|
| |
 
|
|
December 3, 2000 Do You Know the Guitar? Listen If you think you already know the guitar, listen in this week for some marvelous surprises. Bill McGlaughlin's guests, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet - LAGQ - have been expanding the solo and ensemble possibilities of this universal instrument for nearly two decades now, and their program this week revels in both cultural cross-pollination and sheer invention. We'll hear music by J. S. Bach and Peter Maxwell Davies, as well as several works by LAGQ members themselves that take inspiration from African, Indonesian, and Celtic musical traditions. "The group performed with the sort of inspired yet deceptively easygoing virtuosity
that exists when discipline and spontaneity are balanced to perfection." Bill Kanengiser: Mbira
December 10, 2000 Call of the Wild Listen Hélène Grimaud is a pianist known for her free spirit - she raises three wolves at home and has a degree in ethology (the study of animal behavior). And despite her training at the French Conservatoire, she prefers to throw her passion into the weightier German repertoire. "The French school usually focuses on articulation and lightning-quick finger movement, but that was never really my style. For me the strength comes from the inside - using your whole body weight to produce the sound." This week on Saint Paul Sunday she plays two grand German pieces: Ferruccio Busoni's sublime, almost gothic Chaconne transcription from J. S. Bach's second Partita in d minor for violin, and Johannes Brahms' rhapsodic Sonata No. 2, a work composed when German Romanticism was in full flower. Johann Sebastian Bach/Ferruccio Busoni: Chaconne in d minor from Partita No. 2 in d, B.W.V. 1004 Musician discography - Hélène Grimaud's Web site - More about Hélène Grimaud
December 17, 2000 Recorders Listen Many of us know the recorder as the small wooden handpipe we played as children. This week on Saint Paul Sunday, the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet - an ensemble whose performances draw upon a forest of recorders of every size, timbre, and personality - will reveal to us the instrument's infinite possibilities. In addition to music of Bach, Vivaldi, and others, we'll hear an astonishing new work by the young Italian composer Fulvio Caldini. Anonymous: Caça 'O virgo splendens'
December 24, 2000 Christmas Carolers Listen For a celebration of such rustic origins - the birth of a child in a manger - Christmas is extravagantly blessed with great music, much of it meant for singing. This week on Saint Paul Sunday, host Bill McGlaughlin welcomes one of our country's finest vocal ensembles, Chanticleer, to brighten the season. These twelve extraordinary singers will bring Advent and Christmas repertoire spanning five centuries - a motet, a sacred madrigal, an African-American spiritual, two mystical works by living European composers, and several familiar carols. It's the perfect accompaniment for your holidays. Robert Young: There is no Rose of such virtue Musician discography - More about this week's program - Musician's Web Site
December 31, 2000 Be of Good Cheer Listen There is something infinitely noble and gladdening about brass music. Celebrate a proper Boxing Day with the London Brass this week on Saint Paul Sunday. These extraordinary brass artists will bring us a feast of music from a wide range of brass repertoire. We'll hear airs and dances by John Dowland, some variations on Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony, the Duke Ellington classic "Caravan," and two noble canzones by a composer whose name has long been intimately linked with brass music, Giovanni Gabrieli. John Dowland: Airs and Dances Musician discography - Musician's Web site - More about this week's program Audio from previous shows is archived in the program catalog. Go to the catalog to listen to previous shows. |
  | | American Public Media Home | Search | Contact ©2009 American Public Media | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy |
