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WNYC's Coverage of the Republican National Convention
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Selected Shorts featuring "The Trouble of Marcie Flint," by John Cheever
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On the Media: Surviving Convention Coverage
Street Shots Challenge
New Sounds Archive
March 2006
New Releases March 2006
Friday, March 31, 2006
It's that time of the month again for our monthly program of new releases. John Schaefer once again picks through the spring flood of CDs that have been sent to his office to find new releases worthy of showcasing in tonight's program. [Oh if only we'd had a wide-angle lens to capture the REST of the office, and not merely the desk...]
Battleship Potemkin
Thursday, March 30, 2006
From the New Sounds Live/Silent Film series at the World Financial Center, The Clubfoot Orchestra plays a new score by Richard Marriott for Sergei Eisenstein’s famous silent film “Battleship Potemkin.” One of the most renowned films of the century, "Potemkin" contains one of the best-known sequences in cinema’s entire history – the harrowing fall of a baby carriage down the Odessa steps. Eisenstein’s depiction of political oppression and violence portrayed the Russian revolution in microcosm and was banned worldwide for years after its premiere.
Blues Fallin' Down Like Rain, part 2
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
For this New Sounds, hear more excerpts from the NY Guitar Festival concert series, reinterpretations of classic blues by Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Elizabeth Cotten, and Charlie Patton. Some of the live performers included Jorma Kaukonen, Taj Mahal, Toshi Reagon, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and many more.
» New York Guitar Festival web site
Acoustic Ambient Music
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
On this edition of New Sounds, there’s brand new music from the composer and founder of the recently revived Cold Blue Music label, Jim Fox. Brooding and beautifully ominous, the piece is called “Descansos, past,” and was written in memory of composer/performer John Kuhlman, who died a few years ago. Also, listen to music from Anton Batagov, who explores musical mathematics and harmonic ratios as hidden in the ten-dot pyramid, the Tetractys. Plus Harold Budd’s swan song - Avalon Sutra, a carefully chosen path between ambient music and the “m” word. Budd is the composer and pianist who has declared that he is quitting the composing life, explaining he has said all he wants to and does not mind disappearing.
Bang on a Can PCF Concert
Monday, March 27, 2006
From the New Sounds Live concert series, the Bang on a Can All-Stars play works commissioned for them through the People's Commissioning Fund. Hear the spare and intense work of Yoav Gal ("Doctor King"), the quirky and driving music of Annie Gosfield ("Overvoltage Rumble"), and the ecstatic and witty music of composer/drummer John Hollenbeck ("Rainbow Jimmies.") Plus revisit Edward Ruchalski's richly textured piece "Another Infinity," a reprise from the first People's Commissioning Fund concert in 2000, where guitar and bass anchor gamelan-like vibraphone and piano phrases, all intertwined with clarinet and cello lines.
Persian Masters and More
Sunday, March 26, 2006
On this episode of New Sounds, Persian kemanche (spike-fiddle) master Kayhan Kalhor and his ensemble join John Schaefer in the WNYC studio. Through his solo concerts and work with Ghazal and Yo-Yo Ma, Kalhor has been instrumental in bringing a larger audience to Persian music. Hear live interpretations by Kalhor and ensemble, performing and improvising traditional Iranian (Persian) music. Plus, live performances from bansuri (bamboo flute) player Steve Gorn and Japanese shakuhachi player Ralph Samuelson.
Dutch Master
Saturday, March 25, 2006
There’s music by contemporary Dutch master Louis Andriessen on this edition of New Sounds. His particular blend of minimalism, robust harmony, and a certain “American style” can’t exactly be pinned down as jazz, but neither does it sound like “classical” music from academic circles. Hear his “M is for Man, Music, Mozart”, which despite the “Mozart” in the title, has a strong undercurrent of jazz in the piece. Plus, hear Andriessen’s influence in other pieces by English composer Steve Martland, Irishman Donnacha Dennehy, and Bang on a Can’s Michael Gordon.
Turntablist Guitarist
Friday, March 24, 2006
The digital, digitized, and digitally refracted guitar-based music of Andre LaFosse is on this edition of New Sounds. LaFosse's latest release of "turntablist guitar" music - call it something like funk/glitch/hip-hop - just happens to have been performed live, on solo electric guitar. Actually, for live shows, La Fosse prepares his guitar to go through five Echoplex units simultaneously - creating endless looping possibilities and a lot of brain-freeze.
Mingus and Monk
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Explore the music Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk, New Sounds-style. From Cuban percussionist Anga to the Massachusetts big band Either/Orchestra, from ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers to avant-garde composer George Crumb, the echoes of Monk and Mingus can be heard in a wide variety of new settings. We'll sample a few of the more unusual renditions of their classic tunes for this New Sounds program.
Blues Fallin' Down Like Rain, Pt. 1
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
For this New Sounds, hear excerpts from the NY Guitar Festival concert series, featuring reinterpretations of classic blues by Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Elizabeth Cotten, and Charlie Patton. Some of the live performers included Jorma Kaukonen, Taj Mahal, Toshi Reagon, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and many more.
» New York Guitar Festival web site
Phantom of the Opera
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
From the New Sounds Live/Silent Film series at the World Financial Center, The Clubfoot Orchestra plays a new score by Richard Marriott for the Lon Chaney silent film “Phantom of the Opera.” Lon Chaney’s phantom is the quintessential horror film demon – both touching and terrifying, while Marriott's music underlies the mysterious phantom who is mad with love for Christine.
Abrahamic Music
Monday, March 20, 2006
For this New Sounds, listen to music that celebrates the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Listen to a tune called Children of Abraham, and perhaps some more soul-bop-klezmer-boogie from Paul Shapiro, from a recent record called “It's in the Twilight.” There’s also music from Osvaldo Golijov’s latest, “Ayre” – an ingenious cycle of prayers, folk songs and lullabies which crosses Christian, Jewish, and Arab cultures. Hear harmonic chanting by David Hykes incorporating sacred words common to Christianity, Judaism and Islam based on the art of those three religions. Rounding out the show is musical mix of Moorish, Sephardic songs, Indian gypsy and Flamenco musical styles by Juan Martin.
Mali Cool
Sunday, March 19, 2006
There’s West African music made with instruments and musicians from Mali on this edition of New Sounds, subtitled “Mali Cool.” “MALIcool” is also the title of the latest collaboration by veteran jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd and kora player Toumani Diabate. The inventive combination of trombone and kora, plus the occasional balafon and other traditional Malian instruments, yields results which are a timeless blend of West African folk songs and restless jazz. Also, hear the deep desert grooves and moody African blues of guitarist Ali Farka Toure. Plus, there’s also "downtown world jazz" on the show by bassist Ben Allison, and more.
'Twas Brillig
Saturday, March 18, 2006
New Sounds in Wonderland. Hear music inspired by Lewis Carroll’s tales of Alice in Wonderland, including works by Martin Wesley-Smith, the Incredible String Band, Tango Project, One Ring Zero, and Jefferson Airplane.
Harmonic Meditations
Friday, March 17, 2006
On this edition of New Sounds, there's music by David Hykes, founder of the Harmonic Choir and a leading proponent of Asian-inspired “overtone chant.” Hykes presents his new cd “Harmonic Meditations,” which includes music for Khyentse Norbu’s film “Travellers and Magicians,” set in the tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan.
New Early Music
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Sample some new music for lutes, baroque guitars, and other early instruments on this New Sounds program. Paul O’Dette plays his improvisation on the 16th century Spanish “Galiarda,” from the NY Guitar Festival Marathon concert. Rolf Lislevand reinterprets 17th century Italian music as a kind of modern world music on the album “Nuove Musiche.” And lute player Jos van Wissem returns to the WNYC studio with guitarist Gary Lucas for a set of live music.
A Brazilian Experiment
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Listen to music by a Brazilian original, the multi-instrumentalist and composer (and eccentric) Hermeto Pascoal, who blurs barriers between jazz, improvisation, folkloric, ethnic, Brazilian music, tone and noise. For this edition of the show we’ll hear two New Sounds Live performances of Pascoal’s music: one by the Manhattan Marimba Quartet and one by the Bang On A Can All-Stars. We’ll also hear other experimental music from Brazil including Uakti, who perform their music on a collection of instruments they designed and built. Plus, guitarist/composers Egberto Gismonti and Caetano Veloso mix socio-political messages into their instrumental and vocal works respectively.
Commissioned by the People
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
From the New Sounds Live concerts at Merkin Hall, the Bang on a Can All-Stars perform a newly-commissioned work, revisit one of their first commissioned pieces, and more. Hear "Song Before Love Songs (a post-apocalyptic requiem for the human race)" by Cynthia Hopkins, and featuring the singing voices of the All-Stars. Plus, there's the work for a banana-eating percussionist - The Plonsey Episodes - by Dan Plonsey, and a special bonus encore piece by Philip Glass.
Click here to view a slideshow of this New Sounds Live concert from Merkin Hall.
Commissioned for the People
Monday, March 13, 2006
From the New Sounds Live concerts at Merkin Hall, the Bang on a Can All-Stars perform two newly-commissioned works and a new music classic with special guest Philip Glass. Listen to "The Long and Short of It: a Brief History of Chatter," by Carla Kihlstedt, along with "Music In Similar Motion" by Philip Glass, featuring the composer at the keyboard. Plus, hear the menacing sounds of J. G. Thirlwell's new commission called "Anabiosis."
From the Kitchen Archives
Sunday, March 12, 2006
This New Sounds program, titled "New Sound New York", is a special sampler of music celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Kitchen’s landmark concert New Music New York. Hear archive performances from that 1979 event by Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Michael Nyman, Pauline Oliveros, and more.
Live Qawwali Music
Saturday, March 11, 2006
On this edition of New Sounds, hear the Qawwali music of Farid Ayaz Qawwal. One of the leading performers of the centuries-old, suddenly hip style of Pakistani Sufi music and chant, Farid Ayaz and his Qawwali ensemble show how ecstatic poetry and music communicate across language and cultural divides. The group was formed by 82-year-old Grand Master Munshi Raziuddin, who has performed sacred music for over sixty years and passed on the art of qawwali to his eldest son Farid Ayaz and his younger sons. Farid Ayaz Qawwal & Brothers perform some of these devotional songs live in the WNYC studio.
Unusual Prayer Settings
Friday, March 10, 2006
Experience some unusual prayer settings on this edition of New Sounds. First off, hear excerpts from Osvaldo Golijov's Passion According to Saint Mark, an incredibly imagined blend of Mexican market sounds, Brazilian percussion, Africanized Spanish, and eerie accordion, all winding up with an Aramaic Kaddish. Listen also to Ragnar Grippe’s Requiem setting, which blends electronica-like pop music with an operatic soprano. There’s also the Missa Archaica by Italian progressive rock superstar Franco Battiato. The work, for voices, piano, chamber ensemble, and orchestra, resembles music by Arvo Part and Brian Eno. Rounding out the show is "Butterfly Song," an otherworldly, ethereal song by Jocelyn Pook, from her 2001 record “Untold Things,” a spiritual work that is as sincere as it is haunting, kind of like a mass in an unknown language.
Plundering the Archives
Thursday, March 09, 2006
We’ll be mining the New Sounds Live archives on this edition of New Sounds with performances going all the way back to the 1980’s, featuring pianist, composer and arranger Mark Kirkostas. Also, hear the quirky Austrian band Die Knodel from a concert recorded at Merkin Hall in 1995. Their goofy blend of Zappa instrumentals meet Fellini film music somehow rides the divide between pop and art. Plus, there’s world music from Brian Keane and his collaborator Omar Faruk Tekbilek, also from a New Sounds Live concert, and much more.
Far-Off Country
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Composer Eve Beglarian and cellist Maya Beiser visit the studio for this edition of New Sounds. Beglarian's new work, "I Am Writing to You from a Far-Off Country," is a collaboration with cellist Maya Beiser and visual artist Shirin Neshat. The work incorporates live performance and sound design, and is based on Armenian folk songs and chants.
Mellits, the "Post-Minimalist"
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
For this New Sounds episode, listen to “Brick” by Marc Mellits. The Baltimore-born composer wrote the piece for his mother, and most of the piece relates directly to her. Some movements seem to have been drawn from Mellits’ life experiences like “Purple Dandelion,” about the weeds that he’d picked for her when he was small; “Red Hammer,” so named after the Arnold Schwarzenegger of hammers, which was passed to him from his grandfather. Other movements might be entirely play, as Mellits likes to play rhythmic games, of which he says, “in a way, it is they that actually hold the music together, like the bricks in a house that are positioned in certain patterns, and still support the structure.” This new work, co-commissioned by WNYC through the Cheswatyr New Music Initiative, has already been taken on tour by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Lullaby and Goodnight
Monday, March 06, 2006
For this New Sounds program, take a tour of the globe with lullabies from around the world. Actress, singer and composer Mariana Sadowska performs a lullaby in our studios, re-created and collected from old ritual songs she learned from women in Ukrainian rural villages. Some of these songs facilitate conversations between matriarchal ancestors, while at times, these recast songs sound as though they verge on possession, with her ululations and her mesmerizing delivery. Plus, listen to a sleepless lullaby from Canadian singer and composer Laurel MacDonald, whose yodels, whispers, and wails bewitch and resonate. Also, Deep Forest uses a lullaby from the Solomon Islands; and lots more.
Live from Merkin Hall
Sunday, March 05, 2006
On this edition of New Sounds, hear more highlights from past seasons of New Sounds Live concert series at Merkin Hall. There are slide guitar works by Daniel Lanois along with a slide-guitar-plus-toys improvisation by Dave Tronzo. Plus, John King's "Shuffle", a work for electric string quartet, performed by the group Ethel.
Eurofolk Music
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Borrowing from other musical traditions is the focus of this program of Eurofolk on New Sounds. Hear some surprising recordings of European folk music, including Belgium’s Aqsak Maboul playing an Italian folksong; Italy’s Birkin Tree doing Celtic music; and Celtic band The Poozies singing a Polish song. Plus, there's music by the Warsaw Village Band, Värttinä, Dieter Ilg, and more.
Worms And Specks
Friday, March 03, 2006
“America's multi-mediatrix” Laurie Anderson visits the studio on this edition of New Sounds to talk about and sample from her latest work, The End of the Moon. In it, she looks at the relationships between war, aesthetics, spirituality and consumerism while drawing from her travels, research, impression-packed journals, dreams, and theories in her post as artist-in-residence for NASA. Anecdotal, wide ranging and epic, this original work also features Anderson’s new music for violin and electronics and takes us on a music-theater journey that examines how we think about the scale of space and ourselves in relation to the rest of the planet. “We are really worms and specks. I find a certain comfort in that.” [from a New York Times Magazine interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON, January 30, 2005]
"Voices of Light" Live
Thursday, March 02, 2006
From the New Sounds Live concerts at World Financial Center, listen to the Richard Einhorn oratorio “Voices of Light” - music written to accompany the great silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” Ensemble Sospeso, Anonymous 4, the New Amsterdam Chorus, and vocal soloists, led by conducter David Hattner perform at the WFC’s Winter Garden.
Japan: 1000 Years of Music
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Dip into a new collection of 1000 years of Music from Japan on this edition of New Sounds. Listen to Shomyo, or Buddhist sutra chant, one of the oldest forms of vocal music in the world. These low pitched melodious drones are accompanied by metallic percussion, and are performed not as entertainment, but for traditional Buddhist ceremonies. Plus, Australia’s Synergy Percussion perform a recent work by the late Toru Takemitsu, and there’s a whole lot of other music of Japan from the span of centuries in between.
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