Arabesques

Thursday, October 30, 2008

For this New Sounds program, take a taste of some Western works with a Near-Eastern Tinge, including music from the likes of Berlin's jazz-rock-pop-classical band, 17 Hippies. Featuring ukulele and a Persian hammered dulcimer—played by a former heavy metal drummer—together with an acoustic Turkish take of the hip hop classic “Apache," their whirling, crashing, diving mixture of music, loosely bobs and weaves into and out of the Balkans, Eastern Europe and beyond. There are also works by the fast, fierce and classically trained musicians of DAAU, along with works by 17 Pygmies. And more.

Provenance

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Maya Beiser & friends perform live music in our studio for cello and electronics, featuring works by Raz Mesinai, Douglas Cuomo, and Djivan Gasparyan, among others. Inspired by the glory of Spain's Golden Age, when Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together peaceably in a centuries-long flowering of commerce, culture, and art, the music draws on various Middle Eastern traditions and incorporates original Arabic and Hebrew poetry as well as poetry by Rumi. Hear Raz Mesinai’s “The Echo of Decay,” Douglas Cuomo’s work, “Only Death,” inspired by Andalusian Sufi chanting, and “Memories,” a work for solo cello by Armenian composer Djivan Gasparyan.

Electronics Plus One

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

On this New Sounds program, there's music from 5-string slinging Caryn Lin, who loops her electric violin into haunting and ethereal works. Also, listen to a work for sax and electronics, as tackled and tangoed by Brian Sacawa. Plus, hear music by Frances White - her work "Center Bridge" - and any other combination of soloist and electronics that might crop up.

The East Is Read

Monday, October 27, 2008

Hear music based on Chinese stories for this edition of New Sounds. Listen to the latest from Damon Albarn (yes, he of Gorillaz, Blur, as well as The Good the Bad and the Queen) - "Monkey: Journey to the West." Albarn wrote this opera based on the Tang Dynasty manuscript about Monkey, who crashes heaven demanding a longer lease on life after having discovered that he is a mere mortal. He calls for traditional Chinese percussion instruments, an Ondes Martenot, and a blaring contraption of his own invention known as a Klaxophone! We'll hear Wu Tong's booming score for Wong Kar-wai's "Ashes of Time Redux," the re-issue of the 1994 martial arts epic, featuring cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma. Also, there's music from Stewart Wallace and his opera "The Bonesetter’s Daughter," based on the novel by Amy Tan, and more music for a Wong Kar-wai film "In the Mood for Love" by composer Michael Galasso.

Remix-a-thon

Sunday, October 26, 2008

New Sounds lays down the new music remixes for this program. We'll hear from DJs and producers who have had at the music of composers like the New Yorker Steve Reich, Irishman Daniel Figgis, and Algerian native Cheb I Sabbah. Plus, Brazilian artist Cibelle re-renders music by the Kocani Orkestar, and a whole host of folks remix Handel’s Messiah.

Grim Musical Fairytales

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Operating under his band-pen name, “The Gothic Archies,” singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt released a compilation of theme songs called "The Tragic Treasury," one written for each of the 13 volumes of Lemony Snicket's "Series of Unfortunate Events" book series, plus a depressingly upbeat band theme song as well. It’s a bunch of crafty new music/Gothic pop songs, featuring author Lemony Snicket on accordion, and we’ll sample a few on this edition of New Sounds. Extra points if you can match these gloomy and hilarious ditties to the corresponding books without looking. And as always, much more.

Silence, Night and Dreams

Friday, October 24, 2008

On this New Sounds, listen to the latest work by Zbigniew Preisner called "Silence, Night and Dreams," featuring Madredeus singer Teresa Salgueiro. It's a large-scale work for orchestra, choir and soloists, based on texts from the Book of Job and the gospel of Matthew, as well as words by Pope John Paul II and the Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert. Also, there's Portuguese fado-infused music by Madredeus, which also dips into Argentine tango and even Europop electronica. And more.

PROGRAM #2712, Music for ensemble & Solo Voice (First aired on Wed.. 9-12-07)

Stories from the City at Night.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Composer/guitarist Pete M Wyer presents "Stories from the City at Night" for this New Sounds program. The work is a unique mix of storytelling, song, sound design and scored music, with help from pianist Matthew Shipp, cellist Matthew Sharp, and actress Jenny Agutter, alongside many cameo appearances (including one by host John Schaefer!)

Female Voice And Ensemble

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

For this New Sounds, hear some works for classical ensembles and the female voice. Listen to music from Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin and her surprise hit "Wild Swans," along with music by Ragnar Grippe. Also, there's the first large scale work not written for film by Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner, called "Requiem for My Friend." Music from the Kronos Quartet and David Lang round out the show.

Musical Miniatures

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

In advance of the U.S. Premiere of Bobby Previte's "The 23 Constellations of Joan Miro" next week as part of the New Sounds Live concert series, listen to some of the 23 musical miniatures, buoyant responses to each of the colorful, whimsical, and sensual "Constellation" paintings by artist Joan Miro. That and other music for large ensembles, including the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, Relache, and Jon Balke and Magnetic North Orchestra.

Doctor Atomic

Monday, October 20, 2008

John Adams' opera Doctor Atomic attempts to depict the first ever nuclear bomb test conducted by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. For this New Sounds, Adams talks with John Schaefer about filling characters' mouths with lines from the Bhagavad Gita and poet John Donne. Also, listen for more opera by John Adams, including excerpts from his fairy tale, "A Flowering Tree" and more.

Musical Meditation

Sunday, October 19, 2008

“All of us have impermanence in common,” according to Meredith Monk. “Impermanence," the latest work by the composer/singer/director/choreographer/multi-media artist, combines music, movement, video projections, and lighting design (with light almost functioning as another musical instrument), into a haunting evocation of the passage of time. Inspired by her work with hospice patients in London and the death of her long-time partner, Monk has created a musical meditation on the impermanence and ephemeral quality of life. She joins John Schaefer to give us a preview of the work on this New Sounds program.

John the Revelator

Saturday, October 18, 2008

For this New Sounds, it's a conversation with Phil Kline, the composer of the gripping and eloquent Zippo Songs, and the mobile, boombox-based holiday piece Unsilent Night. Now Kline has written a modern mass using the early music group Lionheart and the string quartet Ethel, as well as the cathedral-like structure of the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden. He tells us about the making of “John the Revelator,” and we'll hear some of the work as well.

New Music for Strings

Friday, October 17, 2008

Hear new music drawing on rock, world, and improvised musics on this edition of New Sounds. There are works by John Zorn, Kronos Quartet and the Gogmagogs. Plus, arrangements of music by the Section Quartet along with music by Invert. And more.

PROGRAM #2708 New Music for Strings, (First aired on Thursday , 8/30/07)

New Sound of British Folk

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A new generation picks up the mantle of English folk/rock revivalists like Pentangle and Fairport Convention on this New Sounds program. This new sound of British folk includes songs from Rachel Unthank & The Winterset, young musicians who play very old music from Northumbria, a region of England rich in folklore and folk music. Rachel, her sister Becky, and their band on their recent release "The Bairns," play very short and very spare songs arranged in strange and beautiful ways. Also, hear music from the folktronica outfit Tunng, acoustic upbeat "post-folk" from Johnny Flynn, poetry-laden indie folk from Laura Marling, and others.

New "Concert" Music

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Listen to music by composer/pianist Missy Mazzoli and her band Victrola – a blend of winds, strings, keyboards, and lo-fi electronics. Consuming and arresting clarinet, violin, and keyboard melodies meet swirling strings, spoken samples, and minimal processing in Mazzoli’s “I Am Coming For My Things” and “A Door Into the Dark.” Also, hear Evan Ziporyn’s motoric minimalism on his work “Drill,” featuring the composer as bass clarinet soloist. There’s also new music of a concentrated micro-minimalist sort from David Lang with his storm of oboes surrounding a percussive glass bottle (or CAN, if you prefer) in the buzz-saw sharp, “I Fought the Law,” as performed by Sentierri Selvaggi. And, much more.

Getting the Led Out

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Various new music types interpret the music of Led Zeppelin for this edition of New Sounds. We'll hear from the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and their epic by Ian Krouse, “Labyrinth on a Theme of Led Zeppelin” based on a blistering transcription of “Friends.” Also, cellist Matt Haimovitz attacks “Kashmir” in a 4 cello face-melting arrangement in collaboration with composer Luna Pearl Woolf. Plus, the Latin folk stylings of Rodrigo Y Gabriela and their reworking of “Stairway To Heaven” and more.

25 Years and Counting

Monday, October 13, 2008

Laurie Anderson's unique and original "Big Science," a blend of smart sung-spoken lyrics and unsettling textures of music, came out of nowhere in 1982, with its skewed pop and minimalist themes teasing at the surreal and absurd. "The sounds of 'Big Science' are stark and asymmetrical, but they’re also often bizarrely hypnotic." (Pop Matters.com) And let's not forget the vocoder on Anderson's voice. Also, wouldn't you know it, it was September 3, 1982 that New Sounds first went on the air. For this New Sounds program, Laurie Anderson and John Schaefer celebrate the milestone together.

Hornucopia

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Listen to plenty of horns on this New Sounds program, including tunes by likes of the big-band progressive/experimental “downtown” Microscopic Septet from a brand new set of reissue CDs. Then fasten your crash helmets, there’s Indie big band thrashlounge from the Flat Earth Society. Also, listen to the most recent outing from saxophone player and composer Kenny Garrett, “Beyond the Wall,” something of a spiritual dialogue between Africa and China. And, as always, much more.

Stephen Scott's New York Drones

Saturday, October 11, 2008

For this New Sounds, the creator of the “bowed piano ensemble,” Stephen Scott, presents new music for bowed, plucked, hammered, and occasionally keyboard-driven piano. Most of the sounds are made directly on the strings of one open grand piano by ten players using a variety of materials and tools; nylon fish line, horsehair, guitar picks and fingernails, piano hammers, percussion mallets and specially-designed piano mutes. Scott’s latest, “New York Drones,” is a work dedicated to the composer Steve Reich in honor of his 70th birthday, and will receive its New York premiere on Saturday, October 28th in The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall at 7:30 PM. In the work, Scott freely interprets the concept of drones to encompass not only long-sustained tones but also repeating patterns of rhythms on one pitch or repeating melodic and harmonic patterns in a single mode. We’ll also hear music from Scott’s song-cycle fantasy with the Bowed Piano Ensemble, Sounding Landscapes, which celebrates various landscapes, both physical and imagined, both natural and cultural, of Lanzarote, eastern-most of the Canary Islands. All this and more.

Sweet Driving Rhythm

Friday, October 10, 2008

New music from the concert hall now reflects the driving rhythms of rock and jazz. For this New Sounds program, we'll hear several examples, including Oscar Bettison's "O Death," the European classic, "De Staat" by Louis Andriessen, and "Paranoid Cheese" by Marc Mellits. Oscar Bettison, a composer and instrument-maker writes for both rock ensemble and the concert hall, as well as his own instrument creations (dubbed cinderella instruments) and electro-acoustic elements. In his work, “O Death,” he calls for a Wrench-ophone (12 differently-sized metal wrenches arranged like a keyboard), flower pots, metal mixing bowls, anvils, and electric guitar, with distortion pedal. We’ll hear “O Death,” on this edition of the program. Also, music from his teacher, Louis Andriessen, with his loud and aggressive “De Staat,” which suggests clangorous Balinese gamelan, jazz, minimalism, and Stravinsky while kicking it all into overdrive. Plus, “damn catchy” chamber music from Marc Mellits – his work “Paranoid Cheese” a hard-driving, smart, frenetic, and frequently beautiful work, which combines elements of modern minimalism and a love of modern rock.

Glass Box

Thursday, October 09, 2008

For this New Sounds, sample some music from the "Glass Box," a 10-disc retrospective of Philip Glass’s career. We'll hear excerpts from his first trilogy of groundbreaking operas, "Einstein On The Beach," "Satyagraha," and "Akhnaten." And more.

PROGRAM # 2852, Philip Glass: 3 Operas (First aired on Thurs. 10/09/08

The Eastern European Influence

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Hear some works from Western (and perhaps a few Eastern) musicians inspired by the often odd-metered dances and laments of Eastern Europe on this New Sounds program. The brassy Balkan beats of Romashka together with their Lithuanian-born singer draw on gypsy and folk music from Russia, Romania and the Balkans for a downtown blast of madness. We’ll hear something from them, along with music from the Canadian-Ukranian musicians Paris To Kyiv, and the Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian –American band Zlatne Uste (Golden Lips), as well as prog-folk from the Slovene group Katalena. Plus new music based on ancient Turkish makams from Edward Hines, music by Les Miserables Brass Band, and more.

Music of the World

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

On this New Sounds program, we’ll hear some women’s voices in world music. Listen to performances by Angelique Kidjo, Yungchen Lhamo, Susan McKeown, and more. This time, “more” turns out to be a live in-studio performance by Indian sarod virtuoso and composer Amjad Ali Khan, two of his sons, Ayan, and Amman, and Samir Chatterjee on tabla. Don’t miss this edition of New Sounds for some bhajans and folk music of Eastern India.

Bang On A Can Marathon 2007, Part 4

Monday, October 06, 2008

From the 2007 Bang on a Can Marathon recorded live at the World Financial Center, hear David M Gordon's "Friction Systems," along with Marcello Zarvos' work "Arrival and Memory" on this edition of New Sounds. There's also instrumental music by indie-rockers Yo La Tengo and underground rapper/DJs Dalek. Plus, the Bang On A Can All-Stars play Brian Eno.

Bang on a Can 2007 Marathon, Pt. 3

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Music from the 2007 version of the annual Bang On A Can Marathon. Part 3 of 3 from the 27-hour-long event, which featured music by a range of artists from the literary indie duo the Books to mischief-makers Real Quiet, along with the Bang on a Can All-Stars.

Bang on a Can 2007 Marathon, Pt. 2

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Music from the 2007 version of the annual Bang On A Can Marathon. Part 2 of 3 from the 27-hour-long event, which featured music by a range of artists from the post-rock instrumental band Clogs to nu-jazz wunderkind Vijay Iyer, along with the percussion ensemble red fish blue fish.

Bang on a Can 2007 Marathon

Friday, October 03, 2008

Music from the 2007 version of the annual Bang On A Can Marathon. Part 1 of 3 from the 27-hour-long event, which featured music by a range of artists from literate indie-rockers The Books, Clogs and Dälek to Uzbeki traditionalists Mashriq, along with new music purveyors Eighth Blackbird and the NOW Ensemble.

PROGRAM #2703 The 2007 Bang on a Can Marathon, Pt. 1 (First aired on Tuesday, 7/24/07)

Neruda Settings

Thursday, October 02, 2008

For this New Sounds program, experience the poetry of Pablo Neruda, set to music by a diverse array of composers, including the new recording of "Oceana" by Osvaldo Golijov. There's also Peter Lieberson's "Neruda Songs," his farewell to his wife, the late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Plus, music by Luciana Souza, and Francesca Ancarola, along with the Rachel's.

Eric Whitacre's Cloudburst

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

For this edition of New Sounds, the young American composer Eric Whitacre joins host John Schaefer to present music from his record “Cloudburst.” His recorded music output so far is mostly dazzling unaccompanied vocal writing, where Whitacre’s original compositional voice is immediately obvious, in that he’s assimilated everything from prog rock to Mozart and Copland. He’s going for a heart-melting mix of expressively beautiful sound, where lush and shimmering moments give way to elegant and satisfying dramatic conclusions. Plus, music by Arvo Part.