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Sultans of Culture

Classical music follows money and the money is gushing in the United Arab Emirates. This month, two major festivals are taking place in the region: the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival and the Al Ain Classical Music Festival. BBC Music Magazine editor Neil McKim recently visited Abu Dhabi and joins us with his reaction. Also with us is Ian Smallbone, a senior VP at IMG Artists, which manages the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival.

BBC Music Magazine
Abu Dhabi Tourism
Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival

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CD Picks of the Week

Del the Funky Homosapien, "11th Hour" [Definitive Jux]

Our next CD Pick comes from Del the Funky Homosapien, the rapper and founding member of the Hieroglyphics hip-hop collective. Del’s always been a bit outside of the mainstream, and as the slumping rap genre looks to independent artists for its future, a godfather like Del might lead the way. “11th Hour” is his first solo album in eight years, released on the Definitive Jux label, home to hip hop progressives like El-P and Aesop Rock. – Picked by Joel Meyer

Mahler's Symphony No. 9 / Simon Rattle, conductor, Berlin Philharmoniker (EMI Classics)

Simply put, Mahler's Ninth Symphony is one of the all-time great symphonies. Composed in New York at a time when the composer was gravely ill, it's the composer’s last completed symphony and is filled with feelings of mortality. A new recording by Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic does what any great recording of this work should: it gets to the bittersweet nostalgia of the first movement, the wild, lurching sarcasm of the inner movements, and the almost ghostly resignation of the finale. The Berliners have made memorable recordings over the years; with Rattle they show why it remains their calling card. – Picked by Brian Wise

The Dowland Project: Romaria (ECM)

The Dowland Project is the brainchild of English tenor and musicologist John Potter. As a longtime member of the Hilliard Ensemble, Potter was known as a champion of both early music and new music. No surprise then that his Dowland Project takes a contemporary look at some very ancient sounds. Featuring Renaissance and medieval instruments in addition to the sax/clarinet player John Surman, this ensemble’s latest release is called Romaria, and offers atmospheric, subtly modern takes on music from German monasteries, troubadours, and even a bit of Spanish/Portuguese folk music. – Picked by John Schaefer

The Mandé Variations, Toumani Diabate (World Circuit/Nonesuch)

The kora has been in the Diabate family for 71 generations, but it took a Toumani to bring it to the Western world. Toumani Diabate has played the ancient 21-string harp-lute instrument in Bjork’s latest album, Volta, and he is the only kora player to win a Grammy -- for an album he did with Malian countryman Ali Farka Toure in 2005. But after mixing the instrument with everything for 20 years, Toumani’s new album, The Mandé Variations, features pure and only kora. The result is an African gem with classical music status. – Picked by Gisele Regatao

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Mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung

Michelle DeYoung is one of today's pre-eminent mezzo-sopranos, currently starring in the Metropolitan Opera's "Tristan und Isolde," and appearing this season with major orchestras. She joins us in advance of her recital at the Morgan Library.

Recital details: March 20 at 7:30, Morgan Library & Museum - The George London Foundation presents Michelle DeYoung with Bryan Hymel, Tenor (New York Recital Debut); Howard Watkins & Laura Ward, Piano

Michelle DeYoung's Website

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