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Sounds like it could be the name of a soap opera, or at least some epic about a multi-generational family. But "The Raga Saga" is a "webisode" that follows the development of a new composition for sitar and orchestra, written by Ravi Shankar and performed by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Shankar's daughter, Anoushka Shankar.
It's one of the stories Katherine Duncan will be covering on In Tune (Saturday 5:00 p.m., 5:30 NT) today. And the work itself has its world premiere tonight at Carnegie Hall.
So far I've only watched one episode, but can easily imagine watching more -- the music is really interesting, and while edited it's still a nice bird's eye view of rehearsal. To watch, go to Orpheus Raga.
Anoushka, like her father, has continued to explore collaborations between North Indian classical music and other, western forms. It's interesting to read her take on how North Indian classical music intersects with western classical music, in one recent interview:
Rigoletto may not have been a groundbreaking work, but Verdi sure knew how to pick a story. He knew his literature, and he had a great dramatic sense. But the bottom line, if you will, is that Rigoletto has some of the best loved standards of Italian opera, and people continue to thrill to it.
You can do so today with the broadcast of Rigoletto from The Met, heard on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT), featuring George Gagnidze, Aleksandra Kurzak and Giuseppe Filianoti. Plus a few other people, as you will see by squinting at that photo.
As for the story itself, here goes: The Duke of Mantua has a wandering eye. Various court nobles are not best pleased. The hunchbacked Court Jester, Rigoletto, tries to keep his darling daughter Gilda away from the wolf while at the same time mocking victims of his conquests.
When a Count throws a curse upon the Duke -- and Rigoletto for making jest -- things turn ugly. The cliffhanger, for those who don't know how it turns out is this: Will Gilda become another victim of the Duke's prowling? Can Rigoletto avert the curse, and if so, by word or weapon?
If that dime store version of the plot was not enough for you, please continue reading.
Opera fans, this is your first heads up about what's on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT) today -- more to come later in the morning on The Radio 2 Blog.
For those new to the Saturday broadcasts from The Met, here's a bit of history that might interest you. Since 1940, the broadcasts have been heard in Canada, and in 1990 they expanded to include regular transmission to Europe. Today worldwide coverage has grown to include not only more than 30 European countries, but also South America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China. Impressive, no?
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Frank Zappa always seems to be in the news in one way or the other -- no small feat given he died in 1993.
The latest news came in yesterday -- that Frank's widow, Gail Zappa, has been unable to stop a German festival called Zappanale from using his image/trademark. The festival has been around for 20 years, in a town called Bad Doberan. (Put that in just because it's such a great name. And here's some more images, this time of Zappa related Bad Doberan.)
Anyway, the issues, according to a report from The Guardian (Frank Zappa's Widow Loses Battle With German Festival) are in part about merchandising (Zappa's image, if not as ubiquitous as Che or the New York Yankees logo, is still iconic). But also about accurate representation, freedom, and a whole bunch of issues Zappa himself would have no doubt had much to say about. It's probably safest to say the situation is not uncomplicated.
Meanwhile (here's the segue you've all been waiting for) you can hear about the life and music of Frank Zappa this weekend, with the third and final part of I Am All Day And Night: The Music Of Frank Zappa, broadcast this weekend on Inside The Music Saturday Edition (12:00 p.m., 1:00 AT, 1:30 NT).
Note that you can also hear the doc streamed online at the Inside The Music Audio Archives. It must be said that people loved the first two parts. There, it has been said. So tune in Saturday to hear why. And for a précis of the documentary, please continue reading:
As it is the International Year of Astronomy, it's no surprise that people are fussed about space. And that includes radio -- this Sunday Gregory Charles devotes his show, In The Key Of Charles (Sunday 10:00 a.m., 10:30 NT) to that very topic -- music connected to space.
Today's Radio 2 Video Festival does as well, and in fact includes Monsieur Charles himself. (See second video.) But first...
Keith Jarrett Wishes Upon A Star:
Then Gregory Charles Asks 'What's Spring Like On Jupiter And Mars?"
While Stephane Grappelli Wonders How High It Is:
If that is not enough space music to satisfy, in the "And Now For Something Completely Different" department:
If you happened to read this post earlier you will note a change -- and that is because there is many a slip between cup and lip and some of the original information on this post was innacurate. The first concert you can hear tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) is indeed Pink Martini -- but recorded at the Calgary JAZZ Festival, not folk festival! Apologies to the hardworking Jazz Fest folks who put on an excellent festival which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year -- running from June 22 to 28, 2009.
Pink Martini have described their blend (which includes samba, French music hall and much more) as "an urban music travelogue," which is as good a description as any.
As it turns out tonight's features just two concerts, and the second show is the alt country band of renown, Calexico.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Composer Brian Harman has spent some time thinking about the modern-day relationship between humans and technology -- and how to reflect that in music. A composition broadcast tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) is a case in point -- it's called Gregarious Machines. (Great name, eh? He also wrote a piece called Deep-Fried Burrito, not sure what the impetus is for that one.)
As the Signalites describe it, the piece has two primary musical "building-blocks," which he calls "machines." One machine is subtle and quiet (woodwinds representing humans), the other abrasive and loud (strings representing technology). It's a way of posing some interesting questions through music -- How do these musical machines interact? How has the use of technology affected our social habits? How has our use of technology altered our consciousness?
If you're interested in how art and technology intersect, one very fun column to keep tabs on is Boing Boing's Gadgets. It's not so much connected to composition and technology as it is to visual (and sometimes audio) explorations that use actual objects in various and quite often provoking or delightful ways. But some of their posts do connect directly with contemporary composition, such as Tettix's Rites, Free Electronic Album "Remodelling" Stravinsky.
It's where I also first came across the now widely circulated Bars & Tones, which is pretty great. Just in case you haven't seen/heard it, here it is for your viewing/hearing enjoyment:
We all sing. And some of us regret it. Such as those who are victims of "karaoke rage." (As reported by Slate: Karaoke Rage: When Innocent Singing Turns Violent.) But karaoke aside, I am willing to put virtual money down that if you are reading this, you like to sing. Maybe not with an audience, maybe not even beyond your shower/car/imagination -- but still you are drawn to singing.
We are possibly not the only species who has the urge to sing -- some believe that mice "construct complex songs." And of course we all know singing is for the birds.
Why humans feel such an urge to sing continues to be hashed out by science and evolutionary theorists though, as nicely outlined in a recent Economist piece (Why Music?)
But why do you sing? Where do you sing? And what do you sing? Several questions for you, should you feel like taking a minute or two to comment.
Today really is the 29th of January, not like yesterday when I thought it was, until some kind Blog Reader informed me otherwise. But what is as true today as it was yesterday is that this afternoon on Radio 2 Drive (3 p.m.-6 p.m.) songwriters Danny Michel and John Southworth are in to talk about their collaboration with the Art Of Time Ensemble.
They've written music inspired by Erich Korngold'sSuite For Piano, Two Violins And Cello. Korngold, as you may know, is responsible for much early, great film soundtrack movie, from The Adventures Of Robin Hood (which won him an Oscar) to Of Human Bondage.
Do you ever get those awful pop ups saying something like: "Your computer isn't operating at its maximum capacity, click here to make it run faster?" I hate those. It's like a telemarketing call, only the tele-marketer is sitting on your computer screen, thumbing their nose. On the other hand, I'd love to make my browser run faster, leap tall websites in a single bound etc.
Good news. This week Peter Cook gives us all a tip on how to do that. Although actually it's a byproduct of his solution for another tech problem. But I'll let him explain that. Over to you, Mr. Radio 2 Resident Geek:
One Sunday afternoon last fall I got a somewhat frantic email from a colleague. "You guys are on this, right!?"
She was on her home computer looking at the Radio 2 web site and there, at the top of the page, was a banner ad for a . . . um . . . performance enhancing product . . . for men . . . complete with images of scantily clad males. Oh my!
We looked all over the site and couldn't find any evidence of what she was talking about. What a relief! "That's strange", I thought. But on to more pressing things.
As time went by I noticed there were references to these ads in our weekly internal Website Report, a collation of all feedback to Audience Relations via cbc.ca. Reactions, as you might imagine, ranged from mild irritation to apoplectic.
What the heck? Obviously CBC wasn't serving up those ads. But why were some people seeing them on our site? Perhaps those users had a virus? But my colleague is also a friend and I happen to know she uses a Mac. I've been using Macs since 1986 and I'd never even seen, let alone caught a virus. Something else was going on.
Finally over the winter holiday break I had time to look into the issue of the bogus ads further. It turns out that people aren't just seeing these ads at the CBC site but at many other sites as well. And it's not a virus. That explains how my Mac-using friend was affected. (At least it's not always a virus. It may be in some cases. But it's hard to tell since while the web is full of useful information it's also got it's share of misinformation.)
The solution, as it turns out, doesn't just get rid of the ads but will likely speed up your web browsing.
Here's a great story from 1930s Hollywood. Comedienne Fanny Brice and Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg met at a Hollywood party hosted by Harpo Marx. Upon meeting him Brice, legend has it, said: "C'mon professor, play us a tune." (Whether Schoenberg sat down and played, and what he played if he did, isn't known.)
But the story reminded me that in that era of Hollywood film there were a number of composers and arrangers who were European emigrés with dual careers writing "serious" music and film score music. And one of the most famous was Erich Korngold.
Tomorrow, Thursday the 29th, a couple of composers from a much different time and musical place will be on Radio 2 Drive (3 p.m.-6 p.m.) to talk about their interest in Korngold. Better known in the realm of contemporary singer songwriter/pop, Danny Michel and John Southworth are collaborating with the ever-enterprising Art Of Time Ensemble on work inspired by the music of Korngold. (Specifically his Suite For Piano, Two Violins And Cello.) So mark your calendars, fans of any of the above Canadian musicians -- and/or Korngold. But for those who don't know a jot about Korngold, read on:
Earlier this winter the brilliant step-dancing Cape Breton fiddler of renown, Natalie MacMaster, performed two shows with Symphony Nova Scotia, as part of the orchestra's 25th anniversary celebrations. Tonight you can hear the CBC Radio 2 recording of one of those concerts, broadcast on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
That MacMaster is a great musician goes without saying. That she likes to cook and solicit recipes from fans may be news though -- among her collection, aside from the obvious (Fiddlehead recipes) she also includes such tasty items as Chocolate Chip Pizza,Celtic Cousins Cocktails and everyone's favourite, Bacon & Bean Sandwiches.
Or there's the music. Tonight at 8 on Canada Live.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
If you answered Argentina you're probably not in the minority -- that seems to be the most widely accepted version. But as we all know, it takes two to do it. And for decades Argentina and Uruguay have both laid claim to the invention of tango, causing a surprising amount of international strife.
"The use of contested tunes at international cultural and sporting events, including the Olympics, snagged diplomatic relations and prompted accusations of cultural piracy," reports The Guardian.
They also report a recent truce. Argentina and Uruguay have finally buried the hatchet (the rose? the high-heeled shoe?) to petition Unesco for "world heritage status" for tango. If they do, they'll jointly build massive tango museums, cataloguing some 50,000 tango recordings among other tango-analia.
You often hear that "tango was born in the slums of Buenos Aires," and yet the most famous tango, La Cumparsita, is by Uruguayan, Gerardo Matos Rodrígues, written 90 years ago. That is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to tango-tension though. But some might have it that the struggle which now sees these two countries locked in passionate embrace is not unlike the tango itself. (Or at least, I would say that.)
In the words of one tango poet, "Tango is as old as men, it was born with the first pain of the soul." Maybe that's the safest way to look at it -- particularly when it gives you a couple dancing to La Cumparsita like this:
In case you didn't catch last night's Canada Live broadcast featuring the Daniel Lanois concert recorded at Massey Hall, this post's for you. It's somehow amazing to think that Daniel Lanois had never played Massey Hall until this past autumn, but it is so -- and the results: great vocals, guitar solos, drumming...great energy!
Or, as blog reader ToronTom put it, commenting on the last post, "I had the good fortune to see this show. Wow...he's a master...Despite Lanois' worldwide recognition as a master producer, he seldom gets recognized for his own material."
Lanois is joined by Jim Wilson on guitar, Marcus Blake on bass, and the mighty Brian Blade on drums. Together they perform some primo Lanois songs -- like The Maker and Jolie Louise.
One final bit of Lanois-listening to steer you towards -- not long ago he was a guest on Radio 2 Drive, chatting with host Rich Terfry and doing some playing in the intimacy of the radio studio -- to hear that head on over to Daniel Lanois On Drive.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Certain songs just get in your head and stay there. Daniel Lanois' Here Is What Is is one of those songs. (Granted, the album version more than the live one that link will take you to.)
But one thing about Lanois -- whether it's his production with musicians including Peter Gabriel, U2, Bob Dylan or Emmylou Harris, or his own songwriting and singing -- Lanois is utterly distinctive.
Probably that idiosyncratic musical nature is why he's not a household name -- and yet has iconic status. He's a single malt, not a blend, you might say. (We won't get into whether he's an Islay or a Highland.)
The big news here is that you can hear Daniel Lanois in a concert tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), playing his own songs, from his Massey Hall debut this past fall -- recorded by Radio 2. He's backed up by Jim Wilson on guitar, Marcus Blake on bass, and Brian Blade on drums.
The concert, should you be wondering, got great reviews, including Lanois-love like this:
2009 is a big year for any number of reasons. It's not 2008, that's one. Another is that it's the 200th anniversary of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn. And for those interested in "Haydnmania," there is a blog of that name that is a good resource for Haydn celebrations and related.
On Radio 2 Julie Nesrallah celebrates the symphonies of Haydn, playing all 104 through the course of this year, in order, on Tempo. (Yup, all 104!)
But as well as playing each of the symphonies, Tempo would like to know if you have a favorite Haydn symphony, or a favorite recording of a Haydn symphony.
Here's how you can weigh in with your Haydn thoughts -- right here via commenting; or here, or toll-free at 1-877-222-8166, or by email.
Of course Austria, Haydn's country of birth, is Haydn central this year -- the Austrian Mint has issued a "200th Anniversary of the Death of Joseph Haydn" coin, for example:
Every Friday Tom Allen cycles over to my house with the Blog Question Of The Week in a special envelope marked "Confidential." True, or urban legend?
Yes, it's urban legend time on Radio 2 Morning, as the Blog Question Of The Week resumes after a brief sabbatical. The question is simply: "know any good urban legends/tall tales?"
Like the one about old rotary telephones circling the sun? Or Apple's new keyboard-less laptop? Maybe you know one relating to music -- like the one about playing Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railroad Trilogy backwards and hearing "CN, CP, CN, CP". That sort of thing.
So send in your urban legends, good yarns, myths and tall tales -- and Tom will delight in reading them on Radio 2 Morning (6 a.m.-10 a.m.) all week.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Some drama on an operatic scale this week, right here at home. American tenor Jon Villars departing hastily during a public dress rehearsal of Fidelio on Wednesday made national news. A blogger named Brice was there, and reports:
"Right up until about 5 minutes before the end of the show: Jon Villars, playing Florestan, lost his place. To assist, the conductor started singing Jon's part...
"There are few things as glorious as stride piano."
Fats Waller probably said something like that once. And it's true -- as you'll hear today on Farrago With Jurgen Gothe (Sunday 5:00 p.m. 5:30 NT). Jurgen is calling this week's edition of the show Stride & True, as it features stride and ragtime piano. "There are few things more lovely than ragtime," Scott Joplin may have once said.
But here are two real quotes about the music to balance out the fictional:
"If all the electricity went out forever, stride pianists would be just fine." -Jon Webber, as quoted in Bebopified.
OK, enough with the quotes. Here is a wonderful video of Donald Lambert playing Grieg's Anitra's Dance, in stride...yes, the video quality is awful, but the music is fantastic, totally worth watching.
Good Sunday morning to you. Today Radio 2 features Next: Canada's Music Future , with part two of the ten week series. On Sunday Afternoon In Concert (Sunday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT) 21-year old Canadian pianist Avan Yu, who has already performed in recital and with orchestra on four continents, as well as holding the distinction of being the only pianist to win first prize in both the Junior and Senior Divisions of the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition. Today you can hear him performing Haydn, Ravel and Chopin.
And later in the day, on Canada Live (8 p.m.), Next! presents the contemporary country/rock/celtic-influenced music of three siblings called The Higgins; soulful singer songwriter Melissa Endean; indie band leader Debra-Jean Creelman, and Shane Koyczan and The Short Story Long -- spoken word accompanied by self-described "experimental acoustic folk."
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
If you happen to attend Vancouver Opera'sCarmen this upcoming Tuesday Jan. 27th, and notice four people rapidly tapping away on laptops as you pass through the lobby, don't be afraid, they're meant to be there. Or maybe do be afraid, because although they have been invited by Vancouver Opera, they're blogging, and opera bloggers have a tendency not to pull too many punches.
It's the Vancouver Opera's first Blogger Night @ The Opera, and it's one of the stories Katherine is covering today on In Tune (Saturday 5:00 p.m., 5:30 NT).
There are no shortage of opera bloggers (see end of post). But what makes this enterprise interesting is that among the four Vancouver bloggers are a couple of people who have never been to an opera. (As opposed to the more typical opera bloggers, who follow the ins and outs of the opera world like Perez Hilton follows Madonna and baseball players.)
If you want to follow along, here are the Vancouver bloggers, as well as some of the usual suspects from the opera blogosphere:
First things first. You may want to have a look at the NYT's slide show of photos from the opera, broadcast today on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT). There are just seven shots -- but they'll put a visual image in your head of the style of the production. (Unless, of course, you prefer to simply imagine, as befits the medium of radio.) As to the voices you'll hear on today's broadcast -- the opera stars two much talked about singers, Stephanie Blythe as Orfeo and Danielle De Niese as Euridice.
The Greek legend Orfeo is pretty much a perfect vehicle for opera, as among other things it's a tribute to the power of song -- the Gods were so moved by Orfeo's songs that they allowed him to travel to Hades and retrieve his beloved wife Euridice from the land of the dead. So there are many operatic settings of the story, but one of the best is the one you'll hear today, by Christoph Willibald Gluck.
American mezzo soprano Stephanie Blythe has been getting raves for her role as Orfeo in today's Met revival of Gluck's 1762 masterpiece of that name. (The New York Times called her a "once-in-a-generation" performer!) You can hear the production today on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT). It also stars lyric soprano Danielle de Niese as Orfeo's wife, Euridice. (The role was originally written for a castrato -- now it's frequently sung by mezzos.)
Following the Met performance, host Bill Richardson speaks with recording and sound restoration guru Ward Marston. Plus he has a preview of The Emperor Of Atlantis, a chamber opera written by Victor Ullman, soon to be produced by the City Opera Of Vancouver in conjunction with the Vancouver Holocaust Education centre.
More about today's opera a little later on The Radio 2 Blog; please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
"How to appreciate Frank Zappa? Hmmm.... Several years ago I 'loaned' my copy Frank's autobiography to my mid-teens stepson who was just beginning to play guitar. Since then he's read it at least three times, and it looks like it should: a manual for how a young person should learn about and explore the non-linear, fantastical world of music." --hans1640
"Frank once said that music is the wall paper of your life. How true."--WayCat
"I attended Zappa's concert at the Montreal Forum in 1972 and listened to some of the most inspiring music and here nearing the midway point of my 5th decade I am still enthralled." -kgb858ab
Just three responses to Part 1 of I Am All Day And Night: The Music Of Frank Zappa -- you can hear the second part this weekend on on Inside The Music Saturday Edition (12:00 p.m., 1:00 AT, 1:30 NT).
So which aspects of this week's inauguration did you pay most attention to - the speech? The bow on Aretha's hat? Michelle Obama's great suit... and...The Dress? Or maybe you fixated on the most important aspect of the historic event -- the music that was played at the balls. For those of us who bailed after the Stevie Wonder moment, Sasha Frere-Jones has the music rundown.
And today on Tempo (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) Julie tips her hat to the inauguration, closing out the inauguration week with a classic American recording of a classic American piece, Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue performed by Leonard Bernstein at the piano, with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
As one blogger said, writing about the annual Women's Blues Revue"Each year that I manage to attend this, I think 'this is the best concert ever!' It really does just keep getting better." This year's concert can be heard this evening on Canada Live (8 p.m.) -- the 22nd edition of the event.
All-women bands/events in jazz and blues have sometimes been challenged, philosophically, as though women getting together to play without men is either a form of segregation, or somehow acknowledging that they are not equals to the men in their field. Obviously that's not true of the Women's Blues Revue on the latter count -- not with a lineup like this: Alana Bridgewater, Lily Frost, Little Miss Higgins, ShoShona Kish of Digging Roots, Elizabeth Shepherd and Suzie Vinnick.
As the world economy continues to do whatever it is the world economy is actually doing, music writers and thinkers regularly chime in with their perspective on its impact on music. Sometimes it's the obvious -- such as yesterday's announcements about cost-cutting measures at The Met and Carnegie Hall. (Although it's still possible to rent Carnegie Hall, as this wonderful story of a singer from British Columbia shows -- see Tenor Buys Dream Ticket For $200,000.)
But does popular music (at least, some popular music) immediately reflect the tenor of the times?
It's a good week to have the blues. Maybe not literally, but musically. First there were the Maple Blues Awards, written about on the Radio 2 Blog here. And tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), you can hear one of the hottest tickets of the blues concert calendar year -- the Women's Blues Revue.
It's an annual event at Massey Hall that packs the place with blues fans -- and fans of blues related music since it's by no means a "purist" take on the music. The backing band (of all or mostly women) is always great, the energy in the hall ditto. This year's featured artists are Alana Bridgewater, Lily Frost, Little Miss Higgins, ShoShona Kish, Elizabeth Shepherd and Suzie Vinnick. Stay tuned to The Radio 2 Blog for more on these women of blues a little later today -- but for now, make a date for eight (o'clock).
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Today's Tech Q? column needs to be prefaced with a note about Peter Cook. Not only is he our extremely helpful and patient Resident Geek, he's also one of the key people behind that incredible online live-concert-recordings resource, Concerts On Demand. And if you use the site, you will very much appreciate what he's done here -- little tips that make accessing the music you want to hear much smoother -- and are useful in many other contexts as well. (I'm telling ya,' tabbed browsing changed my life.) But over to Peter now to fill you in on the fine points:
Last week I ran into a friend of mine in the hallway, one of our finest recording engineers. We exchanged pleasantries and then he said "You know what I hate about that site . . . (pause). . . Concerts on Demand?"
Gulp. "Tell me."
"When I'm scrolling down through that long list of concerts and I find one and think, 'that looks interesting'. So I click on it to check it out. Then I hit the "Back" button to continue browsing and I've got to start back at the top scrolling through that long list again!"
Aha. OK. I've heard this complaint before and I realized it was time to share this web browsing tip here at Tech Q. You can use tip this with Google, Concerts on Demand . . . any page which has a bunch of links that you might be interested in exploring. We'll use the the CoD page to illustrate.
The saying "everyone's a critic" was never more true than in these webby/wiki/bloggy times. Anyone and everyone can weigh/debate/judge -- in the biggest public forum imaginable. So it's not a surprise that Radio 2's own Concerts On Demand (CoD) are providing a place for people who like to not only listen to concerts online, but also comment on what they're hearing.
Some musicians are getting in on it -- noticed that the other day Mark Berube commenting on the Miss Emily Brown concert, saying, "Very very beautiful Emily. Great idea with the music box. Bravo."
Reading CoD reviews is of course one way of finding out about some of the best concerts. Or if not full reviews, at least some pithy waxing ecstatic, as is the case with this comment about blues guitarist Chris Chown's concert:
"She flung herself full-length on the stage, drummed with her feet and, taking the corner of a small Persian rug in her teeth, worried it [while] I sat rigid and appalled on the sofa, pressed back against the chintz cushions."
Heh. Alec Guinness once wrote that, in an anecdote about the actress, Edith Evans. Thankfully this is NOT the kind of drumming you can hear tonight on The Signal. (But it is quite the image, isn't it -- couldn't resist posting the quote!)
Tonight is all about drumming of a non-tantrum order when host Laurie Brown presents a percussion-themed concert from Montreal. First, it's Metal Jacket by composer Nicole Lizée, a work inspired by Downing and Tipton (of Judas Priest fame). It explores the raw, gritty side of two instruments usually heard in non-gritty/raw (although often passionate, it must be said) musical context -- tabla and harmonium.
You can also hear Tactus, by composer Polo Vallejo -- it's a work for one percussionist playing 6 congas. Now that's the kind of conga line you want on your radio.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Insert drum roll here! The top 49 pieces of music that make up Obama's Playlist are as follows.
The Top 49 (Listed by artist):
Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
Barenaked Ladies - If I Had $1,000,000
Beau Dommage – La complainte du phoque en Alaska
Ben Heppner - We’ll Gather Lilacs
Bruce Cockburn - Wondering Where the Lions Are
Buffy Sainte-Marie - Universal Soldier
Daniel Bélanger - Rêver mieux
Daniel Lanois - Jolie Louise
Daniel Lavoie - J'ai quitté mon île
Diana Krall - Departure Bay
Gilles Vigneault - Mon pays
Glenn Gould - Goldberg Variations
Gordon Lightfoot - Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Gordon Lightfoot – Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Great Big Sea - Ordinary Day
Harmonium - Pour un Instant
Ian & Sylvia - Four Strong Winds
James Ehnes - Barber Violin Concerto
Jesse Cook - Mario Takes a Walk
Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell – A Case of You
Karkwa - Oublie pas
k.d. lang - Hallelujah
Leonard Cohen - Democracy
Leonard Cohen - Suzanne
Malajube - Montréal -40°C
Marie-Jo Thério - Évangeline
Marjan Mozetich - Affairs of the Heart
Measha Brueggergosman - I’m Going Up a Yonder
Mes Aïeux - Dégénérations
Michael Bublé – Home
Moe Koffman - Swingin' Shepherd Blues
Neil Young - Rockin' In the Free World
Neil Young - Helpless
Oscar Peterson Trio - Hymn to Freedom
Oscar Peterson – Place St. Henri (from Canadiana Suite)
Parachute Club - Rise Up
Raymond Lévesque - Quand Les Hommes Vivront D'amour
Rush - Closer to the Heart
Sam Roberts - The Canadian Dream
Shad - Brother (Watching)
Stan Rogers - Northwest Passage
Stompin' Tom Connors - The Hockey Song
The Arrogant Worms Canada's Really Big
The Guess Who American Woman
The Tragically Hip - Wheat Kings
The Tragically Hip - Bobcaygeon
The Rankin Family - Rise Again
The Weakerthans - One Great City!
So there you have it, folks. Discuss, debate, celebrate as you will!
Last night the annual Maple Blues Awards were handed out -- and the big winner was the late Jeff Healey. His band took home a total of seven out of the seventeen honours handed out – including Entertainer, Electric Artist, Guitarist and Recording of the Year (for his posthumous album Mess Of Blues, produced by Healey and bassist Alec Fraser). And Healey's accompanists Al Webster received the Drummer of the Year award, Dave Murphy won Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year and Alec Fraser took home the Bassist of The Year award.
So in Jeff Healey's honour The Radio 2 Blog presents this great version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
One listener said of that performance: "The way I see it, people should be trying to do covers of Jeff Healey's While My Guitar Gently Weeps!"
For the rest of the winners of the Maple Blues Awards, please keep reading. Also, blues fans, take note -- this year's annual blues event, the Women's Blues Revue, will be broadcast on Canada Live (8 p.m.) this Thursday, January 22nd.
This is indeed a historic day: January 20th, 2009, the unveiling of the Top 49 pieces of music voted onto Obama's Playlist. Kidding aside, surely this must be one of the if not the most scrutinized inaugurations in U.S. history, both within and outside of their borders. As for that other matter -- Obama's Playlist -- you came and you voted: to the tune of 131,204 votes cast in total.
If you are reading this before 5 a.m. eastern, you may be starting to mutter, "C'mon, lady, what about the list?" (At least, I hope "lady" was the word you used.) Here's the deal -- at 5:00 a.m. eastern the 49 pieces of music will be published on the website, so stay tuned.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
If you google the word "stars" the first response is not something about "a massive, luminous ball of plasma that is held together by its own gravity." (That's third, actually, terribly sciencey. Who wishes upon a "luminous ball of plasma," after all.)
The first response is of course about the band of that name -- Stars -- some of whom (including Amy Millan, pictured here) dropped by to play some music and chat with Rich Terfry on Radio 2 Drive (3 p.m.-6 p.m.). That conversation and music will be broadcast on today's show.
As for what people think of the highly sophisticated pop of Stars, it ranges from massive adoration to well, less than massive adoration. (As is often the case with bands that have such a distinctive sound and approach.) Here are a couple contrasting responses to past performances:
Hopefully, this won't seem too excessively morbid a topic, but rather a natural one to contemplate -- funeral music. What prompted thinking about it was following a thread in a music list I subscribe to, Maple Post (which for those of you interested in roots and folk and blues music is an excellent source of info and lively debates -- you can access it through the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals).
First it began with someone seeking some advice re: singing at funerals. But this led to legendary Canadian folksinger Bob Bossin posing what he called the obvious question: "What songs would YOU like played at your funeral?"
The responses ranged from the funny: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life... but then again, I don't really want a funeral," to the also funny: "Frankly, I was hoping to sing at my own funeral." And one person said "The more ukes, the better." Now that's a wake!
But of course it is also a serious subject. And, no surprise, there are some really interesting suggestions out there, for instance this one at BlogCritics magazine, which suggests music from Tom Waits' Come On Up To The House to Mavis Staples singing I'll Fly Away -- with thoughtful explanations as to why each piece of music was chosen. There are also plenty of standard rep funeral songs, if you will, some of them listed at websites like Heavenly Doves.
I'll Fly Away frequently turns up in many contexts. And when it turns up like this at a funeral -- well, this is the way to go out. Incredible.
A New Orleans Jazz funeral for tuba player Kerwin James -- now that's "celebrating a life." Apparently later it turned into a bit of a fracas, according to this report. (That's life, I guess.)
Stars on Drive! No, not a song title, or the name of a road in some Californian burg, but the critically acclaimed Montreal darlings, Stars. Band members can be heard in conversation with host Rich Terfry on Radio 2 Drive (3 p.m.-6 p.m.) this afternoon.
How critically acclaimed are they? Well, Pitchfork loves to write about them, which will tell you something if you know that the word Pitchfork (when not designating a farm implement) is most commonly paired with the word "tastemaker."
Today on Drive Stars play a few sweet tunes, and tell tall tales of the wondrous city of Montreal. Here's a little "teaser" of what you can hear in full this afternoon.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Now this is just a weird story. Neil Young fans are upset that he is releasing a new recording. At least, according to this story in The Guardian, which says that they would rather have a recording of archival material that has been pending. But the new recording, called Fork In The Road, has apparently pushed back the release of the archival stuff.
You might think it's a case of people preferring the hits, but no. This report has it as down to lyrics like these:
Who doesn't like a good quirky piece of music? Some quirky people. But they won't be listening to Farrago With Jurgen Gothe (Sunday 5:00 p.m. 5:30 NT) today, too bad for them. Those who will can thrill to another edition of Quirky Songs (with the revolutionary title, Quirky Songs Number Two).
Among the quirk is The Bobs version of Lennon and McCartney's Helter Skelter, The Bonzo Dog Band, The Goons and Elvis.....sung in Latin. (Yes, Latin, and I'm betting that the singer is from Finland.)
Well, I'll see Jurgen's quirky music with a different brand of "instrumental quirk." Both of these videos are under two minutes, so quirky does not have time to become annoying.
First, the extraordinary talents of "The Marimba Ponies":
And second, the surprisingly appealing music of Bars & Tones.
A new series launches today on Sunday Afternoon In Concert (Sunday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT) and on Canada Live (8 p.m.). It's called Next! Canada's Music Future, and it's a 10-part series running on Sundays on Radio 2 and celebrating talented young musicians across Canada.
Sunday Afternoon In Concert will be presenting concerts from Vancouver to St. John's with an impressive array of young classical music talent. The series kicks off with Andrew Wan, who, at 23, has just been named concert master of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra! And in the final hour of the programme, Wan along with pianist Sarah Ho will be heard in recital from Edmonton performing works by Schubert, Brahms and Oscar Morawetz. (Plus you can hear him with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra performing Khatchaturian's Violin Concerto.)
Canada Live (8 p.m.) begins their part of the ten week series with country-roots music from Ladies Of The Canyon, jazz from drummer Karl Schwonik, a melange of Brazilian/Mexican and jazz sounds from Anna B, and originals from singer/songwriter Miss Emily Brown.
Note: Podcasts of the Sunday Afternoon In Concert performances, including behind-the-scene conversations with the performers, will be available beginning Monday, January 19th, at Radio 2's Podcasts.
Full disclosure: I know nothing about football, other than the seemingly never ending saga of Brett Favre, and that only because of the Packers fan in my life. So the upcoming Superbowl game itself is not high on my "must watch" list. Don't know if Katherine Duncan is also in the football ignoramus camp -- but like me she is interested in Superbowl music, as you will hear today on In Tune (Saturday 5:00 p.m., 5:30 NT).
More specifically she'll be talking about Yo Yo Ma, Hyundai and the big football game -- it's connected to the annual hoopla over advertisements specifically created for the Superbowl. But here's what the ad agency says about the inclusion of the cellist's playing, as reported by Reuters:
"Within the context of all the other advertising, which can be so chaotic that it almost becomes white noise, a quiet, gorgeous solo cello moment can be very arresting."
Good thinking. Contrast is often what catches the ear. In a biography I'm reading about Peggy Lee (Fever: The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee) there's a section about how she first came to sing quietly, in that understated way -- not typical at the time. Fairly early on in her career she was performing in a bar called The Doll House, it was very noisy, and she was petrified:
Canadian baritone Gerald Finley is indeed the star of today's production of John Adams' Doctor Atomic at the Metropolitan Opera this afternoon, broadcast on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT).
For a brief plot synopsis please see the previous blog post -- or go to the end of this post for the entire detailed story. But in one line, it focuses on J. Robert Oppenheimer (sung by Finley) and his team and the creation of the world's first atomic bomb -- and the crisis of its use in Japan.
If you're not familiar with the opera and want a small preview -- you may want to listen to Gerald Finley singing Batter My Heart, from the end of Act 1 of the Amsterdam production of the work. It's beautiful.
Please continue reading for more details about the opera and today's production:
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams' Doctor Atomic comes to you from the Met today on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT). It's been largely lauded since it premiered four years ago, and this production stars Gerald Finley as J. Robert Oppenheimer.
SATO provides a nice succinct précis: 'The story is set in July 1945, when the war is in its final, terrible phase. Germany has surrendered but Japan will fight to the bitter end, costing possibly a half million casualties. And in the New Mexico desert a group of young physicists, hand-picked and led by the brilliant, complex J. Robert Oppenheimer have labored furiously in a race against Hitler to develop the world's first atomic bomb. The opera captures the hours before the test explosion, when they are confronted with the moral crisis of its inevitable use on Japanese citizens.'
Note: The opera is sung in English to Peter Sellars' libretto, and is also being seen today in the Met's HD series -- and will be broadcast on CBC's Bold (date tba).
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
It was tempting to title this post "Weasels Ripped My Flesh," but I thought it might be too distressing for some, so I've buried it in the lede. However, for admirers of Frank Zappa this will instantly trigger curiosity -- and the following shall satisfy.
Tomorrow, Saturday, you can hear the first in a three part series on the iconoclast Frank Zappa, on Inside The Music Saturday Edition (12:00 p.m., 1:00 AT, 1:30 NT). An incredible musician who embraced and kind of repelled (!) many kind of music, including rhythm and blues, do-wop, jazz, classical -- turning them into some of the most unusual compositions you could hope to hear, Zappa made music that definitely fell into the popular music arena, but was both very challenging and very listenable.
This series explores Zappa as a composer, and is told through the memories of some of those who knew him best -- family, his friends, and some of the musicians who worked with him. You'll hear from Zappa's wife, Gail Zappa, Ruth Underwood, the percussionist who first heard him at a famous concert at New Yorks Garrick theatre in 1967; Elliot Ingber, a guitarist in the early Mothers of Invention, and Joe Travers, drummer and vaultmeister of the Zappa archives.
You have until today at 8 pm ET (that's eastern, not the Spielberg movie, which is what the abbreviation unfortunately always makes me think of) to weigh in on Obama's Playlist. And therefore the last chance for The Radio 2 Blog(ger) to place bets.
Yesterday, with the post featuring Lhasa's song and video, I admitted she seemed a tiny bit more of a long shot than the previous bets. And perhaps this one is even further out on a limb, but I'm thinking that maybe some of Rich Terfry's constituency in particular may be rallying and casting their votes for Shad.
For one thing, when Shad was on Radio 2 Drive (3 p.m.-6 p.m.) this fall he got a great response. For another, Brother (Watching) is pretty powerful stuff. Yes, there's a lot of very stiff competition, particularly from Canadian music icons, from Neil Young to Glenn Gould to Joni Mitchell, Stompin' Tom etc.
But as one listener said on The Radio 2 Blog when Shad was profiled: "This cat is going to be huge." The question is, I suppose, huge enough yet to get the vote? I'm putting my virtual money down, though prepared to possibly lose it. If I do, well heck, he did make it to the Top 100, and that's pretty great too.
That last minute or so with those beautiful strings, and the woman speaking about her hopes for her children always brings a little lump to the throat...
Well, we shall see on Tuesday whether my prognosticating is right. Meantime, thanks for watching these videos connected with Obama's Playlist -- and if you've missed some, you'll find all of them here.
Last chance to vote on Obama's Playlist! At 8 p.m. eastern standard time tonight, voting will come to an end. And the final 49 will be unveiled on inauguration day, Jan 20, 2009, both on the website and on air throughout the day. It'll be interesting finding out how many votes came in -- as of midweek this week there were over 60,000 votes, and no doubt it's jumped significantly since then.
Today in the wrap for the Radio 2 Morning (6 a.m.-10 a.m.) portion of the voting, you can hear two very special guests with Tom, starting with Megan Follows in hour 2 of the show. And the guest in hour 3 dropped by the studio already to record a chat with Tom -- as is evidenced in the photo accompanying this post -- yup, that's Peter Mansbridge. Shan't spoil the surprise of what their favourites are though -- for that you will have to tune in. Tom's conversations with the guests on air during the past couple of weeks have been a pleasure -- from Guido Basso to Jack Layton to Ann-Marie MacDonald -- and it'll be fun hearing him chatting with both Megan Follows and Peter Mansbridge today.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
It's safe to say that few would dispute the depth of musical talent in this country. But behind every established great artist is a line-up of newer talent, singing and playing and hoping for the big break.
An upcoming series on Radio 2 is focussed on exactly that. It's called Next! Canada's Music Future, and it begins this Sunday, January 18th. It showcases 50 up-and-comers (there is no perfect term, and I'm avoiding "rising stars," since it seems even higher on the cliché-o-meter!) in classical, jazz, roots and blues music. Whatever the terminology, the point is this -- these are musicians who have striking talent, and seem poised for greater recognition.
You can hear this 10-part series from Sunday until March 22, in two places: On Sunday Afternoon In Concert (Sunday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT) and Canada Live (8 p.m.)
Here are a few example of some of the artists you'll be able to hear:
Today's bet feels a little less secure, since the performer isn't as widely known as the above. But I'm makin' it anyway, since I think this performer and song really should be there -- and she does have a good chance. (Jesse Cook agrees -- heard him telling Tom Allen that the other day.) It's the singer who goes by her first name, Lhasa. Here's a live version of the nominated song, not quite as "perfect" as the album version, but it has the benefit of letting you see the diminutive and intense Lhasa de Sela in performance.
That's De Cara A La Pared, which you'll find on Lhasa's stunning debut recording La Llorona which came out in 1998 and was subsequently played in interesting bookstores, cafés and living rooms everywhere.
Lhasa always seems a little elusive -- she's only recorded two albums in total, and there are times when she disappears from view. (At one point she was living in Europe, travelling and performing with a circus.) But fans from the interesting bookstores, cafés and living rooms will be thrilled to know, as am I, that she is apparently releasing a third recording this April.
Book of Angels is the title of around three hundred pieces of music composed in around three months by saxophonist John Zorn. Each is named after a spiritual entity from Jewish or Kabbal tradition -- and for some years now Zorn has been commissioning performances of the pieces -- which is why you will find so many interesting interpretations of the work.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) host Laurie Brown presents music from Volume 11 of the Book Of Angels, with performance by the great Medeski Martin & Wood. The Signalites describe the music as "a heady mix of exotic lounge jazz and gnashing avant-garde mayhem." Irresistible.
"He [Zorn] is an artist of speed-completion. It is no surprise that many pieces sound similar or divide neatly into types. There is the elegiac Masada piece, restful and droning. There is the type with a kind of swing, a folk dance feeling, a clear melody. And there is the fragmented piece, calling on fast reflexes, cueing from the composer, and the comedy of sound and body."
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
But our Resident Geek, Peter Cook, is a thoughtful consumer. In today's Tech Q? column he virtually goes to one of the biggest computer/electronics trade shows so you don't have to -- and tells us music and radio lovers what might be worth buying... or not. Over to you, Peter:
"Each January the Consumer Electronics Show takes place in Las Vegas. This is a massive trade show where new products are announced and hyped. I've never had the "pleasure" of attending one of these things but I gather one will find: a lot of junk; some vaporware (it was supposed to be hardware or software, but it never actually shipped!); some genuinely useful devices; and every once in a while a real breakthrough technology (the VCR, CD, DVD, HDTV all were introduced at CES).
The 2009 version of the show took place last week. I read a bit of coverage and was most interested in the announcements of potential interest to Radio 2 listeners (we'll steer clear of the 3-D televisions).
Internet Radio for the car
The first item that caught my eye was the news that venerable car-audio manufacturer Blaupunkt (warning: noisy web page) had partnered with miRoamer (warning: poorly-designed web page) to bring internet radio to your car. Ooh la la! That would certainly be a breakthrough.
When The Radio 2 Blog Bookies opened shop last week and started betting on who would unquestionably make it onto Obama's Playlist, the first bet was Leonard Cohen performing Hallelujah. Boy was I wrong. Leonard is up with Suzanne and Democracy (go, Democracy!) but not Hallelujah. A couple of you pointed out at the time that really, it's k.d. Lang's version that should be on the list anyway.
Well, I still like hearing Lenny singing it -- but there's no question that she takes it into the stratosphere. Having heard her perform it live -- spine chill inducing -- this live performance on video brings it all back. And if you haven't heard her singing it, you owe it to yourself to watch.
What a gift of song, and of voice.
Now that's a very intense song, sung by a very intense singer. But there is a lighter side to Ms. k.d. Lang, as evidenced by this next video, which I can't resist posting -- k.d. being interviewed by Dame Edna. (Favourite Dame Edna line: "k.d., when did you first know you were...Canadian?")
Ah, a Wednesday in mid-January. Well, this too shall pass. And in the meantime, there is music to look forward to -- including this evening's Canada Live (8 p.m.) broadcast, which features three concerts from the Vancouver Island Music Festival, starting with Victoria's Marc Atkinson Trio, who "play everything from Gypsy Swing to Russian rags."
In the middle, a concert from Cassius Khan. Kahn does something quite unusual in Indian music -- he plays the tabla and sings Ghazals simultaneously. (Actually rather difficult without seeing it to even imagine -- the complicated rhythms on the tabla and the equally complicated flowing lines of the typical ghazal.)
And third up, some traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo music from the Dirk Powell Band. Powell is sometimes called the "Renaissance Mountain Man," no doubt due to the fact that although he learned Appalachian music from his grandfather, he also plays classical music (the harpsichord) and is on any number of movie soundtracks, including Cold Mountain and Spike Lee's Bamboozled. But back to this concert. The Can Live team recording the show says that it "entranced the crowd with a spirit and energy that rang out from the banks of the Tsolum River to snow topped Mount Washington!"
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Let's start with favourites. Favourite Blue Note Recording: The Sidewinder, by Lee Morgan. Favourite Motown single: Four Tops, I'll Be There. Now that was tough -- there are dozens of other pieces of music that come to mind, given the longevity and quality of the music associated with those two labels.
It does seem nothing short of a miracle that any record label could last the 70 years that Blue Note Records has, or the 50 of Motown, both celebrating birthdays this month.
Blue Note began in January of 1939 when a young German immigrant (and huge jazz fan) named Alfred Lion fled Nazi Germany to re-settle in New York (he originally left Berlin in 1925 but returned, briefly, to Germany during the depression). After hearing boogie-woogie pianists Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis he started up the label. (No doubt not that uncomplicated, but that's the nutshell.)
"All the music that really interests me -- not just some of it, all of it -- is contrapuntal music."
- Glenn Gould, 1982
The above quote courtesy of the Contrapuntal Blog, which Gould appreciators may be interested in reading. And certainly Gould appreciators will be voting on a daily basis (until Friday) for the inclusion of Glenn Gould on Obama's Playlist, performing the Goldberg Variations.
Today The Radio 2 Blog goes out on a (not very long) limb to say the chance of this work played by this performer being included in the final 49 seems very likely.
And Here's here are 42 sublime seconds from the 1981 re-recordings:
Finally, here's Mr. Gould talking about why he re-recorded the Goldberg Variations, for you Gould complete-ists out there.
Good morning, Radio 2 Blog Readers. It's Tuesday, January 13th, and you know what that means. Yes, today is the day the frisbee was invented. (A company called Wham-O began production on this day in 1957 of a Frisbee predecessor called Pluto Platters. Here's where you can read all about that.) But far more important, it's also the day commonly reported as the day the accordion was patented, in 1854. Although it should be noted that Let's Polka takes great pains to disputes that claim.
One thing that is indisputable, is that today is the second of five days of voting for the music you would like to see end up on Obama's Playlist -- you have until Friday. So vote early, vote often. (Actually, you can vote once a day.) And fyi -- you can also hear excerpts of all 100 pieces of music that are on the short list at Obama's Playlist.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Earlier this winter there was a concert in celebration of CBC's 60 years in Cape Breton, held at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay. And three of the performers in that concert are featured tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) -- including headliner, country singer/guitarist par excellence Gordie Sampson (recently nominated for five East Coast Music Awards -- a.k.a ECMA's).
One listener to the CoD version said: "My only complaint is that I wasn't there to witness it live." And you too can have the "next best thing" experience either by listening online to Gordie Sampson in Glace Bay, or simply by turning your radio on tonight at 8 p.m. to Canada Live. The other two performers tonight are Molly Rankin of The Rankin Family, and multi-instrumentalist whiz, JP Cormier.
Cape Breton music may no longer have the high-beams of the world on it as intensely as it once did, but the music is quietly flourishing -- as representation in the upcoming ECMA nominations indicates. (And as reported in the Cape Breton Post.) Of course saying "Cape Breton music" is totally general, but it's true that a lot of people still jump to the conclusion that means traditional/Celtic. With some justification -- that music still continues to inspire new generations.
This morning, talking to Tom on Radio 2 Morning, Jack Layton said his #1 pick from the Obama's Playlist shortlist of 100 would be Rise Up by the Parachute Club (his second choice would be Takin' Care Of Business by BTO). Funny, I would have pegged him for something more piano heavy. Just goes to show, you can never predict a politician's playlist.
But you can help shape one -- whittling the Top 100 Obama's Playlist (Short List) to the final 49. The list is up, as you'll see if you click on the last link, and the musicians on it range from the above, to people like Marjan Mozetich, Felix Leclerc and Joe Sealy -- it's a pretty eclectic cross section.
The way the voting works is that the music is in four sections, and you get one vote in each section -- per day. So get over there with your virtual stubby pencil and start making those x's!
Having the short list available does make The Radio 2 Blog Bookies job a little easier -- 100, as opposed to infinite choices. Even so, that means 51 will not make it to the final playlist. But here's one I think will: the great Oscar Peterson, with his great composition: Hymn To Freedom.
Beautiful.
There is an excellent feature in the CBC Digital Archives on the late Mr. Peterson you should have a look at, if you haven't already. Clips with OP talking and playing, as well as still photos etc. You'll find it at Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Giant.
The Top 100 has been revealed! You can see it now on the Obama's Playlist website.
Over the weekend CBC's expert host panel, Jim Corcoran, Tim Tamashiro, Julie Nesrallah and Tom Allen weighed and sifted and mulled and -- who knows -- laughed cried and all the rest of it, to whittle down the long list of literally thousands of your nominations to come up with the short list of 100 pieces of music that would "best define Canada" to President-Elect Barack Obama.
Though actually there were some underlying guiding principles that probably kept the crying to a minimum: the final decisions were based on the number of times a selection was nominated, the strength of the case made by the letters/emails/voicemails that accompanied the nominations, and then added to that, the musical expertise of the panelists.
Today the voting begins online at the Obama's Playlist website, and ends Friday, January 16 at 11pm eastern.
That means it's now entirely up to you! It's been entertaining reading your thoughts thus far about nominated music. (You can read many of the responses here, just scroll down through the posts.) From arguing over the provenance of the theme to The Friendly Giant, to debating the merits of this or that Bruce Cockburn song, to considering what impact specific pieces of music might have on Obama's no doubt stressful new role (all in good fun) it's been a treat. Here's to the debate over the 100!
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
As the week at Radio 2 has been focussed on Obama's Playlist, it seems appropriate to start off this week's roundup with the news that Canada's Nathaniel Dett Chorale will be performing at two Obama-inauguration related events in Washington D.C. -- singing at the Smithsonian on Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 19) and at a party at the Canadian Embassy on Jan. 20th. Kudos!
The blog Africlassical makes note of this good news, and Good Deed A Day ends a post with a video of the group in performance with Jackie Richardson. It's pretty great.
Apple ditching Digital Rights Management (DRM) on iTunes inspired some conversation right here on The Radio 2 Blog, in response to our Resident Geek's weekly Tech Q? column. Elsewhere, one blogger asked: "I thought Apple learned their lesson the last time they raised the price of DRM-free songs? Yeah, you don’t remember that? It’s because it didn’t last long. There was an uprising and quickly the price was lowered back to $.99."
Years ago, at a wedding where the Flying Bulgars played, I remember thinking -- klezmer is the best dance music in the world. Some might contest this declaration, but I don't think anyone would dispute that at the very least klezmer ranks right up there with the world's finest party music.
But 21st century klezmer is extremely multifaceted, as today's edition of Farrago With Jurgen Gothe (Sunday 5:00 p.m. 5:30 NT) will aptly demonstrate when Jurgen presents what he's calling Klez Is More. Just how multi-faceted is today's klez, you ask? Here's how:
I rest my case. No, wait a minute, I don't, I dance my case, and listen to it -- this video featuring Itzhak Perlman playing with assorted klez luminaries is fabulous!
Under the Julian calendar, Ukranians celebrate New Year's eve this week, and today on Sunday Afternoon In Concert (Sunday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT) the show features three concerts with Ukrainian and Russian connections. Siberian born baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky his heard with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in concert from Quebec City, including music by Bortnyansky and Tchaikovsky.
The Ottawa Chamber Music Festival celebrates Ukraine with music by the 19th-century composer Mykola Lysenko as well as Valentin Silvestrov and Yevhen Stankovych. Soprano Monica Whicher and pianist Hinrich Alpers are featured, and host Bill Richardson speaks to baritone Pavlo Hunka about an ongoing project to uncover more musical treasures from Ukraine.
And finally, the Vancouver Recital Society presents Russian–born, British–trained violinist Alina Ibragimova, who is making waves as a "BBC New Generation Artist." She's joined by French pianist Cedric Tiberghien, who divides his time between a solo career and performing chamber music, and together they perform works of Karol Szymanowski (who was born in the part of Poland that lies in present day Ukraine).
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
A few years ago researchers in Taiwan studied the sleeping patters of 60 elderly people who were having trouble sleeping. They had a choice of listening to music or not, before going to sleep. (Music that was all around 60-80 bpm, so on the slow side, of various styles.) The people who chose to listen to music reported a 35% improvement in their sleep. (For more details see this BBC story.)
This strikes me as surprising -- since music is stimulating, and never really background, not unless the volume is almost imperceptible. In any event, something tells me that the music they used (not stated in the article) was probably not subject to lots of rhythmic shifts or fluctuating dynamics. (It's also probably not the kind of "sleep" Gregory Charles had in mind when he put together Sunday's In The Key Of Charles -- that theme inspiring this post. Not sure what music relating to sleep Monsieur Charles will play, for that you will have to tune in.)
Of course there is music "designed" to help you sleep, and websites out there promoting it. The website Sound Sleeping is a biggie in the sleep music biz. And in this digi-age, it's no surprise that you can create your own personalized "sleep music," downloadable, natch. No doubt this works for some people. But some of the musical ideas behind this "science," strike me as debatable, eg. "The sound of the vibraphone is calming." I have never found this to be true, in fact listening to Gary Burton usually inspires the urge to whip around the room playing air mallets. But others may find this a useful bit of info.
La Rondine ("The Swallow") a lesser known opera by Puccini, has become less lesser known, as it were, in part because of the recordings and performances by the stars in today's production, broadcast on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT): soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna. (Who are one of opera's more talked about real life couples, btw, married at the Met in 1996 by then New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.) They recorded the work in an acclaimed EMI recording back in 1996.
The opera itself has "long been considered Puccini’s problem child, his sole venture into crossover, an attempt to write an Italian operatic equivalent of a lightly comic, bittersweet Viennese operetta," as Anthony Tommasini puts it in the review of this production. (Puccini and Operetta? He Does It His Way.) He goes on to give mixed reviews of its stars, but still gives the nod to the production, which "makes a strong case for La Rondine as sophisticated, charming and poignant."
But that's just one critical response -- you can make your own this afternoon. And if you don't know the story, particularly given it is not a frequently produced opera, here you go:
"The Parisian heroine, Magda, (Gheorghiu) disguises herself as a shop girl named Paulette to pursue her romantic dream. She finds love with Ruggero (Alagna), and they go south to the French Riviera, in pursuit of romance and happiness, just as the swallows do. She soon realizes that she must choose between wedded bliss and telling the truth."
Following the opera, host Bill Richardson speaks to British filmaker Tony Palmer, and to composer John Adams, whose work Doctor Atomic will be presented next week on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera.
Please continue reading for more details about La Rondine.
Today on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT) you can hear Giacomo Puccini's lesser-known opera (sometimes called his "unloved stepchild,") La Rondine, "The Swallow." The broadcast is (as you opera lovers well know) part of the Met season -- but last performed there in 1936!
La Rondine was intended as an operetta, with light waltzes and much lightness in general, as befits the format. Specifically it was designed for a Viennese audience familiar with the frothier works from Strauss and Lehar. But its score has much to satisfy -- in one review of a New York City Opera production some years back the NYTimes said: "This is Puccini at its light-footed and lyric best, with music that prods its characters into motion but does not mind pausing for the occasional set piece."
Today's production stars soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna -- for more details re: cast and characters stay tuned to The Radio 2 Blog.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
It's been 60 years since the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There are no fool proof methods of managing the way we treat each other, sadly, but the UN declaration is considered to be the first truly global initiative setting a minimum standard, post World War ll. Whether or not that is observed is a whole other can of political and social worms, issues that are not the focus of The Radio 2 Blog.
But a musical exploration of the fight for human rights is -- with a special broadcast this Sunday on Inside The Music, from Afropop Worldwide, featuring artists such as Emmanuel Jal from Sudan, Gilberto Gil from Brazil and Somalian-Canadian K'Naan (due to drop a new album soon, incidentally).
Today the weekly Radio 2 Video Fest gives up its hotly contested "airtime" over to wagering what the sure-things for Obama's Playlist will be. As I said yesterday when putting my (pretend) money down on Leonard Cohen with Hallelujah, in some instances, it's not so difficult to predict the singer as it is the song.
But in the case of Gilles Vigneault, I'll throw caution to the wind and say it has to be the following song. Sadly I cannot find a performance video of it, but for those of us who love snow (and the song), it's quite a restful outlook (snowplows aside). For those who don't, just close your eyes and listen.
One of my colleagues at CBC Digital Archives kindly drew my attention to an online feature about Gilles Vigneault at our sister site at Radio-Canada, so you may want to have a look/listen there as well -- the first clip includes a brief snippet of the song Mon Pays.
The song itself was originally written by Vigneault as a commission from the National Film Board in 1964 , for Arthur Lamothe'sLa Neige A Fondu Sur La Manicouagan.
There are some voices that get under your skin, and John K Samson of The Weakerthans happens to be one -- at least for the Radio 2 Blogger. But the singer songwriter has more arrows to his vocal quiver (now there's a stretch, well it's Friday) as you can hear all weekend as he guest hosts The Signal (10 p.m.). On tonight's edition of the show he presents a concert by thumb piano innovator Laura Barrett, as well as featuring music from Jason Zumpano, Veda Hille and Sun City Girls.
You may know Samson's voice on the radio already if you are a fan of Canada Reads -- he's been on the panel twice (and twice picked the winner). If you're familiar with The Weakerthans lyrics it will come as no surprise to you that Samson is of a literary turn of mind -- given they're quite poetic. But you might not know that he's also been involved in the other end of the writing world -- publishing, with Arbeiter Ring , referred to by the Winnipeg Free Press as having "left wing politics with a rock-n-roll attitude." (Well, we know where the attitude comes from!) John K sits in for Pat Carrabré all weekend long.
And note: Obama's Playlist long list nominations are in the countdown phase -- they must be in by 8 pm today. The long list of 100 selections will be revealed on Monday, January 12th, and that's when the voting for the final "49" will also commence.
"Montreal is the second most important disco market on the continent, outside New York."
It was 1979 when the above claim was made -- by no less than Billboard magazine. And while the disco-sucks legacy may poo poo, it's true that Montreal was a disco destination for the international jetset in the late 1970s.
This Saturday on Inside The Music Saturday Edition (12:00 p.m., 1:00 AT, 1:30 NT) you can hear a documentary called Funkytown: The Montreal Disco Era that explores that time period. A colleague of mine who heard the documentary over the holidays told me that it just bowled him over, it was so good.
While not typically a betting woman, I will go out on a limb over the next while and lay a few musical bets on the line re: Obama's Playlist. Rest assured there is no insider trading going on -- I am basing these bets on the input about the playlist from Radio 2 listeners/blog readers.
Granted they are probably safe bets. But the real gamble is, certainly in the instance of today's bet, which song? It's a gamble I'm willing to make -- that despite the Democracy lobby, the "winner" will be Hallelujah.
"And even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the lord of song, with nothing on my tongue, but hallelujah."
Thank you, Mr. Cohen.
So you heard it here first -- bets on Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah making the Top 49. Of course, we won't know until the ballots are cast -- which they will be, starting Monday, Jan. 12 at the Obama's Playlist website.
It's a bluesy evening tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), with music coming from Ottawa's Bluesfest. Although the headliner, hometown girl Kathleen Edwards, doesn't sing the blues, there can be a plaintive quality to some of her music, (as well as an aggressive, spunky and funny quality) -- and certainly a sense of the emotions that the blues can evoke.
Most recently Edwards has been in the news for her Christmas Eve appearance in Kandahar. She reportedly told the troops "I'm very honoured to have been asked to come here. I've had a most incredible time." It would be nice to be able to report something from Ms. Edwards' blog about that evening, but it looks as though she has been too busy touring since late November to update. (However, she does have many other, previous and rather entertaining entries -- she's an original.)
This morning in a state of some excitement I said to a friend, "Did you hear that Apple is getting rid of DRM on iTunes?" His rather deflating response: "DRM? I don't even know what that is."
Reader, I was shocked. But of course it is true that while many listen to music, not everyone wants to follow the ever-evolving issues surrounding how we listen. However, for those who would like to get a handle on what acronyms like DRM and related signify, today's Tech Q? column is for you. And thanks as always to Radio 2's Resident Geek, Peter Cook, for his insights:
"A couple of months ago Naxos announced that their Classics Online store would begin selling music as DRM-free 320 kbps MP3 files.
Then yesterday Apple announced that they were moving their entire catalogue to DRM-free 256 kbps AAC. Prior to yesterday most of their titles were 128 kbps and contained DRM.
What do these acronyms mean? What do these changes mean? And say . . . is Apple behind, or what?
We know from the Rolling Stone article that President-Elect Barack Obama is a fan of Stevie Wonder, Dylan, Jay-Z, Yo-Yo Ma and Howlin' Wolf, among others. We know that Radio 2 listeners would like him to be a fan of Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, Oscar Peterson, Robert Charlebois, Kathleen Edwards, the Gryphon Trio...among many others.
But what about other world leaders? It seems there is no comprehensive "Playlists Of World Leaders" website, let alone a "World Leaders Recommenders" service. You'd think that'd be a hit. You know: "Queen Elizabeth likes The Beatles. If you do too, you may also want to listen to _______________." (Note, we hope the Queen is also a fan of The Tragically Hip, shown here shaking her hand.)
But there is some information available on the musical tastes of world leaders. Nelson Mandela, for example, is said to love the music of Handel, Tchaikovsky, Paul Robeson, and a range of South African artists. (ANC Biography.)
It's probably a safe bet that France's President Nicolas Sarkozy likes the music of Carla Bruni -- certainly she says he is "very supportive."
Such a pleasure hearing everything from Oscar Peterson to James Ehnes to Joni Mitchell to Cowboys Fringants yesterday as part of the ongoing Obama's Playlist enterprise -- all pieces selected by Radio 2 listeners. Nominations are welcome all week, so keep 'em coming. To see the music nominated so far, have a look at Obama's Playlist, bearing in mind the list is still very much in progress and will continue to grow.
Now to a programming note related to this evening -- tonight The Signal begins a new series, from the 2008 MusiMARS festival in Montreal. Each Wednesday night for the next two months the show will feature some music from the McGill U. contemporary music festival.
Tonight it's what The Signalites describe as "a journey in musical connectivity," with a piece called La Mémoire équivoque, in English "The Equivocal Memory." (We all have them. If memory serves.) For this work the composer, Jean Lesage, took a leaf out of the book of composers of the Baroque era: he takes each musical element and contrasts it with its opposite. To hear this piece, tune into The Signal (10 p.m.) this evening.
This morning while Tom Allen was talking about "blow drying geese," the headline Introducing Hockey (in a BBC RSS feed of music news) jumped out at me. (So did Tom saying "blow drying geese." Never did catch the rest of that story.) Anyway, the Hockey that BBC was talking about is a band from Portland, Oregon.
But such is the nature of the web that one thing surfs to another, and so this "introducing hockey" post is for those who love the game...and its related music.
There are The Zambonis, from Connecticut, who claim to be "North America's Favourite ALL-HOCKEY Band!"
For a hockey music clearing house, you'll want to look at the Canadian website, Hockey Music. Among other things, there you will find forums about Hockey Music. You may freely discuss your computer set-up for sound at the rink; which teams use live organ music, and so on.
But the greatest find has to be "Toronto Mike's" list of best songs about hockey, illustrated with video examples. To have a look and listen, go to Hockey Songs: The Best Music About Our Game.
...help choose some of the music for 49 Songs From North Of The 49th Parallel, a.k.a. Obama's playlist. But the real question is, why would you want President-Elect Barack Obama (or for that matter any other new head of state) to hear the specific piece of music you think is representative of Canada or of being Canadian?
Some Radio 2 listeners/blog readers have offered explanations of their choice -- and here are a few examples, which will perhaps inspire you to do the same! (Also note -- the current but ever-growing list of nominees is now up on the Obama's Playlist website, so have a boo.)
Gary_ohh says: "My vote for one song to be added - Northern Lights by Bruce Cockburn. A spectacular Canadian event, by a truly great Canadian artist that exemplifies all good about Canada....."
mkarnold says: "Mon Pays by Gilles Vigneault. Canada is a diverse country, East and West, North and South, plain and mountain, coast and inland, city and country, English and French and beyond. What unites us is the cold winter and our ability to survive it. I can't think of a better song articulating this than Mon Pays."
goldencanuck says: "MUST have some of The Tragically Hip on the 49 for Obama list... Wheat Kings (life on the Prairies and a Canadian injustice), Three Pistols (on some of Canada's great artists), Fifty-Mission Cap (a bit of a recognition of Canada's military service as well as some hockey references), Fireworks (for the obvious hockey references)."
While the suggestions for Canadian music that would give President-Elect Obama a sense of the musical culture of Canada continue to fly in, (see the Obama's Playlist website for full details), there is of course other programming ongoing as well, including several concerts this evening on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you may want to make note of.
The first is from the fine South African-Canadian Lorraine Klaasen, who performs a mix of traditional Township and original songs, sung Zulu and Sotho with some French and English thrown in. And you can also hear a concert date from legendary Brazilian guitarist Egberto Gismonti -- with the chamber orchestra I Musici de Montreal, performing a Gismonti original, and including a special commissioned piece. And the third is from jazz and pop singer (she of many languages), Carol Welsman.
For the full broadcast day listings, please continue reading.
If there is one thing that has unified the music press in 2009 so far, it's the inevitable urge to forecast what's to come, musically speaking. The Radio 2 Blog joined in on the weekend with Classical Music Crystal Ball. But what about other kinds of music, and other prognosticators?
The Guardian asks questions like: "Will the Blur reunion be any good? Are the Invisible going to own 2009? Who will save the music industry?"
Bruce Cockburn: Lovers In A Dangerous Time, Stan Rogers: Barrett's Privateers, Les Cowboys Fringants: Toune d'Automne, Spirit Of The West: Home For A Rest, Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Complainte Pour Ste. Catherine, The Arrogant Worms: The Last Saskatchewan Pirate, Great Lake Swimmers: This Is Not Like Home, Stompin' Tom Connors: The Hockey Song, Gordon Lightfoot: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Neil Young: Keep On Rockin' In the Freeworld, Gilles Vigneault: Mon Pays, The Tragically Hip: Wheat Kings, k.d. Lang: Hallelujah...
The above are just a fraction of the musical suggestions pouring in for President-Elect Barack Obama's Canadian music playlist -- assembled by you, Radio 2 listeners/Blog readers. You can nominate your favourite Canadian music for the 49 Songs From North Of The 49th Parallel playlist by clicking on that link which will take you to the website, or email obamasplaylist@cbc.ca, or phone 1-877-222-8166 (Press: 1)
Already even the notion of such a playlist has sparked lots of interesting conversation.
January 5th heralds a slide into the "real" working week for many, possibly just another manic Monday for others. But for every Radio 2 listener it also heralds the official "inauguration" of 49 Songs From North Of The 49th Parallel, Canada's musical wish list for President-Elect Barack Obama. It's a musical response to his upcoming inauguration.
More about this a little later today on the Radio 2 Blog -- but for now here's the skinny. Today you can start officially nominating Canadian songs you think best define Canada to (almost) President Barack Obama, via the 49 Songs From North Of The 49th Parallel site.
Then next Monday, January 12, the entries will be tallied for a shortlist of 100 pieces of music. After that, the voting begins, and the final selections will be revealed on that other inauguration day, January 20th.
People love to sing. That's a truism. And people also love listening to people sing -- truism #2. Today's edition of Farrago With Jurgen Gothe (Sunday 5:00 p.m. 5:30 NT) takes note of these happy truths with a celebration of the vocal ensemble. The ensembles come from Italy, Scotland, Ireland, the San Juan Islands, Finland, Germany and even darkest Toronto!
But only one, I believe, operates in the vocal ensemble sub-genre of "shouting." This is not when the conductor snaps at the sopranos for talking while he/she is working with the tenors. This is legitimate, musical shouting. You may sniff and think, 'huh, novelty.' Perhaps it is. But it is still surprisingly riveting novelty, and certainly not without real musical consideration, as well as being demonstrative of a warped sense of humour.
The leaders in the field, played today by Jurgen, are Finland's Huutajat. As they put it: "The emphatically disciplined expression does not exclude primitive force; precise articulation mixes with non-linguistic howl; amusing turns to serious without warning."
This is a somewhat older example of this ensemble in performance, but it will certainly give you a sense of their oeuvre:
Shouting in music is not confined to the Fins alone though.
Blogger Niyam gives it a partial thumbs up, as it were, while taking a few shots at Steve Jobs along the way. We'll stick with the thumbs up bit:
"...the new ad, with a digital re-incarnation of John Lennon. Okay, it’s a bit cheesy, the voice and accent are quite fake, but the message is strong and somewhat inspiring. "
Laptop Magazine's blog polls its readers as to whether Lennon would have endorsed the project were he still extant -- at time of bloggin' the "yes" vote was decidedly out in front.
Then there was the totally shocking and unexpected news that CD sales dropped in the U.S. in 2008, but digital sales increased.
Usually on Sundays the "Today On Radio 2" post begins with a lowdown on Sunday Afternoon In Concert. Its four hours encompass such a lot of fine music, and today is no exception, with the performance of a new violin concerto by Saskatchewan composer David McIntyre for Regina Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Eduard Minevich -- in honour of the RSO's 100th anniversary.
But Mr. Minevich, a fine violinist, provides a handy segue to another broadcast of note -- a special documentary about four violinists airing today on Inside The Music (Sunday Edition 12:00 p.m., 12:30 NT). It's called "The Soul Of The Fiddle," and it features Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli, Jean Luc Ponty and the late Canadian fiddler, Oliver Schroer.
Please have a look at Journey Into The Soul Of The Fiddle for more information about the documentary...and for all the day's highlights, continue reading.
Today on In Tune (Saturday 5:00 p.m., 5:30 NT) Katherine does a little classical music forecasting -- suggesting some of the music people will be talking about, reading about and (obviously) listening to in 2009.
So this is a bit of a companion piece, without the benefit of having heard Katherine's show. You could do your own set of predictions if you like too -- and see how they all match up.
1. Much Mendelssohn:
Why? He was born in 1809, so this is his bicentenary year. To keep abreast of all things Felix, you may wish to follow Jessica Duchen's Felixitations.
Sub-Prediction: You will hear a plethora of Purcell, Handel and Hayden as well.
It's probably not too big a stretch to say La Bohème is on the shortest of short lists that is headed: World's Most Popular Operas. It's the ultimate story of love, not among the ruins, but among the artistic lives that inhabit the impoverished but vital Latin Quarter in Paris.
La Bohème is frequently called timeless, and that too seems fair -- fairly recent evidence of its continuing influence includes Rent and Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!
Should you wish a glimpse at both sides of the coin about this production, broadcast today on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT), two prominent New York publications provide.
The New York Times says "Franco Zeffirelli’s overblown Bohème returns to the Met for its regular airing" while the New Yorker heralds the return of "Franco Zeffirelli’s bustling and beloved production of La Bohème." But neither carp about stars Maija Kovalevska as Mimi and Ramón Vargas as Rudolfo, in fact the former mini-review says:
"The Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska is an affecting Mimi, singing with a fluid, dark-hued voice, earthy timbre and powerful top notes. Ramón Vargas is an ardent Rodolfo, and the excellent baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is a standout as Marcello. Susanna Phillips makes her house debut as a sassy Musetta. The French conductor Frédéric Chaslin leads a lithe, aptly paced reading of the score."
And one more broadcast note -- on the subject of matters bohemian, following the opera host Bill Richardson takes a look at "the bohemian life." (Plus he plays some music from sound restoration guru Ward Marston.)
In 1900 the Met staged La Bohème for the first time - 108 years and more than 1,200 performances later it's still amazingly popular. Today Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT) broadcasts the opera, starring Maija Kovalevska as Mimi and lyric tenor Ramón Vargas as Rudolfo.
For those who are new to the opera here's the story. It's a wintery tale that takes place on a cold Christmas Eve when a seamstress named Mimi visits a neighbour (the poet Rudolfo) looking for a match to light a candle. A match of another kind ensues (egad, what corniness, sorry). But it's the hothouse world (and cold garret reality) of Boho Paris, so the course of love runs not smoothly.
Stay tuned to The Radio 2 Blog for more details about the opera Saturday morning, and please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
The Soul Of The Fiddle is a special one hour documentary by Canadian documentarist Cindy Bisaillon (who has previously done work for CBC Radio's Ideas), running this Sunday on Inside The Music (Sunday Edition 12:00 p.m., 12:30 NT). If it sounds vaguely familiar that's because it is -- it was aired once before on Radio 2 to a very positive response, for example one listener said the following: "Fantastic program. Some of the music played during this program (like the last piece) was absolutely stunning. I also appreciated the discourse around musical genres interbreeding to produce such beauty."
I'm happy to report that the show can be heard again on your radio this Sunday -- and it will be included in the Inside The Music Audio Archive, available next week.
The documentary looks at four extraordinary violinists, Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli, Jean Luc Ponty and the late Canadian fiddler, Oliver Schroer. The interviews come from over three decades, but there's a common thread -- they touch on the distinctive individual musical terrains of each man, but also the shared perception that human beings are really channels for the music.
Recently, in an article by Robert Everett-Green in the Globe, he concluded with something Oliver Schroer once said that sums this up -- I'm paraphrasing here, but it was something like this: "I don't play music, I catch it as it passes by."
The Radio 2 Blog has taken a restrained approach with the year-end "best of" lists when it comes to music. After all, they're everywhere -- try Largehearted Boy's 2008 Year-End Online Music list of lists for proof of that!
But today the Radio 2 Video Fest gives in and takes a small look back with a shortlist of the Best Music Videos posted in this weekly column. A jury of experts spent hours reviewing the most entertaining videos in the five following categories, and after our chartered accountants carefully tallied the results, this is what they came up with:
Had to really think about that date, but yes, it is still 2009 today, just like it was yesterday. And today on Radio 2 one of the highlights is a concert broadcast on Canada Live (8 p.m.) with Sarah McLachlan, a solo performance at the piano (and guitar), recorded as part of B.C.'s 150th birthday celebrations. (And also available online at Concerts On Demand.)
The grand finale, in Victoria, was a free ten-hour concert, attended by over 100,000 people. Among them, blogger Duane Storey who said of the Ms. McLachlan's performance that she was "the big surprise.":
"I had never seen her live before, and was absolutely astounded by her voice and how personable her stage presence was. She hit the stage with nothing more than a grand piano and a guitar, and played six or seven songs. The crowd was pretty much in awe, and so was I. I sort of wished she would have kept playing all night, as it was really quite amazing."
And it is that "quite amazing" concert you can hear this evening.
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
So here it is: January 1, 2009. Everyone and his blog and his blog's best friend have been looking back of late, but now it's time to turn in the other direction. Not by making "resolutions," they're too daunting -- and besides, bets if you made some last night you're probably already toying with the notion of breaking them.
Although that said -- quick aside for the musical-resolution-making types: Should you need some inspiration you may want to have a look at Not Just Another New Year's Resolution -- resolutions regarding New Brunswick based music -- 2009 Musical Resolutions -- resolutions specific to violin players -- or AskMen -- celebrity resolutions regarding playing piano like Chris Martin of Coldplay.
But this holiday day post eschews the resolution and resolutely turns towards the idea of musical "intentions" instead. According to Kavit Haria, a "musicians' coach," having musical intentions requires searching our innermost self to find out how passionately we want to achieve a specific musical goal.
It has to be said: Happy New Year! Actually, I suppose it doesn't have to be said, but it seems churlish to say have a "So-So New Year!" or even have a "Better Than Last Year New Year!" So we'll happily settle for "happy."
On this first day of 2009 I'd like to start with a quick thanks to my colleague Philly Markowitz for doing such a great job over the past week whilst I was busy with important matters such as eating too much candy. Philly braved extremely trying winter conditions where she had to shovel out her internet service provider on a daily basis, all to keep the Blog fires burning. Thanks also to Mr. Peter Cook for his fine year-end Tech Qs column yesterday -- it is a wonderful resource he provides Radio 2 Blog readers on a regular basis.
As for today, there is much fine music to accompany you on this first day of the new year. For example, on Tempo you can hear the music listeners said they'd pack in their suitcases -- were they going into outer space -- Julie's nod to the International Year of Astronomy, now upon us. (Would you pack a suitcase though? Probably not, more likely it'd be called something like a "SuitPod," and it wouldn't roll on little wheels.) Anyway, you can hear your suggestions for "space music" in the second hour of Tempo (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) today.
Finally, a note for those looking ahead to this evening -- two fine concerts on Canada Live (8 p.m.): Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings followed by Ellington Songbook Cabaret, featuring John Alcorn, Don Francks and the great Jackie Richardson, backed by Andrew Craig and what the Can. Live folks describe as "a killer band."
Please keep reading for the rest of the day's broadcast highlights:
Sounds like it could be the name of a soap opera, or at least some epic about a multi-generational family. But "The Raga Saga" is a "webisode" that follows the development of a new composition for sitar and orchestra, written by Ravi Shankar and performed by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Shankar's daughter, Anoushka Shankar. 
Opera fans, this is your first heads up about what's on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera (Saturday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT) today -- more to come later in the morning on The Radio 2 Blog. 
We all sing. And some of us regret it. Such as those who are victims of "karaoke rage." (As reported by Slate: 
2009 is a big year for any number of reasons. It's not 2008, that's one. Another is that it's the 200th anniversary of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn. And for those interested in 
Some drama on an operatic scale this week, right here at home. American tenor Jon Villars departing hastily during a public dress rehearsal of Fidelio on Wednesday made 
The saying "everyone's a critic" was never more true than in these webby/wiki/bloggy times. Anyone and everyone can weigh/debate/judge -- in the biggest public forum imaginable. So it's not a surprise that Radio 2's own 
Insert drum roll here! The top 49 pieces of music that make up 
Let's start with favourites. Favourite Blue Note Recording: 
A few years ago researchers in Taiwan studied the sleeping patters of 60 elderly people who were having trouble sleeping. They had a choice of listening to music or not, before going to sleep. (Music that was all around 60-80 bpm, so on the slow side, of various styles.) The people who chose to listen to music reported a 35% improvement in their sleep. (For more details see this 
It's been 60 years since the United Nations passed the 
"Montreal is the second most important disco market on the continent, outside New York."
We know from 
...help choose some of the music for 
So here it is: January 1, 2009. Everyone and his blog and his blog's best friend have been looking back of late, but now it's time to turn in the other direction. Not by making "resolutions," they're too daunting -- and besides, bets if you made some last night you're probably already toying with the notion of breaking them. 
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