I Only Have Eyes For You

Monday, March 30, 2009

It's another Theme and Variations program for this New Sounds. Listen to a series of unusual arrangements of one of the great love songs in American pop music: "I Only Have Eyes For You." Featuring versions by Lester Bowie and his Brass Fantasy, British trip-hop singer Martina Topfley-Bird, downtown New Yorker Phil Kline, and so many more.

Music for Women's Voices and Strings

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Hear music by the ethereal and precise Trio Medieval on this New Sounds program. In addition to arrangements of Nordic folk songs, this trio of women gives contemporary lift to medieval ballads and masses from England, France and Norway. Plus, listen to immensely moving selections from the new seven part cantata by Vladimir Godar, "Mater," featuring the cultivated folk vocal stylings of Iva Bittova. And much more.

By the People, 2007

Saturday, March 28, 2009

From the New Sounds Live concert series, the Bang On A Can All-Stars perform world premieres of three new works commissioned by the people. Hear Joshua Penman's "Awakenings," Stefan Weisman's "Restless Legs," and a new work by Lukas Ligeti.

Voices of Eastern Europe

Friday, March 27, 2009

Hear music by Czech vocalist/violinist/composer Iva Bittova and Poland's Mieczyslaw Litwinski on this edition of New Sounds. There's also music from Ukraine's Mariana Sadovska with the choir Kitka off of the phenomenal record "The Rusalka Cycle," and Ingram Marshall's orchestral work incorporating the sounds of Balkan funeral laments.

PROGRAM #2766, Voices of Eastern Europe (First aired on Tuesday, 2-12-08)

A Sweeter Music: New Sounds Live

Thursday, March 26, 2009

For this edition of New Sounds, hear live performances from a recent New Sounds Live concert at Merkin Hall - "A Sweeter Music." Pianist Sarah Cahill performs new works by Frederic Rzewski, Jerome Kitzke, Phil Kline, and the Residents, among others. The pieces are drawn from the collected commissions, “A Sweeter Music,” inspired by a line from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1964 Nobel lecture — "We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody, that is far superior to the discords of war." Listen for Terry Riley's piece, the "Be Kind to One Another (Rag)," inspired by the words of Alice Walker after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Also, hear Jerome Kitzke's "There Is a Field," where Cahill taps out drumbeats, whistles, and recites poetry by Walt Whitman and Rumi.

Three Post-Minimalists

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

For this New Sounds, we hear a work from young Irish composer Andrew Hamilton "Music for Roger Casement." It’s a jaunty and combative work of many different textures; one hears organ and horns duking it out, while strings and oboe also tag-team in the musical brawl. Hamilton is one of the MATA Young Composers commissioned for this year’s festival. Also, we'll hear Steve Martland's "Horses of Instruction" a work for an 11-piece varied band that might evoke a jazz-funk summit between Reich and Stravinsky. And a bit of a work by Nico Muhly.

New Americans IX: India & Pakistan

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Some of the Indian subcontinent's greatest living artists have lived and worked here in the States for many years, including Ravi Shankar, percussionist Zakir Hussain, double-violinist Shankar, and younger musicians like Rez Abbasi, and Kiran Ahluwalia.

Medieval Modernism

Monday, March 23, 2009

For this New Sounds, listen to Medieval Modernism, as Ambrose Field builds an electronic edifice on the 15th century music of Guillame Dufay. Field describes: "The fragments of original Dufay are always presented entirely unaltered, and serve as a reference point within what is new." Also, we'll hear excerpts from Phil Kline's mass "John The Revelator." Kline uses millennial imagery and the early music sextet Lionheart in this work, commissioned by WNYC. Plus, music by Steve Reich, who uses the thousand-year-old organum techniques of Notre Dame in his "Proverb." And more.

Border-Bashing Combinations

Sunday, March 22, 2009

For this New Sounds, listen to border-bashing world music from unlikely combinations of styles and places. We'll hear from Boom Pam, an Israeli band that blends Balkan horns with surf guitar, along with music from a trio featuring kora & guitar with upright bass. Plus, there's music from Transatlantic NonStop, a collaboration between Andean and Azerbaijani musicians. Also, Deepika sings songs that represent her dual Norwegian and Pakistani background and there's much more.

2007 People's Commissioning Fund, Part 1

Saturday, March 21, 2009

From New Sounds Live, the Bang On A Can All-Stars perform with legendary vocalist/composer Meredith Monk, onstage at Merkin Hall. Hear new arrangements of “Panda 1”, “Memory Song”, “Sacred Song”, “Double Fiestas” and “Last Song” by Bang on a Can Artistic Directors, Julia Wolfe and David Lang.

New Music for Silent Films: The Golem

Friday, March 20, 2009

From the New Sounds Live silent film series at the World Financial Center, Tom Nazziola leads the BQE Project in excerpts from The Golem. Also, from his trio of scores for surrealist films, guitarist Gary Lucas plays music for an early animated short and revisits a much more recent bit of film music by Alberto Iglesias.

PROGRAM # 2914, New Sounds Live, New Music for Silent Films (First aired on Fri. 3/20/09)

Ambient Acoustic Electric Works

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Hear ambient works for acoustic and electronic ensembles on this New Sounds. A project of the Brooklyn-based pianist and composer David Moore, Bing & Ruth makes the most of layered and atmospheric melody. With a horde of traditional acoustic instruments, Bing and Ruth synthesize expansive soundscapes and quiet microtonal textures in these slow-developing, visceral compositions. For this New Sounds, we'll hear Moore's "Chaperone to a Civil War." Plus, music by the Brooklyn drone-duo Mountains, audiovisual composer Mike Vernusky, and more.

The Sirens

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Hear from Latvian composer Maija Eindelde, and her version of the "Isle of the Sirens" tale from Homer’s Odyssey. Next, there's music from British composer David Bedford, and his instrumental tour de force, "The Odyssey," From it, we'll hear the longest "panel" - "The Sirens" - which relies on a female choir. Plus, works from Laurel MacDonald, Bill Laswell, and others who have taken inspiration from the irresistible, alluring song of the mythological Greek Sirens.

New Irish Music

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Irish composer David Flynn visits the WNYC studios for this edition of New Sounds. Flynn first learned guitar by way of heavy metal riffs and solos, then fell into the folk scene, and incorporates influences from almost all musical styles. But he wants his chamber pieces to sound Irish. We'll hear some of these folk roots and how they sound in David's compositions. Perhaps we'll also hear a bit from the latest collaboration by Dennis Cahill and Martin Hayes, and more.

Music for Strings

Monday, March 16, 2009

On this program, we’ll hear music by avant-cellist Rufus Cappadocia, whose five-string electric cello asks, “bass, how low can you go?” by extending the cello’s low end, and creates new sounds through amplification. Plus, music by Tod Machover and his work “VinylCello,” where a DJ spins sampled cello sounds coupled with live cello, as performed by Matt Haimovitz. We’ll also listen to music from itsnotyouitsme, the aural equivalent of a lush sensory deprivation tank – this enveloping music from just a duo. Plus, selections from the folk cello songs on Erik Friedlander’s “Block Ice and Propane,” and more.

The Doctor Is In

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Composer Nick Didkovsky, whose works range from his avant-rock band Doctor Nerve to electronically-altered chamber music, performs live music for laptop in the WNYC studio. Hear works from Didkovsky's most recent release, "Tube Mouth Bow String" on this New Sounds program. Plus, he composes two pieces for Doctor Nerve on-the-spot using a new version of his automated composition software.

Sidewalk Saints

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Slide guitarist Ben Bowen King resurrects a forgotten tradition of American Gospel guitarists of the deep South on this New Sounds program as we listen to music from his most recent release "Sidewalk Saints." King is able to use his "gospel slide guitar" to 'preach' and 'wail in soulful beauty,' transporting you back to a lost chapter in American music. Hear some nearly unrecognizable arrangements of things like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," along with music from composer Thomas Albert and early music vocalists Anonymous 4, who look back at traditional American hymns like “Amazing Grace” and more.

Man With a Movie Camera

Friday, March 13, 2009

From the New Sounds Live concerts at the World Financial Center, Jason Swinscoe leads the Cinematic Orchestra in his score for the landmark silent film “Man With a Movie Camera,” in its American premiere.

African Blues

Thursday, March 12, 2009

This New Sounds program is all about bluesy music from the continent that invented it - Africa. Listen to works by Afel Bocoum, an heir-apparent to the Malian desert blues sound introduced to the world by Ali Farka Toure, who was his uncle. There's also music from a collaboration between slide guitarist Bob Brozman & kora player Djeli Moussa Diawara. Plus, music fusing Sudanese and Arabian influences from Rasha, music from Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck, and others.

New Sounds Live Mementos

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Hear some musical memories from the New Sounds Live concert series on this program. The California EAR Unit plays "Coming Together" by Frederic Rzewski - a socially conscious work - and one of his masterpieces. Also, Lionheart and the quartet Ethel play an excerpt from the new commercial release of "John The Revelator" by Phil Kline, a work commissioned by WNYC. Plus, music by Terry Riley & The All Stars, Peter Garland, and more.

So Many Marimbas...

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

...And only an hour of music for marimbas and marimba-like instruments from various traditions on this New Sounds program. Hear from Oreka Tx, a duo from Spain, who perform on an instrument made of cedar called the Txalaparta (it looks like pairs of wooden planks and is struck with mallets.) Also, listen to an arrangement of Steve Reich's "Electric Counterpoint" for marimba by Svet Stoyanov, a Professor of Percussion at Peabody. Plus, Super Marimba - music by Payton MacDonald, one of the founders of Alarm Will Sound. MacDonald makes a melodic stream of multiple layers of marimba, using looping machines and delay pedals, which then becomes several different simultaneous rhythmic cycles. And more.

Voices Only

Monday, March 09, 2009

Listen to a capella singing from the Armenian-American trio Zulal (their name means "clear water") from their release called "Notes to a Crane." We’ll hear selections from that, along with medieval ballads from England, France and Norway sung by the Norwegian early music group, Trio Medieval. Also, there’s music from the Southern Appalachian Mountains, from the "lined out" hymn tradition, the oldest English-language religious music in oral tradition in North America. Plus, listen to rarities of the Georgian folk repertoire from the trio Kavkasia, songs from Chechnya, and music by composers like Meredith Monk and Veljo Tormis.

The Bushy-Wushy Rag

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Phillip K. Bimstein uses an organic approach to digital samples, building pieces around stories told through speech, sound effects, and a singular musical wit. We’ll hear works about cows that roam and moo next to Bimstein's home, sin and salvation in Las Vegas, and about baseball. Listen to a special favorite, which focuses on the charming beer vendor Robert Logan, who calls himself "Bushy Wushy the Beer Man." For more than forty years, Bushy Wushy sold beer in Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. In "The Bushy-Wushy Rag," Bimstein fuses music, voices (including Jack Buck's call of a famous home run by Ozzie Smith) and sounds to create a musical narrative that celebrates baseball in St. Louis. "That's a winner!"

New Jazz or Nu-Jazz?

Saturday, March 07, 2009

New Sounds asks the question and hears the answer from a variety of duos and trios. Listen to music from guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel and drummer Brian Blade, falling somewhere between a songlike worldfolk and bouncy Afrobeat with swing. There's also the rock-jazz of The Bad Plus, the trippy expansive sounds of the Benevento Russo Duo, the Neil Cowley Trio, and more.

Silent Films 2009, Part I

Friday, March 06, 2009

From the New Sounds Live Silent Film series at the World Financial Center, hear excerpts of live performances of new music for old silent films. Guitarist Gary Lucas plays his music to the surrealist film Entr'acte; Tom Nazziola leads the BQE Project in music for The Golem; and Jason Swinscoe and his Cinematic Orchestra play new music for Man With A Movie Camera.

O Berimbau

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Known for being the subject matter of a popular song by Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, the berimbau is a single-string, bow-shaped percussion from Brazil, whose origins are most likely African. The berimbau was eventually incorporated into the practice of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira and is also a part of the magico-religious Candomblé-de-Caboclo tradition. For this New Sounds program, we'll hear the instrument in various new music settings, in works by Nana Vasconcelos, Cyro Baptista, Celso Fonseca, Ramiro Musotto, and more.

Ascension Variations

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

In advance of her sold-out performance at the Guggenheim, the Genius Award-winning composer, choreographer, and vocalist Meredith Monk joins New Sounds to present her most recent work, “Songs of Ascension,” and to talk about its site-specific adaptation for the museum’s unique geometry, “Ascension Variations.” Monk’s Vocal Ensemble, a string quartet, a chorus of over 80 singers, and dozens of dancers are to perform throughout the space, causing the sound to shift and evolve, recalling her 1969 work, “Juice,” created especially for the Guggenheim’s space. She'll also perform live (sruti box!), and more.

Mainly Minimalism

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

For this New Sounds, listen to the latest offering from Arvo Pärt - "In Principio" – for mixed chorus and orchestra. In it, Pärt sets the famous opening of the gospel of St. John: "In principio erat Verbum"("In the beginning was the word…"). We’ll also hear another movement from that same weighty work, "Erat lux vera" ("That was the True Light") and an instrumental work, "Mein Weg." Also, listen for some more so-called "holy minimalism" that looks east in music of John Tavener – his work "Svyati" for cello and choir. Then there’s also the alleged secular minimalism of Philip Glass, along with more minimalism from Christopher Roberts. And more.

New Americans: The Middle East

Monday, March 02, 2009

Hear music from Israeli-born musicians like composer Anat Fort and cellist Maya Beiser, and Palestinian-born oud player Simon Shaheen. Plus, works from Iranian-born singer/composer Sussan Deyhim, Turkish-born flute/lute player Omar Faruk Tekbilek, and Lebanese-born composer/musicologist Ali Jihad Racy.

20-String Slinger

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Hear new music for the 20-string koto on this New Sounds. The Japanese koto is an ancient instrument, but in fact there is only new music written for the 20-string version, which wasn’t invented until the 1960s by composer Minoru Miki. Koto player Yumi Kurosawa and shakuhachi (flute) master James Nyoraku Schlefer play live works for flute and koto in our studio. Also, music for 20-string koto by the late Tadao Sawai.