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Orchestra Loses Bank Support

UBS, the giant Swiss bank, has withdrawn its support of an elite Swiss orchestra. Amid a shaky economic climate, should other arts organizations be concerned? Joining us are New York Times reporter Daniel J. Wakin and Andrew Taylor, who writes the “Artful Manager” blog on Artsjournal and who heads the arts administration MBA program at the University of Wisconsin.

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CD Picks of the Week

Jonas Kaufmann, tenor Romantic Arias (Decca)

There's a never-ending competition in the opera world for number one tenor and soprano spots. One name to enter the post-Pavarotti universe is the German tenor, Jonas Kaufmann. Though active mostly in Europe until now, his debut CD on the Decca label “Romantic Arias” promises him a wider audience here in the States. The singer applies his dark-hued voice to thirteen big tenor hits, including Flotow's "Martha," an old staple that is now nearly forgotten. –-picked by Brian Wise

Nalle, "Voi Ruusuni (O Rose)" from The Siren’s Wave (on Locust Music)

Nalle is both Finnish for a small bear and a trio named after lead singer Hanna Tuulikki’s favorite childhood toy. The Glasgow-based experimental-folk ensemble liberally blends traditional instruments with modern noisemakers like Moog Oscillators and walkie-talkies to create exotic ethno-medieval flavored music. Hanna’s little-girl vocals have a unique stutter and slide about them that might remind one of Bjork on helium, while Aby Vulliamy and Chris Hladowski weave an other-worldly instrumental drones around her. –-picked by Irene Trudel

Meredith Monk: Impermanence

The avant-garde vocalist, composer, and multimedia artist returns with a Buddhist-inspired meditation on the fragile boundaries between life and death, memory and oblivion, joy and loss. I know, sounds unbearably serious. But Monk has always used the voice to express a wide range of emotions, some of which we don’t even have words for, and on Impermanence, she creates some of the most buoyant and colorful music of her 40+ year career. Of course there are poignant moments as well, and for the first time in Monk’s music, actual texts on 3 of the songs. --Picked by John Schaefer

The Black Keys, Attack & Release (Nonesuch)

What happens when a gritty blues duo from Akron, Ohio teams up with the superstar producer behind Gnarls Barkley? You get “Attack & Release,” the latest CD from the Black Keys. After four albums recorded in basements, this twosome enlisted the knob-twiddling wizardry of Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse. With Burton’s gentle touch, this dynamic collection of blues rock avoids that genre’s biggest pitfall: studio polish. —picked by Joel Meyer

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Anna Ternheim

Sweden is exporting so many pop stars at the moment, it’s a wonder the country has time to produce any Volvos or Saabs. Singer-songwriter Anna Ternheim’s breathy vocals and moody pop sound is already nabbing award nods inside her native country. She's releases her American full-length debut, “Halfway to Fivepoints,” later this month. She joins us to preview the album and perform songs from it live in our studio.

Anna Ternheim web site

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