Stone and Steel

Friday, February 27, 2009

In addition to his many performances and recordings, New York-based composer/saxophonist Patrick Zimmerli runs a concert series featuring his own genre-bending band, Emergence. We hear a sample of his work in the rhythmically flowing "Stone and Steel" for Cello, Piano, and Percussion. Also, a track from Hélène Grimaud's new Bach CD, as well as offerings from the Turtle Island String Quartet, Clarice Assad, and others.

Also Featured Tonight:

Minoru Miki / Four Seasons - Autumn and Harvest Dance
Guy Klucevsek / Cameos
Alan Hovhaness / Symphony No. 10 (Vahaken)
John Fitz Rogers / Blue River Variations
Louis de Freitas Branco / Artificial Paradises (1910)

Thelonious Monk at Town Hall

Thursday, February 26, 2009

On the 50th anniversary of Thelonious Monk's seminal 1959 orchestra performance at Town Hall, bandleader Charles Tolliver celebrates with a recreation of that legendary event. WNYC carries the entire concert live, with Evening Music host Terrance McKnight and writer Sam Stephenson, director of the Jazz Loft Project at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

This event was presented by Duke University & produced by Duke Performances & Duke's Center for Documentary Studies.

Slideshow: Monk@TownHall

Counterpoint Premieres

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Formed by the conductor Robert de Cormier in 2000, the chamber vocal ensemble Counterpoint has been an advocate of modern composers since its inception. We hear a sample from their album Counterpoint Premieres, with Paul Alan Levi's jazz-infused memorial to poet Bert Chernow, "Bye, Bye Toots." Also, mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter takes a swing at Kurt Weill, and the New York Chamber Symphony essays Howard Hanson's impressionistic Serenade for Flute, Harp, and Strings.

Also Featured Tonight:

Anna Priscilla Risher / Mazurka Brillante
Olivier Messiaen / Fanatasie
John Adams / "Naive and Sentimental Music"
Charles Gounod / Symphony in B-flat, "Petite"
Igor Stravinsky / Symphony in C
Peteris Vasks / Messages
Aram Khachaturian / Violin Concerto in D

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Songs of Separation

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

We hear William Grant Still's powerful setting of five related works by African American poets in "Songs of Separation." Also, the Young People's Chorus of New York City perform music by Michael Nyman, and cellist Maya Beiser takes up with percussionist Glen Velez for an inventive work that speaks to the collective unconscious, "Kinship."

Also Featured Tonight:

Chen Yi / Shuo
Gavin Bryars / "The Archangel Trip"
Richard Strauss / Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 11
Kurt Weill / Symphony No. 1
Richard Wagner / Siegfried Idyll
Dmitri Shostakovich / Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Songs Without Words

Monday, February 23, 2009

Beginning with Mendelssohn, the "Songs Without Words" genre has been explored by several composers, including Charles Valentin Alkan and Edvard Grieg. We hear a lesser-known version from early 20th Century English composer York Bowen. Also minimalist icon Terry Riley plays his own "Magic Knot Waltz" for piano in "just" intonation, and we hear from the late contemporary composer/teacher M. William Karlins with his post-expressionist second Piano Sonata.

Also Featured Tonight:

QQQ / Toykey Joykey
George Crumb / A Psalm for the Night-Wanderer
Johann Sebastian Bach / Cantata No. 6 "Bleib bei uns"
Lukas Foss / "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird"
Zoltan Kodaly / Cello Sonata, Op. 8
Franz Schubert / "Wanderer Fantasy," Op. 15, D. 760
Gavin Bryars / Cadman Requiem

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Alice Tully Hall: Opening Night Broadcast

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Airs at 8PM on 93.9FM and wnyc.org
WNYC brings you an exclusive vantage point from backstage, as Terrance McKnight and American Public Media's Fred Child (host of Performance Today) co-host the opening night concert of Lincoln Center's newly renovated Alice Tully Hall. In a program that ranges from 15th-century Sephardic music to works by Bach and Golijov, the performance features the celebrated viola da gamba player Jordi Savall, soprano Montserrat Figueras, pianist Leon Fleisher, cellist Maya Beiser, the Brentano String Quartet, members of The Chamber Music Society, and conductor David Robertson leading the Juilliard Orchestra.

The Program

Sephardic Invocation: Three Romances
Palestina Hermoza y Santa (Anonymous)
El Moro de Antequera (Traditional)
Una matica de ruda (Anonymous)
Chromatic fantasia and fugue in D minor (JS Bach)
Mariel (Osvaldo Golijov)
Octet for Winds (Igor Stravinsky)
Grosse Fuge (Ludwig van Beethoven)
Suite from Pulcinella (Igor Stravinsky)

Alice Tully Hall Opening Nights Festival

My Walk With Ligeti

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Cutting-edge accordionist Guy Klucevsek lends a New Wave cinema feel to "My Walk With Ligeti," a poignant track from his 2007 release, Song of Remembrance. Also, we hear from Sam Amidon's new album of folk song riffs, All Is Well, and orchestral selections by American composer Morton Gould (who passed away on this date 12 years ago).

Robert E. Telson / Calling You
Jose Revelo / Fantasia en 6/8
Ernesto Lecuona / Danza Negra
Belinda Reynolds / Dust
Henry Purcell / Indian Queen: Incidental Music

Pagina de Buenos Aires

Friday, February 20, 2009

We sample a few tracks from composer/pianist Fernando Otero's album of Nuevo Tango, "Pagina de Buenos Aires." Also, selections from pre-Baroque composer Michael Praetorius's famous collection of dances, "Terpsichore." Rounding out the evening are piano works from Chopin, Gershwin, and Faure, plus a Shostakovich concerto featuring the composer himself at the keyboard.

Also Featured Tonight:

Thelonious Monk / "Friday the 13th"
Adrian Klumpes / Unrest
Gabriel Faure / Cello Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 117
Igor Stravinsky / Four Norwegian Moods

Thelonius

Thursday, February 19, 2009

We launch the evening with an eponymous jam from Thelonious Monk and his ensemble (WNYC broadcasts the recreation of Monk's famous concert at Town Hall on February 26th). Paired with that are two works with their own ebb and flow from Maurice Ravel and Isaac Albeniz. Also, we hear Duke Ellington's "Goutelas Suite," originally meant for private consumption, to commemorate the renovation of a 13th century French chateau.

Also Featured Tonight:

Anton Webern / Two Pieces for Cello and Piano
Ned Rorem / Three Barcarolles Nos. 1,2,and 3
Julius Williams / Toccatina for String Orchestra
Virgil Thomson / Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra
Johann Sebastian Bach / Cantata No.113, "Herr Jesu Christ..."
Phillip Glass / Saxophone quartet
Igor Stravinsky / Les Noces

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Story of You and Me

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Korean-born cellist/composer Okkyung Lee's musical roots are in improvisation and film music, both of which influence her debut CD, Nihm. We hear a sample from that album in the dreamy (and slightly melancholy) duet for harp and cello, "Story of You and Me." Also, Kyle Gann's witty and ironic waltzes for Disklavier, plus atypical works by Frederic Chopin and Gioacchino Rossini.

Also Featured Tonight:

Gavin Bryars / "The South Downs"
Lukas Foss / "Renaissance" Flute Concerto
Avner Dorman / Piano Sonata No.1, "Classical"
Vittorio Giannini / Piano Concerto
Olivier Messiaen / Hymne Pour Grand Orchestre

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Hoodoo Zephyr

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

We sample John Adams' album of smooth electronica, Hoodoo Zephyr, with "Tourist Song." Also, folk music of Russia and Armenia, paired with an offering from Brazilian singer/songwriter Caetano Veloso. Other highlights include mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson performing Brahms and soprano Phyllis Curtin in a song by Ned Rorem, as well as choral music by Jean Sibelius.

Also Featured Tonight:

Ferdinand Ries / Sonatina in B flat
William Perry / Jamestown Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
Jacques Loussier / Trumpet Concerto
Gabriel Faure / Pelleas et Melisande, Suite, Op.80
Antonio Vivaldi / Stabat Mater, RV 621
Ferruccio Busoni / Fantasia Contrappuntistica
Peter Askim / Concerto for Double Bass and String Orchestra

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Appalachia Waltz

Monday, February 16, 2009

Multi genre violinist and composer Mark O'Connor has famously brought Bluegrass over into the classical realm with works like "Appalachia Waltz" and the "Johnny Appleseed Suite." We hear both of those works tonight. Also, vocal music by Aaron Copland and Meredith Monk, plus Christopher O'Riley's pianistic take on songs by Radiohead.

Also Featured Tonight:

Maurice Ravel / Alborada del gracioso
Pauline Viardot-Garcia / Six Morceaux
York Bowen / Three Serious Dances, Op.51
George Antheil / String Quartet No. 3
Louis de Freitas Branco / Symphony No. 2
Jean Sibelius / Snofrid
Josef Suk / Tale of a Winter's Evening

The Yelm Sessions

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Enigmatic composer/performer Eyvind Kang makes music by uniting forces big and small, near and far. We hear selections from his 2007 release, The Yelm Sessions. Also, tracks from another interesting young composer on the rise, Paola Prestini, as we sample her latest CD on the Tzadik label, Body Maps.

Also Featured Tonight:

Stefania De Kenessey / "Traveling Light"
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber / Sonata IV in D
Johann Sebastian Bach / Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor
Marjan Mozetich / Bassoon Concerto

Your Valentine Dedications

Saturday, February 14, 2009

The ultimate in romance: you, your loved one, candlelight, a comfortable setting, maybe a bottle of wine, and, of course, the essential ingredient for intimacy—Evening Music on the radio. Be they ardent, poetic, whimsical, outrageous, or delicate, David Garland plays your Valentine's Day dedications from 7PM-10PM.

Make a dedication

Spring Steel

Friday, February 13, 2009

Oregon composer/performer Richard Crandell has carved out a niche writing quirky minimalist music for the Zimbabwean mbira; we hear selections from his album with percussionist Cyro Baptista, Spring Steel. Also, offerings from English composer/instrumentalist Simon Jeffes and his own unique ensemble, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.

Also Featured Tonight:

Johann Sebastian Bach / Violin Sonata No. 3 in E
Claude Debussy / "Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra"
Aaron Jay Kernis / Air for Violin
Arvo Part / Credo

The Unfolding Opium Poppy

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Experimentalist Dave Soldier has been the catalyst for music-making by exotic animals, children from across the globe, and of course, himself. We hear his searingly lyric melodrama for violin and piano, "The Unfolding Opium Poppy." Also, a Broadway offering from golden-voiced opera star Samuel Ramey, and composer Ingram Marshall's fittingly weighty work for piano, "Authentic Presence."

Also Featured Tonight:

Claude Debussy / La plus que lente
Georgy Sviridov / Hymns to the Fatherland
Igor Stravinsky / Four Etudes, Op. 7
Zoltan Kodaly / "Missa Brevis in B"

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Cowbell Melodies

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The marimba and steel drum come together with mesmerizing effect in Brooklyn-based percussion ensemble Loop 2.4.3's "Almglocken Melodien" ("Cowbell Melodies"). Also, music from West African kora master Mamadou Diabate and two performer/tunesmiths from the early 1900's, Anna Priscilla Risher and David Popper.

Also Featured Tonight:

Kurt Weill / Happy End: Surabaya-Johnny
Eric Ewazen / Ballade for Clarinet and Piano
Peteris Vasks / Messages
Samuel Barber / "Prayers of Kierkegaard," Op. 30
Richard Strauss / "Metamorphosen"

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

New York Counterpoint

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Although it wasn't written as program music, Steve Reich's "New York Counterpoint" reflects the hustle and bustle of the city with its many-layered rhythms. Another rhythmic offering for tonight is "A Chant with Claps," John Cage's whimsical and circular "lesson" in music history. Continuing with the circular theme is David Diamond's delightful "Rounds for String Orchestra," performed by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Also Featured Tonight:

Edison Denisov / Chamber Music for Viola, Harpsichord and Strings
Joshua Uzoigwe / Talking Drums
Peteris Vasks / Dona nobis pacem
Emmanuel Chabrier / Suite pastorale
Ingram Marshall / "Fog Tropes II" in F

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

In The Tavern

Monday, February 09, 2009

We hear "In taberna" ("In the Tavern"), Carl Orff's rollicking wallop of a scenario from his popular cantata "Carmina Burana." Along the same theme, crossover ensemble Hesperus lends their own particular voice to the traditional ballad "Drunkard's Lament."

Also Featured Tonight:

Pablo Sarasate / Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20
Sergei Rachmaninoff / Piano Trio Elegiaque No. 1 in G Minor
Wynton Marsalis / "Jump Start" (Slow Drag)
Alexander Glazunov / Saxophone Quartet Op.109
Randall Thompson / The Testament of Freedom (1943)
James MacMillan / The Berserking

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Requiem for a Dying Planet

Sunday, February 08, 2009

We hear Dutch cellist and composer Ernst Reijseger’s "Requiem for a Dying Planet." Written as a "film for the ears," Reijseger's Requiem is drawn from the music he wrote for Werner Herzog's documentaries, "Wild Blue Yonder" and "The White Diamond."

Also Featured Tonight:

Johann Sebastian Bach / Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor
Bright Sheng / Pastoral Ballade
Francis Poulenc / "Un soir de neige"
Francis Poulenc / "Figure Humaine"

Chauveau; Baksa, and Blitzstein

Saturday, February 07, 2009

We hear selections from French composer/sound sculptor Sylvain Chauveau's original soundtrack, "Nuage." Also, music from New York-born composer (and former student of the late Lukas Foss) Robert Baksa, who celebrates a birthday today. And a musical rarity is heard via the WNYC archives: selections from Marc Blitzstein's "No for an Answer" — written as a followup to his iconic musical play "Cradle Will Rock."

Also featured Tonight:

Erik Satie / Trois morceaux en forme de poire
Traditional / "The Gaelic Flute"
Andrew York / "Passage"
Kayhan Kalhor / Silent City

Related Link:
Sylvain Chauveau on Spinning on Air (January 18, 2009)

Harpsichord Rock

Friday, February 06, 2009

Contemporary composer György Ligeti cleverly deconstructs the rock genre via harpsichord in "Hungarian Rock." Also, music from another progressive artist (albeit from the 17th century), Jean-Fèry Rebel, plus a musical nod to an early Igor Stravinsky work, "Scherzo fantastique," which premiered 100 years ago today.

Also Featured Tonight:

Johannes Brahms / St. Antoni Variations
Phillip Bimstein / Louie Louie Variations
Francis Poulenc / La Voix Humaine (selections)

The Boatmen's Song

Thursday, February 05, 2009

We hear a remarkable offering from the Young People's Chorus of New York City in Bright Sheng's chant-driven folk setting of "The Boatmen's Song." Also, romantic gems for piano via Franz Liszt and Otterino Respighi, plus some colorful orchestral dances by Charles Ives and Frederick Delius.

Also Featured Tonight:

Juventino Rosas / Sobre las olas (Over the Waves)
Samuel Barber / Cello Sonata, Op. 6
Francis Poulenc / Four Penitential Motets
Gerald Finzi / Five Bagatelles
Sebastian Currier / Quartetset (1995)

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

American Icon

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Combining 17th-century musical convention with the best of modern kitsch, composer Michael Daugherty pays clever tribute to an American icon in his "Le Tombeau de Liberace" (The Tomb of Liberace). Also, cowboy-themed music from pianist/composer Edward Joseph Collins — who, incidentally, was the son-in-law of another American icon, Oscar Meyer.

Also Featured Tonight:

Randall Thompson / The Eternal Dove
Egberto Gismonti / Musica para Cordas
Charles-Valentin Alkan / 12 Etudes in Minor Keys (selections)
William Bolcom / Capriccio
Kaija Saariaho / "Quatre Instants" (Four instants)
Claude Debussy / Violin Sonata in G Minor

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Body Maps

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Founder and director of the award-winning interdisciplinary performing collective VisionIntoArt, composer Paola Prestini writes music that is at once sweeping and intimate. We sample her recent album on the Tzadik label, Body Maps. Also, John Tavener's devotional choral piece in memory of Princess Diana, "Song for Athene," and John Adams' early experimental chorale for orchestra, "Christian Zeal and Activity." We also continue our tribute to legendary musician Lukas Foss, who passed away earlier this week.

Also Featured Tonight:

Richard Strauss: Metamorphosen
James P. Johnson: Jazzamine Concerto
David del Tredici: Trio
Igor Stravinsky: “Dumbarton Oaks” Concerto in E-flat

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Toy Piano Blues

Monday, February 02, 2009

We hear pianist and toy instrument virtuoso Margaret Leng Tan in Toby Twining's melancholy "Satie Blues," featuring the toy piano. Also, mesmerizing tracks from New York-based indie percussion ensemble Loop 2.4.3; Evan Ziporyn's haunting and distant "Ocean," and Norwegian songs by Agathe Backer Grondahl paired with traditional Norwegian melodies from early music ensemble Trio Mediaeval.

Also Featured Tonight:

John Corigliano / Gazebo Dances for Band
Morton Gould / Spirituals for String Choir and Orchestra
John Tavener / "...Depart in Peace"
Vladimir Ussachevsky / Missa Brevis

Music Playlists

View WNYC's music playlists dating back to 2001 (full playlists are generally posted the day after broadcast). For playlist inquiries, please contact Listener Services via email or at 646-829-4000.

Ear to Ear: John Zorn

Sunday, February 01, 2009

A fearless protagonist, John Zorn is renowned for his uncompromising music and resolute character — both of which have greatly influenced the progressive music scene. The multi-dimensional composer, performer, and improviser joins host David Garland to share samples from his mammoth music collection, and to talk about his most recent collaboration with American avant-garde playwright Richard Forman, entitled "Astronome: A Night at the Opera."

Purchase John Zorn CDs at amazon.com
Download John Zorn tracks from iTunes
John Zorn on MySpace
Tzadik Records