On this date, the 30^th anniversary of John Lennon’s death, New Sounds celebrates the influence that Lennon had outside his sphere.  We’ll hear music by Vijay Iyer, his "re-imagining" of "Imagine,” and Canadian electric guitarist/composer Tim Brady’s “Strumming: homage à John Lennon.”  Of the many homages, we’ll also hear a lovely meditation for piano and cello built around the chord sequence from John Lennon’s “Imagine,” from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis. 

Then there’s a kind of tribute from New York composer Michael Gordon, in his piece, "I Buried Paul." The work starts the way that “Strawberry Fields Forever ends,” and is titled with the words that  John Lennon, according to unverified legend, intoned as it fades out.  We'll also listen to a suite for piano, Chinese flute and cello by David Lanz, music from the Vitamin String Quartet, and music by Michael Hedges as well.

PROGRAM #3147, Tribute to John Lennon    (First aired on 12/08/2010)