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On the weekends The Signal (10 p.m.) sometimes likes to dedicate itself (well, its producers and host do) to the music of one city or province, and this weekend it's Alberta, as Signalites put it "rich in oil and rich in music."
And then there's The Loot Bag. Yes, The Loot Bag, the new weekend prize giveaway, the one where you just grab it and hope for the best. This weekend it looks good too, Pat's used up all the dollar store stuff, and instead he's offering prizes care of Calgary’s wonderfully named Saved By Radio record label, featuring The Summerlads. This is good, since no one really needs another badly painted shot glass, do they?
As well as the usual unusual mix on Tonic (6 p.m.) tonight, (for example the Geoff Lapp Trio, singer Denzal Sinclaire, Italian trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso, D'Angelo, Sergio Mendes and Gilberto Gil), there's also a set of music from South African singing superstar Jonathan Butler, recorded live in Johannesburg. Butler, generally considered in the "smooth jazz" camp. (An unfortunate term, but there you are, it's widely accepted to mean something -- what that is would require much more than a blog post.)
Butler has an interesting background, which he's incorporated into a lot of his music -- he was born in Cape Town during apartheid. Reportedly one of his early singles was the first by a black artist to be played by white radio stations.
His latest album is a gospel recording called Brand New Day, came out last year, I confess I've not heard it, so I'll turn to a review on the website Gospel Flava, which says: "His urban, smooth jazz, and cultural influences are fused together with his faith to render what is virtual freshness in the sometimes-stale music climate today. "
As promised yesterday, Paul Anka singing Diana, one of his songs being inducted this weekend into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Performers, including Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Ellis and Branford Marsalis, Boom Desjardins and many others -- including gala host Gregory Charles singing a Paul Anka song -- can be heard on CBC R2 Sunday from 7-10 p.m. (The performance is preceded by an interview with Mr. Anka.) Also, here is the full list of inductees. And now, Ohhhhh pleeeease stay by me, Diana...
Ah, a new recording is out from the the fabulous Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes (loved that one of "encore pieces" he did, called Horizons). Today, Studio Sparks (12:00) features music from that new release, which is of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17 with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.
As well, Ssparks are high kicking their way into the weekend with a celebration of the Can Can. Yes, today you can can hear (sorry) a "chorus line" of Can-Can related music, from Offenbach, Cole Porter, Franz Lehar, and Nicole Kidman.
You may be thinking, "say what? Nicole Kidman? Can-Can?" But she did indeed star in the movie Moulin Rouge, and sang, even. Must go back and re-watch that movie -- the other day in Paris I walked by the actual Moulin Rouge, after passing what seemed like a sex-shop marathon en route, puts the whole thing into context. And reading this interview with Kidman reminded me of her incredible entrance in that movie -- on a chandelier, singing Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend. Something tells me that might, just might be the track Eric will play today...
This year the ECMAs (the East Coast Music Awards) celebrated their 20th anniversary with a splashy show out of Fredericton, and Friday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear some of the music from the four day fest.
Performers include: Joel Plaskett, Wintersleep, Damhnait Doyle, Meaghan Smith, Tom Swift, Stephen Page, and Lennie Gallant. You may recall that Plaskett was the big winner this year, taking home SIX awards (one of which he is happily holding in the photo). He told Chart Attack "I like to write about where I'm from. I think that's kind of a Halifax tradition. The songs are basically about growing up there." Seems to work for him.
On the ECMA blog n' trivia front, if you want to see some photos of the event with Elizabeth May (yes, that Elizabeth May) check out her Green Party blog. Nice one with CBC's Jian Ghomeshi, Elizabeth May and a confused looking Nathan Wylie -- somehow all very Canadian. In a good way.
Also, fyi, there is also a CBC Television special coming up on March 2, hosted by Steven Page of the Ladies, called Barenaked East Coast Music. But you'll have to record that, since you'll be listening to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame broadcast on Radio 2, which is from 7pm to 10 pm Sunday.
It's quickly become one of the most interesting annual musical events in the country -- The Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame. I think that's because, simply, it's about song writing. So sure, there's a red carpet aspect, (with the songs come the songwriters), and a bit of a prize parade, but it feels like more of a recognition of creativity than many awards ceremonies. And the gala always has some really interesting performances, as you can hear Sunday night (March 2) on Radio 2 -- the broadcast is from 7 to 10 pm, so taking over the last hour of Tonic, and all of Canada Live.
This is the 5th year the event has taken place, and one of the special presentations is to the late Oscar Peterson who will posthumously be awarded the Frank Davies Legacy Award. And a number of songwriters and songs will be inducted, Alex Kramer, a songwriter from the big-band era, and Paul Anka, whose songs I'm sure you know. Also inducted in 2008 are Francophone artists André Lejeune and Claude Dubois, Here is the complete list of songwriters and songs. There's much more information about the artists there, particularly Monsieur Lejeune, by the way.
Eric Dolphy used to play flute with the birds singing outside his window; I've always wondered if they sang back. (And according to this 1962 interview in Downbeat, indeed they did.) The influence of bird song on improvised and composed music is actually surprisingly extensive -- to cite one famous example, Olivier Messiaen, who notated birdsongs from around the world, incorporating it into much of his music.
Closer to home, composer R. Murray Schafer wrote his tenth string quartet on his farm, in the country, in winter – the coldest time of the year, but also the quietest time of the year. (At least, if there is no phalanx of snowplows coming down your street.) From that experience he composed Winter Birds, and you can hear that composition tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.). If you miss the broadcast, you can always listen to this performance by the Molinari Quartet at Concerts on Demand.
Originally from Brandon, Manitoba, where it can indeed get dusty, and poets are known to wax, folk-pop band The Dust Poets' five members now live in four different towns, in three different provinces, and in two different countries. (When they say keeping a band together is like keeping a marriage together maybe they should take a tip or two from the Dust Poets!)
You can hear them tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), performing songs by their chief songwriter,
Murray Evans, who also runs a used book store -- which would, I think, provide plenty of song material. Titles of books, overheard conversations, authors depressed about finding ten copies of their book -- all kinds of fodder. Actually, the band describes the songs as "ranging in tone from the darkly humourous to the achingly tender," and says that Evans "finds a fertile muse in the joys and disappointments of modern living." Like I say, authors depressed about finding ten copies of their book.
Also on the show tonight are some highlights of the WSO New Music Festival. First, choral work called Ritual, which features Prairie Voices and the University Singers performing music by Stephen Hatfield and Sid Robinovitch. And also from the festival, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra with Ether I by Pierre Michaud. Finally, Glenn Buhr performs his own Piano Concerto.
The Tonic (6 p.m.) mix tonight includes some great Canadian jazz from drummer Sandro Dominelli, pianist Oscar Peterson, saxophonist Yannick Rieu, the Joel Haynes Trio and the Dave Turner Latin Sextet.
Also, tunes from Feist, Leela James, pianist Monty Alexander and the Quincy Jones Big Band. Plus, a contemporary take on gypsy jazz from the father-and-son guitar duo of Romane and Richard Manetti. It's interesting how popular "gypsy jazz," (a la Django Reinhardt, sometimes called "jazz manouche,") continues to be, considering what a specific sound and era of jazz it was. One resource you might want to check out if you'd like to explore the music is called, succinctly enough, Gypsy Jazz. You may also want to listen to Homage to Stéphane Grappelli -- a Concert On Demand featuring violinist Gilles Apap.
As you've probably heard by now, The Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame takes place this weekend, and CBC R2 is broadcasting the gala on Sunday night at 7p.m. There are tons of performances, (more about that soon), and the inductees include a number of songs written or co-written by Paul Anka -- Diana, It Doesn't Matter Anymore, Put Your Head On My Shoulder, and my personal favourite, She's A Lady. (Frequently I find myself singing "she's the kind you'd like to flaunt and take to dinner," in the hopes that someone will.)
Also being inducted, his most famous song, My Way, which he wrote the English words for, the co-writers are Claude François, Jacques Revauk and Gilles Thibault.
One of my estimable colleagues has created a more in depth look at the work of Paul Anka, Paul Anka: Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame, which you might like to have a look at. First though, here is a video of Paul Anka performing, in 2005, not one of the songs being inducted, but I have a feeling you might enjoy it, particularly if you know the original -- Nirvana's Teen Spirit. A consummate entertainer, I think it's safe to say he treats the song as no one else ever has. (And I promise to post a performance of Diana soon too.)
Although it is not yet March it's probably still safe to say that one of the biggest music/politics stories of the year unfolded this week, with the New York Philharmonic's performance in Pyongyang. (As blogged about earlier this week, most recently in the post Standing Ovation In North Korea.)
It's become the most celebrated (or notorious, depending on your point of view) performance of 2008 to date. But how was the performance? Politics have overshadowed that almost entirely, it seems. However, you can decide for yourself, as today on Studio Sparks (12:00) highlights from the performance will be broadcast, including Lorin Maazel conducting Dvorak's New World Symphony.
The ability to listen to music while working is a curious thing. Not whether or not your workplace allows it, literally, but how music interacts with your working brain. For writers, the music and working equation seems to depend on what part of the process your brain is engaged in -- sometimes requiring specific kinds of music, sometimes no music at all.
But having once (many moons ago) worked in a childrens' record store, I can tell you that if you have to hear the same music over, and over, and over again -- it helps very much if it is music you like! Of course there are benefits of hearing the same pieces of music again and again, regardless of your feelings about them. For instance being able to sing along with Skinnamarink when in the presence of young children.
For some people, music is an essential part of the work day in a way that is only positive -- for example one young Here's To You (9 a.m.) listener, who works every morning in her parents coffee shop. She requested Clair de Lune by Debussy, which you can hear this morning on the show.
Also, HtY "uber-fan," Timothy of Ottawa, (sounds like an official title, does it not? Timothy Of Ottawa, Uber Fan) requested the music of Arvo Part. For him Catherine plays The Beatitudes and De Profundis by the Elora Festival Singers, conducted by Noel Edison and featuring Jurgen Petrenko at the organ.
Totally co-incidentally, today is also Organ Thursday. Once Jurgen finishes with the Elora gang, he'll be along to present a recording featuring the Fenner Douglas Organ at the Eastman School of Music.
Jean-Pierre Gauthier is a composer, performer and artist (of the installations variety), known for his electro-mechanical instruments which he’s built for himself. He's paired up with Mirko Sabatini, who plays toy electronic instruments, under the name Duo Travagliando. Tonight The Signal (10 p.m.) broadcasts a concert from the duo, recorded at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Montreal.
And here's a little preview of some of their work, avec visuals.
This evening on Tonic (6 p.m.), a set of tunes from saxophonist Dexter Gordon, recorded live in Copenhagen in 1967. Noting this made me recall having seen Dexter Gordon play on an occasion when he was not in the greatest of shape. And poking about to hopefully find some performances when things were going a little better for him, came a cross this mini (6:00 or so) "documentary" piece on Gordon...interesting, and some great snippets of music.
"Their first album caught the ear of Neil Young, and the White Stripes are fans. Tegan and Sara could be big - if the NME will only let them."
Now there's interesting opening to a feature on Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters)Tegan and Sara, which ran in The Guardian the other day. They seem to be catching on more strongly in the U.K. these days, NME aside. (You'll have to read the piece, We Don't Have Sibling Rivalry to find out what that's all about, though I can tell you that it seems a bit of an exaggeration...they'll do just fine with or without NME, thank you very much.) You can hear a Tegan and Sara concert online as a Concert On Demand, btw, Tegan And Sara In Calgary.
And that's your Canadians abroad bulletin of the day. Except for one quick personal Canadian abroad note, unrelated to T&S or NME. If you are planning a trip to Paris do consider going to the very interesting Cité De La Musique, a fascinating instrument museum and concert hall. All kinds of ancient instruments, (some beautiful, like virginales with hunting scenes painted on the lids, some weird, cornets shaped like snakes and the like). And also, something I've never seen/heard in a museum -- live music discreetly played in corners of the exhibits.
Cellist Julian Armour fills in for Eric Friesen today, and he brings along some favorites, including a Brahms Violin Sonata, with Heinrich Szeryng and Anton Rubinstein, some jazz from Oliver Jones, and a great performance of Rachmaninoff`s Symphonic Dances. You may have heard Mr. Armour on air before -- co-hosting (with Eric) a series called "Neglected Masterpieces." But today he goes solo, so you can tune into Studio Sparks (12:00) to hear him behind the mic, rather than the cello.
There's still time to weigh in on the RRSP Cage Match on Music & Company.
The question this week -- whose route to financial and musical success do you support: Rossini, who moved to Paris with his mistress and lived the life of a bon vivant? Or Sibelius, who retired to his government villa?
Seems simple enough to me: "Rossini, bon vivant, Paris." The music isn't bad, either.
Although in his favour, Sibelius is believed to have said: "It is difficult to keep company with artists, you have to choose businessmen if you want to converse, because artists only talk about money," which is kind of amusing.
Tune into Music & Co. to hear Tom shake the cage around 6:30 this morning...and cast your vote/voice your opinion right here. (Via comments, below.) Or vote at the Cage Match.
John Kameel Farah is a musician who fuses elements of jazz, techno, classical, ambient, and middle-Eastern music into his own large-scale works. And tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear his composition, Unfolding – it’s been called “a lifetime of knowledge distilled into 50 minutes of pure inspiration!” He's in performance with German pianist/composer Hauschka, who you have likely heard on the show before -- with his really interesting pieces exploring prepared piano.
Note: Should you miss the broadcast, you can also hear this performance online as a Concert On Demand, John Kameel Farah and Hauschka.
Tonic (6 p.m.) will be playing a range of music including much jazz tonight, as per usual. In this evening's case with a featured set of tunes from the quartet of alto saxophonist Paul Desmond recorded live in November, 1975 at Bourbon Street in Toronto. Ah Bourbon Street, I remember it and its clusters of grapes. In fact once I was at Bourbon Street and saw Oscar Peterson walk in -- to listen, not to play -- and throughout the room you could hear excited whispers of "O.P. is here!" a moment I've never forgotten.
This weekend there will be a tribute to the late Oscar Peterson, at the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame, which will be broadcast this upcoming Sunday on CBC Radio, that's March 2nd from 7PM to 10PM.
The performers will include Dione Taylor, the Faith Chorale and Oliver Jones performing Peterson's Hymn To Freedom and Ellis and Branford Marsalis doing Wheatland, both from Canadiana Suite.
And here are some of the other performances you can expect to hear -- it's quite a lineup:
An update on yesterday's post, Cultural Diplomacy, Or Morally Irresponsible? about the New York Philharmonic's trip to North Korea -- the concert was performed, following the playing of both country's national anthems. As was widely reported, (including this news story at cbc.ca arts), "North Korean leader Kim Jong-il did not appear to be in attendance." Not sure exactly what this means, unless maybe someone thought they saw him slipping into the green room, but they're not positive it was him.
Anyway, the controversy certainly continues, latest round up of sources I've seen coming from The Rest Is Noise. Also, for the bird's eye view of proceedings, you can go to the New York Times blog, Arts Beat.
As to the music? You'll be able to hear for yourself on February 28th, when Studio Sparks (12:00) plans to broadcast the performance.
P.S. And of course the new and slightly bizarre twist on musicians and North Korea is that now the North Korean State Symphony is going to England -- and what they'd like in return is — Eric Clapton. For more on that story, go to CBC Arts.
P.P.S. Yes, that's the American flag by the stage, and the North Korean audience giving a standing ovation to the New York Philharmonic orchestra, after the inaugural performance in Pyongyang. You just have to squint a bit.
As you may know, the Toronto Symphony has launched its own record label, TSO Live, and today on Studio Sparks (12:00) you can hear music from their first release, called Portraits, featuring Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition. Also on the show this afternoon, the ongoing journey through Beethoven's early string quartets continues, with the Tokyo Quartet's performance of Op. 18 No. 4.
Three concerts on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Tuesday night that honour black history month -- in the middle, one from a singer with a powerful set of pipes, and that's 2007 Juno nominee Kellylee Evans. She's charted her own course from the beginning, as someone who could easily take the jazz standards route to a greater possiblity of commercial success.
I say this because A. In 2004, Kellylee was awarded second place in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition (judges included Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Jimmy Scott and Flora Purim!) and B. Because I've heard her sing, and I think she has that capacity. But instead she's chosen to write her own music, with elements of jazz, soul, etc., and so far, so good, she's busy with performances like this concert, which comes to you from the Museum of Civilization.
Sometimes it seems everywhere you go, you hear Glenn Gould. (Someone oughta make that into a bumper sticker.) But it's true I seem to hear Gould -- playing the Goldberg Variations -- when travelling almost as regularly as I hear it at home in Canada. Most recently, in passing at the Cite de la Musique, a marvelous instrument museum I visited in Paris on the weekend.
But tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear a brand-new set of Goldberg Variations, consider it variations on the variations. Four contemporary composers were each asked to create a variation with a new and distinct flavour, and that they did -- Fred Hersch, Derek Bermel,Fred Lerdahl, and Brian Cherney. They were performed by pianist Sara Laimon at the Montreal Bach Festival and are broadcast by Laurie Brown tonight.
Yes, moving from the significant to the ridiculous, following the recent post on the New York Philharmonic in North Korea, but thus is the nature of a blog. So here goes: Eurovision'sSuper Saturday has come and gone, and many are thrilled that pre-contest Irish favourite, Dustin The Turkey has fulfilled his promise. The popular and exceedingly vulgar puppet has won. He'll represent Ireland in the first semi final on May 20th.
According to the Scotsman this should come as no surprise, as "Bookmaker William Hill installed the pink-beaked puppet as the 10-1 favourite to win the contest."
Others find the news disturbing, for example Dana Rosemary Scallon, one of the judges of the Irish finalists and Eurovision winner in 1970. She said: "If it's the turkey, I think we're better not to go into the Eurovision again."
And you know, I think she's right. Honestly, just can't quite see posting the performance on the national broadcaster's website. On musical grounds alone, you understand. (The bird can't sing or rap.) But if you're really curious, here's the link to the Turkey's winning performance.
Coming up this afternoon and early evening, DiscDrive (3 p.m.) and Tonic (6 p.m.). And for those of you who like a sneak peek at the listening possibilities, here ye be:
On DiscDrive you can hear Tafelmusik with excerpts of Handel’s Water Music, music from Pat Metheney, Mariam Matossian singing of a Partridge, and David Wilkie joining The McDades on The Trail to Mexico. (As well as lots of other music...)
As you've no doubt heard, The New York Philharmonic Orchestra has arrived in North Korea, they're scheduled to play in Pyongyang Tuesday, broadcast live on local television. It's a controversial performance -- understatement -- and thought to be the biggest US presence there since the Korean war.
Opinions as to the event's influence - tool of diplomacy or morally irresponsible -- are well divided, and the orchestra's performance in Beijing on Saturday, their debut at the "egg" (the National Center for the Performing Arts, interior pictured here), has been overshadowed by the upcoming performances in North Korea. Even on conductor Lorin Maazel's own website, as the Artsbeat blog at the New York Times points out.
As to the actual content of the programme for Tuesday -- it features Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 and Gershwin's An American in Paris. Some, no surprise, criticize the intended performance on musical grounds as well, as Soho The Dog thoroughly elucidates.
Naturally all the classical bloggers are into it -- for example, on Norman Lebrecht's Slipped Disc, he says responses "are running 3-1" in support of his commentary on Bloomberg that the NY Phil's North Korea trip "is morally and culturally unacceptable."
The Omniscient Mussel is keeping comprehensive score of those who are for, and those agin' (complete with best quotes), and promises to continue to do so throughout the week.
UPDATE: Studio Sparks plans to broadcast the concert from North Korea on Thursday Feb. 28.
One Here's To You (9 a.m.) listener, Patricia in Port Elgin, Ontario has been inspired by the music education system in Venezuela, sometimes called "El Sistema," saying it has transformed the lives of young people in that country. (Producing some fabulous musicians in the process -- she gives the example of the young conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra. The former you can see profiled via a post called "Who's The World's Most Precocious Conductor")
Patricia has a notion to rally the music-lovers of this country to lobby their MPs to introduce classical music to all schools in Canada, and today on HtY you can hear the conductor and his orchestra play Beethoven's Symphony No. 7. I'd suggest lobbying for music education, period. And to that end, it is a good thing, particularly if you have kids in the public school system, to take a look at endeavors like Music Monday, coming up in May.
It is perhaps unfortunate that when I think of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells I picture the album cover: a giant pipe twisting and hulking unattractively against a cloud filled sky. Others have more positive associations, for instance Calgary pianist Marcel Bergmann, whose teenaged passion for the music led him to arranging some of it for four-pianos.
You can hear some of this music tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), as part of a collaboration, commissioned by One Yellow Rabbit, who annually host the "High Performance Rodeo," a multi-disciplinary theatre fest. Bergmann's arrangement is performed by The Bergmann Duo and Jeroen Van Veen from the Netherlands, and Hong Xu from China -- on four Steinway grands. They also play other works on piano that were inspired or connected to bell music.
And the second concert on the show, also from Calgary and One Yellow Rabbit's High Performance Rodeo, is called Garden Cities Of Tomorrow, the name of featured singer Lullaby Baxter's most recent CD. Here she collaborates in a musical with Lily String Quartet. It tells the story of a couple who have issues about dishes, dishwashing, and the need to have dirty dishes. (Sound like your house? Don't worry, it's everyone's house.) As described on Baxter's website, it's a mix of fable, farce, and domestic drama -- "think Threepenny Opera meets Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."
Tonight Pat "Francophiles" The Signal (10 p.m.), focussing on music from from Quebec and France. The featured concert is by Quebec’s Quasar ensemble and features six of Montreal's foremost percussionists. You'll also hear Jorane, Feu Thérèse, D. Kimm and a tribute to singer Michel Polnareff.
I like the way RFI describes him, within the same paragraph. On the one hand he is considered "one of the French music scene’s more unconventional figures," and barely a sentence later he has "earned a famous reputation for his wildly non-conformist lifestyle." Yup, I'd say that qualifies him as "more unconventional."
Fortunately, he has also also "made a name for himself with his legendary melodies." Now frankly I feel more than a bit remiss for not knowing his music, particularly as I do know he is quite a, how do you say, unconventional figure. I plan to rectify that asap...meantime, you can hear him tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.).
From the Montreal International Classical Guitar Festival Gala, held at the Oscar Peterson Hall of Concordia University, tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear quite an array of guitarists -- including Festival Artistic Director Patrick Kearney, Fabio Zanon and the Ottawa-based Canadian Guitar Quartet.
Following that, a concert recorded live at Tanna Schulich Hall at McGill University, with Jan Jarczyk, along with fellow jazzers Jim Doxas on drums and Zak Lober, bass, and with the Schulich String Quartet.
So says Tonic (6 p.m.), and you can hear Ray Charles' right hand man, David 'Fathead' Newman on the show as a result. And what the heck, why not a little preview right here.
Totally agree with the person watching on YouTube who said "There is no sweeter sound that David Newman's tenor!"
This week Skylarking examines James McIntyre, sometimes known as "the Chaucer of Cheese," for his poetry devoted to that subject. And yes, apparently today's show is about the man who wrote the immortal Ode To A Mammoth Cheese.
btw, if you'd like to turn your hand to cheese, metaphorically speaking, you could consider entering the James McIntyre Poetry Contest though I confess I'm not entirely certain if it is still extant. Possible Skylarking host André Alexis will know, and mention on today's programme. If not, well, hard cheese.
Tafelmusik takes on great symphonies by great classical composers -- with an added twist of Bach -- this week on Sunday Afternoon In Concert. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra is heard performing Mozart’s jubilant "Linz” Symphony, as well Haydn’s Symphony No. 82, a.k.a. "The Bear," for the growly bass part and chortling bassoons in its finale. (Nothing like chortling bassoons, is there.)
But to the twist...guest Director Sigiswald Kuijken will round off the concert with the Canadian premiere of a Bach suite played on a viola da spalla. Kuijken is a pioneer of the early music movement and taught violin to Tafelmusik's music director, Jeanne Lamon. He's argued that the Bach "Cello" suites were intended for the instrument described as a slightly tubby viola, which is played on the shoulder ("da spalla") much the same way as a violin is held under the chin.
"What you feel first of all," Kuijken has said, "is that all of these pieces seem normal; they come into their own state of being [on the da spalla].... Some chords you can hardly [play] on the cello: on the spalla, you play them comfortably with violin fingerings. I have not one-third of the shiftings that cellists have when I play these pieces. It's so natural - very easy!"
Also on the show today, a concert from Roy Thomson Hall hosted by SAIC's ownBill Richardson, with pianist Yundi Li'sTSO debut, performing Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto. (Favourably reviewed, I might add, in the Toronto Star, with the headline Yundi Li Makes Spectacular Roy Thomson Hall Debut.) Star Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Dvorák's Symphony No. 6 and the Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 by Georges Enescu.
Inside The Music continues its tribute to the late Oscar Peterson this week with Chris Brookes'' documentary series About Oscar.
This week, "The Price of Fame," a look back at Peterson's family history, and the pressures a life on the road can exert on a family. This is something Oscar Peterson reflected a lot on, particularly later in life, something he also explored in the NFB documentary that his niece, documentarist Sylvia Sweeney, made about her famous uncle,. It's called In The Key Of Oscar, and is well worth seeing.
But back to today's show...Peterson's later career is also examined, including his work with synthesizers, and a reunion of his famous trio.
Most people probably spend at least some time imagining they were somewhere else. For lovers of great cities, this can be an ongoing daydream, the longing for a city where you'd rather be. Unless of course, you are in one of those cities, as I am at the moment. Paris. But I'll shut up about that.
Music can also transport you in mind if not body to the great cities of the world, as Gregory Charles knows well. And this weekend on In The Key Of Charles he'll take you on a virtual trip to some of the world’s great cities. From Tokyo to Paris, Chicago, to Sasktoon. (Hey, it is a great city, one I'd like to run back to from time to time.)
As always, the music is Charles-eclectic, from the likes of Paul Anka, Deep Purple, Oscar Peterson, Mahalia Jackson, Gino Vannelli, The Barmitzvah Brothers, Pink Martini, Paper Lace, Rufus Wainwright, Maceo Parker, The Steve Miller Band, Herbie Hancock, and The Stampeders.
This week's Choral Concert Bulletin: The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus perform a composition by Max Brusch. They’ll have Moses, a Biblical Oratorio for chorus, solo voice, orchestra and harp.
There should be something more melodious than "Choral Concert Bulletin," shouldn't there. Choral Concert Corral? No, too country. Choral Concert Cavalcade? One might expect marches. Sigh. Bulletin it is, unless someone comes up with something better!
Jean Derome had been making innovative, exploratory music from Quebec for many years, and as he says, for him "modernism still exists." His influence is extensive, as both a musician and composer, and as a co-founder of Ambiance Magnetique. Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear a concert featuring his multi-instrumental talents.
There's also a contest/giveaway tonight. (Whoo hoo, free stuff!) But I suspect there will be a skill testing question in order to win the prize. No, not dollar store candles covered in hearts and odd sayings in various languages, but copies of the new Metric DVD, Live at the Metropolis, which was edited by cinematic wizard Deco Dawson -- Pat will also play music from this disc tonight.
Not something you usually hear about a book, but in a concert tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) musicians perform music they wrote based on books in the upcoming CBC annual event, Canada Reads. I haven't heard any of this music, but am quite curious as to the sound of a good read. Musician details are listed below.
But first I want to mention the opening concert, in celebration of Black History Month, from Vancouver’s Festival Baobab. It features the self described "world-jazz" ensemble, Shango Ashe, performing Cuban inspired music.
Now the details re: Canada Sounds, as you could call it:
There's nothing like a good market. Where I am now, in Paris, markets are around every corner it seems, lurking to tempt unsuspecting appetites. Several small, neighbourhood markets have had such excellent produce and cheeses (oh, the cheeses), you can only walk away thinking you never, ever want to shop in a supermarket again.
But these little markets come and go, depending on day of week and local shopping habits. Some markets, like Toronto's Kensington, span many city blocks, and their feast is not moveable, it's there all day long.
Because of that there's music in the markets too, little bars and clubs and afterhours, and sometimes music on the street. Many's the time I've heard Richard Underhill playing there. Once, if memory serves me correct, from a rooftop with a bunch of other horns, during a solstice ceremony.
And today you can hear him on Tonic (6 p.m.), with music from his Juno-nominated Kensington Suite.
But just so as not to be too Toronto-centric, Vancouver sneaks into the show too, with Robson Strut, from Mike Allen.
Nazareth, Pennsylvania, is the site of this particular pilgrimage. It's where the Martin guitar factory is located, and every day they turn out about 200 of them. (A favourite guitar of many, including Neil Young and Bob Dylan.) There was a nice travel piece in the New York Times the other day about this, called A Journey Shaped By A Guitar, including an audio sideshow in the online version.
If you go yourself, with Martin-in-need-of-repair or guitarless, you can tour the C. F. Martin & Company factory --- which turns out to be both fascinating, and moving for some, as the article points out: "But once the pilgrims make their way and start seeing guitars in various stages of completion, that holy look creeps back into their eyes. Sometimes, mixed with tears."
Today on SAATO, one of opera's Greatest Hits, as it were, Bizet's Carmen. (Once described as "a sober, laconic, low-life story only slightly relieved by the exotic setting of Spain," now one of the most famous operas worldwide.) The Met's Carmen features Olga Borodina and Marcelo Álvarez, and Franco Zeffirelli’s production will be broadcast live over CBC Radio 2.
Host Bill Richardson will also explore some of the many other incarnations of Carmen, both before and immediately following the MET broadcast, which starts at 1:30 est. (A favourite of mine is the movie interpretation by Carlos Saura, though told through flameno music and dance, and a kind of story within a story approach.)
The story itself comes from a popular short novel by Prosper Mérimée (1845), inspired in turn by the writing of George Henry Borrow, an Englishman who had lived in Spain. Bizet's libretto, conventionalized for the conservative, bourgeois audience of the Opéra Comique, was the work of Ludovic Halévy (a cousin of his wife's) and Henri Meilhac. Since the opéra-comique genre called for spoken dialogue, sung recitatives had to be added if the work was ever to be performed at a grand-opera theater. This was done after Bizet's death by his friend Ernest Guiraoud.
For complete character info and plot synopsis, do see "continue reading," but as for the cast: In the title role you'll hear Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina, Argentinean tenor Marcelo Álvarez’s as Don José (a role he sings for the first time at the Met this season), Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova as the innocent peasant girl Micaëla, and Italian baritone Lucio Gallo sings the toreador Escamillo. French conductor Emmanuel Villaume leads the performance.
Intermission content will include the Opera Quiz as well as backstage interviews with the artists. In addition, legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, herself a famous Carmen, will join host Margaret Juntwait in the radio booth to discuss the role and reminisce. (Ah, my Carmen days, I remember them well...)
(Photo is of Olga Borodina and Marcelo Alvarez from the dress rehearsal.)
In an attempt to google the word "Pluto" Vinyl Café host Stuart McLean accidentally typed in "Pluots" and this led to a world of wonders...about fruit.
So today he explores a topic you have all been waiting for him to one day explore -- the crossbreeding of fruits. Why, it's almost as obsessive and weird as the world of cross-bred dogs, Scnoodles and the like. Only here it's plums and apricots, watermelons with cumquats and even some inter-species breeding. (Ooh la la!)
Maybe (although we hope not) one day the two pursuits will marry, as it were, and we'll have cross-bred fruits n' pets. A dog and an apple? A Dapple, of course. A cat and a peach -- A Pat. You know Pats, they always sit around carefully washing their fuzzy selves.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) Pat puts on his top hat and tails in anticipation of The Oscars, with music from Requiem For A Dream, The Triplets Of Belleville and excerpts from the original King Kong.
There's also a feature on the work of the great Canadian soundtrack composer, Mychael Danna, who has created soundtracks for directors Atom Egoyan and Deepa Mehta, though he may be most famous for his work on the Oscar winning Little Miss Sunshine.
So many concerts tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.)! Five, which seems to be the special number today, (see earlier Studio Sparks post), the "untouchable number."
First, Jay Gilday from Yellowknife. You may know his Juno award winning sister, Leela Gilday, but of course Jay is a singer songwriter in his own right, and prone to some rather virtuosic whistling.
And from another great northern festival, the Dawson City Music Fest, the group Chirgilchin, who are Tuvans -- throat singers, and folk singers. Few things are as capable as putting chills down one's spine as throat singing...particularly when heard outside, it really is unearthly
Concert number four also has an ethereal connection -- music performed in a restored ghost town, Fort Selkirk, on the Yukon River. This concert features Kim Beggs, Natalie Edelson, Kate Weekes and Daniel Janke, performing a mix of folk, country and bluegrass in the church for an audience made up of campers and paddlers traveling along the Yukon River.
And finally, Nicole Edwards in concert, marking the release of her latest CD, Sparkin', with a concert featuring jazz standards.
Here's what's coming up tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.): music from Robin Thicke, taken from the soundtrack to the movie Step Up 2: The Streets, music from saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Bill King, the Hutchinson Andrew Trio and vocalists Ann Hampton Callaway, Diane Nalini and Slim Williams. Plus, a set of tunes from Corinne Bailey Rae recorded live in 2006 at New York City's Webster Hall.
btw, on the subject of vocalists and of jazz...and yes, I know this is a Toronto only gig, but it strikes me as marvelous that it's happening at all -- the great Jon Hendricks of Lambert Hendricks and Ross, who is 86 years old, will be performing with Jane Bunnett, Don Thomson, Larry Cramer and others on March 5 at Hugh's Room. Just saw that news the other day and thought I'd share for those of you Ontariario way.
No, not a U.S. primary you didn't know about it, but tomorrow is the day when possibly as many as eight countries, including Iceland will pick their song for the finals of the Eurovision song contest. As I'm currently in Europe, this is a slightly (understatement) bigger deal than in Canada, although I know a number of Canadians who are as obsessive as any Europeans are over the annual contest of cheese fun.
There are eight entries in Iceland's finals, bands like Dr. Spock, singing Hvar ertu nú? and Mercedes Club performing Ho, ho, ho we say hey, hey, hey. I've been watching the finalists, and for some reason I keep coming back to Eurobandið, below. I think it's the choreography. Or maybe the high note.
As for the big, big finale of Eurovision itself, you'll have to wait until the "May Two Four" weekend. Perhaps some will celebrate Queen Victoria, Eurovision, and opening the cottage at the same time, who knows. Maybe with sort of a Busby Berkeley number involving cases of beer and fireworks?
Music & Co reports in that Puccini's Turnadot takes all in this week's "Desperate Houswives" Cage Match. Suitors heads, and Offenbach's Euridice. Next week in The Cage? Stay tuned. And to see previous Cage Match "stats" (Turandot's batting average was well above .400), go to Cage Match.
Next week in The Cage: The RRSP Cage Match, a battle between two composers who were able to retire young, and live for many years in comfort. Will it be Rossini, who moved to Paris and lived the life of a bon vivant? Or Sibelius, who retired to his government villa and drank? (Hey, I'm in Paris, I'm going with Rossini. RRSP, c'est what?)
A couple of "number fives," today on Studio Sparks (12:00) -- No. 5 symphonies, that is. You can hear the stately last movement from Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. Five, and the entire Schubert Symphony No. Five.
Ah five, that old untouchable number. Really, that's what math people would call it, as it "cannot be expressed as the sum of all the proper divisors of any positive integer." (Write in if you can explain that in plain English.)
There are many great "fives" in all kinds of music, of course. For example, Brubeck/Desmond's Take 5, or Lou Bega's Mambo No. 5, based on the incomparable Perez Prado mambo. And because I know the Studio Sparks folks are fond of fun, instead of giving you one of the "fives" being played today on the show...here you go with Mr. Prado. Go on, press play, you won't regret it.
Mr. Prado's video, along with a small but soon-to-be-growing stock of other good music videos, can be found on Radio 2's YouTube page, by the way, or 2Tube as we like to call it. When you get there, click on "Playlists" to see what's up so far.
Today on Here's To You (9 a.m.) a focus on Estonia, with one of the programme's regular "excursions." This time in honour of the upcoming (Sunday, February 24th) 90th anniversary of Estonia's Independence.
One Winnipeg listener asked for some Estonian music, and the folks at HtY took her request several steps farther and created a special Excursion programme devoted to Estonia. So you can hear music and performances of the who's who of Estonian composers and conductors, including Veljo Tormis, Arvo Part, Tunu Kaljuste as well as the Jarvi family: Neeme, Paavo and Kristjan.
Speaking of, the accompanying photo is of Estonian conductor Neeme Jarvi, during a rehearsal at the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn , 24 May 2007.
Dérive 2, by Pierre Boulez, had its Canadian premiere in the early winter at Victoria's Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, performed as part of a concert called "Northern Lights" presented by the Aventa Ensemble.
The descriptions I've read of this piece are mouth watering, if one's mouth can be said to water for music.
Case in point: Anne Ozorio of Seen and Heard International describes it as "surprisingly sensual music, exquisitely vivid and expressive with lyrical passages where snatches of near-melody flit past, tantalizingly elusive."
Elissa Poole, writing in Opus: "Listen to Dérive II, 2007, and you know that there is no limit to 'continual expansion.' You've had a glimpse of infinity, and lo and behold, it's a nice place to be."
And someone at The Signal (they're very modest) says that it's like "an essay in notions of time."
Tune into The Signal (10 p.m.) tonight to hear for yourself.
Salt Peanuts, as the Dizzy Gillespie classic, is one of those goofy kinds of novelty songs that's hard not to like. Salt Peanuts, as a club in New York City, was the site of an Etta James concert, with sax player Houston Pearson, that you can hear tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.)
Speaking of Etta James, you may have heard that Beyoncé Knowles is set to play James in an upcoming movie set in the 1950s, about blues, Chicago's Chess Records founder Leonard Chess, and stars like Etta James, Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon.
Some seem to be kicking off at the notion of Beyoncé playing James, but she wasn't half bad in Dreamgirls. (Although you have to wonder, why not, say, Jennifer Hudson? But maybe she's too busy, she's in both the upcoming Sex And The City movie, and Secret Life Of Bees, according to MTV.)
And that's all the celeb gossip for the day.
(In case you're wondering about the photo, that's Etta James performing during the 2006 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.)
It's an interesting question. Lesley Douglas, head of pop music at BBC apparently thinks yes, they do. According to The Times she said, on air, that "for women, there tends to be a more emotional reaction to music. Men tend to be more interested in the intellectual side of the music, the tracks, where albums have been made, that sort of thing."
Douglas, (whose actual title can't possibly be "head of pop music," but whose job includes coverage of pop music on both TV and radio), pressed a bit of a hot button with that one. Although I confess I know few women with the Nick Hornby/High Fidelity type obsession when it comes to the accumulation of data (though I question whether knowing "the tracks, where albums have been made, that sort of thing," is actually more "intellectual,") the idea that women have a more emotional response to music seems absurd.
Today on Studio Sparks (12:00) you can hear an exciting recording of Brahms First Symphony, featuring conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi and the N.D.R. Symphony Orchestra.
And right here you can attend a rehearsal with von Dohnanyi, bird's eye view, as it were. Make sure you don't miss your cue!
Stan Rogers wrote something like one hundred songs, before his untimely death. The one I know best (and maybe you too, if you ever saw Stan at a festival) was the massive, rollicking singalong, Barrett's Privateers.
But today marks the day that apparently he wrote his last song, before the fatal plane crash. It's called House Of Orange, and a Here's To You (9 a.m.) listener requested it this morning. I mention this in part because just the other day I was writing about the act of keeping the memories of great musicians alive, in a post called The Passing Of Greats. And lo and behold, music by one of Canada's greatest folk-songwriters, gone now for these 25 years, but still played today...
And on an unrelated, "Organ Thursday" note -- Jurgen Petrenko returns with music by Bernardo Pasquini, from a CD called Promenade: A Musical Procession Through Paintings at Memorial Art Gallery.
The days when the Palais Royale was home to the big bands of the swing era are long gone, but you can still hear jazz at the legendary boathouse turned dance hall -- some of it on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Thursday evening.
The Palais, if you don't know it, is a beautiful, wooden floored little lakeside hall in the old Sunnyside neighborhood of Toronto, right on Lake Ontario, built in the 1920s. Ellington, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong all played there.
Tonight's broadcast features Jeff Healey's Jazz Band Ball, recorded at the Palais. Healey and his band, The Jazz Wizards, are joined by three special guests - banjoist Marty Grosz, clarinetist Dan Levinson and bass saxist Vince Giordano.
btw, the place has been totally renovated and is now a privately run establishment. But if you go to the Palais Royale website you can see some wonderful old photos of it over the years...
The second concert tonight on Can. Live is from The Foggy Hogtown Boys. Great name, eh? They're part of the country's post-Oh Brother bluegrass scene, who have a residency at one of Toronto's legendary watering holes - - the Brunswick House, or the Brunnie, as Torontonians call it. (Not quite as elegant as the Palais, but with its own charm.) Special guest singers are Alex Pangman, "Colonel" Tom Parker and Helen Stewart.
Two concerts tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), first music performed at Vancouver's University Recital Hall on vintage instruments, as played by John Reischman and John Miller. No, not the Strads you may be thinking of, but a 1924 Gibson F5 mandolin. Combined with a more recent vintage -- a 1985 custom Martin OM28 guitar, and playing the music of Brazil, Cuba, and other Latin American styles. In a concert performed for an audience of uni students, Reischman and Miller create some new acoustic music.
The second concert is also from Vancouver, with the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble, one of Canada's oldest professional Chinese music organizations. This concert included traditional and contemporary music, in the latter camp -- new works by Ji-Rong Huang and John Oliver, as well as a Chinese reworking of the French-Canadian classic Un Canadien Errant. How interesting -- and as a staple of school choirs, it would be even more interesting if this version turned up in the repertoire as a tri-lingual standard one day. (Maybe if there are any music teachers listening to the broadcast?)
Laila Baili, as you may know from hearing her CBC recording, From Sea To Sky, is swiftly becoming one of Canada's young jazz/pop stars, so it's no surprise that she's slated to perform (along with the likes of Nikki Yanofsky) at April's National Jazz Awards.
Check her out for yourself -- tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) you can hear a set of tunes from pianist/vocalist Laila Biali recorded live at the 2005 Vancouver Jazz Festival.
The 20th annual Folk Alliance begins today -- dubbed "Talk Memphis" - and Canadian artists are included in every aspect of the event. (Held, no surprise, in Memphis.)
It's a great opportunity for these musicians to perform in front of all kinds of concert presenters, and having been to a couple of these events in the past, I was impressed to see how extensive (if not terribly multi-cultural) a list of Canadian performers it is this year, with musicians from Carbonear to Galiano Island to Whitehorse taking part.
Former U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno, is one of the keynote speakers -- which might strike you as incongruous, unless you know that she's also the Executive Producer of Songs Of America, a project tracing some of the musical history of the U.S. She got involved through a family/musician connection, and through her own beliefs in the power of songs as "vast, vast motivators," as she told AP, in a story CNN picked up called Janet Reno's Song Of America.
But back to "Songs Of Canada," for a moment, here's the full list of the Canadian contingent:
Just writing their names -- Eric Friesen and Jurgen Gothe -- conjures significant CBC Radio history. You may well have already heard the news, but in case not, I'd like to share it with you now.
Eric Friesen, host of Studio Sparks, is leaving CBC Radio after 24 years, setting his final departure for December 31st, 2008.
Jurgen Gothe, host of DiscDrive, is moving from his daily show to a show on the weekends, beginning in September.
Although neither change is immediate, obviously it's better to have advanced warning, since I know that for fans, these changes will have an impact on your daily lives. On this front, a small personal note...I have tremendous respect for both Jurgen Gothe and Eric Friesen, for their musical knowledge, the magnitude of their on-air skills, and their passion for music and radio. Eric, you will be missed. Jurgen, we're glad you'll still be with us on weekends. Hats off to you both, gentlemen.
Ivan Moravec, the pianist who is now in his late 70s, has been described by one journalist, (writing in The Phoenix) as "flying under the classical-music radar for nearly 50 years."
Another, writing in the New York Sun said, "He is a guardian of standards, or a reminder of standards. He is tasteful, aristocratic, noble. He goes right to the heart of a piece, and there is barely a trace of ego in his playing. He is a servant of composers and the music they write."
Now if that doesn't whet your appetite to hear a performance of Moravec today on Studio Sparks (12:00) (playing Mozart's Piano Concerto #25 in C Major K503, with the Czech Philharmonic led by Josef Vlach), I don't know what will.
Mr. Moravec also sends readers of his website to a video performance of him performing and talking about performing , so just in case you need still more enticement, here is Ivan Moravec Plays Chopin.
Music & Co. pits the boyfriend-killing Turandot of Puccini's opera againts Offenbach's Euridice this morning. (In O.'s version she even mock's Orpheus' creative work! And we all know how that cuts to the bone. Then to make him feel really good, off she goes and has an affair with the God of the Underworld. Zing.)
As for Turandot, she has a very bad "off-with-their-heads" attitude when it comes to suitors.
I can only assume this Cage Match is a sort of Valentine's day follow up -- as in, "enough with all the hearts and flowers already." It's also true that while the world may always need lovers, as time goes by, art seems to need a little darkness, if not outright meaness.
But who is musically meaner? Turandot, or Euridice? Puccini or Offenbach? Cast your vote and note your opinion right here via "comments," below, or at the Cage Match.
Wednesday night The Signal (10 p.m.) comes from Victoria, B.C., with part one of a concert entitled Northern Lights by the Aventa Ensemble.
Lichtbogen, by Kaija Saariaho, is a work inspired by the movements of the immense, silently shifting Aurora Borealis, and during in medias res, by Gregory Lee Newsome, musicians play chunks of music at different speeds, creating eerie shifts in sound.
Of Lichtbogen, journalist Elissa Poole said: "By no means a minor work, Lichtbogen (inspired by the Northern Lights and superficially reminiscent, in its languorous glide and shifting timbres, of Debussy’s Nuages) was a well-chosen counterpart to the Boulez." (The Boulez piece, Dérive II, was also on the programme.) "The transformation of material, the supple transitions from one frame to another, and the composers’ shared textural inventiveness staked out compatible, albeit quite contrasting territory."
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), highlights from a concert titled Dual Eclipse: Orchestras Of Two Worlds.
Vancouver groups The Turning Point Ensemble (dedicated to "increasing the understanding and appreciation of music composed during the past hundred years, linking the music of earlier times to the music of today") and Gamelan Gita Asmara come together to explore the sounds and complex rythms of the Balinese Gamelan tradition.
And if you happen to live in Vancouver and have an interest in learning to play gamelan -- Gamelan Gita Asmara does offer occasional workshops -- just check out their web-page. (Which isn't to say that you too will be immediately playing gamelan in recordings broadcast on The Signal, but you never know what the future holds...)
The other day, when noting the winner of the Glenn Gould prize, José Antonio Abreu, who spearheaded "El Sistema," the remarkable system of music education that has created more than 100 youth orchestras in Venezuela -- I mentioned that one of (actually I think it's safe to say THE) most famous representative of the Venezuelan music education system is the young conductor Gustavo Dudamel.
If you're curious about him, and missed this TV broadcast, you may find this profile/interview of Dudamel interesting. (Apologies for the ad, you have to wade through that first, but it's brief. And think of looking at something prominently labelled "60 Minutes" as just a Macy's-sending-you-to-Gimbles Miracle On 34th Street type moment...)
This evening on Tonic (6 p.m.) Katie Malloch brings you her customary mix of jazz, soul, R&B and world music, plus a set of tunes from Brazilian music legend Marcos Valle recorded live in April, 2000 in Montreal.
Speaking of Brazilian music, on the weekend I was listening to the superlative Gilberto Gil solo recording, Luminoso, and I made a note to check and see how Gil, Brazil's culture minister, was doing in the wake of reports of health problems a few months back.
I'd missed some major news, as it happened -- at least for Gil fans. He now has his own Gilberto Gil YouTube channel. And, lo and behold, Gilberto Gil was in Montreal on the weekend, speaking at the closing of McGill University's conference on Canadian identity, called, in nice provocative fashion, Are We American? According to The Gazette, he told a packed room: "People are more engaged to participate in politics in new ways, and it's all outside the electoral system."
Much of Gil's work in politics relates to ideas of the creative commons approach to copyright, so it's no surprise that this seems to be what his speech focussed on. And good to know that he is well enough to be agitating, as always -- not to mention performing -- should you be in Brazil or England -- he's doing a series of shows in March.
When French singer, actor, comedian and TV host Henri Salvador died last week, (at the age of 90; pictured here in 2006), it made news around the world. But in France it has continued to make news -- his picture is everywhere, his music played in cafés. Not only was Salvador revered for having helped introduce rock n'roll to France and for influencing Jobim in shaping what would be called bossa nova, he was adored for being a very wacky comedian. He also had a comeback as a singer -- in his eighties -- with the recording Chambre avec vue.
Yesterday, walking through Montparnasse cemetery past Serge Gainsbourg's grave, (which is covered in photos and mementos connected to his song lyrics) it got me thinking about how we honour artists after they die -- and how in some cultures there seems to be a greater intention about keeping their memories alive.
It put me in mind of Canadian musicians like the late Oscar Peterson, and more recently deceased singer Willie P. Bennett, who died last Friday. Putting aside issues of relative fame or significance, anyone who created music that mattered to people ought to be remembered through playing their music, if not via decorating a grave with mementos. And we can do that.
Eric Friesen, Studio Sparks (12:00) host, is a big Lyle Lovett fan. And (putting aside Julia Roberts', Mrs/ ex-Lovett, singing one of his songs in the wretched movie, Step Mom,) so am I. Besides, that's not Lyle's fault.
No, Lyle Lovett is a wonderful musician, and as the Studio Sparks folks succinctly put it, "a Texas gentleman, a man of deep faith, and one of the best songwriters around."
Today you can hear Eric talking with Lyle Lovett, and playing some music too. Hope they play some of Lovett's "it's not big it's large" big band, great swingin' stuff!
For many years Manteca was Canada's best-known Latin/jazz/funk big-band. Led by Matt Zimbel and Henry Heilig, Manteca was famed for its very energetic live shows. (Note: not unnecessary linking, first goes to website, second to their MySpace page. Just so those of you who obsess about such things are clear.)
So where was I. Oh yes, Manteca, the 80s, and the 90's, and then, well, you know how the rest of this story goes. They disbanded, went their separate ways, and then, a decade later, they decided to re-unite, which brings us to the present day. Not only did they re-unite, but they also released a disc, called, appropriately enough, Onward!.
Zimbel has said that the current music of the band is hard to describe, but Onward! feels "a little like Gil Evans, a little like Sergent Garcia and a little like Manteca. There’s a certain retro vibe circa 2012.”
Their slogan? "Mantecians are like wine - we just get better with age." Hear for yourself -- as Canada Live broadcasts a gig from Montreal at La Tulippe -- 8pm Tuesday evening.
Synthesize My Soup, somebody, please. It may sound like some bizarre twist on a take my wife joke, but that's just silliness, in fact Synthesize My Soup is the name of one of the most provocative and interesting concerts from this year'sWSO New Music Festival.
Tonight, hear it on The Signal (10 p.m.), in a special broadcast with Laurie Brown recorded live at the Manitoba Centennial Concert Hall.
You'll hear quite a range of new music, performed by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Musical guests included violinist Jesse Zubot (pictured here) and pianist Glenn Buhr, among others. On the broadcast is the WSO's performance of composer Nicole Lizee'sArcadiac, which includes the gritty 8-bit sounds of early arcade games like Choplifter and Star Wars, and David Eagle's digitally manipulated work Soundplay 2.
Your daily Tonic (6 p.m.) tip -- tonight you can hear reggae from the French group Kana, some creole music courtesy of the Montreal-based ensemble Kalalou, and an Irving Berlin tune sung by Dr. John. Plus, music from trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, recorded live in 1960 at the Half Note Cafe in New York City.
Here's quite the quote about Adams, attributed to Mel Lewis:
"We called him 'The Knife' because when he'd get up to blow, his playing had almost a slashing effect on the rest of us. He'd slash, chop, and before he was through, cut everybody down to size."
I thought you might like to see folksinger Willie P. Bennett in performance. Mr Bennett passed away on Friday, as I wrote about in a post just called Willie P. Bennett. This is the song that the "supergroup," Blackie & The Rodeo Kings named themselves after.
If you are a café-sitting kind of person, you probably have a favourite café, or maybe even a favourite café city. I know I do, and while this is no doubt highly unoriginal, my favourite would be Paris. So many cafés, so many beautiful people, such expensive but excellent coffee.
Why, just yesterday I stopped in one, not in a particularly chic area -- it was in the 13th -- and had a nice glass of red. (Is there any other kind in Paris?) Chicness was not an issue though, it was pure delight. Watching the people go by, listening to music, (the late Henri Salvador was on regular rotation) thinking quiet thoughts -- there is no more satisfying moment in life, if you are a café-sitting person.
Now I'm not saying this to be annoying, truly I'm not. It is prompted by Studio Sparks' (12:00) celebration of the music of France today, which includes stops in Parisian Cafés, high society balls, and green pastoral vistas. Eric will be playing the music of Faure, Durufle and Chabrier and Ravel. Also Berlioz -- his Symphony Fantastique with Charles Dutoit leading the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in their definitive performance.
It was a shock to hear that Willie P. Bennett died on Friday. Willie P. Bennett was a tremendous folk-singer, instrumentalist -- and songwriter -- and a significant part of the Canadian music scene for many years. If you went to folk festivals, (or to many a Fred Eaglesmith concert), you heard Willie P.
And he was such an inspiration to his contemporaries that three of them, Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden and Tom Wilson formed the group Blackie And The Rodeo Kings as a tribute to Willie P.
You have undoubtedly heard Mr. Bennett's songs this way, as in recent years the Rodeo Kings have been played frequently on CBC, and as a Concert on Demand. Or you may know his music best from his own recordings -- Heartstrings won a 1999 Juno Award for Best Folk Music Recording.
His agent, Robin MacIntyre, told Canwest News that Mr. Bennett was "a mentor."
"So many people were inspired and wanted to emulate him. . . . his style of singing, his ability to turn a good phrase. The songs that he wrote in his late teenage years and early 20s that were on (the albums) Tryin' to Start Out Clean and Hobo's Taunt, they were anthems for the generation."
He was 57 years old. CBC.ca Arts reports that no cause of death has been given, although he did suffer a heart attack last year.
Letters of condolence to his family may be sent care of Willie P. Bennett's website. And from his CBC family, which is considerable, our condolences.
Monday night on Canada Live (8:00) you can hear fado singer Mariza, from a performance at Massey Hall. I had the good fortune to be at that concert, and it was quite wonderful.
Mariza is both an extraordinary and dramatic performer, but also charmingly down to earth as a person. In between songs, she talked about her about her childhood (born in Mozambique, but raised in Mouraria, a traditional Lisbon neighbourhood) and growing up with fado -- she sang in her parents taverna from the age of five.
Much excitement that some of the concerts CBC recorded at the WSO New Music Festival are being broadcast -- and made available online, as CODS, as we shorthand the Concert On Demand portion of what CBC R2 is doing these days.
Some of the CODs are up yet, some not, but what is up, or on, I should say, the radio tonight is a very special night for The Signal (10 p.m.) -- as Winnipeg host Pat Carrabré was of course at the New Music Festival, recording live -- and some of that is presented tonight.
You'll hear music and conversation with R. Murray Schafer, Veda Hille and Sid Rabinovitch. (The photo is of Pat interviewing Veda, btw.)
Also, a CBC Radio commission from Veda Hille, who wrote a choral based work for the festival called The Raft Of The Medusa. The University of Manitoba Singers join Veda at her grand piano.
Ron Hynes has been nicknamed "The Man of A Thousand Songs," and his song-writing career has spanned three decades, with the results being performed by artists including Emmy Lou Harris, Christy Moore, John McDermott and Mary Black.
But Frank Davies, the founder of the Canadian Songwriter Hall of Fame, took it one step further, saying that Hynes is not "just the Man Of A 1000 Songs; he's the man of a treasure chest full of gems." (Davies also called those songs "timeless, brilliant, classic works of art that celebrate simple everyday events in the lives of common men.")
Maybe it was once a case of "always the bridesmaid never the bride… but no more." Neil MacDonald has been a sideman for a who’s who of the Canadian indie music scene, but now he's releasing his solo CD -- and there is a Concert On Demand featuring some of this material. The songs have been described as "no frills, heavy on melody, and immediately singable." Hear for yourself!
When I think of Foster Hewitt, I think "he shoots! he scores!" When André Alexis thinks of Foster Hewitt, he things about empiricism. And thus the difference between Mr. Alexis and me. Or is that I. I feel certain that Mr. Alexis would also never fail to blur that grammatical distinction. And you can hear all about it, empiricism that is, and (bonus!) apparently about Paul McCartney as well, on today's version of Skylarking
It is possible, just possible, you missed an earlier post on what's coming up on SAIC, a.k.a. Sunday Afternoon In Concert, If so, allow me to direct you there...Music For Snowmobile And Orchestra.
Today on Inside The Music (12:00) the next installment of About Oscar, the documentary series about the late, and truly great, Oscar Peterson.
This episode, called About Canada, takes a look at O.P. as a sometimes under-appreciated, but quintessential, Canadian artist. In it he talks extensively about his sense of Canada, his magnificent composition Canadiana Suite, his fight to promote ethnic diversity in Canadian advertising -- and some of his frustrations with Canada, the country of his birth.
Remember a few years back when angels -- as decorative items -- were all the rage? Angel chic. That was bad. Second only to the commodification of unicorns, in my quite possibly unshared opinion. But angels in other incarnations, as it were, seem both profound and mysterious. I suspect this is the nature of the angel Gregory explores today on In The Key Of Charles.
Of course he does this musically, seeking them in all likely and unlikely places - with music by the Cowboy Junkies, the Penguins, the BBC Symphony Chorus, Sarah McLachlan, Anita O'Day, Aretha Franklin, Ben Harper, Marjan Mozetich, U2, Ariane Moffatt, Le studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Piers Faccini, Patrick Watson, George Michael, Rufus, Wainwright, Robert Charlebois, and Elvis Presley.
(And if you're wondering about the angelic image, it comes from a circa 1880 songsheet for a waltz...)
Your Choral Concert Bulletin for Sunday February 17th: This week’s programme features Lenten expressions, with performances of the Requiem by Gabriel Fauré, and the premiere of Canadian composer Allan Bevan's meditation on the crucifixion, Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode. The performers are as follows:
Jolaine Kerley, soprano; Michael Kurschat, baritone; Timothy J. Anderson, narrator.
Pro Coro Canada with Pro Coro Chamber Orchestra, Martin Riseley concertmaster, and Richard Sparks, conductor.
This really seems to be Sarah Slean's moment in the sun, doesn't it. Her collaboration with the WSO at the recent New Music Festival will be played tomorrow on Sunday Afternoon In Concert, and tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear her with the Art of Time Ensemble. Plus she has a new recording coming out soon, called Baroness, due in early March.
Sarah Slean Trivia Bulletin: For a mere $3.50 you can download her song Get Home as a ringtone. Merely text SS to 311311. (Personally I find this completely weird, but then, I find ring-tones completely weird. Much better just to listen to the music, which you can also do via Concerts On Demand, the latest opportunity being that performance at the WSO New Music Fest, with the symphony -- right here.)
Wandering about in Paris, as I am these days (bloggin' from abroad), I'm struck by the benefits of coming from a bi-lingual country. Even if all you are an English speaker who only had a high school education in French, it really makes travel much smoother than if you had not.
For example, if you were raised in the United States without that experience, the situation for many people similarly wandering the city, particularly around tourist sites. A shame, since who would not want to be able to ask pertinent questions about wine regions? (Or, speaking more realistically, at the very least ask for a glass of the house red.)
"River: The Joni Letters by Herbie Hancock can be understood as a celebration of the academy’s more high-minded pop impulses." So said Ben Ratfliff in the New York Times, in the wake of Hancock's Grammy victory last week. I tend to agree with most of Ratliff's analysis of why this particular recording should win, as it is only the second jazz recording ever to have done so. Anyway, thought if you haven't read it, you might be interested. You can do so at NYT Arts, and as always, if you seem to be locked out, it's just a matter of signing up -- for free.
On a jazz related programming note -- tomorrow night Tim will play some Grammy winners on Tonic (6 p.m.) and tonight you can hear compositions by Duke Ellington, and Vancouver's Jodi Proznick with the bass slappin' Duke Of York. There's also a spotlight on Toronto's Neil Swainson, great jazz from Winnipeg and music from the UK, plus music from June Christy, Campbell Ryga and Michael Kaeshammer.
Hayley Sales is an up and coming newer artist (she's only 20, so it would be tricky for her to be otherwise) from Vancouver. She recently won “Female Vocalist of the Year” at the Vancouver Island Music Awards, and was just nominated for “Best Mainstream Act” in this year’s Canadian Radio Awards. She's currently on a cross-country tour, so keep an eye out...and in the meantime, you can check out her music right here online.
Oh, it's a constant dilemma, isn't it. Well, it was for Manon Lescaut, in Puccini's opera of the same name. This weekend SAATO presents Manon Lescaut, live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
This production stars Finnish soprano Karita Mattila as Manon. The opera, which also features Marcello Giordani as the Chevalier des Grieux, (whom the New York Times raved was “the real thing, an Italian tenor who sang with ringing power and sweeping fervor”), and baritone Dwayne Croft as Lescaut, will be led by Maestro James Levine. (Karita Mattila and Marcello Giordani are pictured here, at the dress rehearsal.)
This performance will also be relayed live in high definition to movie theaters around the world, the fourth in the Met’s series of eight transmissions. Intermission content will feature the Opera Quiz, featuring legendary soprano Renata Scotto as quizmaster. The renowned Renée Fleming will also go backstage to interview some of the artists involved with the production. (That backstage stuff is fun, isn't it...)
More info on full cast below, but first, the story of Manon's great dilemma.
On her way to a convent, Manon Lescaut falls in love with a student, catches the eye of a count, and becomes a convict. Just an ordinary day in the life of the subject of an opera plot. The story was based on the short novel, Manon Lescaut, written by French author Antoine François Prévost (the Abbé Prévost), first published in 1731. Puccini wasn't the only one intrigued by the student/count/convict plot, by the way, in fact several composers (Auber, Massenet, Puccini and Henze) all wrote operas based on Manon's story.
And now, those cast/character/Puccini b.g./plot details:
It’s a tough time of year. Bad weather. Not enough holidays. (Except in Ontario, where they get Family Day on Monday. Hey, gimme a break, Family Day, let's just admit it's February Blues Day.)
But for others, there is little of good cheer at this time of year. (Poet, know it.) So Stuart McLean, on the Vinyl Café, decides to take the blues route to curing the blues -- sometimes the way to make yourself feel better is by listening to sad songs. So get out the handkerchiefs and start chopping onions, because this week, Vinyl Café is going to make you cry anyway.
Schafer was being feted at the festival, on its opening night, when Alexander Mickelthwate led the WSO in an evening of music mostly by the composer. (He turns 75 years old this year, so they wanted to acknowledge his contribution to the Canadian contemporary repertoire.) Works also include the delightfully named No Longer Than Ten Minutes, a commission Mr. Schafer received with the titular admonition. (Titular Admonition, that wouldn't be a bad name for a composition either, come to think of it.)
You can also hear Schafer's Four-Forty, written for string quartet (4) and strings (40+) which has the string quartet starting off anywhere but in their designated quartet formation.
And for something completely different, also from that night's performance, the collaboration between singer Sarah Slean and the WSO - for a world premiere performance of Glenn Buhr'sSymphony No. 3. Glenn Buhr was the first composer in residence when the New Music Festival began 17 years ago, and he's had many works performed over the years -- this one features words by James Joyce, Walt Whitman and Margaret Sweatman.
The loot bag is a curious notion. You go to a party (presumably you are under the age of ten when this occurs), and you are given a sack of cheap stuff that someone's mother probably spent hours parcelling out. Why? We don't know.
But we do know that The Loot Bag as a contest -- initiated this weekend on The Signal (10 p.m.) -- promises to be more fun, without having forced anyone into shopping at a dollar store. Though there are prizes -- Pat will test your knowledge, and you can get some...some what? He didn't say, actually, so if it does turn out to be a plastic toy, my apologies for misleading you.
Also on the show tonight -- music by that electronic manipulator/mathmatics PhD guy, Caribou. And some cover tunes by Xiu Xiu and Montreal’s Laura Barrett. And, since Pat figures most folks will either be cursing, coveting or enjoying love the night after Valentines day, he celebrates and consoles with Daft Punk, Frou-Frou and Original Recipe.
Tonight from Edmonton on Canada Live (8 p.m.), a concert by Honeyboy Edwards. He just won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas! and though he's in his early nineties, he's still performing. He's also probably the last musician around who can actually claim to have played with Delta blues legend Robert Johnson.
Next up on the show, seventy-six year old Little Willie Littlefield, a concert from the Edmonton Folk Festival, where he performed with the Edmonton Folk Festival House Band. And then the Du-Rite Aces, five western Canadian blues/rockabilly players, recorded at the Edmonton Blues Festival. Yup, if you've got the blues tonight, so does Can. Live.
It's an interesting thing to listen to jazz radio from various broadcasters, and parts of the world -- I've been doing that a bit more than usual lately, given my current location in Paris. And I must say, Paris does have some good jazz radio. (Though some of it seems playlist oriented -- if you listen for a stretch you're bound to hear the same tunes -- felt like I heard Stacey Kent singing Ice Hotel about a dozen times over the course of a few days recently.)
But I've yet to hear a programme that is similar to Tonic, in terms of the kind of mix it plays. Case in point, tonight's show starts with tunes from saxophonist Maceo Parker, bassist Michel Donato and jazz singer Maureen Kennedy, shifts into music by Ibrahim Ferrer, the New Zealand group Fat Freddy's Drop, and the Duke Ellington Band, and then plays a set of tunes from the Juno Award-nominated CD Jazz Legends, featuring some of Canada's finest jazz talent.
And of course you can hear Tonic (6 p.m.) every day, weekdays with Katie Malloch, weekends with Tim Tamashiro.
(And yes, speaking of jazz in Paris and Mr. Ellington, there he is in Paris in 1969 getting a kiss from a showgirl at the Alcazar club -- looks like quite a seventieth birthday party!)
The recent WSO New Music Festival, was, as always, an impressive event, and this year's programming received some strong responses...more on that in a second. But first, just want you to know that four of the concerts from the festival can be heard on your radio, and as Concerts On Demand.
February 17th, The Signal broadcasts: Rituals, a choral programme featuring Veda Hille, the U of Manitoba Singers, Camerata Nova and Prairie Voices, performing work by Hille, Imant Raminsh, Sid Robinovitch, Stephen Hatfield and R. Murray Schafer. (Concert On DemandWSO New Music Festival - Rituals)
February 18th, The Signal broadcasts: Synthesize My Soup, featuring two works featuring improvising soloists, one by Glenn Buhr, who is also the improvising piano soloist -- with the orchestra. The other is a CBC commission from Jesse Zubot, called Intolerable Distance, featuring the violin soloist improvising with the orchestra as well. (Concert On Demand WSO New Music Festival -- Synthesize My Soup) Date TBA (Will update this when the info is available!) Sunday Afternoon In Concert broadcasts: Canadian Legends, featuring Alexander Mickelthwate and the WSO in a tribute to significant elders of Canadian composing -- Jaques Hétu, Michael Colgrass, S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté, Lloyd Burritt, with R. Murray Schafer's Cort´ge as the finale.
(Concert On Demand WSO New Music Festival -- Canadian Legends)
Tomorrow is the fortieth anniversary of the great composer Healey Willan's death. Willan's influence is still far-ranging to this day -- as this post from a blog called Organ-ic Chemist shows. (She's a U.S.-based organist, and a chemist, in case that wasn't immediately obvious!)
Her mention of Willan came in response to a meme called the Music Mambo Meme, asking you to respond to questions about music, all with a "snow" theme. In response to the question "It snows a lot in Canada. Tell us your favorite Canadian musician," Ms. Organ-ic Chemist says this:
"Erm ... well, I guess there is a reason I call my blog the Organ-ic Chemist. When I think Canadian musician, the first name that pops into my mind is Healey Willan. I love his settings of the Ordinary, and have had the pleasure of singing some of his choral works when I sang with Chapel of the Cross' Senior Choir. I'm hoping to be able to start working on some of his organ music as well."
Today Studio Sparks (12:00) celebrates Willan's music, and also points to the upcoming weekend celebration held by The Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto -- the church where he wrote most of his music. They're holding a special celebration to mark the fortieth anniversary of his death.
If you find Valentine's Day just a little too saccharin, fear not. Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), Laurie will explore the darker side of the day, the loneliness, the disappointment, the rejection, the arghhhhhhhhh, someone hand me the scotch bottle please, or at least pass the kleenex!
But Laurie will do this substance-abuse free of course, just with music, from the likes of Susanna and The Magical Orchestra taking on the melancholy music of Joy Division, as well as Paul Dolden's maximalist composition The Heart Tears Itself Apart With The Power Of Its Own Muscle.
I bet you've never seen that expression on a Valentine's Day card.
Quétango (not a typo for Quartango!) is the name of a tango/jazz Quebec-based group headed up by Brazilian-born Daniel Finzi. He calls what they do "Post-Tango," which for you po-mo types will seem perfectly apt. This concert features both original compositions and interpretations of music of Astor Piazzolla -- actually, you could call that post-tango too, for that matter. This concert will soon be available as a Concert On Demand as well.
The second concert tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) (whoops, forgot to mention that is indeed the show I am steering you towards!) is of mediaeval songs from France and Italy, performed by the Âme, corps et désir ensemble.
Legend has it that Duke Ellington once described Frank Sinatra as "total theatre," an excellent description of a man who by many accounts truly seemed to live each song as he sang them. That phrase "he inhabited the song," is one that frequently pops up in reference to Sinatra.
You can hear some evidence of that tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.), as Katie plays a set of tunes recorded live at The Sands in Las Vegas. (The Sands being the site of the Rat Pack's infamous “Summit at the Sands” in 1960, shooting for the movie Ocean’s Eleven by day, playing the hotel and casino by night.)
But here the ring-a-ding-ding is all from Frank, and it's just one part of a V-Day show that also includes romantic tunes from singer Marilyn Monroe, pianist Richard Whiteman, saxophonist Fraser MacPherson, and "make-out music" from Johnny Gill, Anita Baker and Javier. Before 8pm no less!
If you're of the "Valentine's Day? Who needs it camp," as many are (although always, always, accept chocolates no questions asked), you may already be Valentined out.
But there is one way of exploring love that is useful year round, and that is through excellent music. And of course while this song is one you can listen to any old day, it is particularly appropriate for today. I can't seem to find the definitive Chet Baker version to post, but here is the incomparable Miss Sarah Vaughan, performing live in Italy in 1983.
Even with both grainy video and sound and clipped ending -- still fabulous, non?
Today the winner of the prestigious Glenn Gould Prize -- which is only awarded once every three years -- was announced. The Glenn Gould Foundation received many impressive nominations, not all in the classical world, by the way, not all themselves musicians. 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.
And the winner is (drum-roll) José Antonio Abreu, musician, educator, activist, and politician -- and the person who spearheaded "El Sistema," the remarkable system of music education that has created more than 100 youth orchestras in Venezuela, kind of a massive farm team for the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar (Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra). It's an approach that's turned out stars like Gustavo Dudamel, one of the most talked about conductors in years, and currently the conductor designate of L.A. Symphony.
Few people wrote about love as cleverly as Cole Porter. (Mind you, few people wrote about anything as cleverly as Cole Porter.) There are so many examples, it's hard to pick one, although It's Delovely is a fav.
"Time marches on and soon it's plain
You've won my heart and I've lost my brain,
It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely."
Today Studio Sparks (12:00) presents, oh, how luscious for Porter fans, a Cole Porter Valentine's Day tribute, as New York cabaret performer Mark Nadler brings his love and knowledge of Cole Porter`s music to a live studio audience in a session of performance and conversation in the Ottawa Broadcast Centre.
And in case you're wondering, that's Cole Porter kissing the hand of actress Mary Martin, in 1954, at a party to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the show South Pacific.
It's that day. You know the one. Red cardboard hearts, chocolates, and the notion that couples need a special day to celebrate their couple-ness.
Oh, to heck with cynicism, at least for the duration of this post. I confess I am writing from Paris, which makes it rather difficult to be a cynic in these matters, what with couples constantly canoodling on street corners (life imitates art, either that or this really doesn't just happen in the movies). Besides, who says you have to be coupled up to appreciate romance -- just look at Gene Kelly with that pillow. (Yes, from An American In Paris.)
And music everywhere -- the day I arrived there was the romance of a busker crooning My Way on the train from the airport, and in days since I seem to be followed by the same brass band through most of the downtown arrondissiments. They play, among other things, an oddly endearing version of Beethoven's 5th as they march about.
But back to today, at home on R2 where V-Day will be celebrated with music too of course. In fact, Here's To You (9 a.m.) makes a very big deal of it, as listeners have made many requests from the full range of romance.
You can hear "mop-the-floor" duets, like Au fond du temple saint from The Pearl Fishers, and O Soave Fanciulla from La Boheme. And you can also hear powerful moments from Wagner like Siegfried and Brunhilde's duet in Siegfried and Siegmunde and Brunhilde's duet in Die Walkure. Also some rather lighter moments, with Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren in Goodness Gracious Me, and Geroge Formby's Why Don't Women Like Me? Plus much more amore, but you'll have to tune in to hear...
And we're not talkin' hockey wives. No, Most Valuable Player in this case is the name of an upcoming release by bassist Nat Baldwin, who opens up The Signal (10 p.m.) tonight.
There's also music from the Tenniscoats andAkufen, but I particularly want to alert you to the concert feature tonight, from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, with several works by emerging Canadian composers such as Hee Yun Kim and Darlene Chepil Reid. Reid has said what she's trying to do is avoid the loss of music into the wash of everyday sound:
“I think in our world, we ignore things so easily. I try to write music that fights against this.”
If you go to pianist Horace Silver's website, you'll see what seems to be a motto for Mr. Silver, excerpted from his autobiography, Let's Get To The Nitty Gritty:
"I have been blessed to walk among and perform with some of the greatest geniuses in this music we so call lovingly call jazz -- I hope that I may inspire some of the youth of today as these musicians inspired and continue to inspire me."
I think he can rest easy, inspiring the next generation is in the bag. This is the guy who wrote tunes like Nica's Dream, Song For My Father, The Preacher, songs that are part of the jazz repertoire today, and have been sampled by musicians working outside of the jazz sphere as well. And even more than that, he helped create one of the fundamental jazz sounds, hard bop, which he then went on to funkify.
All this to say that tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) you can hear a live set from Horace Silver's quintet, recorded at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
Oh, and one more quote -- this one I've seen attributed to Cecil Taylor: "I found Brubeck's work interesting until I heard Tatum, Horace Silver, and Oscar Peterson within a period of six weeks. But when I heard Horace, now that was a thing which turned me around and finally fixed my idea of piano playing."
Thanks to Dial M For Musicology, some nice links to some very cool "lost sounds," instruments that have not really entered into the mainstream, for example the Ondes Martenot. (Messiaen wrote for it, here you can hear Jean Laurendeau talking about the instrument, with its at times thereminesque appeal.)
Then there's the Toy Piano, it's like the Shetland pony of the piano world. And finally the Trautonium. That one was news to me.
Interesting stuff. Plus, who wouldn't want to link to a blog called Dial M For Musicology? You know what they always say, a well-named blog is hard to find.
(Note, the toy pianists here are Yoshiko Wada and Maiko Ichiyanagi, playing the world's smallest grand piano "Grand Pianist", produced by Japan's toy maker Sega Toy. It has 88 working keys, and last December the duo played at least a few of them as they performed four-handed piano music.)
You may recall last fall that Here's To You polled CBC Radio listeners about what music they wanted to hear in concert with the CBC Orchestra -- you could choose from four categories, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi…and Everyone Else…...with various choices within each category. Kind of a taste of what it might be like to actually get to programme concerts -- ah, the power.
Well, in this case it was majority rule with a much bigger advisory committee -- you. And the winners were Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.3, Marcello's Oboe Concerto In C Minor, Spring and Winter from Vivaldi's 4 Seasons and Handel's Water Music Suite In F.
The music was performed by violin soloist Mayumi Seiler (for the Vivaldi) and oboe soloist Roger Cole in Marcello’s Concerto -- you can hear the results online as a Concert On Demand.
Joshua Bell is truly one of those superstar classical musicians, and probably it doesn't hurt that he likes to take it to the streets on occasion, even concertizing for free once in a while, as he did the other day in honor of his appointment to the faculty of music at Indiana University. (The concert was also streamed live across the campus.)
He also famously played in Washington D.C.'s metro system last spring...to see if anyone would notice. Here's where you can see a time lapse video of some of that performance, called Stop And Here The Music, and there's an account of the experiment at the Washington Post, under the headline Pearls Before Breakfast.
But today on your radio you can also hear Joshua Bell on Studio Sparks (12:00), performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
A few years (many years?) back people started talking about the idea of the "soundtrack of your life." Mixed tapes and maybe TV shows enabled this notion, though I fear the latter means things like Ally McBeal. (Remember her crossing the street accompanied by songs revealing her terribly thin inner self? Truly annoying.)
Sometimes listeners to Here's To You (9 a.m.) request music in the "soundtrack of your life" mode, or at least to accompany momentous occasions -- and there's one such case this morning. This kind of "empowerment" is not exactly of the Ally McBeal variety though -- one listener wishes to mark the day she moves into the first home she has owned with Wagner's Entrance Of The Gods Into Valhalla.
If you are fond of "memes," and/or of the notion of having a soundtrack of your life created for you, you can always play the entertaining game of letting your MP3 device select songs on shuffle in answer to certain questions, which creates a frequently funny playlist -- for more info, go to Shuffle Through Your Life Story.
Small World Music Festival is an annual event in Toronto that's grown and developed into something that's really quite great -- it brings in international acts from around the globe, and at the same time presents some of the finest Canadian "world music" acts.
Small World also has a repertoire development programme and part of that is called World On A String, which encourages Canadian cross-cultural collaborations, resulting in hyphenated-hyphenated Canadian music, if you can follow that. If not, here are the straight goods.
Wednesday night on Canada Live you can hear the following performers, together: Rich Brown, Aditya Verma, Levon Ichkanian, Amir Koushkani, and Mansa Sissoko on instruments ranging from sintir and oud to banjo, kora, guitar, sarod and more. And if you miss the broadcast, you can always go to Concert On Demand -- World On A String At Small World Festival.
Johnny Hollow sounds like a character from film noir, and there is a rather dark side to the band. (As far as I know, there is no "Mr. Hollow.") The band Johnny Hollow is featured tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), with tracks from their new recording that just came out, Dirty Hands. (Take a look at their website if you're curious about that "rather dark side," all will be revealed -- it's spooky but nifty.)
Also on the show, some cello and voice and electronics from Claire Goldfarb, plus concert highlights from the incredibly dynamic (read: really quiet to really loud) Vancouver band Fond Of Tigers, recorded live at their CD launch at the Biltmore Cabaret.
Yes, it's true, R2 now has its own YouTube channel, let's just call it 2Tube. As it is a brand spankin' new endeavor, there isn't much content -- yet. But one thing you may want to check out, is a clip about Joel Plaskett's gigs celebrating the Horseshoe Tavern's 6oth Birthday last December. (You may recall that yesterday I posted about that very thing, Joel's six nights at the 'Shoe, one of which is available as a Concert On Demand.)
More about "2Tube" in days to come I'm sure. Meantime, we do have some CBC Radio YouTube company, with Radio 3's YouTube account too, so here you go, 3Tube. (Just doesn't have the same ring, though, does it?)
What with all the other awards to mention yesterday, (little things like the Grammys and the ECMA's) I didn't quite get to the announcement of the shortlist for CBC's Galaxie Rising Stars Awards. Not too long ago I did post info about the Indies, and you would be excused for feeling a tad confused -- just how many awards for music other than the ECMAs and the Junos in Canada are there, and what in heck is the difference?
In brief, the Indies are fan-selected, and there are numerous categories. The Galaxie awards are music critic selected, and in conjunction with Canadian Music Week, (CMW) are just the top-five independent releases from the last year. Both are presented during CMW. (March 5-8).
And here is that Galaxie shortlist, in alphabetical order, and it's a good one.
Basia Bulat Oh My Darling (Hardwood)
The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse (Outside)
Caribou Andorra (Domino)
Jenn Grant Orchestra for the Moon (Paris 1919)
Joel Plaskett Emergency Ashtray Rock (Maplemusic)
The New Pornographers Challengers (Last Gang)
Stars In Our Bedroom After the War (Arts & Crafts)
Tegan and Sara The Con (Superclose)
The Weakerthans Reunion Tour (Epitaph)
Wintersleep Welcome to the Night Sky (Labwork)
Speaking of young talent, as we were in the last post...some hopeful signs in the beleaguered world of music education in the schools seem to be cropping up lately. I mentioned this not long ago in a post called Some (Good) Music Education News, saying that for one thing, in some classrooms teachers and kids will soon be gearing up for Music Monday in the spring, where students and music teachers get outside of the schools and perform -- all across the country on the same day.
They plan to "follow" these kids through "their musical journey in grades five and six." That musical journey will include having the students go to the NAC Orchestra’s student matinees, and meet musicians backstage. (They're hoping to include more schools in future too.)
Not long ago I heard a phone-in show on my local midday radio show on R1, Ontario Today, where people talked about the impact that music education in childhood -- formal and otherwise -- had on their lives. So many of the callers found that that impact was profound, whether or not they actually still played music. One reason why these kinds of music education initiatives seem quite positive. (Plus, who wouldn't want to go backstage at NAC!)
By twelve-years-old, most of us probably discovered some talents, some inclinations, that we were justifiably pleased about. But most of those talents haven't meant we've ended up playing piano with the National Arts Centre Orchestra before our thirteenth birthdays. Calgary pianist Jan Lisiecki has had this extraordinary experience, and at his tender age seems poised for a remarkable career.
Today he joins Studio Sparks (12:00) host Eric Friesen to talk about music, and his career to date -- and to play a little on the Studio Sparks Steinway. (Gee, maybe he and Canadian jazz singer Nikki Yanofsky should get together for some kind of collaboration? Yanofsky, by the way, apparently did pretty well last Friday at her Carnegie Hall debut, according to the Globe. Of course, she's much older than Lisiecki. Why, she turned fourteen on that very day.)
Tuesday evening's Canada Live (8 p.m.) broadcast has three concerts -- and the third features Veda Hille from the recent Winnipeg New Music Festival.
CBC Radio commissioned Veda Hille to write a new work for the festival, a choral-based piece she named The Raft Of The Medusa. She also performs in it herself, at the piano, with the University of Manitoba Singers, at Westminster United Church. Here's how Ms. Hille described the premiere:
"The show last night at the winnipeg new music festival went very well. westminster is a gorgeous wooden church, and it was filled with many listening people. all the choirs had odd and adventurous music for us, and my songs with the University of Manitoba choir were basically a joy to perform."
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) with host Laurie Brown, you can hear some music the team describes as "new and perplexing." It's from Montreal guitarist and creative composer Bernard Falaise, a recording called Clic that mixes elements of jazz, chamber music, noise, and free improvisation.
Also on the programme this evening, music from DJ Martin Tetreault and playful electronica from William Orbit. (Check out his website if you have time -- pleasingly playful it is!)
"Joni Mitchell. Joni Mitchell. Joni Mitchell. Thank you so much," is what Herbie Hancock said when River, his tribute album to Mitchell, won album of the year at last night's Grammy awards.
And then he went on to say: "It's been 43 years since the first and only time that a jazz artist got the Album of the Year award. I'd like to thank the academy for courageously breaking the mold this time and in doing so honoring the giants upon whose shoulders I stand." That first and only time was for the Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz collaboration, Getz/Gilberto, in 1964.
A proud moment for all those involved in jazz, and that includes Tonic (6 p.m.), hosted by someone with a deep knowledge of the music -- Katie Malloch. This evening on the show she has loads ' music as always, including tunes from Dizzy Gillespie, singer Freddy Cole with the Bill Charlap Trio, and singer Sophie Milman. Plus, a set of tunes from jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, recorded live at the Blue Note in New York City.
Joel Plaskett was the big winner at the East Coast Music Awards on the weekend -- he won in six categories! What a good time to remind you that you can hear a performance by Plaskett online as a Concert On Demand, recorded in December in honour of The Horseshoe Tavern, which turned 60 last year. Plaskett played six shows in a row at The 'Shoe, one for each decade of the bar's existence.
On this night of Joel’s six-night stand, the band was joined on stage by some very special guests: Gord Downie, Gordie Johnson, Sarah Harmer and Joel’s dad, Bill Plaskett.
Though it was great that the musically-deserving Amy Winehouse swept the Grammys last night, (putting aside the sad irony of her biggest song, Rehab, winning "song of the year" as she is in dire need of a trip to same), it was the big Grammy upset was most satisfying.
That being Herbie Hancock's tribute recording to Joni Mitchell (River: The Joni Letters), taking album of the year. It's only the second time a jazz album has, (the first time was Getz/Gilberto), in the 50-year history of the Grammys. Of course part of the reason River did so is because of the collaborations with pop singers like Corinne Bailey Rae (whose track is one of the weaker ones on the CD, to my mind) who certainly would have drawn in a new audience for Hancock. But who cares, it's still great news, any way you slice it.
I confess that for the first time in years I didn't actually see the awards broadcast, though I did watch Winehouse's performance online. Slightly depressing, since she really is such an enormously talented singer and writer, but currently such a mess. But the reason I missed the show itself was because I'm in a different time zone from usual at the moment, actually a different country -- France -- so watching the broadcast would have meant being up in the middle of the night, huddled around some TV in a bar filled with ex-pat Americans, I suspect. Not the best combo with jet lag, really. (The middle of the night, I mean, not the nationality of the bar patrons.)
Some great news for James Ehnes and some of my hardworking colleagues -- CBC Records and CBC Radio Music won our first Grammy ever.
The winning album is Barber, Korngold, Walton (Violin Concertos ) featuring the extraordinary violinist James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony under the direction of Bramwell Tovey.
The award was for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra, and Maestro Tovey was in attendance to accept the award on behalf of Mr. Ehnes, the orchestra and the CBC.
Credit where credit is due -- it was produced in Vancouver by Denise Ball, with Recording Engineer Don Harder, and with technical assistance from Bruce Dierick. Producer Keith Horner was also involved in the initial development of the project, and Randy Barnard was the Project Manager.
The featured work today on Studio Sparks (12:00) is one of Sibelius' "blaze of glory" symphonies: the Symphony No.5, Paavo Jarvi leading the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.
As you may know, Sibelius had synaesthesia, the ability to see sounds as colours. And if this is something that interests you, you may want to check out a new book by Jane Yardley, called Dancing With Dr. Kildare -- Sibelius' music plays a big part of the plot, as does this condition. Now, this is not an endorsement, having not yet read the book, but according to this review in The Guardian, Saved By Sibelius, it looks like a fun read. Here's an excerpt from the review:
"(The main character's) attempt to discover the provenance of what certainly sounds like Sibelius's supposedly unfinished Eighth Symphony leads Nina into an affair with a Finnish tango dancer, reunites her with a lost best friend and sets her at odds with her younger sister, the only sour note in a notably good-humoured and rollicking read."
Moral of the story? Never pick on your younger sister. Never.
Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Canadian composer Jean Coulthard, and there were several requests for her music on Here's To You (9 a.m.) this morning.
One came from one of her biographer's, Bill Bruneau, who apparently interviewed her 56 times (!) as part of the research for the book, Jean Coulthard: A life In Music. Sometimes immersing oneself in a subject only increases its significance to the immerser -- sounds like this is true for Bruneau, given his request. And Catherine's happy to honour it, with a performance of Coulthard's Piano Concerto, with Robert Silverman at the piano with the CBC Radio Orchestra.
As for Coulthard's work, as one Peter Togni (host of Weekender) once put it: "She has her own musical language, partly West Coast, mostly from another golden universe. She was comfortable with herself, yet kept searching for a different shade of colour to start another canvas."
Calypso long pre-dated hip hop as a form of spreading views -- its thought to have evolved from communication between African slaves in Trinidad and Tobago. (What do you do when you're forbidden to speak? You sing.)
But many think of calypso as party music, and that's true too -- like a lot of music, it's a fusion of cultures, in this case African with various European cultures, due to colonization. France apparently had a big hand in the party side of things, some theories have it that they brought European carnival to Trinidad.
Monday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear a veteran of the scene, Calypso monarch Lord Superior, who's been playing calypso for over 50 years. This show comes to you from Harbourfront Centre in Toronto - previewing his guest appearance in a special Canada Live calypso concert later this month.
Next up on the show, some music that intrigued many when it popped up on the bill of last year's mega-Glenn Gould celebrations -- Sudanese-Canadian Waleed Abdulhamid's interpretation of Bach's Goldberg Variations.
"I want to honour Glenn Gould's creativity," Waleed Abdulhamid said of this project, "and to bring my own Sudanese view of music to Bach's mighty Goldberg Variations." It was recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio, with his band Waleed Kush, and is also available as a Concert On Demand.
And the third concert on Monday's Can. Live programme is Christos Hatzis'sMystical Visitations, from a recording of its world premiere. It was written specifically for the marvelous voice of Maryem Tollar, who had been such a big part of his earlier much acclaimed work, Constantinople. Mystical Visitations is made up of four songs, and as I remember from having been at the premiere some of it is incredibly demanding stuff for a singer. I'm not sure if it's all being broadcast -- but you can also hear it as a Concert On Demand, if you can't catch it on air.
Black Angels is a composition by Pulitzer Prize winning composer George Crumb, inspired by the Vietnam war.
According to its composer, the work was "conceived as a kind of parable on our troubled contemporary world. The numerous quasi-programmatic allusions in the work are therefore symbolic, although the essential polarity -- God versus Devil -- implies more than a purely metaphysical reality. The image of the 'black angel' was a conventional device used by early painters to symbolize the fallen angel."
You can hear a concert of this work tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), as well as a range of music inspired by the beat poets, including Montreal’s D. Kimm, Laurie Anderson, Winnipeg’s Poor Tree and Halifax’s Buck 65, plus a piece inspired by the poetry of Leonard Cohen by composer Kelly-Marie Murphy.
Tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear a bit of a flute fest, or, more accurately, part of an actual flute fest, music from the Boxwood Flute Festival in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia.
The Boxwood is in its 12th year as an organization, and the festivals take place in both Canada and New Zealand. While its focus is flutes, its ambitions extend beyond that - - they aim to "invite a multicultural and multidisciplinary dialogue between performers, teachers, scholars, students, and instrument makers."
The performances you can hear tonight include two flutists, the renowned Indian flute player Hariprasad Chaurasia with tabla player Subankar Banerjee, as well as Irish master flutist June McCormack, with harpist Michael Rooney.
Tonight's show also includes a performance from the all women vocal group, The Anonymous 4, who focus on medieval music. This performance was in celebration of the acquisition of a 16th century illustrated manuscript by St. Mary’s University.
Just in case you missed the earlier post about what's coming up on Sunday Afternoon In Concert, or SAIC, as we think of it at CBC (no one actually knows how to pronounce it, but I hear it as "Say Eek!"), please just click on The Lunar New Year for full details.
For rock and pop and folk music, the sixties was like unleashing a genie, a genie that granted all wishes. For jazz, not so much. Today Inside The Music (12:00) continues with About Oscar, the documentary series about the late, and great, Oscar Peterson, and this episode looks at how Mr. Peterson dealt with the decade when jazz was decidedly not king. You’ll also hear some of Peterson's classic solo recordings from that period.
You know that saying, "you're only as old as you feel?" Hogwash. You're as old as you are. But really, that's OK, since 100 is the new 90. Yes, some do get obsessed about numbers, particularly when it comes to age. But also when it comes to the inherent logic (or is it magic?) of numbers. You probably know someone like that, the kind of person who gets a massive kick out of discovering that their phone number is your phone number backwards, and also happens to include the date of their hamster's birthday.
Today on In The Key Of Charles, Gregory is playing a little numbers game, as a result of the fact that he is in the countdown to his 40th birthday. And he does this with numbers from 1 to 100,000 and with music by John Pizzarelli, Les Boréades de Montréal, Paul Simon, Jimmy Smith, CéU, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Tony Bennett and Bill Evans, Feist, Ben Harper, Brian Adams, Esperanza Spalding, The Cambridge Singers, Bill Withers, The Angstones, Meredith Willson, Alanis Morissette, Harmonium, Ray Charles and Willie Nelson, and the Eurythmics.
And remember, Gregory, when you're asking what's age? Why, it's just a number.
Allen Ginsberg's Howl is probably the most identifiable symbol of the beat generation, well, maybe a close second to Kerouac's On The Road. Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear a musical interpretation of the poem, from the Art Of Time Ensemble.
Also, the first in a new "weekend Signal" series called Song Cycles. Song Cycles is an album feature — tonight Pat will play multiple tracks drawn from the striking new release by Toronto’s Loitering Heroes.
The first thing to know about the East Village Opera Company is that they are not an opera company, in the conventional sense of the word -- but they do sing opera. They're a five-piece band fronted by singer Tyley Ross and arranger and multi-intrumentalist Peter Kiesewalter, and what they do is take the "greatest hits" of opera and perform them in a kind of prog-rock way. And you can hear them do this tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
The second concert continues the rockers-do-classical theme, with Dr. Draw, a classically trained violinist who likes to perform in a rock style. According to his Myspace site (that last link)His latest recording, Adagio is "based on more emotion then ever before as Dr. Draw found inspiration from his childhood, which included listening to Russian folk tunes and epic classical masterpieces." So he's more into original material these days, some of which also includes influences such as Muse and Dead Can Dance "with Pink Floyd inspired trippy grooves."
On tonight's broadcast you can hear him performing with Grand Analog, who describe themselves as "unbalanced and dirty; never clean," and say they're "fuzzy with three coats of dust." They also "read like an old manual no longer in use." Love that! But what does it all mean? Here's how they translate: "The music is a beautiful mess of rap'n'roll dub and soul."
The Grand Analog Project is fronted by Odario G. Williams. Members include Darcy Ataman, Damon Mitchell, Ofield K. Williams, Alister Johnson and Arun Chaturvedi. This collaborative show was originally recorded by CBC's Fuse, where bringing together musicians who might otherwise not work together is their specialty.
And finally, a third concert -- Jupiter Ray Project. They're a roots band with infuences ranging from Neil Young to Jenny Lewis. This concert comes to you from the intimate space at the National Art Centre's 4th Stage.
The weekend Tonicians suggest that February is the perfect time to travel -- and it is, unless like me you leave your hometown in the middle of a raging snow storm, as I did earlier this week. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they were also talking warm destinations, Cuba or Mexico and the like, not chilly Europe. (Not that I am complaining, believe you me.)
So Tonic (6 p.m.) is on a bit of a travel kick today, playing Shirley Horn singing Travelin' Light (a song that I can't separate from Billie Holiday, much as I loved Shirley Horn's singing) and they play music from Pat Metheny's new disc, Day Trip.
Plus, today a jazz label spotlight on artist-run independent label Cornerstone Records. I like the quote they have on their homepage:
"Canada is terra incognito for many American jazz fans. Too bad. Cornerstone Records has a chance to change that."
-Art Voice
And speaking of Canadian jazz -- have you seen the Juno nominees lists? If not, they're listed here. Towards the bottom, but don't let that put you off.
This week the Metropolitan Opera reprises an historic performance of The Siege of Corinth to honour the late, legendary soprano Beverly Sills -- and you can hear it on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera.
The Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network will pay tribute to Beverly Sills by airing her April 19, 1975 performance as Pamira in the opera The Siege of Corinth (L'Assedio di Corinto) by Giaccino Rossini. Ms. Sills, whose professional career began in the late 1940s, made her triumphant Met debut in the same role less than two weeks prior to this performance. She sings opposite bass Justino Díaz as Maometto and mezzo-soprano Shirley Verrett as Neocle in a performance led by Maestro Thomas Schippers.
During the first intermission, the audience will be treated to excerpts from a 1975 interview with Ms. Sills that was heard on Saturday, April 12, 1975 (a week before this broadcast) in which she discussed a variety of subjects, including her Met debut, The Siege of Corinth, and her career plans at the time. The second intermission will feature a speech honoring Beverly Sills by her great friend Carol Burnett, given at the Beverly Sills Tribute in August 2007.
Curtain time for the broadcast of The Siege of Corinth (L'Assedio di Corinto) is 1:30 PM. Preceding and following the broadcast production, CBC Radio 2 host Bill Richardson will have more features and performance from the operatic world.
And for loads more about the opera, history, cast, plot, transcripts of therapy sessions following performances (OK, that bit isn't true, but really, there is a lot more info), please continue reading.
Note: The photo is of Beverly Sills singing Manon, in a performance of the Jules Massenet opera of the same name, at the New York City Opera in 1969.
This week on the Vinyl Cafe, Hayden plays music off his just-released album In Field & Town and Stuart McLean has a brand new Dave & Morley story. Dave and Morley set sail on a cruise of the Caribbean, and after the ship leaves port they realize that the are the youngest people on the boat by a generation, maybe two. This, apparently, is not what they had in mind!
The Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year was celebrated on February 7th, did you get your 8 treasures box? (A box with 8 compartments filled with New Year prosperity candies and other good things.)
This weekend Sunday Afternoon in Concert celebrates not with candies (one of the few shortcomings of radio, snacks must be self-catered) but with music, first a concert featuring the Ying Quartet. Since 1997 the Yings (pictured here) have served as Quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, and they'll complete an unprecedented 6-year residency at Harvard University in this 2007-2008 season.
Music Toronto welcomes these four siblings - violinists Timothy and Janet, violist Philip and cellist David - in a programme that includes three specially commissioned selections by American and Canadian composers with Chinese heritage. As well, you can hear music by Haydn and Ravel. And here are more details on the selections, and the rest of the show:
It's always seemed odd to me how reviled Yoko Ono is. Whatever her role in terms of The Beatles, the hostility towards her is normally the kind reserved for evil dictators, or people who do private grooming in public places. So I was glad to see that tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), host Pat Carrabré plays some music by Yoko Ono -- and imparts some perspective.
Also on deck is new music from Hayden, (been hearing that a lot lately -- it's quite nice) Vancouver’s Hinterland, Montreal cellist/singer Jorane, and composer percussionist Rick Sacks. Plus, what Pat's people call "cultures colliding" with Montreal’s DJ Mad Eskimo. Hmm, not sure what that means. The culture of the mentally unstable with the culture of the Inuit? Well, he grew up in Iqaluit, but I sense the craziness is more of a musically creative kind.
Quite a triple bill on Canada Live (8 p.m.) tonight, eh? Starting with some western swing, that inspired blend of country and jazz from the Bebop Cowboys. And I'm just going to let this review tell all:
“Always honouring the past while making it new again, the Bebop Cowboys have now fashioned songs that feel like they could have gone to the top of the country jazz charts 6 decades ago. And, believe me, they play them with passion, imagination and mighty chops. Whether you're dancing on a sawdust pine floor or at the kitchen sink, this music will keep you smiling all night long.” -Bill Usher
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival wraps up today, with a programme called Canadian Legends, featuring Alexander Mickelthwate and the WSO in a tribute to significant elders of Canadian composing -- Jaques Hétu, Michael Colgrass, S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté, Lloyd Burritt, with R. Murray Schafer's Cort´ge as the finale. (And a bit of a spectacle, with the musicians marching around the stage.)
According to What's On Winnipeg R. Murray Schafer, Lloyd Burritt and Michael Colgrass will all be onstage, and as part of the evening, "Mickelthwate will sport a sorcerer costume and performers will wear masks." (Possibly also doubling as a belated Mardi Gras celebration.)
I don't have a date for you yet, but this concert will be broadcast at some point on Sunday Afternoon In Concert, will post that when it rolls around.
Alana Levandoski is a singer-songwriter influenced by artists ranging from Patsy Cline to Nirvana. She's from Kelwood, a small town in Manitoba, and continues to play music out west, including a performance you can hear as a Concert On Demand from Winnipeg.
It was a fundraiser called The Lost Boys And Girls Of Sudan, and it was in honour of a group of survivors from the war in Sudan who experienced war as children, many of whom had fled to Canada and settled in Winnipeg. (The concert comes to you from St. Andrews Anglican church in downtown Winnipeg.)
One of the most pleasurable things about life in the city is its unexpected wildlife. Not the skunks who frolic on one's doorstep in the middle of the night, or the hulking racoons who like to hold city dwellers hostage, helpless between house and bicycle. No, it's the artistic wildlife that is a delight.
Like the flock of resting cows near the TD Centre in downtown Toronto. The sight of them, caught in a glimpse from a streetcar window, is so evocative, it could almost be a flock of the real mccoy, seen as you come over the crest of a hill on a lovely country drive. It's just that the air quality's a little different.
I'd post a picture of the sculpted herd, but copyright issues would conflict, so here's the next best thing -- a link to The Pasture. The bronze cows were created by famed Saskatchewan artist Joe Fafard, and this afternoon he drops by Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) to chat with Eric Friesen -- Fafard is in Ottawa for the opening of a major retrospective of his work at the National Gallery, running from February 1 until May 4th.
He's also sculpted prime minister. But I prefer his cows. I also like what he says about them in the FAQ on his website:
People I know who are in love with the east coast tend to feel that way for three reasons. Great people, great landscape, and great music. The East Coast Music Awards, or ECMA's, as they're shorthanded, celebrate at least two out of the three. And this year the annual awards (Feb 7-10 in Fredericton, NB) are celebrating up a storm as it's their 20th anniversary.
Canada Live will have a two-hour special edition featuring all the highlights from various artists performing during the entire 2008 ECMA weekend, broadcast on CBC R2 on Friday, February 29th from 8 pm – 10 pm. Over on R1's Q, Jian Ghomeshi is broadcasting from the event -- both today and Monday.
Tomorrow there's a major concert being recording for future broadcast on CBC TV (Sunday, March 2 at 7 pm/7:30 NT, really can't ignore that NT time on an east coast post!) which will be part of a TV special hosted by Barenaked Ladies guy and ECMA host, Steven Page.
It's quite a lineup -- Ashley MacIsaac (6 ECMAs), Bruce Guthro (9 ECMAs), Lennie Gallant (15 ECMAs – 2nd only to Great Big Sea’s 20 ECMAs), Damhnait Doyle (4 ECMAs), Jean-Francois Breau (1 ECMA nomination) Terry Kelly (6 ECMAs), Mary Jane Lamond (4 ECMAs) and hey rosetta! (2 ECMA nominations).
And if you want more details - here's where you can go for all things ECMA.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), from the 2007 Atlantic Jazz Festival, a concert from their Music Makers series, a combination of local musician/composers paired with performers coming to the festival from around the world. They get a mere two rehearsals and then voila! They're on stage in front of an audience quite curious to hear how it turns out.
This concert features Halifax saxophonist Danny Oore, and according to the Signal team, "it's an astonishing concert -- because they are all astonishing players." Can't beat that commendation.
Another Concert On Demand of note -- musician and musicologist Tom Beghin celebrates Franz Joseph Haydn’s remarkable legacy of solo keyboard music with this recital from the Tanna Schulich Concert Hall in Montreal.
He performs on four custom-built reproduction keyboards from Haydn’s time, including a Viennese fortepiano (after A. Walter, 1782/1795), a Viennese harpsichord (after J. Leydecker, 1755), a clavicorde in the Saxon style (ca. 1760) and a Franco-Flemish harpsichord (after J. Dulcken, 1770).
Never having had the good or bad fortune, depending on how you look at it, to shop at Target ("Targé," as some would have it) I only have a vague image of what one is like. Sort of an H&M meets Winners and in Walmart proportions. Not really in the business of culture, I wouldn't have thought. However, you know the old saying about never assuming?
It seems that Target's chairman and chief executive has put millions of dollars into a new musical instrument museum (MIM). The MIM is billed as "the world's first global musical instruments museum," devoted to "all things plucked, bowed, blown and whacked."
You could not be blamed for thinking, "synthesize my soup," -- say what?!? I guess the soup in question refers to the number of ingredients that go into a concert being held at the WSO New Music Festival in Winnipeg today -- featuring full orchestra, video games, dancing, lights and electronics. Some soup!
There are two works being performed featuring improvising soloists, one by Glenn Buhr, who is also the improvising piano soloist -- with the orchestra. The other is a CBC commission from Jesse Zubot, (pictured here) called Intolerable Distance, featuring the violin soloist improvising with the orchestra as well. This concert will be broadcast on The Signal on February 18th.
And concert # 3 of 3 in CBC's series of Mozart@252 concerts available as a Concert On Demand.
This one includes Mozart's Piano Concerto #12 (performed by the talented 17 year old Ji-Yong) and his Linz Symphony. New Zealand bass Jonathan Lemalu is heard in two opera arias as well as the concert aria, ‘Per questa bella mano’ for bass singer, double bass obligato, and orchestra.
The other morning I heard a discussion about Chinese New Year, about how it's starting to lean into commercialism the way Christmas does. (Actually Christmas more than leans, it plunges in and wallows, but that doesn't mean it doesn't retain its non-commercial meaning to many.) Anyway, Chinese New Year is a hugely important time for families, and for acknowledging ones ancestors. In part through that time-honoured universal family tradition of getting together and eating too much!
Thursday night Canada Live (8 p.m.) celebrates Chinese New Year with a musical banquet featuring three concerts. First Silk Road Music, led by pipa virtuoso Qiu Xia He. Check out the music at that MySpace link for proof of that. Qiu Xia has said that she “wants to bring the Chinese pipa into the new world where I now live, to introduce the richness of Chinese music to a new audience." She adds that she wants to "build a deeper understanding between east and west, and to develop a unique new language on this traditional instrument.”
You can hear this award-winning ensemble in a concert featuring the multi-instrumentalist Andre Thibault and erhu player Jun Rong recorded outdoors, in a garden in Vancouver's Chinatown.
Concert # 2 is another excellent west-coast group, The Orchid Ensemble.
The Attar Project are violinist Parmela Attariwala and tabla player Shawn Mativetsky. Attariwala describes what The Attar Project is all about like this: "The Attar Project as a 'band' name is for projects that seek intersections between seemingly disparate musical genres and that push the boundaries of collaborative possibilities."
If you check out that myspace site, the first link, you can get a sense of the kinds of boundaries they push. And tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear more than a sample with a concert broadcast during the show.
Hugh Fraser is a multiple JUNO Award winning composer, pianist, trombonist -- that piano/trombone combo has always struck me as an unexpected one -- and as if that wasn't enough, he's also that head of jazz studies at U. Vic, in his hometown of Victoria, B.C.
Tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear him not with his usual ensembles (the big band VEJI, or his quintet), but in performing with Calgary's RAEJIS-the Resident Artists of the Jazz Is Society - John Reid on sax, John Hyde on bass, John DeWaal on drums, and Keith (he's the token Keith) Smith on guitar.
Second up on the show, Iranian-Canadian musician Amir Amiri presents his latest compositions backed up by Edmonton drummer Sandro Dominelli at the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer. Amiri plays the santur, the 72-string- hammer dulcimer. As well as a background in Persian classical music, he's also studied with Ravi Shankar and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan! In Canada he's collaborated with a wide array of musicians, including many jazzers, like Mike Murley, John Stetch -- and Hugh Fraser.
As you likely know, the Juno Award nominations were announced yesterday, with Celine Dion leading the pack. And while many celebrate, and rightfully so, the usual mutterings about how the nation's big awards do or do not adequately represent the country's musical activity raises its head as well, in part because two of the biggest Juno categories, album of the year and artist of the year, are determined by sales.
But this doesn't mean the awards aren't meaningful to the vast array of musicians who aren't in the sales-nominated categories. Smaller communities rejoice for their own, for instance Banjo Hangout, who were happy to hear that Jayme Stone got a nomination in Best Instrumental. And Guy Dixon, writing in the Globe, took time to talk to some jazzers in his piece slugged Beyond Celine And Avril, Some Real Excitement, including jazz cellist Matt Brubeck (yes, he's the son of that Brubeck) who said, rather wisely I thought:
"As a jazz musician, all you can do is have faith in the audience and the community. ... In any place you are, if you don't like the scene, you have to make the scene happen." In other words, awards, nice, performing live, the important bit.
Meanwhile, over at Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, there was pride taken at the Juno announcement that this year's Music Hall of Fame Inductee will be the rock band Triumph. (That's Gil Moore from Triumph pictured here, btw, along with Dallas Green, from Alexisonfire, who is on the left.)
And of course the less media-frenzied over, CMW Indie Awards nominations were also announced yesterday, without much crossover, (although some, including no surprise, Feist).
There were a number of CBC Records nominees, congrats to all concerned! Details to follow...
The past two weekends Sunday Afternoon In Concert has broadcast highlights from The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Mozart@252 festival. Three of these concerts are going up on the CBC R2 website -- this is number two, with Argentinean pianist, Ingrid Fliter, as featured soloist in Mozart's 23rd piano concerto, among other works.
Sometimes, the artistic life is hard. Often, the artistic life is hard. In terms of making a living, in terms of vulnerability -- there are few things more publicly vulnerable than performing. (Running for U.S. President, maybe.) But the rewards are like nothing else too. As the young American pianist Jonathan Biss put it: "If I ever stop finding music challenging and life-altering, I’ll quit and become an accountant.”
Not that there's anything wrong with being an accountant, of course. In fact, coming into tax time it might not be such a terrible thing to be an accountant, certainly no shortage of work. But leaving that aside, it's a good thing that Biss has stayed in music -- as you can hear today when Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) broadcasts him playing Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Dausgaard, from a concert he recorded at the Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen.
You may have heard that Alex Ross, author of The Rest Is Noise, and a regular guest on Sunday Afternoon In Concert, was on the Colbert Report last week. Finally found time to snoop about for the video, and here it is on Spike TV. Yes, Shostakovich has now been discussed on The Colbert Report. Most entertaining. Plus, if you have no idea what Alex Ross looks like but were curious, that curiosity can now be satisfied. As for the interview, as I say it is entertaining, but very short. And (almost) sweet.
As always, the ways in which people hear music and become enamored of it can happen unexpectedly...for instance a man who first heard Perpetuum Mobile by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra on an HP commercial years ago and loved it.
The tune stuck in his head long after the commercial went off the air, but it wasn't until recently, when he heard it on a podcast that he was able to get the title and performer information. So he wrote into Here's To You to ask they play the entire piece -- with no brown sauce on the side.
You can hear Perpetuum Mobile, along with many other listener requests, this morning on Here's To You (9 a.m.).
I suspect we all have our own, personal political agendas for music.
Yours might include Public Works -- say, more music for tubas played in malls. Or perhaps you might might focus on Minority Rights, for instance "improving conditions for acoustic bass players," your slogan being "every doghouse has its day."
On The Signal (10 p.m.) tonight, host Laurie Brown campaigns for contemporary music, and her platform includes Education, with music from Saint Dirt Elementary School, Foreign Affairs, as evidenced by music from Israel's Avishai Cohen, and she even ventures into matters of Defense, with the Italian collective, B For Bang.
You know that saying, "it'd make a dead man get up and dance." If there's one kind of music that fits that description, it'd have to be zydeco.
And today being Mardis Gras, the final day of carnival, no better time for the music of Clifton Chenier -- played tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) That link will take you to a tribute page, to get a little taste of his music. Also, here's a nice little clip from a doc, the clip featuring Chenier playing live. (Yes, I know, it's a sales pitch for the documentary, but well worth viewing!) Happy Super Mardi Pancake etc. Tuesday, y'all.
I don't know if you've ever watched a movie with live music and/or narration, but there's something kind of thrilling about it. (And of course it doesn't hurt if the narrator is Isabella Rossellini.) Actually, I had the good fortune to hear Guy Maddin do live narration to his last film, My Winnipeg, when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.
It was great, he was great, but as an audience member, you realize anew just how very important timing really is, in all things. But the live music now, there's a whole other art. It seems to be having something of a small comeback even -- when that Maddin film first came out it toured all over the U.S. with orchestra. Perhaps it will be coming soon, to a concert hall near you.
No, that's not the beginning of a "walked into a bar" joke. Those three names are linked via a music video supporting Barack Obama (interpreting his "Yes We Can" speech) that's been making the rounds since the weekend.
Thought I'd mention it today as Americans head to the polls. Who knows if a song and video can change anyone's mind about how they're going to vote -- but I suspect when you get a cast of luminaries like this on board, it doesn't hurt -- Yes We Can features Black Eyed Pea guy Will.i.am, Scarlett Johansson and Herbie Hancock, and was directed by Jesse Dylan, Bob Dylan's son.
As political stumping via music goes, it's pretty powerful stuff. For more details, you can go to The Guardian.
Beethoven's string quartets are a cornerstone of chamber music repertoire. Today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) you can hear the very first one, (Op. 18 no.1 in F), in a new recording from the Tokyo String Quartet, of which Canada's Martin Beaver is first violinist. And hey, the TSQ wowed 'em in Buffalo with Beethoven just the other night.
Speaking of Buffalo, did you know that the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing the music of The Doors? It's true, and favorably reviewed in The Buffalo News, no less. And there's a bizarre sidebar to that story -- apparently a door from Jim Morrison's childhood home was being displayed at the Buffalo Phil's concert, and was being auctioned for charity. But then the item, much prized, disappeared from ebay -- this reported by Ireland Online. I'm pretty sure The Buffalo News will follow it up though. Meantime, back to Beethoven, not in Buffalo, but on your radio this afternoon.
The Juno Awards 2008 nominees were announced this morning -- the annual music awards will be hosted by comedian Russell Peters, and as my colleagues over at CBC Arts put it, "it's shaping up to be a four-horse race." The horses in question -- Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Feist and Michael Bublé. For more details, CBC | Arts News.
Tis the season to look ahead to the next season, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra made its announcements re: the 2008-2009 season yesterday -- there seems to be something of an Asian theme, with visits from major Chinese musicians (including Lang Lang, performing new work by Tan Dun).
Also, the TSO goes to Carnegie Hall! (Just like little Nikki Yanofsky, the 13-year-old Ella-channeling Canadian singer who will celebrate her 14th birthday by singing at Carnegie Hall this Friday.) The last time the TSO performed there was a decade ago, this time they'll be playing the North American premiere of Viola Tango Rock Concerto, with Maxim Vengerov. (They'll also perform this at home.) For full details, go to the TSO season at a glance.
Right now, you can hear the TSO as a Concert On Demand, from their Mozart@252 Festival. This is the first concert of three that will be available on the website as a COD, and it features Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin performing arias from three Mozart operas, as well as the popular motet, Exultate, jubilate. The talented young Edmontonian, Andrew Wan, is also showcased in two isolated movements for violin and orchestra. Oundjian leads the TSO in Mozart’s overture to The Magic Flute as well as his popular Symphony No. 40.
Quebec folk-based music is thriving, 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.
Tuesday 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. Tonight's concert was recorded by CBC when their third recording, Dans les airs was released; the performance was in l'Assomption, east of Montreal. As to that album, here are a few comments from the press:
It's just another New Music Monday, but you don't have to wish it was Sunday, hey, Monday can be your funday, your don't have to runday, as The Signal (10 p.m.) plays, not The Bangles, but newly-unwrapped CDs and just-downloaded mp3s representing the latest in contemporary music from Canada and around the world.
Tonight, some of Tenniscoats quirky-sweet album Tan-Tan Therapy, and music from the new album of folk, jazz, and free-improvisation from Jean Martin and Colin Fisher called Little Man On The Boat. Also, tonight's concert highlight tonight is a long-form improv from Halifax, performed by acclaimed composer and creative musician Pauline Oliveros leading an ensemble in the work Adapt Incandescent Luminous Diamond'.
The Terem Quartet are a prodigiously talented and very funny Russian ensemble who've been around for a couple of decades. I'd rather lost track of them in recent years, so it was a nice surprise to see they'll be featured tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), recorded on a recent visit to Toronto.
The Terem play accordion, domras (lutes) and bass balalaika, and the sound they get out of all of that is like nothing else. And then there's the humour. As Jon Pareles wrote in the NYTimes, a million years ago when the Terem were still fairly new on the scene, they have a "wry, sophisticated take on Russian tradition." They also have quite the fan base -- including some celebs, like Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin & and Prince Charles.
Second up on Can. Live, Erhu master George Gao, who also combines virtuosity with humour, (perhaps evidenced by his leap-with-erhu), in his case with traditional Chinese songs. This performance is a collaboration with the strings of the Toronto-based chamber orchestra Via Salzburg, and you can also hear the orchestra performing music by Canadian composer Jose Evangelista.
Intergalactic Note To Self: Don't forget to play your copy of The Beatles Across The Universe at 7pm tonight -- as your contribution to "creating a harmonic convergence” around planet earth and throughout the universe.
The Beatles song is being broadcast into outer-space at that time, from the the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, pictured here. A fan persuaded NASA that this was the perfect thing to do on the 40th anniversary of the song. The Globe has details.
Hmm, good poll topic -- if you had to pick a piece of music to represent humanity, what would it be?
A double header for you -- of highlights for the afternoon/early evening programming today. First, on DiscDrive (3 p.m.) music from Michael Kaeshammer, Don Ross, Mischa Maisky, Dave Brubeck, Renée Fleming, Joni Mitchell, Ben Heppner, the Kronos Quartet, and the CBC Radio Orchestra.
Then on Tonic (6 p.m.) music from John Coltrane, Toots Thielemans, Wes Montgomery, Chet Baker, Tom Waits, Michael McDonald, Angie Stone, Molly Johnson and China Forbes.
And if that's not enough music for you, you may want to check out these recently posted Concerts On Demand:
This afternoon Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) promises some great live recordings. One is from a recent Toronto Symphony Orchestra concert, Mozart's Symphony No. 35 with Peter Oundjian conducting. And the other, from one of the great cellists of our time, Steven Isserlis, playing the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata in recital from Ittingen, Switzerland.
Perhaps most know where Ittingen is, I confess I did not. However, looking on a map I see it is quite close to Hüttwilen. But the real draw down Ittingen way, is the Kartause Ittingen, the former monastery turned concert venue, which is where I assume Isserlis' recital was recorded.
But getting back to Steven Isserlis. Did you know that he is a HUGE Marx Brothers fan?
"I fell in love with the Marx Brothers' films when I was about thirteen," he says, "and have remained an ardent fan ever since - especially of Harpo's. He is like an angel fallen to earth! I was thrilled when, several years ago, I met Harpo's eldest son, Bill, in Los Angeles; he is a composer (as well as a pianist, and a totally charming, and extremely witty, peron), and he actually wrote a piece for me, for cello and harp! He also allowed me to put on Harpo's coat - of the bottomless pockets; that was one of the great days of my life."
Have you seen the much talked-about movie Juno, starring the much talked-about Ellen Page? If you have, and stayed to see the music credits (why are they always at the end, anyway, given their vast importance?) you may well have walked away muttering, Kimya Dawson, who's Kimya Dawson? Sure, Moldy Peaches fans knew, but maybe you weren't a Moldy Peaches fan.
Dawson's songs dominate the movie though. They're very kid-like, and alternately endearingly and annoyingly sharp, in a way that's not dissimilar to the title character. And the soundtrack is topping U.S. charts now. The Guardian has a piece all about Kimya, called Juno Breaks Records, Sells Them Too, which sheds light on Ms. Dawson, (yes, she's a she) in case you were one of those many muttering movie goers.
Meantime, the consensus seems to be that the soundtrack to There Will Be Blood, by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, is amazing. Still haven't made it to that one though, for some reason after Sweeney Todd the thought of "there will be blood" just wasn't appealing. And that's it for the Monday morning soundtracks brief.
That's "S" as in Smetana. Today on Here's To You (9 a.m.), the connection between Smetana and kids' DVDs about animals is illuminated. As always, HtY turns up under-sung connections between classical music and popular culture, not to mention cultivating some extraordinarily young listeners, as Talk About Younger Audiences indicated.
However "S" is also for Spike Jones, apparently cross-generational entertainment -- Muhammad Hussain of Toronto and his granddaughter, Lorina share a February 3rd birthday and he wanted to share a laugh with her over Spike Jones’ and the City Slickers' version of Ponchielli's Dance Of The Hours.
And speaking of humour involving singers and clarinets and gunfire (we weren't, but we could have been) from 1947, here's a Spike Jones with Mickey Katz -- as one commenter commented, "I don't know how she kept a straight face." Nor do I.
The Signal (10 p.m.) wraps up it’s weekend in Winnipeg tonight by celebrating the city’s significant new music scene. Pat begins with a composition from the Winnipeg Symphony’s present composer in residence, Vincent Ho, followed by Canada’s most successful opera composer, Randolph Peters.
Tonight’s concert, recorded in Winnipeg, features mezzo-soprano Rosemary Vanderhooft and keyboard player Cheryl Pauls followed by a Trevor Grahl piece recorded during Winnipeg’s third New Music Festival.
And of course right now the 2008 WSO's New Music Fest is in full swing, with some concerts being recorded for future broadcast on various R2 shows. If you happen to be in Winnipeg, tomorrow there's a concert and panel discussion provocatively titled-- And You Call This Music?
The panelists include Tamara Bernstein, a freelance writer with the Globe & Mail, Bartley Kives with the Wpg. Free Press, composers Paul Steenhuisen and Trevor Grahl, and Vincent Ho (the aforementioned new WSO composer in residence).
Can something be new and aforementioned? It is now.
You might think it difficult to do a radio show about silence. Andre Alexis apparently feels differently. This week on Skylarking, he looks at the idea of silence. Somehow though, he manages to segue from hush, to Henry Miller reading and listen to Samuel Beckett. (Rest assured, on the lively Skylarking, there is never "dead air.")
Somehow it doesn't quite have the same ring as Mozart at 250, does it? Nonetheless, still being played, and listened to -- at 252 -- is no small potatoes.
Today on Sunday Afternoon In Concert Mozart's 252nd birthday celebrations continue from last week's performances from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Mozart@252 festival. The intention of the festival was to "sample everything from chamber music to symphonies, from concertos to arias, from the lightest of works to some of his most profound and moving creations."
I don't know if you've been listening to About Oscar, the documentary about Oscar Peterson that's currently running on Inside the Music (12:00), but there's some wonderful interview material with Oscar Peterson, and many others speaking about Peterson.
Today's episode is called The Trio, which for Peterson fans instantly conjures a golden era from 1953-1958 when the Oscar Peterson Trio flourished. In this episode Peterson recalls some of the musical glory of the time, but also laments the loss of some of the great jazz talents of the era to drugs and alcohol.
For a preview, here's one version of the trio, (with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis), playing A Gal In Gallico. Listen to Oscar "singing" and quoting the surrey! Also, there are two Oscar Peterson related things I keep meaning and forgetting to post. One, the photo of Oscar meeting the Queen. And two, the Library and Archives of Canada's Oscar Peterson pages, titled, Oscar Peterson, A Jazz Sensation. So there you go.
The 1970s were dubbed the "me decade." Maybe that's why when Gregory started thinking about the concept of "give and take" he veered more towards the 1980s, which while still pretty me-oriented, at least had the virtue of having latterly become treated with greater affection than the selfish 70s, even when poked fun at for the bad hair and daffy fashions.
On the other hand, maybe this had nothing at all to do with why Gregory equated the concept of "give and take" with 1980s music; I haven't heard today's In The Key Of Charles yet, so I don't know.
What I do know is that Gregory does go on a bit of a 80s nostalgia trip on today's show, with music from A-Ha, Take 6, Leonard Cohen, and Marvin Gaye, as well as The Canadian Brass, George Benson, ABBA, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. He’ll also have music by the Montreal band called Patrick Watson, Lauryn Hill, jazz singer Randy Crawford, plus superstars Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Oscar Peterson, and Mahalia Jackson.
And for specifics about who plays what when, here is the playlist for today's show.
As you've probably heard, the 50th annual Grammy Awards are going ahead on February 10th, having struck an agreement with the Writers Guild of America, the union representing the striking writers.
And so it will probably come as no surprise this morning that your Choral Concert Bulletin is simply this: today Howard presents highlights of Grammy nominated choral recordings -- the nominees are as follows:
Jan Jarczyk and John Stetch are two top notch jazz pianists who sometimes like to play together. On this occasion Jarczyk, who was born in Poland but has lived in North America (Boston, where he taught at Berklee, now in Montreal, where he teaches at McGill) for around a quarter century, invited Stetch (Canadian, currently living in NYC) to do a concert together of original material, plus a few standards.
You can hear this concert Sunday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.), and also as a Concert On Demand.
The all-Winnipeg weekend on The Signal (10 p.m.) continues tonight with a concert by Winnipeger Christine Fellows. Fellows released her critically acclaimed recording Nevertheless in November -- and Exclaim rightly called her "one of Canada's most interesting and innovative pop writers."
Also, in the third hour Pat plays music from Clive Holden’s experimental film Trains Of Winnipeg. Possibly a nice companion piece to Guy Maddin's Winnipeg, in which, as you will recall if you have seen it, trains figure heavily. Sleep figures heavily too, nighty night.
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.) Saturday 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.
The third concert features jazz vocalist Kurt Elling recorded at the 2007 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Elling, btw, is nominated for a 2008 Grammy for his Concord Jazz release, Nightmoves.
If you have a sweet tooth for jazz, the weekend Tonicians tell us that "our cravings are sure to be satisfied with tonight’s Tonic (6 p.m.)." What this means is music like White Chocolate from Julie Lamontagne, and Queen Latifah singing I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl.
Now, in a slight and yet connected digression, in looking ahead to a sojourn in Paris and what music I might hear there, I happened on this very sweet post from a young Canadian who heard her first jazz concert in France recently. She's Une Canadienne En France, and here's a quote:
"I love how jazz is so improvisational, with the members exchanging knowing glances and subtle, almost indiscernible, movements and cues. The solos are so natural and flowing and somehow the group always comes back together seamlessly. They build on one another’s playing, constantly synthesizing and answering back."
That voice is key to the opening night concert, with singer-songwriter Sarah Slean (who will be releasing her new CD shortly) performing a world premiere by Winnipeg composer Glenn Buhr, with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
And apparently the snowmobile is also key. (Well, certainly the whine of a snowmobile across a frozen Canadian lake is an iconic sound, no?) As part of the celebration of R. Murray Schafer (he's 75 years old this year) there will be a performance of his 1973 work North/White, for snowmobile and full orchestra. (I guess you'd need full orchestra, wouldn't you, if snowmobile is also being played.) Also, another Schafer work for string quartet and orchestra, with the string quartet playing in different places around the orchestra, will also be preformed.
And if you are not so lucky as to be at the Centennial Concert Hall tonight to hear all this, mark down this date -- February 17th, when you can hear music from this concert on Sunday Afternoon in Concert.
In the Vinyl Cafe this morning, the story of a car trunk and a rat. Really. Host Stuart McLean will explain how Dave’s shopping trip to buy a gift for Sam winds up with him locked into the trunk of his car with a rat. Now, just the other day I heard an interview on The Current about how rats are much maligned, that new research shows that really, they're kind of nice, if only we'd give them a chance. I have a one word response to that. Willard!
On the non-rat, musical front, you can also hear part of a concert recorded in Stirling, Ontario, with musical guests Cuff the Duke.
"Hoy-yoh-toh-oh!" No, I haven't entirely lost my mind, that's an attempt to write down the syllables sung in what is probably the most widely recognized passages in opera -- from Wagner's Die Walküre, the opera featured this week live from the Met, on CBC Radio 2's Saturday Afternoon At The Opera.
If you're reading this and you aren't an opera buff, just go here for a little reminder -- you do know this music, if not from listening to the opera, from Apocalypse Now--the terrifying helicopter scene -- or perhaps you know it from the (rather less terrifying) What's Opera, Doc?
Anyway, today from the Met it's Die Walküre, the second and most popular installment of Wagner’s monumental operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). Gods, goddesses, giants, water-nymphs, and a few mere mortals go head to head in the production conducted by Lorin Maazel, returning to the Met podium for the first time in 45 years, and starring Wagnerian soprano Deborah Voight. (Full cast details at end of post...)
And here are the Cole's Notes on the writing of this opera: In Germany in the mid-1800s, Richard Wagner's politcal activities led to exile in Switzerland, and during that ten year period he decided to write an opera based on Norse legends and Icelandic sagas.
As he advanced the story he decided he needed a prequel, and then another, and then another, and well, you know how it goes -- Ring Cycle and "epic" are practically synonymous. Subsequently he created a theatre and festival in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth, showcasing the entire work, and creating one of the grandest spectacles in the operatic repertoire, the Ring Of The Nibelung.
btw, because of the early start time on Saturday, Sound Advice is pre-empted, and Rick Philips will join Bill Richardson for some pre-curtain set-up.
A while ago I was taken to task for harping about how cold, how very cold, it gets in Winnipeg. One blog-reader told me that I was exaggerating, misremembering my misspent Winnipeg youth.
So I felt somewhat vindicated when the weekend crew of The Signal (10 p.m.) sent me a message about tonight's show, suggesting that listeners "put on their parkas," because the show comes from Winnipeg tonight.
"Ha!" I thought, "Straight from the horse's mouth. The cold horse's mouth."
Not only that but last week I heard from a Winnipeg friend of mine who emailed, and I quote: "It's a minor heat wave today, it's supposed to get up to minus 15!"
But here's the thing. I have a theory that one of the reasons Winnipeg's music scene is as vibrant as it is is because for a good portion of the year, what else are you gonna do? Staying inside and playing music is a logical way to spend your time.
So this weekend Signal host Pat Carrabré celebrates music from Winnipeg, and it's an embarrassment of riches. He begins with observations from The Weakerthans, and then samples the sound tracks of Winnipeg directors Decco Dawson and the iconic Guy Maddin. The classical legacy of Glenn Buhr is celebrated and then some Klezmer from Marylin Learner and a Klezmer Suite by Sid Robinovitch and Bramwell Tovey.
I should also note that the Winnipeg New Music Festival begins this weekend -- much more about that in days to come.
I don't know about you, but I have definitely been feeling sun-deprived, warmth-deprived, giddy-parties-on-the-street deprived. When I heard the Escola de Samba de Toronto (see Like The Jamaican Bob Sled Team) was heading to Brazil, I felt a distinct pang -- how great for them, but why can't I go too. But then, I can't play drums, so I would be somewhat disadvantaged.
I guess Katie Malloch is feeling a little S.A.D. too though, at least musically speaking, since tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) she launches Carnival season with music from Brazilian vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Max de Castro, the Hatian ensemble Tabou Combo, and pianist/vocalist Eliane Elias, among others.
Pierre-Yves Martel, double bassist and viola da gambist, has long been fascinated by the music of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev; especially in his piano work, Visions Fugitives Op. 22.
And last month, at an album launch at Freiman Hall in Ottawa, Martel showcased his personal, jazz-influenced interpretation of those pieces, adapting them to a quartet, and incorporating extensive improvisation.
The nominees for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards have been announced, celebrating the best in independent music. (I can't help wondering if one day there will be so many indies that major labels will have to hold awards called, say, The Majors.)
Nominees are listed below, and starting Tuesday you can vote for your favourite artists at the Canadian Music Week website. (The Indies also present the annual CBC Galaxie Rising Stars Award, chosen by music journalists -- it's based on top 5 picks not taking into account sales and airplay, just artistic merit. )
You may remember last autumn when Here's To You (9 a.m.) was soliciting your votes for a Concert By Request. Well, the ballots have been tabulated, and the results can be heard on the programme this morning, recorded live at the Chan Centre in Vancouver earlier this month.
The other week I was reading a feature on the legendary Handsome Ned, the rockabilly singer who is having a posthumous revival of sorts, as evidenced by the headline of that piece in Now magazine, He's Ned, He's Dead, And He's Making A Comeback.
One of the things that struck me in reading it, was how much of an influence Ned was on bands like Blue Rodeo -- over the years it's easy to lose sight of that. And it has been "over the years" -- it's been around twenty since the release of Blue Rodeo's debut disc, Outskirts.
Canada Live (8 p.m.) has a concert on Friday night featuring the band -- including Greg Keelor, Jim Cuddy and Basil Donovan, who've been the core of the group from the start. Also on the show, the warmup act for Blue Rodeo, and no slouch himself in the country/rock/roots music stakes these days -- that's Luke Doucet.
This year the 
It's quickly become one of the most interesting annual musical events in the country -- 
Although it is not yet March it's probably still safe to say that one of the biggest music/politics stories of the year unfolded this week, with the 
There's still time to weigh in on the RRSP Cage Match on Music & Company. 
An update on yesterday's post, 
Yes, moving from the significant to the ridiculous, following the recent post on the New York Philharmonic in North Korea, but thus is the nature of a blog. So here goes: 
As you've no doubt heard, 
Most people probably spend at least some time imagining they were somewhere else. For lovers of great cities, this can be an ongoing daydream, the longing for a city where you'd rather be. Unless of course, you are in one of those cities, as I am at the moment. Paris. But I'll shut up about that.
Today on 
Today on Here's To You (9 a.m.) a focus on Estonia, with one of the programme's regular "excursions." This time in honour of the upcoming (Sunday, February 24th) 90th anniversary of Estonia's Independence. 
Salt Peanuts, as the Dizzy Gillespie classic, is one of those goofy kinds of novelty songs that's hard not to like. Salt Peanuts, as a club in New York City, was the site of an .jpg)
Laila Baili, as you may know from hearing her CBC recording, 
Wednesday night The Signal (10 p.m.) comes from Victoria, B.C., with part one of a concert entitled Northern Lights by the 
When French singer, actor, comedian and TV host 
If you are a café-sitting kind of person, you probably have a favourite café, or maybe even a favourite café city. I know I do, and while this is no doubt highly unoriginal, my favourite would be Paris. So many cafés, so many beautiful people, such expensive but excellent coffee.
Oh, it's a constant dilemma, isn't it. Well, it was for Manon Lescaut, in Puccini's opera of the same name. This weekend 
Could not resist posting this image again, although I don't think anyone arrived at Winnipeg's Centennial Concert Hall in quite this fashion for the recent 
It's an interesting thing to listen to jazz radio from various broadcasters, and parts of the world -- I've been doing that a bit more than usual lately, given my current location in Paris. And I must say, Paris does have some good jazz radio. (Though some of it seems playlist oriented -- if you listen for a stretch you're bound to hear the same tunes -- felt like I heard Stacey Kent singing Ice Hotel about a dozen times over the course of a few days recently.)
Few people wrote about love as cleverly as Cole Porter. (Mind you, few people wrote about anything as cleverly as Cole Porter.) There are so many examples, it's hard to pick one, although It's Delovely is a fav.
It's that day. You know the one. Red cardboard hearts, chocolates, and the notion that couples need a special day to celebrate their couple-ness.
Thanks to 
Though it was great that the musically-deserving Amy Winehouse swept the .jpg)
This week the 
The Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year was celebrated on February 7th, did you get your 8 treasures box? (A box with 8 compartments filled with New Year prosperity candies and other good things.)
It's always seemed odd to me how reviled 
One of the most pleasurable things about life in the city is its unexpected wildlife. Not the skunks who frolic on one's doorstep in the middle of the night, or the hulking racoons who like to hold city dwellers hostage, helpless between house and bicycle. No, it's the artistic wildlife that is a delight. 
Never having had the good or bad fortune, depending on how you look at it, to shop at Target ("Targé," as some would have it) I only have a vague image of what one is like. Sort of an H&M meets Winners and in Walmart proportions. Not really in the business of culture, I wouldn't have thought. However, you know the old saying about never assuming? 
The other morning I heard a discussion about Chinese New Year, about how it's starting to lean into commercialism the way Christmas does. (Actually Christmas more than leans, it plunges in and wallows, but that doesn't mean it doesn't retain its non-commercial meaning to many.) Anyway, Chinese New Year is a hugely important time for families, and for acknowledging ones ancestors. In part through that time-honoured universal family tradition of getting together and eating too much!
I suspect we all have our own, personal political agendas for music. 
You know that saying, "it'd make a dead man get up and dance." If there's one kind of music that fits that description, it'd have to be zydeco.
No, that's not the beginning of a "walked into a bar" joke. Those three names are linked via a music video supporting Barack Obama (interpreting his "Yes We Can" speech) that's been making the rounds since the weekend.
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. 
Intergalactic Note To Self: Don't forget to play your copy of The Beatles Across The Universe at 7pm tonight -- as your contribution to "creating a harmonic convergence” around planet earth and throughout the universe.
This afternoon Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) promises some great live recordings. One is from a recent Toronto Symphony Orchestra concert, Mozart's Symphony No. 35 with Peter Oundjian conducting. And the other, from one of the great cellists of our time, 
Somehow it doesn't quite have the same ring as Mozart at 250, does it? Nonetheless, still being played, and listened to -- at 252 -- is no small potatoes. 
The 1970s were dubbed the "me decade." Maybe that's why when Gregory started thinking about the concept of "give and take" he veered more towards the 1980s, which while still pretty me-oriented, at least had the virtue of having latterly become treated with greater affection than the selfish 70s, even when poked fun at for the bad hair and daffy fashions.
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