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Soundcheck

Thursday, April 08, 2004
  • Pianist Edward Simon, Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza and host John Schaefer - photo by Margo McLean for WNYC
    Pianist Edward Simon, Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza and host John Schaefer (WNYC/Margo McLean)

    Beyond Bossa Nova

    Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza takes the music of her homeland light years beyond Astrud Gilberto and other soft-voiced icons of 1960s bossa nova. Her latest CD, "Neruda," is a tribute to the late Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda, and features ten of his poems, translated into English and orchestrated for piano, voice, and percussion. Today, Souza treats us to a live performance of these new settings, in which she sings and plays percussion, accompanied by Edward Simon on piano. Also, Aaron Sherber, music director of the Martha Graham Dance Company. He discusses the company's often legendary collaborations with composers over the years, which has led to commissioned works by Cowell, Barber, Copland and other musical greats.

The Ill Effects of Urban Noise

Soundcheck

Soundcheck received an overwhelming response to our segment on the effects of urban noise. So much so that Arline Bronzaft decided to address the feedback. Listen to the original segment and read Bronzaft's response.