The Key Of Charles.
He'll be playing a jazz-inspired harpsichord prelude by James Gelfand, some Danish electronica, (you know that Danish electronica snow music, all the rage), and music from Snow White sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Then he explores the Nordic landscape of Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto (Op. 16), takes a sleigh ride with New York jazz clarinetist Don Byron, and flies away with an Anne Murray classic. (Spread those tiny wings!)
But wait, that's not all, there's choral music by Francis Poulenc, Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, Morten Lauridsen and Bo Holten; and orchestral music by Lars-Erik Larsson, and Frederick Delius. Plus selections from Andy Williams, Laura Fygi, Barbara Streisand and Sergio Mendes.
And as a bonus to get you in the mood for Monsieur Charles' snow radio: from Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen, SNOW!
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 2-07 at 12:00 AM
Some choral music for a Sunday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) A nice compliment to the choral music heard 12 hours earlier on Choral Concert, when Howard Dyck presents music for the first Sunday in the Advent, Magnificat Through the Ages.
I would wager there is no music that is more intimate than the music produced by the human voice, and certainly a concert called Voice of Vancouver supports my theory. It features musica intima (a vocal chamber ensemble made up of singers from Canada’s west coast). They're also a choir that likes to collaborate though, and on this broadcast you can hear them with The Orchid Ensemble as well, performing a Chinese folk tune called Ting Song.
You'll also hear Armenian-Canadian singer Mariam Matossian, (she has a sensitive and lovely classical-music-meets-folk approach to Armenian traditional music) and gospel from The Sojourners. Their debut CD Hold On just came out this past fall, and what I've heard of it sounds really nice -- some pedal steel, nice back up band, and three great voices.
And there's a second concert on the show, a performance by the Vancouver Island Music Awards’ Female Vocalist of the Year, Haley Sales. As well as writing and self-producing her debut recording, Sunseed, she's interviewed the Dalai Lama, travelled the world, accompanied former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic to the Seattle WTO protests...and I think she's something like 20 or 21...let it never be said we lack in enterprising young musicians in this country!
December 01, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 1-07 at 09:00 PM
You know, I think I failed to mention that this is VANCOUVER weekend, all weekend on The Signal (10 p.m.) Tonight, Pat gets on the horn with with Vancouver musicians Jason Zumpano and Carla Gillis. (As opposed to sitting across the table them and talking into mics, that kind of horn.)
Plus a Pete Samples give-a-way and a concert broadcast featuring the work of Milton Barnes and Keon Birney. All that, and as they say, much, much more.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 1-07 at 07:00 PM
Holly Cole performed in Winnipeg this past October at one of her all time favourite theatres in Canada, the Pantages Playhouse. The concert was broadcast earlier in the week on Canada Live, and is now available as a Concert On Demand -- featuring Cole with six piece band preforming a mix of new compositions and standards.
Holly Cole in Winnipeg at Concerts on Demand.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 1-07 at 04:00 PM
Tonic (6 p.m.) gets rhythm when you get the blues, or even when you don't. Either way, you can hear Mel Tormé sing Fascinating Rhythm' on Saturday's show, as well as Rockin' Rhythm performed by Ray Brown, AND a tune from The Shimmering Rhythm Ensemble. (I'm assuming that's Ron Davis, since he had an album of that name a couple years back -- unless there are two groups shimmering and rhythmning their way around the world.)
Speaking of rhythm, the blog In Dangerous Rhythm is a good one for lovers of soul, funk, jazz and related...nice name, too.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 1-07 at 03:00 PM
Rufus Wainwright is releasing both a CD and DVD of his Judy Garland tribute shows next week -- the CD is called Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall and the accompanying DVD, Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy! which was recorded live at the London Palladium.
He once told the Guardian that his early musical life was hugely influenced by Garland: "'I have come to realise that that early obsession with Judy spoke to the gay toddler side of me,' he says with a roll of the eyes. 'She also showed me to not be afraid of singing my heart out, and opening up, and really slaughtering a song. In fact, I do consider myself to be the male Judy Garland.'"
For those of us who were amused reading that, and/or those of us somewhat obessed with Judy and/or Rufus and/or The Wizard of Oz, you will be delighted and/or horrified at this photoshopped pic at Mog. (Scroll to the bottom o' the page...) And then, to cleanse the palate, as it were, check out this video teaser from the Judy shows, Zing Went the Strings of My Heart.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 1-07 at 11:49 AM
Did I not just say a minute ago that it was beginning to look a lot like best-ofs? Well, it's also time for the shopping lists. And today on Sound Advice Rick plays some Christmas recordings, at the same time helping out with some shopping advice, for those in the Christmas shopping mode. How's this for the music lover on your list: a boxed set of forty Vivaldi CD’s for fifty dollars. That’s $1.25 each. Can’t do much better than that.
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 1-07 at 09:00 AM
This week, it's a Vinyl Cafe Christmas Concert! Recorded at Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto, it features the Vinyl Café Orchestra: John Sheard on keyboards, vocalist Lisa Lindo, Chris Whiteley on guitar, trumpet and harmonica, and Dennis Pendrith on bass. And the story? Sam brings home the class ferret for the holidays. Weird. Or am I just being ferretist?
Posted by Li Robbins on Dec- 1-07 at 12:00 AM
The Acorn are an Ottawan band who have described their music as indie/folk rock/crunk, perhaps in some slight jest, or perhaps not -- it's not a bad description, at least, not if they mean the energy of crunk!
Their new release (came out late September), called Glory Hope Mountain is "part biographical narrative, part surreal fairy tale," and its lyrics tell the story of Acorn songwriter's Rolf Klausener's mother -- Gloria Esperanza Montoya. It's based on interviews he recorded with her, about her early life in Honduras, and her life once she emigrated to Montreal in 1972.
This alone draws me to their music -- such an interesting thing for a son to do. And I'm happy to say that what I've heard of their music lives up to its inspiration -- most of what I've heard has been quite intense, in quite a beautiful way. You can check them out yourself, at The Acorn's MySpace site. (Seems to be a bit of a David Byrne thing going on, sometimes a little bit of a Gordon Downie thing too, vocally speaking...both also good reasons to find it appealing.)
And you can hear The Acorn with their CD release concert, it's the first of three concerts Saturday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.). The second is with Valery Gore, pianist and singer from Ridgeway, Ontario -- in concert at Zaphod's in Ottawa. Then it's M'Arbet M (I really hope that's the correct spelling -- had no luck finding any website etc., which makes me think otherwise) who is an oud player who's performed with Omar Sosa and Cesaria Evora. The concert was recorded at Ottawa's Arts Court.
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