Podcasts about Lou Harrison

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Best podcasts about Lou Harrison

Latest podcast episodes about Lou Harrison

Alfacast
#247 - Music of The Spheres w/ Randy Masters

Alfacast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2024 137:31


"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God".  So what does this familiar Biblical quote suggest, or could it be a literal explanation of the principles of Universal Creation?  Prior to the advent of scientism, Alchemists described the Ether as a stratified creative mechanism, which they successfully duplicated in microcosmic fashion through laboratory processes.  They referred to the third Etheric level as the Water element, or "Sound Ether".  The study of both Wave Form Mechanics and Cymatics go further to reveal that our functional Realm is, in fact, a byproduct of pure resonance, or sound.  On this Alfacast we further explore this phenomenon to understand how the use of specific sound frequencies could very well be the future of medicine and of all technological endeavor. Our tour guide for this episode is special guest, Randy Masters, a multi disciplined alchemist, an award winning composer, a professional musician and multi-instrumentalist, a former university music teacher, and the designer of sacred geometry and sound products. As a recording artist and musician, Randy has produced many recording of his own music with his highly acclaimed fusion group Solar Plexus, and also his Multi-National band as well as having composed for international musicians Cal Tjader, Tito Punte, Charlie Byrd, Laurindo Almeida and Hedzoleh Soundz.  Randy has performed on many instruments including piano, keyboards, trumpets, guitar, base and percussion and is also very fluent in international music styles and has performed with well known musicians from Ghana, Brazil, Nigeria, The Congo, India, Mexico, Puerto Rico to name a few. Randy was a featured trumpet player on the American Gamelan recording by famous composer Lou Harrison. Randy has been a featured speaker at many sound healing conferences and expos, including the New Living Expo and Santa Fe, San Francisco and Los Angeles Sound Healing Conferences, where he speaks on subjects such as Sacred Geometry, Sacred Sites, Sound Healing and the Music of the Spheres – Unified Field. His company Resonant Living makes specially tuned wind-chimes, desktop chimes, tuning forks, sacred geometry energy jewelry and other custom designed specialist sound tools and musical CDs. A key to Randy's mission statement and lifetime work is to reconnect spirituality and science to reveal the creation science and codes of existence that assist in raising the frequency of human consciousness. Randy is currently collaborating and co-producing sound healing projects for many artists and weaving his extensive knowledge and discoveries into creative sonic endeavors. Show links: https://universalsong.net/ Learn The True Nature Of Dis-Ease & How Our Bodies Actually Work: https://alfavedic.com/themyth/ Join Our Private Community And Join In The Discussion: https://alfavedic.com/join-us/ Follow our new YT channel: / @offgridelegance   Get our favorite blue blocker glasses! https://alfavedic.com/raoptics Learn how to express your law and uphold your rights as one of mankind. https://alfavedic.com/lawformankind Alfa Vedic is an off-grid agriculture & health co-op focused on developing products, media & educational platforms for the betterment of our world. By using advanced scientific methods, cutting-edge technologies and tools derived from the knowledge of the world's greatest minds, the AV community aims to be a model for the future we all want to see. Our comprehensive line of health products and nutrition is available on our website. Most products are hand mixed and formulated right on our off grid farm including our Immortality Teas which we grow on site.  Find them all at   https://alfavedic.com​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Follow Alfa Vedic: https://linktr.ee/alfavedic Follow Mike Winner: https://linktr.ee/djmikewinner

Composer of the Week
Lou Harrison (1917-2003)

Composer of the Week

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2024 75:29


Donald Macleod explores the life and music of American composer, Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison was an American, multi-faceted composer who died in 2003. In his music he explored a synthesis of Asian and Western influences, just intonation, and writing for percussion ensemble. He also involved himself in the arts as a performer, dancer, instrument maker, critic, puppeteer, poet, painter and much more. Harrison's interest in Asian cultures began when he was very young, and remained a significant influence on his work for the rest of his life He enjoyed working with Gamelan percussion and instruments from Korea or China. With his partner William Colvig, Harrison also made his own instruments including an American Gamelan, for which he composed multiple works. Harrison took lessons with Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg, and also collaborated with John Cage in exploring the possibilities of percussion ensembles. His career as a composer developed in the world of dance and theatre, supplementing his income as a critic and, later, as a teacher.Music Featured: The Heart Sutra (Tial, Sariputro, ciuj Darmoj) Waltz in C (New York Waltzes) First Concerto for Flute and Percussion Suite for Symphonic Strings (excerpt) Largo Ostinato Prelude for Grandpiano John Cage & Lou Harrison: Double Music Blaze of Day (Finale: Solstice) Piano Sonata No 3 (excerpt) Symphony No 2 “Elegiac” (excerpt) Hesitation Waltz (New York Waltzes) Waltz in A (New York Waltzes) Suite No 2 The Marriage at the Eiffel Tower (Overture) The Only Jealousy of Emer (excerpt) Suite for Cello and Harp Beverly's Troubadour Piece, for harp and percussion Suite for Symphonic Strings (Nocturne) Four Strict Songs (Here is Holiness) Concerto in slendro Pacifika Rondo (excerpt) Easter Cantata A Waltz for Evelyn Hinrichsen Music for Bill and Me Young Caesar (excerpts) Suite for violin and American Gamelan (excerpt) Double Concerto for Javanese gamelan, violin and cello (excerpt) Third Symphony (Largo ostinato) Piano Concerto with selected orchestra (excerpt) O you whom I often and silently come where you are Grand Duo (Polka) Fourth Symphony ‘Last Symphony' (Largo) Vestiunt Silve Pipa Concerto Mass to St Anthony (Gloria)Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Audio Wales and WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Lou Harrison (1917-2003) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00209q6 And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we've featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Composers Datebook
Harrison's 'Elegiac' Symphony

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2023 2:00


SynopsisOn today's date in 1975, the Oakland, California, Youth Orchestra gave the first performance of a symphony by a Bay area resident, American composer Lou Harrison. He began sketches for this symphonic score back in 1942 and tinkered with it off and off until the day of its premiere performance, even stapling in 15 additional measures to the young players' parts at their final dress rehearsal.The commission for Harrison's Fourth Symphony, subtitled The Elegiac, came from the Koussevitzky Foundation, and in part was written as a tribute to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky, two of the 20th century's greatest new music patrons. But the intensely personal tone of this elegiac symphony was prompted by the death of Harrison's mother, which was followed by the death of his close friend, iconoclastic American composer and instrument inventor Harry Partch.The symphony's first movement is titled “Tears of the Angel Israfel” — the angel of music in Islamic lore — and the score also bears two inscriptions. The first reads “Epicurus said of death: where death is, we are not; where we are, death is not; therefore, death is nothing to us.” The second inscription is a quote from Horace: “Bitter sorrows will grow milder with music.”Music Played in Today's ProgramLou Harrison (1917-2003) Symphony No. 2 (Elegiac); American Composers Orchestra; Dennis Russell Davies, cond. MusicMasters 60204

Composers Datebook
Lou Harrison's 'some assembly required' concerto

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2023 2:00


SynopsisThe publisher of Lou Harrison's Concerto for Violin and Percussion, which received its premiere performance on today's date in 1961 at New York's Carnegie Recital Hall, states with refreshing honesty that it is “not one of Harrison's most frequently performed works” and that “the highly rhythmic violin line is pleasantly contrasted by the exceptionally varied percussion ensemble.”Now, by an “exceptionally varied” percussion ensemble, it means in addition to conventional instruments, Harrison asks for tin cans, suspended brake drums, flowerpots, plumber's pipes, wind chimes and spring coils.Not surprisingly, it can be difficult to assemble the “heavy metal” called for in the score. For a 1965 performance, Harrison was forced to spend hours, as he put it, "chasing down pipe lengths and flower pots in hardware stores."But there was a method to his madness. Harrison was trying to imitate the sounds of the tuned bronze gongs of the traditional Indonesian gamelan orchestra by using distinctly American “found” materials. In performance, the setup seems downright humorous at first sight, but at first sound, it works. In fact, one suspects Harrison wants the audience to chuckle at first, but then be charmed.Music Played in Today's ProgramLou Harrison (1917-2003) Concerto for Violin and Percussion; Antonio Nunez, vn; Basel Percussion Ensemble; Paul Sacher, cond. Pan Classics 510 103

Composers Datebook
Virgil Thomson and Wallace Stevens in Hartford

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2023 2:00


Synopsis On this day in 1934, an excited crowd of locals and visitors had gathered in Hartford, Connecticut, for the premiere performance of a new opera entitled Four Saints in Three Acts. The fact that the opera featured 16 saints, not 4, and was divided into 4 acts, not 3, was taken by the audience in stride, as the libretto was by the expatriate American writer, Gertrude Stein, notorious for her surreal poetry and prose. The music, performed by players from the Philadelphia Orchestra and sung by an all-black cast, was by the 37-year old American composer, Virgil Thomson, who matched Stein's surreal sentences with witty musical allusions to hymn tunes and parodies of solemn, resolutely tonal music. Among the locals in attendance was the full-time insurance executive and part-time poet, Wallace Stevens, who called the new opera (quote): "An elaborate bit of perversity in every respect: text, settings, choreography, [but] Most agreeable musically… If one excludes aesthetic self-consciousness, the opera immediately becomes a delicate and joyous work all around." The opera was a smashing success, and soon opened on Broadway, where everyone from Toscanini and Gershwin to Dorothy Parker and the Rockefellers paid a whopping $3.30 for the best seats—a lot of money during one of the worst winters of the Great Depression. Music Played in Today's Program Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) Four Saints in Three Acts Orchestra of Our Time; Joel Thome, conductor. Nonesuch 79035 On This Day Births 1741 - Belgian-born French composer André Grétry, in Liège; 1932 - American composer and conductor John Williams, in New York City; Deaths 1709 - Italian composer Giuseppe Torelli, age 50, in Bologna; 1909 - Polish composer Mieczyslaw Karlowicz, age 32, near Zakopane, Tatra Mountains; Premieres 1874 - Mussorgsky: opera “Boris Godunov”, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, with bass Ivan Melnikov in the title role, and Eduard Napravnik conducting; This was the composer's own revised, nine-scene version of the opera, which originally consisted of just seven scenes (Julian date: Jan.27); 1897 - Kalinnikov: Symphony No. 1 (Gregorian date: Feb. 20); 1904 - Sibelius: Violin Concerto (first version), in Helsinki, by the Helsingsfors Philharmonic conducted by the composer, with Victor Novácek as soloist; The revised and final version of this concerto premiered in Berlin on October 19, 1905, conducted by Richard Strauss and with Karl Halir the soloist; 1907 - Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No. 1 in Vienna, with the Rosé Quartet and members of the Vienna Philharmonic; 1908 - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in St. Petersburg, with the composer conducting (Julian date: Jan. 26); 1909 - Liadov: “Enchanted Lake” (Gregorian date: Feb. 21); 1910 - Webern: Five Movements, Op. 5, for string quartet, in Vienna; 1925 - Cowell: "Ensemble" (original version for strings and 3 "thunder-sticks"), at a concert sponsored by the International Composers' Guild at Aeolian Hall in New York, by an ensemble led by Vladimir Shavitch that featured the composer and two colleagues on "thunder-sticks" (an American Indian instrument also known as the "bull-roarer"); Also on program was the premiere of William Grant Still's "From the Land of Dreams" for three voices and chamber orchestra (his first concert work, now lost, dedicated to his teacher, Edgard Varèse); 1925 - Miaskovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7, in Moscow; 1934 - Virgil Thomson: opera "Four Saints in Three Acts" (libretto by Gertrude Stein), in Hartford, Conn.; 1942 - Stravinsky: "Danses concertantes," by the Werner Janssen Orchestra of Los Angeles, with the composer conducting; 1946 - Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3 (completed by Tibor Serly after the composer's death), by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting and György Sándor as the soloist; 1959 - Elie Siegmeister: Symphony No. 3, in Oklahoma City; 1963 - Benjamin Lees: Violin Concerto, by the Boston Symphony, with Erich Leinsdorf conducting and Henryk Szeryng the soloist; 1966 - Lou Harrison: "Symphony on G" (revised version), at the Cabrillo Music Festival by the Oakland Symphony, Gerhard Samuel condicting; 1973 - Crumb: "Makrokosmos I" for amplified piano, in New York; 1985 - Earle Brown: "Tracer," for six instruments and four-track tape, in Berlin; 1986 - Daniel Pinkham: Symphony No. 3, by the Plymouth (Mass.) Philharmonic, Rudolf Schlegel conducting; 2001 - Sierra: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting; Others 1875 - American composer Edward MacDowell admitted to the Paris Conservatory; 1877 - German-born (and later American) composer Charles Martin Loeffler admitted to the Paris Conservatory; 1880 - German opera composer Richard Wagner writes a letter to his American dentist, Dr. Newell Still Jenkins, stating "I do no regard it as impossible that I decide to emigrate forever to America with my latest work ["Parsifal"] and my entire family" if the Americans would subsidize him to the tune of one million dollars. Links and Resources On Virgil Thomson More on Thomson

Composers Datebook
First — and last — orchestral pieces by Brahms and Harrison?

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2022 2:00 Very Popular


Synopsis On today's date in 1873, a new piece by the German composer Johannes Brahms received its first performance by the Vienna Philharmonic. The piece was titled Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and was a big success at its premiere. Brahms must have heaved a great sigh of relief. For the previous 18 years, Brahms had struggled to complete his First Symphony, unconvinced that he had “the right stuff” to pull it off. In the summer of 1873, he wrote his Haydn Variations as a kind of personal test to see how audiences would react—and to bolster his own confidence. Lucky for us, it worked: Brahms returned to work on his First Symphony and went on to write four symphonies in all! On today's date in 1990, the Fourth Symphony of American composer Lou Harrison received its premiere by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Much of Harrison's music has been influenced by non-Western traditions, especially the Javanese gamelan music, and his Symphony No. 4 is no exception. Harrison was 73 when this symphony premiered, and he dubbed it his “Last Symphony” —apparently agreeing with Brahms that four was enough. When asked what would happen should he decide to write still another, Harrison quipped, “I'll call it the ‘VERY Last Symphony.” Music Played in Today's Program Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Variations on a theme by Haydn, Op. 56a Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph von Dohnanyi, conductor. Teldec 8.44005 Lou Harrison (1917-2003) Symphony No. 4 (Last Symphony) California Symphony; Barry Jekowsky, conductor. Argo 455 590

Composers Datebook
Lou Harrison's Piano Concerto

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2022 2:00 Very Popular


Synopsis An unusual Piano Concerto by the American composer Lou Harrison had its premiere performance in New York on this day in 1985. The famous jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, for whom it was written, was the soloist. Now, Lou Harrison's music was often marked by its eclectic blending of East and West, and on occasion, Harrison employed non-Western or unusual instruments in his scores, including his own home-made Javanese-style gamelan constructed from old brake drums and clay flowerpots. But that wasn't what made his Piano Concerto so singular. “I've always wanted to write a piano concerto which utilizes two or three pianos on stage, each tuned differently,” said Harrison. “And Keith was willing to try that. But in the end, I decided to use one piano in a tuning I really enjoy.” In Harrison's concerto, the piano is not tuned to the “equal temperament” system in use in Western music since Bach's day. The black keys are tuned to the medieval system of mathematically exact intervals of 4ths and 5ths, while the white keys reproduce the “just intonation” system common in the Renaissance and Baroque. And so the familiar instrument has an unfamiliar ring, but one that Keith Jarret loved: “At times in the piece,” he said, “whole chords sound like bells.” Music Played in Today's Program Lou Harrison (1917-2003) Piano Concerto Keith Jarrett, piano; New Japan Philharmonic; Naoto Otomo, cond. New World 366

Classical Conversations
Lou Harrison Marathon at the TMA

Classical Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2022


The Toledo Symphony's Merwin Siu and the Toledo Museum of Art's Scott Boberg (both pictured) join us to talk about the fascinating music of American composer Lou Harrison, who is the focus of a marathon event at the TMA this weekend. Please note: due to copyright, audio samples have been truncated in this episode.

The Offcast: Conversations with musical mavericks
Kyla Matsuura-Miller: You can't be what you can't see

The Offcast: Conversations with musical mavericks

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2022 37:48


Tokyo-born and Melbourne-raised violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller talks about winning the 2021 Freedman Classical Fellowship, BIPOC representation in music and those necessary awkward moments...Since graduating from the ANAM in 2018, violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller has more than established her place at the table in the Australian cultural scene. Kyla is the 2021 Freedman Classical Fellowship recipient and has won awards including the Homophonic Pride Prize. She is currently collaborating with Inventi Ensemble and in Duo Piaggio with pianist Adam McMillan. Kyla currently plays on a fine violin made by Giovanni Pistucci, circa 1910-1920 which has been generously loaned by a private syndicate.Kyla Matsuura-Miller: http://www.kylaviolin.com.au/__________– Discussed in this episode –• Freedman Fellowship: https://sima.org.au/freedman-music-fellowships/• rage - ABC: https://www.abc.net.au/rage/• The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM): https://anam.com.au/• Ngarra-Burria: https://www.moogahlin.org/ngarra-burria• Three Conversations – Kyla Matsuura-Miller: https://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/three-conversations-an-exploration-of-growing-up-non-white-in-australia/• Tobias Willis, KEWL Studio: https://www.kewl.studio/• Stephanie Kabanyana-Kanyandekwe: https://kabanyana.com/about/• Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra (1959-1940*) [*as inscribed by the composer] – Lou Harrison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn-GP8KUJB4 • Steve Schick: http://stevenschick.com/ • Will Hansen: https://www.facebook.com/willhansenbass/ __________Opening music: Heaven Only Empty (2014) – Damien RicketsonClosing music: Light for the First Time (2017) – Bree van ReykThe Offcast is hosted by Claire Edwardes OAM, and produced and edited by Ben Robinson.Ensemble Offspring: https://ensembleoffspring.com/This episode of The Offcast is sponsored by Limelight

Composers Datebook
Alexis Alrich's Marimba Concerto

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2022 2:00 Very Popular


Synopsis One today's date in 2004, a new concerto for marimba and orchestra had its premiere in San Francisco, with soloist Matthew Cannon and the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra. The new concerto was written by Alexis Alrich, who studied composition out East at the New England Conservatory, and out West at Mills College, where one of her teachers was Lou Harrison, who introduced her to Asian music through Javanese gamelan. Her own music, she says, blends American minimalism, Asian music, and Western classical and folk music, a mix some have described as “California impressionism.” “[My] Marimba Concerto,” says Alrich, “is highly demanding for the soloist and fully exploits the technical possibilities and sound palette of the five-octave marimba. The opening movement with its string tremolos and whispering wind motifs provides an atmospheric entrance for the solo marimba … The middle movement starts with a gently pulsating theme that recurs between contrasting sections, including one in Mexican folk style. The final movement climaxes with a multi-layered, Asian-inspired chorale … with a toccata-style cadenza for the soloist.” In 2010 British percussion virtuoso Dame Evelyn Glennie and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong gave the Asian premiere of the concerto and made its first recording. Music Played in Today's Program Alexis Alrich (b. 1955) – Marimba Concerto (Evelyn Glennie, marimba; City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong; Jean Thorel, cond.) Naxos 8.574218

Focus
Espera

Focus

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2022 51:49


The @Percussion Podcast
@Percussion 322 - American Gamelan with Brady Spitz

The @Percussion Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2022 71:33


★ Support the show by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/atpercussion ★ Follow us on:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atperc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atpercussion/ PodBean: https://atpercussion.podbean.com/ Hosts: Karli Viña, Ben Charles, and Caleb Pickering Producer: Karli Viña https://www.karlynvina.com/ Guest: Brady Spitz https://www.bradyspitz.com/ Check out Brady's new book: https://www.bradyspitz.com/shop 10% off code for our listeners is @percussion   Watch here  Listen below Timestamps 0:00 Intro and Hello 0:58 Today in History: J.S. Bach's Birthday 6:47 Welcome to the show, Brady! 9:50 What is American Gamelan? 16:25 Where are the “Old Granddads?” 20:25 Building American Gamelan 30:33 Gamelan notation and Western understanding 35:13 Starting a Gamelan Ensemble 42:30 Brady's doctoral dissertation on writing for “Old Granddad” and just intonation 48:01 Laurel by Shane Monds 51:45 Lou Harrison's gamelan 58:18 Brady's new book: Brain Drain - Reading and Technical Method for the Intermediate Mallet Player  https://www.bradyspitz.com/shop 10% off code for our listeners is @percussion  

Composers Datebook
A Hovhaness premiere

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2022 2:00


Synopsis In Boston on today's date in 1945, the Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness served as both the soloist and conductor in the first performance of a piano concerto entitled “Lousadzak.” The exotic title, Hovhaness explained, was a “made-up” Armenian word meaning “dawn of light.” When Hovhaness repeated his new concerto at Town Hall in New York, one newspaper sent the composer Lou Harrison as its music critic to cover the event. “[It] was the closest I've ever been to one of those renowned artistic riots,” recalled Harrison. “In the lobby, the Chromaticists and the Americanists were carrying on at high decibels. What had touched it off was the fact that here was a man from Boston whose obviously beautiful music had nothing to do with either camp and was its own very wonderful thing. My guest John Cage and I were very excited, and I dashed off  [to] a rave review while John went back to the Green Room to meet Alan.” For his part, Hovhaness said: “I believe in melody, and to create a melody one needs to go within oneself. I was very touched when John Cage said my music was like inward singing.” Music Played in Today's Program Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000) — Lousadzak (Keith Jarrett, piano; American Composers Orchestra; Dennis Russell Davies, cond.) MusicMasters 60204

Z107.7 FM Up Close Show hosted by Gary Daigneault
Ep. 249, w/ Harrison House Director Eva Soltes, November 21, 2021

Z107.7 FM Up Close Show hosted by Gary Daigneault

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2021 50:33


Gary talks with Eva Soltes of the Lou Harrison House in Joshua Tree. Soltes was a close associate of Lou Harrison, as well as a producer, director, and performer of over 40 years. She now leads the Harrison House and its programs. 

Composers Datebook
Tan Dun's "Water Passion"

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2021 2:00


Synopsis The year 2000 marked both the arrival of a new millennium and the 250th anniversary of the death of the great German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The International Bach Academy in Stuttgart decided to mark the occasion by commissioning four very different composers to write four new passion settings, one each after the Gospel accounts of the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. A German composer, Wolfgang Rihm, was chosen for the St. Luke Passion; a Russian, Sofia Gubaidulina for St. John's; an Argentine, Osvaldo Golijov for St. Mark's; and a Chinese composer, Tan Dun, for the Passion according to St. Matthew. And on today's date in 2000, Helmuth Rilling conducted the world premiere of Tan Dun's “Water Passion after St. Matthew.” Tan said he was struck by the references to water in St. Matthew's gospel, so his setting includes seventeen large, illuminated bowls of water, positioned on stage in the form of a cross. These divide the chorus, with three percussionists and a group of additional soloists stationed at the four points of this cross. In Tan's “Water Passion,” natural sounds of water mix with a wide range of vocal techniques, including Tuvan throat singing and the stylized virtuosity of Peking Opera. Music Played in Today's Program Tan Dun (b. 1957) – Water Passion (Stephen Bryant, bass; Mark O'Connor, violin; ensemble; Tan Dun, cond.) Sony 89927 On This Day Births 1841 - Czech composer Antonin Dvorák, in Nelahozeves; 1894 - Dutch composer Willem Pijper, in Zeist; 1933 - American composer Eric Salzman, in New York City; 1934 - British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (whose last name, despite its spelling, is pronounced "Davis" by the British); 1934 - Canadian composer Srul Irving Glick, in Toronto; Deaths 1613 - Italian nobleman, composer, lutenist, and murderer (of his first wife and her lover) Don Carlo Gesualdo, age c. 53, at his castle in Gesualdo; 1949 - German composer and conductor Richard Strauss, age 85, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen; 1991 - American composer Alex North, age 80, in Pacific Palisades, Calif.; Premieres 1961 - Earle Brown: "Available Forms I" for 18 players, in Darmstadt; 1971 - Bernstein: gala premiere "Mass (A Theater Piece)" at the inauguration of the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., choreographed by Alvin Ainley, directed by Gordon Davidson, and conducted by Maurice Peress (Bernstein shared a box section with members of the Kennedy family, including Senator Ted Kennedy and his mother, Rose; Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis did not attend this performance); A dress rehearsal performances of this new work was also open to the public and specially-invited members of Congress the preceding day; 1975 - Paul Chihara: "Ceremony V (Symphony in Celebration)," in Houston; 1994 - Michael Torke: "Javelin," by the Atlanta Symphony, Yoel Levi conducting; 1995 - Lou Harrison: "New First Suite for Strings," in Majorca, by the Stuttgart Symphony, Dennis Russell Davies conductin; 2000 - Tan Dun: "Water Passion after St. Matthew," in Stuttgart (Germany), with vocal soloists Elizabeth Keusch and Stephen Bryant, violinist Mark O'Connor, cellist Maya Beiser, and percussionist David Cossin, and the orchestra of the Bach Academy conducted by the composer; This work was one of four passion settings commissioned by the International Bach Academy to honor the 250th anniversary of Bach's death in the year 2000 (see also: Aug. 29 Sept 1 5). Links and Resources On Tan Dun More on Tan Dun

NIGHT-LIGHT RADIO
The Beatles-Her Kid Brother's Band w/Lou Harrison–Host Dr. Bob Hieronimus

NIGHT-LIGHT RADIO

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2021 85:00


As a record 73 million viewers watched The Beatles' American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show a half-century ago, the audience was largely unaware of the behind-the scenes efforts in the preceding weeks and months that made the historic February 9, 1964 performance a reality. Those efforts were spearheaded by Louise Harrison, sister of guitarist George Harrison, from her home in a small town in southern Illinois. In My Kid Brother's Band a.k.a. The Beatles Louise describes her tireless efforts to help promote The Beatles and their records (already household names in England) on this side of the Atlantic where they were still completely unknown. We learn of Lou's crucial behind-the-scenes work as an American resident to guide Beatles' manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin and assist them in the effort to spread Beatlemania from Britain to the U.S. She even traveled with The Beatles on their three American tours in the summer of '64, '65 and '66.  Lou shares her memories of her parents' home in Liverpool and how it became a regular hangout for the group, and how her parents provided a nurturing environment for George and the other Beatles.  She tells us how the family principles helped to guide Harrison and the band through their unprecedented success during the 60s and through George's solo career. "It's important for you to know more about our parents and our upbringing, so you can better understand how (George) became the man you love and admire."  My Kid Brother's Band... a.k.a. The Beatles, Acclaim Press, 2014. Hosted by Dr. Bob Hieronimus www.21stCenturyRadio.com. Produced by Hieronimus & Co. for 21st Century Radio®.  Edited version provided to Nightlight Radio with permission.

Night-Light Radio
The Beatles-Her Kid Brother's Band w/Lou Harrison–Host Dr. Bob Hieronimus

Night-Light Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2021 84:43


As a record 73 million viewers watched The Beatles' American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show a half-century ago, the audience was largely unaware of the behind-the scenes efforts in the preceding weeks and months that made the historic February 9, 1964 performance a reality. Those efforts were spearheaded by Louise Harrison, sister of guitarist George Harrison, from her home in a small town in southern Illinois. In My Kid Brother's Band a.k.a. The Beatles Louise describes her tireless efforts to help promote The Beatles and their records (already household names in England) on this side of the Atlantic where they were still completely unknown. We learn of Lou's crucial behind-the-scenes work as an American resident to guide Beatles' manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin and assist them in the effort to spread Beatlemania from Britain to the U.S. She even traveled with The Beatles on their three American tours in the summer of '64, '65 and '66.  Lou shares her memories of her parents' home in Liverpool and how it became a regular hangout for the group, and how her parents provided a nurturing environment for George and the other Beatles.  She tells us how the family principles helped to guide Harrison and the band through their unprecedented success during the 60s and through George's solo career. "It's important for you to know more about our parents and our upbringing, so you can better understand how (George) became the man you love and admire."  My Kid Brother's Band... a.k.a. The Beatles, Acclaim Press, 2014. Hosted by Dr. Bob Hieronimus www.21stCenturyRadio.com. Produced by Hieronimus & Co. for 21st Century Radio®.  Edited version provided to Nightlight Radio with permission.

Composers Datebook
A Tippett Triple

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2021 2:00


Synopsis On today's date in 1980, at a Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Colin Davis led the London Symphony in the premiere of a Triple Concerto for violin, viola and cello with orchestra, a new work by the British composer Michael Tippett. The central slow movement of the new Triple Concerto, marked “very slow—calmer still,” proved to be one of Tippett's most lyrical and colorful moments, and with it, Tippett joined a long line of Western composers, including Claude Debussy, Benjamin Britten, and Lou Harrison, who have been inspired by Asian music: specifically the traditional bronze gong orchestras of the islands of Indonesia, known as “gamelan.” Shortly before he composed his Triple Concerto, Tippet had visited Java and Bali, and had experienced first-hand performances of gamelan music in the palaces, temples and gardens of Indonesia. In describing the role of the artist as he saw it, Tippett suggested “the creation of images of vigor for a decadent period, images of calm for one too violent, images of reconciliation for a world torn by divisions, and in an age of mediocrity and shattered dreams, images of abounding, generous, exuberant beauty.” Music Played in Today's Program Sir Michael Tippett (1905 - 1998) — Triple Concerto (Kovacic-Caussé- Baillie Trio; BBC Philharmonic; Sir Michael Tippett, cond.) Nimbus 5301

Composers Datebook
Lou Harrison's "Pacifika Rondo"

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2021 2:00


Synopsis The British poet Rudyard Kipling wrote: ‘Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.’ But on today’s date in 1963, East DID meet West at the premiere performance of a musical work by the American composer Lou Harrison, titled “Pacifika Rondo Written for an Orchestra of Western and Oriental Instruments" at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii. For Lou Harrison, it was just one more stop on a journey he had begun decades earlier. In the spring of 1935, when he was still a teenager, Lou Harrison had enrolled in a course entitled “Music of the Peoples of the World” at the University of California extension in San Francisco. The course was taught by the American composer Henry Cowell, who became Harrison’s composition teacher. Cowell urged his pupils to explore non-Western musical traditions and forms. Javanese gamelan music became a big influence in Harrison’s music, and, in 1961-62, a Rockefeller Foundation grant made it possible for him to study Asian music in Korea. The movements of Harrison’s “Pacifika Rondo” refer to various sections of the Pacific Basin. “In composing Pacifika Rondo,” wrote Harrison, “I have thought, with love, around the circle of the Pacific.” Music Played in Today's Program Lou Harrison (1917 – 2003) Pacifica Rondo Oakland Youth Orchestra; Robert Hughes, cond. Phoenix 118

Composers Datebook
Rautavaara's Fifth

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2021 2:00


Synopsis In the 1980s, the Finnish Broadcasting Company had come up with the idea of commissioning a whole evening’s worth of orchestral pieces by native composer Einojuhanni Rautavaara, which, when taken together, would form a conventional concert program of overture, concerto and symphony. These three works have come to be called the “Angel Trilogy,” since each of them has a title with the word “Angel” in it. Rautavaara’s Fifth Symphony, with the working title “Monologue with Angels,” premiered on today’s date in 1986, was originally to be the symphonic conclusion of this triple commission. But Rautavaara dropped the title, and his Symphony No. 7, subtitled “Angel of Light,” ended up being the third part of the “Angel Trilogy,” alongside an overture entitled “Angels and Visitations” and a double-bass concerto entitled “Angel of Dusk.” If you asked the mystical Rautavaara why he changed his mind, he would probably have said it really wasn’t HIS idea at all. Rautavaara believed that his compositions already existed in ‘another reality,’ as he said, and his job was just to bring it into our world in one piece. "I firmly believe that compositions have a will of their own,” he said, “even though some people smile at the concept.” Music Played in Today's Program Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 - 2016) Symphony No. 5 Leipzig Radio Symphony; Max Pommer, cond. BMG 62671 On This Day Births 1885 - German conductor and composer, Otto Klemperer, in Breslau; 1917 - American composer Lou Harrison, in Portland, Ore.; Deaths 1847 - German composer Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, age 41, in Berlin; She was the sister of Felix Mendelssohn; Premieres 1723 - Handel: opera "Flavio, re de' Langobardi" (Flavio, King of the Langobards), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: May 25); 1832 - Mendelssohn: "Hebrides" Overture ("Fingal's Cave"), in London, conducted by the composer; 1914 - R. Strauss: ballet "Josephslegende," in Paris; 1919 - Debussy: Saxophone Rhapsody (orchestral version by Roger-Ducasse), at a Société Nationale de Musique concert conducted by André Caplet at the Salle Gaveau in Paris; 1923 - Holst: "The Perfect Fool," in London at Covent Garden Opera House; 1941 - Cage: "Third Construction" for four percussionists, in San Francisco; 1942 - Copland: "Lincoln Portrait," by the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by André Kostelanetz, with William Adams the narrator; 1953 - American premiere of Stravinsky's opera, "The Rake's Progress," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, with the composer conducting; The world premiere performance occurred on September 11, 1951, in Venice, again with the composer conducting; 1966 - Ginastera: "Concerto per Corde," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1986 - Rautavaara: Symphony No. 5, in Helsinki, by Finnish Radio Symphony, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting; 1987 - Alvin Singleton: "Shadows" for orchestra. By the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Shaw conducting; 1992 - James MacMillan: "Sinfonietta" at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, by the London Sinfonietta, Martyn Brabbins conducting; 1993 - Philip Glass: opera "Orphée" (based on the Jean Cocteau film), by the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass.; Others 1719 - Handel is commanded by the Lord Chamberlain (Thomas Holles, Duke of Newcastle), to hire singers for the recently established Royal Academy of Music's productions of Italian operas (Gregorian date: May 25); 1974 - Final London concert performance by conductor Leopold Stokowski, age 92 conducting the New Philharmonia Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall: The program was Symphony No. 4 by Brahms, the "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" by Vaughan Williams, the "Merry Waltz" by Otto Klemperer, and the "Rapsodie espagnole" by Ravel; This was not Stokowski's "final" concert appearance, however; He was on the podium again in Venice in July of that year, and continued to make studio recordings; He died on September 13, 1977, at the age of 95 in his house in Nether Wallop, Hampshire, England; Links and Resources On Rautavaara Rautavaara NYTimes obit

Composers Datebook
Rautavaara's Fifth

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2021 2:00


Synopsis In the 1980s, the Finnish Broadcasting Company had come up with the idea of commissioning a whole evening’s worth of orchestral pieces by native composer Einojuhanni Rautavaara, which, when taken together, would form a conventional concert program of overture, concerto and symphony. These three works have come to be called the “Angel Trilogy,” since each of them has a title with the word “Angel” in it. Rautavaara’s Fifth Symphony, with the working title “Monologue with Angels,” premiered on today’s date in 1986, was originally to be the symphonic conclusion of this triple commission. But Rautavaara dropped the title, and his Symphony No. 7, subtitled “Angel of Light,” ended up being the third part of the “Angel Trilogy,” alongside an overture entitled “Angels and Visitations” and a double-bass concerto entitled “Angel of Dusk.” If you asked the mystical Rautavaara why he changed his mind, he would probably have said it really wasn’t HIS idea at all. Rautavaara believed that his compositions already existed in ‘another reality,’ as he said, and his job was just to bring it into our world in one piece. "I firmly believe that compositions have a will of their own,” he said, “even though some people smile at the concept.” Music Played in Today's Program Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 - 2016) Symphony No. 5 Leipzig Radio Symphony; Max Pommer, cond. BMG 62671 On This Day Births 1885 - German conductor and composer, Otto Klemperer, in Breslau; 1917 - American composer Lou Harrison, in Portland, Ore.; Deaths 1847 - German composer Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, age 41, in Berlin; She was the sister of Felix Mendelssohn; Premieres 1723 - Handel: opera "Flavio, re de' Langobardi" (Flavio, King of the Langobards), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: May 25); 1832 - Mendelssohn: "Hebrides" Overture ("Fingal's Cave"), in London, conducted by the composer; 1914 - R. Strauss: ballet "Josephslegende," in Paris; 1919 - Debussy: Saxophone Rhapsody (orchestral version by Roger-Ducasse), at a Société Nationale de Musique concert conducted by André Caplet at the Salle Gaveau in Paris; 1923 - Holst: "The Perfect Fool," in London at Covent Garden Opera House; 1941 - Cage: "Third Construction" for four percussionists, in San Francisco; 1942 - Copland: "Lincoln Portrait," by the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by André Kostelanetz, with William Adams the narrator; 1953 - American premiere of Stravinsky's opera, "The Rake's Progress," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, with the composer conducting; The world premiere performance occurred on September 11, 1951, in Venice, again with the composer conducting; 1966 - Ginastera: "Concerto per Corde," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1986 - Rautavaara: Symphony No. 5, in Helsinki, by Finnish Radio Symphony, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting; 1987 - Alvin Singleton: "Shadows" for orchestra. By the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Shaw conducting; 1992 - James MacMillan: "Sinfonietta" at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, by the London Sinfonietta, Martyn Brabbins conducting; 1993 - Philip Glass: opera "Orphée" (based on the Jean Cocteau film), by the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass.; Others 1719 - Handel is commanded by the Lord Chamberlain (Thomas Holles, Duke of Newcastle), to hire singers for the recently established Royal Academy of Music's productions of Italian operas (Gregorian date: May 25); 1974 - Final London concert performance by conductor Leopold Stokowski, age 92 conducting the New Philharmonia Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall: The program was Symphony No. 4 by Brahms, the "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" by Vaughan Williams, the "Merry Waltz" by Otto Klemperer, and the "Rapsodie espagnole" by Ravel; This was not Stokowski's "final" concert appearance, however; He was on the podium again in Venice in July of that year, and continued to make studio recordings; He died on September 13, 1977, at the age of 95 in his house in Nether Wallop, Hampshire, England; Links and Resources On Rautavaara Rautavaara NYTimes obit

EQ
Pianist and Community Leader Sarah Cahill

EQ

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2021 29:50


In my discussion with Bay Area pianist, musical activist and community organizer Sarah Cahill, we talk visioning, dream journals, when the music is not about you, the purpose of LinkedIn, and Sarah's project, The Future is Female. Sarah Cahill is a prolific pianist who has commissioned, premiered, and recorded numerous compositions for solo piano. Cahill founded and co-organizes the annual Garden of Memory event at Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, CA (my favorite event of all time -- sorry! had to interject!!). Before the pandemic, she also curated a monthly series of new music concerts at the Berkeley Art Museum and before that at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Cahill is faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory, and host of the radio show Revolutions Per Minute on KALW in San Francisco. She's had works dedicated to her by the likes of John Adams, Terry Riley, and Pauline Oliveros, and has premiered pieces by Lou Harrison, Julia Wolfe, George Lewis, and more, more, more.www.sarahcahill.comPhoto by Marianne LaRochelle. Used by permission.

Composers Datebook
Lou Harrison conducts an Ives premiere

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2021 2:00


On today’s date in 1946, composer Lou Harrison conducted the premiere performance of an orchestral work written some 45 years earlier. It was the Third Symphony of Charles Ives, composed between 1901 and 1904. Early in 1911, Ives had sent the score for his symphony for consideration to the major New York orchestras of his day, Walter Damrosch’s New York Symphony and Gustav Mahler’s New York Philharmonic. Damrosch never responded, but it seems Mahler took notice. In 1911, the gravely ill Mahler took Ives’ score with him when he returned to Vienna for treatment, apparently with the intention of performing it. Sadly, Mahler died before that could happen, and Ives’ Third would have to wait another 35 years for its premiere. Lou Harrison’s 1946 performance was given by the Little Symphony of New York at Carnegie Hall’s smaller chamber music room. The critic for Musical America wrote: “Ives’ Third is an American masterpiece . . . as unmistakably a part of our land as Huckleberry Finn or Moby Dick.” Ives’s Symphony won the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Music. When notified of the award, the crusty Mr. Ives, then elderly, ill, and living in retirement, responded: “Prizes are for boys—I’m grown up.”

Sterren van de ZaterdagMatinee
#13 - Markante Maestro's - John Adams (S01)

Sterren van de ZaterdagMatinee

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2021 60:29


Sinds eind jaren tachtig is componist en dirigent (en later menigmaal begeesterend meedenker over de programmering) John Adams (https://www.npoklassiek.nl/componisten/580e14ca-cce2-4b55-a38b-d335636fdbec/adams-john) (*1947) bijna een ‘huisvriend' van onze concertserie. Op 6 oktober 2001 zou zijn kompaan Edo de Waart (https://www.npoklassiek.nl/klassiek/alles-over-edo-de-waart/88de5bc5-c012-47fe-8424-57951f63f38a/wie-is-edo-de-waart) de wereldpremière van zijn Guide to Strange Places dirigeren. Omdat zich een blessure voordeed, moest De Waart op het laatste moment afzeggen. Adams, die de repetities die week had bijgewoond, nam een dag later het grootste deel van het programma over – alleen het Pianoconcert van Lou Harrison besloot hij over te laten aan de assistent-dirigent Luke Dollman. Het werd zijn debuut bij het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest. Hans Haffmans spreekt met de toenmalige programmeur Jan Zekveld over dit uiterst spannende moment in de Matineegeschiedenis. Misschien juist door die spanning speelden de musici van het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest op de top van hun kunnen. Twee weken later zou Edo de Waart Adams' opera The Death of Klinghoffer wél dirigeren.

Sterren van de ZaterdagMatinee
#13 - Markante Maestro's - John Adams (S01)

Sterren van de ZaterdagMatinee

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2021 60:29


Sinds eind jaren tachtig is componist en dirigent (en later menigmaal begeesterend meedenker over de programmering) John Adams (*1947) bijna een ‘huisvriend' van onze concertserie. Op 6 oktober 2001 zou zijn kompaan Edo de Waart de wereldpremière van zijn Guide to Strange Places dirigeren. Omdat zich een blessure voordeed, moest De Waart op het laatste moment afzeggen. Adams, die de repetities die week had bijgewoond, nam een dag later het grootste deel van het programma over – alleen het Pianoconcert van Lou Harrison besloot hij over te laten aan de assistent-dirigent Luke Dollman. Het werd zijn debuut bij het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest. Hans Haffmans spreekt met de toenmalige programmeur Jan Zekveld over dit uiterst spannende moment in de Matineegeschiedenis. Misschien juist door die spanning speelden de musici van het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest op de top van hun kunnen. Twee weken later zou Edo de Waart Adams' opera The Death of Klinghoffer wél dirigeren.

Composers Datebook
Harrison's "Elegiac" Symphony

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2020 2:00


On today’s date in 1975, the Oakland, California, Youth Orchestra gave the first performance of a symphony by a Bay area resident, American composer Lou Harrison. Harrison began sketches for this symphonic score back in 1942 and tinkered with it off and off until the day of its premiere performance, even stapling in 15 additional measures to the young players’ parts at their final dress rehearsal. The commission for Harrison’s Fourth Symphony, subtitled “The Elegiac,” came from the Koussevitzky Foundation, and in part was written as a tribute to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky, two of the 20th century’s greatest new music patrons. But the intensely personal tone of this elegiac symphony was prompted by the death of Harrison’s mother, which was followed by the death of his close friend, the iconoclastic American composer and instrument inventor Harry Partch. The symphony’s first movement is titled “Tears of the Angel Israfel”—the angel of music in Islamic lore—and the score also bears two inscriptions: The first reads “Epicurus said of death: where death is, we are not; where we are, death is not; therefore, death is nothing to us.” The second inscription is a quote from Horace: “Bitter sorrows will grow milder with music.”

Composers Datebook
Harrison's "Elegiac" Symphony

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2020 2:00


On today’s date in 1975, the Oakland, California, Youth Orchestra gave the first performance of a symphony by a Bay area resident, American composer Lou Harrison. Harrison began sketches for this symphonic score back in 1942 and tinkered with it off and off until the day of its premiere performance, even stapling in 15 additional measures to the young players’ parts at their final dress rehearsal. The commission for Harrison’s Fourth Symphony, subtitled “The Elegiac,” came from the Koussevitzky Foundation, and in part was written as a tribute to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky, two of the 20th century’s greatest new music patrons. But the intensely personal tone of this elegiac symphony was prompted by the death of Harrison’s mother, which was followed by the death of his close friend, the iconoclastic American composer and instrument inventor Harry Partch. The symphony’s first movement is titled “Tears of the Angel Israfel”—the angel of music in Islamic lore—and the score also bears two inscriptions: The first reads “Epicurus said of death: where death is, we are not; where we are, death is not; therefore, death is nothing to us.” The second inscription is a quote from Horace: “Bitter sorrows will grow milder with music.”

Composers Datebook
Lou Harrison's "some assembly required" Concerto

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2020 2:00


The publisher of Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin and Percussion, which received its premiere performance on today’s date in 1961 at New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, states with refreshing honesty that it is (quote) “not one of Harrison's most frequently performed works” and that “The highly rhythmic violin line is pleasantly contrasted by the exceptionally varied percussion ensemble.” Now, by an “exceptionally varied” percussion ensemble, they mean in addition to conventional instruments, Harrison asks for tin cans, suspended brake drums, flowerpots, plumber’s pipes, wind chimes, and spring coils. Not surprisingly, it can be difficult to assemble the “heavy metal” called for in the score. For a 1965 performance, Harrison was forced to spend hours, as he put it, "chasing down pipe lengths and flowerpots in hardware stores." But there was a method to his madness. Harrison was trying to imitate the sounds of the tuned bronze gongs of the traditional Indonesian gamelan orchestra by using distinctly American “found” materials. In performance, the set-up seems downright humorous at first sight, but at first sound, it works. In fact, one suspects Harrison WANTS the audience to chuckle at first, but then be charmed.

Composers Datebook
Lou Harrison's "some assembly required" Concerto

Composers Datebook

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2020 2:00


The publisher of Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin and Percussion, which received its premiere performance on today’s date in 1961 at New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, states with refreshing honesty that it is (quote) “not one of Harrison's most frequently performed works” and that “The highly rhythmic violin line is pleasantly contrasted by the exceptionally varied percussion ensemble.” Now, by an “exceptionally varied” percussion ensemble, they mean in addition to conventional instruments, Harrison asks for tin cans, suspended brake drums, flowerpots, plumber’s pipes, wind chimes, and spring coils. Not surprisingly, it can be difficult to assemble the “heavy metal” called for in the score. For a 1965 performance, Harrison was forced to spend hours, as he put it, "chasing down pipe lengths and flowerpots in hardware stores." But there was a method to his madness. Harrison was trying to imitate the sounds of the tuned bronze gongs of the traditional Indonesian gamelan orchestra by using distinctly American “found” materials. In performance, the set-up seems downright humorous at first sight, but at first sound, it works. In fact, one suspects Harrison WANTS the audience to chuckle at first, but then be charmed.

Guitare, guitares
Cocktail de cordes pincées, de Tom Jobim à Lou Harrison en passant par Gesualdo

Guitare, guitares

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2020 30:09


durée : 00:30:09 - Cocktail de cordes pincées, de Tom Jobim à Lou Harrison en passant par Gesualdo - par : Sébastien Llinares - Les cordes nous font rêver depuis toujours, nous incitent à remonter le temps aux frontières de l'imaginaire et de la rigueur ! - réalisé par : Patrick Lérisset

Guy Livingston: The Bug -
The Bug S2E9: Lost friends and old recipes

Guy Livingston: The Bug - "music, secrets, and silence"

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2020 11:10


This week’s show is in memory of Fuad Bahou: cook, poet, and artist. It’s been a strange week for many reasons. Death has been present for many people I know. But music and food help to understand, mourn, and accept.   Playlist: Music by Einojuhani Rautavaara, Lou Harrison and Ezio Bosso Text on time by: […]

Hearing The Pulitzers
Episode 5 - 1947: Charles E. Ives, Symphony No. 3, "The Camp Meeting"

Hearing The Pulitzers

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2020 39:55


In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the winner of the fifth Pulitzer Prize in Music, Charles E. Ives for his Symphony No. 3, "The Camp Meeting." This piece, largely scored/written between 1908-11, features many of Ives's favorite techniques, including musical borrowing, cumulative form, and mixtures of harmonic techniques all wrapped up in a short and compact chamber symphony. Ives himself had mixed feelings about the piece, thinking it was a transitional "crossway between the older ways and the newer ways," but it caught the attention of the Pulitzer board through its premiere performance in New York conducted by Lou Harrison in 1946. It was also the first piece to win the Pulitzer Prize that written much earlier than its premiere, and it helped propel Ives and his music into the public eye.   If you'd like more information about Ives or his Symphony No. 3, we recommend: 1) The Charles Ives Society: www.charlesives.org 2) Charles Ives, Memos, edited by John Kirkpatrick (W.W. Norton, 1971) 3) J. Peter Burkholder, All Made of Tunes (Yale University Press, 1995) 4) Mark Zobel, The Third Symphony of Charles Ives. Vol. 6 CMS Sourcebooks in American Music, edited by Michael Budds. (Pendragon Press, 2009). 5) A new recording by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony: https://www.sfsymphony.org/Discover-the-Music/SFS-Media/charles-Ives-Nos3-4  

PERCCAST
Dez peças importantes para a Percussão- Parte I

PERCCAST

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2020 21:27


Neste episódio, falaremos um pouco sobre cinco de dez peças que fizeram história no mundo da Percussão e também, seus compositores: Ionisation- Edgar Varèse, Rítmicas n. 5 e n. 6- Amadeo Roldán , Canticle n.1- Lou Harrison, Pulse- Henry Cowell e First Construction- John Cage. Falaremos sobre as outras cinco peças no próximo episódio.

Asia Society Hong Kong Movers & Shakers Podcast
18. Wu Man - World's Premier Pipa Virtuoso & Leading Ambassador of Chinese Music

Asia Society Hong Kong Movers & Shakers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2020 41:17


Today's podcast is with Wu Man, recognized as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese music, Wu Man has carved out a career as a soloist, educator, and composer giving her lute-like instrument—which has a history of over 2,000 years in China—a new role in both traditional and contemporary music. Through numerous concert tours she has premiered hundreds of new works for the pipa, while spearheading multimedia projects to both preserve and create awareness of China’s ancient musical traditions. Her adventurous spirit and virtuosity have led to collaborations across artistic disciplines, allowing her to reach wider audiences as she works to cross cultural and musical borders. Her efforts were recognized when she was named Musical America’s 2013 “Instrumentalist of the Year,” marking the first time this prestigious award has been bestowed on a player of a non-Western instrument. Having been brought up in the Pudong School of pipa playing, one of the most prestigious classical styles of Imperial China, Ms. Wu is now recognized as an outstanding exponent of the traditional repertoire as well as a leading interpreter of contemporary pipa music by today’s most prominent composers such as Tan Dun, Philip Glass, the late Lou Harrison, Terry Riley, Bright Sheng, Chen Yi, and many others. She was the recipient of The Bunting Fellowship at Harvard University in 1998, and was the first Chinese traditional musician to receive The United States Artist Fellowship in 2008. She is also the first artist from China to perform at the White House. In 2015, she was appointed Visiting Professor of three major Chinese conservatories: her alma mater the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Xi’an Conservatory of Music, and Zhejiang Conservatory in her hometown; she has also served as Artistic Director of the Xi’an Silk Road Music Festival at the Xi'an Conservatory. Live playback of Wu Man's Chinese lecture. Suxuan (bitter bitter heart) for one hour. Livestream playback (in Chinese) https://www.facebook.com/643359479/posts/10157364900964480/?sfnsn=mo Wu Man's getting ready for tomorrow's (Apr. 3) Silkroad Home Sessions with Wu Man (Facebook). The concert starts at 12pm PT/3pm ET.

YAY VPA The HCC Arts
Bold Brew Music for Percussion, Strings and Piano

YAY VPA The HCC Arts

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2020 2:34


Houston Symphony Principal Timpanist Leo Soto is joined by his colleagues Wei Jiang, viola and Annie Chen, violin in a unique chamber music program. Featured pieces include Michael Colgrass's Variations for Four Drums and Viola and Joe LoCascio's new work, Three Windows. Lou Harrison's Varied Trio featuring pianist Sherry Cheng also performed.

Voice of the Arts
Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh - February 5, 2020

Voice of the Arts

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2020


Edward Leonard, Federico Garcia de Castro, and Andrew Swenson stopped by the QED Morning Show to talk about the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh concert this weekend - Friday February 7th at First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh.  The concert features a world premiere by Federico Garcia-De Castro, as well as the Pipa Concerto by Lou Harrison featuring Yang Jin as soloist, and special guest Afro Yaqui on the second half of the program.

Private Passions
James Thornton

Private Passions

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2020 36:10


Michael Berkeley talks to the environmental lawyer James Thornton about tackling the climate crisis, about Zen Buddhism and about James's love of the violin. Every day we’re bombarded with more bad news about the climate crisis, deadly air pollution, and our oceans filling up with plastic. So who will save our fragile planet? The UN? Governments? Scientists? Activists? If James Thornton is anything to go by, it might well be lawyers. As the founding CEO of ClientEarth, an international not-for-profit organisation, he holds governments and corporations to account and forces them to uphold environmental legislation. Many musicians support the work of ClientEarth – David Gilmour donated the $21million raised from the sale of his guitars – and James chooses music with an environmental theme from his long-time collaborator Brian Eno. He talks to Michael about his lifelong passion for the violin and how playing it helps him keep his life in balance - he chooses Jascha Heifitz’s astonishing recording of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto. He is also an ordained Zen Buddhist priest and we hear a key Buddhist text set by the master of modern gamelan, Lou Harrison. And James talks about why he prefers life in the UK to his native USA, not least because he was able to marry his long-term partner, the writer Martin Goodman. We hear the music by György Kurtág which they chose for their wedding. Producer: Jane Greenwood A Loftus production for BBC Radio 3

Stellar Firma
Episode 29 - Commerce and Candy

Stellar Firma

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2020 26:49


Episode 29Commerce and CandyCLIENT - Fugatissiman and/or ArchexianniamThe client(s) is/are interested in a birthday party planet for their niece, Rosie Nix (they are turning 6). Suggested sales tactics: by decree of Trexel the Mighty, exploit work/life unbalance, withhold things wanted, upselling.Content Warning for:Comedic violenceAbleism (dissociative disorder)Emotional abuseAlcoholismSpecial thanks to Molly & Emily for this episode's Brief Submission and this week's Patrons: Spooooky, Kate Talbot, Lisa K., Jari Thorup Palo, Lou Harrison, Elliot, Claudia Howard, Amanda Lord, Sarah Cavanagh, Jessica Freeman, Freshcat, dog, Elizabeth Kalbacher, Aine Morgan, Corvin J Lyn, Kit, Cody Wolfe, Iris Lazuli, Sparr, Carrie LeClairIf you'd like to join them be sure to visit www.patreon.com/rustyquillCreated by Tim Meredith and Ben MeredithProduced by Lowri Ann DaviesExecutive Producer Alexander J NewallPerformances:I.M.O.G.E.N: Imogen HarrisDavid 7: Ben MeredithTrexel Geistman: Tim MeredithEditing: Alexander J Newall and David DevereuxMusic: Samuel DF JonesArtwork: Anika KhanFeatured SFX:Previously credited artists via freesound.org.Subscribe using your podcast software of choice or by visiting www.rustyquill.com/subscribe and be sure to rate and review us online; it really helps us spread across the galaxy.Join our community:WEBSITE: www.rustyquill.comFACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/therustyquill/TWITTER: @therustyquillREDDIT: www.reddit.com/r/RustyQuill/DISCORD: https://discord.gg/KckTv8yEMAIL: mail@rustyquill.comStellar Firma is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill Ltd. and Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Sharealike 4.0 International Licence. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

commerce mighty content warning lisa k lou harrison jessica freeman international licence kate talbot rusty quill ltd amanda lord kcktv8yemail
The Magnus Archives
MAG 160.2 - Season 4 Q+A Part 2

The Magnus Archives

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2019 59:18


It's time for Alex and Jonny to answer more of your questions in the second part of our Magnus Q&A!Thanks to this week's Patrons: Spooooky, Kate Talbot, Lisa K., Jari Thorup Palo, Lou Harrison, Elliot, Claudia Howard, Amanda Lord, Sarah Cavanagh, Jessica Freeman, Freshcat, dog, Elizabeth Kalbacher, Aine Morgan, Corvin J Lyn, Kit, Cody Wolfe, Iris Lazuli, Sparr, Carrie LeClair If you would like to join them, be sure to visit www.patreon.com/rustyquillEdited this week by Elizabeth Moffatt & Alexander J Newall.Check out our merchandise at https://www.redbubble.com/people/rustyquill/collections/708982-the-magnus-archives-s1You can subscribe to this podcast using your podcast software of choice, or by visiting www.rustyquill.com/subscribePlease rate and review on your software of choice, it really helps us to spread the podcast to new listeners, so share the fear.Join our community:WEBSITE: rustyquill.comFACEBOOK: facebook.com/therustyquillTWITTER: @therustyquillREDDIT: reddit.com/r/RustyQuillDISCORD: https://discord.gg/KckTv8yEMAIL: mail@rustyquill.comThe Magnus Archives is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill Ltd. and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Sharealike 4.0 International Licence See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Grow With Soul
Coaching Episode - How to Find Your Ideal Client and Talk to Them with Ami-Lou Harrison

Grow With Soul

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2019 45:56


Today is a coaching episode with Amy-Lou Harrison a Graphic Designer and illustrator working on building her freelance business.  I know I talk a lot about the importance of knowing who your ideal customer is and using that to inform all of your marketing but how do you do that exactly. That is what Amy and I are talking about today.  Going beyond the demographics to find the problem that you want to help with, using educated guesses and your existing experience to work out your ideal client, the customer journal and then applying all of that in your copy and in your marketing.   

Rusty Quill Gaming Podcast
RQG 133 - Sneaks and Cuddles

Rusty Quill Gaming Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2019 45:53


Join Alex, Helen, Bryn, Lydia, and Ben as they explore some tunnels!This week Hamid and Zolf lighten up, and the group rifle through some supplies.Thanks to this week's Patrons:Spooooky, Kate Talbot, Lisa K., Jari Thorup Palo, Lou Harrison, Elliot, Claudia Howard, Amanda Lord, Sarah Cavanagh, Jessica Freeman, Freshcat, dog, Elizabeth Kalbacher, Aine Morgan, Corvin J Lyn, Kit, Cody Wolfe, Iris Lazuli, Sparr, Carrie LeClairIf you would like to join them, be sure to visit www.patreon.com/rustyquillEditing this week by Lowri Ann Davies, Tessa Vroom & Alexander J NewallSFX this week by bulldozia, sagetyrtle, alonsotm, OGsoundFX, InspectorJ, FreqMan, lolamadeus, 14FPanska_Nemec_Petr, Kyles, DWOBoyle, ScottFerguson1, niamhd00145229, sjnewton, maplegirlie, bennychico11 and previously credited artists via Freesound.orgAs always, today’s game system is available for free at d20pfsrd.comCheck out our merchandise available at https://www.redbubble.com/people/RustyQuill/shopJoin our community:WEBSITE: rustyquill.comFACEBOOK: facebook.com/therustyquillTWITTER: @therustyquillREDDIT: reddit.com/r/RustyQuillDISCORD: https://discord.gg/KckTv8yEMAIL: mail@rustyquill.comRusty Quill Gaming is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill Ltd. and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share alike 4.0 International Licence. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Desert Lady Diaries
DLD| Janet Armstrong Johnston | Ep 104

Desert Lady Diaries

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2019 40:15


Originally from the Philadelphia area, Janet became enamored with the desert while traveling through New Mexico on a family vacation to visit her dad’s one and only uncle in San Diego.  Driving through the desert she thought, “I have to come back to this place.”   Attending school for architecture in Cincinnati, Janet decided she wanted to get into the construction side of the business and through a co-op program at the college, she'd heard about Habitat for Humanity and landed a co-op in Atlanta, GA. While there, she caught Albuquerque architect Antoine Predock on the cover of Time magazine - this was her way back to the desert.   Though the Predock office continued to say no co-op opportunities were available, Janet remained hopeful and persistent. She drove to Albuquerque, having no interview appointment. While there, Janet worked at the youth hostel where she was staying and picked up a job waitressing at the local pancake house. The people were unique and interesting and she quickly realized she wanted to live in this kind of environment. And she finally ended up with a six month work session with the Predock firm.   Though Janet thought she might continue her schooling in New Mexico, her last co-op experience was in Berkeley, CA, where she was eventually  hired on with a firm where she discovered straw bale construction. The firm received a call to build a straw bale home for composer Lou Harrison in Joshua Tree, known today as Harrison House Music, Arts and Ecology, and Janet found herself in Joshua Tree to work on the project. This project would also be the beginning of Janet's interaction with the San Bernardino County planning, development, land-use and code enforcement departments.   Janet's ability to navigate county codes and ordinances became very useful later, in her role helping to fend off what became know as 'Alta Mira', a proposed 248-home, gated community on about 100 acres of land in Joshua Tree. Janet's knowledge and dedication was instrumental in this matter and after 10 years of, the developers decided to move on. You can read all about it here.     When Janet arrived in Joshua Tree, she knew only one person, George, who was associated with the Harrison House project. There was no Crossroads, just Park Center Deli, known today as Park Rock Café, next to the JTNP Visitors Center. This was Janet’s social scene until she was introduced to the local radio station, which helped her get more information about events happening in the community.   Our conversation about the County and the former Alta Mira project leads us into a discussion of how and where neighbors can get involved in the community, so as not to be caught off-guard about the goings on around town and make their voices heard.  We also discuss the serious crisis of a shortage of long term rentals, multi-family units or apartments in Joshua Tree, one that Janet sees more and more local families with school-aged children experiencing, and strongly suggests it would behoove the community to come together to talk about these issues in proactive, rather than reactive, ways.     Janet's Company - StrongArm Construction   AAA Map - Indian Country

The Brutally Delicious Podcast
A Casual Conversation with Mark Deutrom #002

The Brutally Delicious Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2019 31:26


Mark Deutrom is a guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. Mark Deutrom studied composition at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA . There he attended seminars with such composers as John Cage, Lou Harrison, Morton Feldman, Aaron Copland, and Morton Subotnick. In 1986 Deutrom co founded Alchemy Records in San Francisco, CA. During his time at the label he produced a record for his own band, Clown Alley, as well as records for Sacrilege, Melvins, RKL, and Neurosis. In 1993 Deutrom was invited to play bass in the Melvins. He was in the band from 1993-1998, and played on and contributed material to the albums "Prick", "Stoner Witch", "Stag", "Honky", " and additional releases. During his time with the band they toured with Tool, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Kiss, and Rush among others. In 2006 he was invited to collaborate with SunnO))) on various live dates in the USA and Europe. Deutrom has released various solo projects and continues to produce projects for others. The band Bellringer is the live vehicle for his music and currently features RL Hulsman on drums, Aaron Lack on drums, and Brian Ramirez on bass and vocals. In 2017 Mark Deutrom signed a licensing agreement with French heavy music label Season of Mist to reissue his catalog, and also for new music beginning with the album The Blue Bird released on January 4 2019. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brutally-delicious/message

The Choral Contrarians
Sacred Cow Tipping: Closing With a 'Crowd-Pleaser'

The Choral Contrarians

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2019 66:11


Richard and Eric try a new mode of discussion and ramble on in attempting to tip over a perceived 'sacred cow' of the current choral scene: closing concerts with 'crowd-pleasing' pieces.  This seemingly simple idea has a surprisingly large number of factors and variables to ruminate on, and the boys end up perhaps having more questions than when they started.'musica obscura' looks at Lou Harrison's (1917-2003) obscure “La Koro Sutro.”'Readings and Writings' is a short description of the dire state of Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) in the 1870s by his friend Ilya Repin.

Data Cult Audio
Data Cult Audio 0103 - Jill Fraser

Data Cult Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2019 38:19


About: Jill Fraser is a composer and electronic music pioneer. She was mentored by Morton Subotnick, studied with Mel Powell and Earle Brown at CalArts and attended master classes with, among others John Cage and Lou Harrison. After finishing her master’s degree in composition she worked at Serge Modular in Hollywood and took her modular synths into the Hollywood studios to score films. Her composing credits on film scores include Personal Best directed by Robert Towne with collaborator, the infamous composer Jack Nitzsche and Hardcore (starring George C Scott, directed by Paul Schrader). Jill has composed both electronic and acoustic music for hundreds of TV commercials for Lexus, BMW, Honda, Porsche, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mattel, Carl’s Jr, NBC, Apple Computers, Adidas, Estee Lauder, Baskin Robbins, Yamaha Motorcycles and many, many others. She has won 3 Clios for original music and is a voting member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She toured with singer Buffy Sainte Marie and performance artist Ivan E Roth. Her performances with Ivan were part of the vibrant Los Angeles punk and spoken word scene and she played live modular synthesizer, opening for acts including the Minutemen and Henry Rollins. Ivan and Jill released the CD Alphabetical Disorders on Periodic Music featuring “Life is a Noun”. Links: http://www.jillfrasermusic.com/ https://thezzyzxsociety.bandcamp.com/releases https://www.facebook.com/jillfrasermusic

Private Passions
Mark Morris

Private Passions

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2019 32:22


Over the last 40 years, Mark Morris has established a reputation as the most musical of choreographers. Inspired by both baroque and twentieth-century music, he’s most famously choreographed Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” – he danced both Dido and the sorceress himself - and his witty version of The Nutcracker, “The Hard Nut”, has been so popular that it’s been staged every year for almost 30 years. Mark Morris has worked in opera too, directing and choreographing productions for the Metropolitan Opera, the English National Opera and The Royal Opera, among others. He tours extensively but home is the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, which runs outreach programmes into the local New York community. He’s received numerous awards, including the Leonard Bernstein Award for the Elevation of Music in Society. In a humorous and revealing interview, Mark Morris looks back on his childhood in Seattle and his childhood passion for music and dance. It wasn’t very socially acceptable for a boy to become a dancer: “If you were in dance, you were a sissy. But I also was a sissy so what’s the problem?” He talks too about losing many friends to AIDS, and fearing that his own time was limited, a pressure that created a manic burst of creative energy. Music choices include Germaine Tailleferre, a French composer from the twenties whom he believes is unjustly neglected; Scarlatti; Handel; Lou Harrison; and Erik Satie. Produced by Elizabeth Burke A Loftus production for BBC Radio 3

Desert Lady Diaries
Desert Lady Diaries | Eva Soltes | Episode 38

Desert Lady Diaries

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2018 39:40


The desert was to be one of the locations for a documentary Eva was filming about composer, Lou Harrison. Lou was building a straw-bale construction home in Joshua Tree and invited Eva to come along for a visit during construction. Lou passed away a year to the day after construction was completed and Eva has become the Founder and Director of Harrison House Music, Arts & Ecology.  In this episode, Eva discusses her first visit to the desert and the subsequent visits that followed, the decision to move and the way in which she was introduced to a community that embraces and loves the arts.  Eva also discusses one of the first impressive artists in residence and how the ecology component was added to the concept.   Over the course of her decades-long career, Eva has produced and/or directed nearly one thousand music, dance, theater and media works for national and international audiences.  As a photographer her work has been published around the country and internationally in publications including: San Francisco Chronicle Magazine; San Francisco Chronicle, Guitar Player Magazine; Wired Magazine (GB); Los Angeles Times; The Bay Guardian; Oakland Tribune; Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, NY Times.   We wrap up the conversation with some insight into the planning of art and culture.       Harrison House     LOU HARRISON: A World of Music Trailer  

Black Mountain College Radio
Episode 1: Thomson + Harrison

Black Mountain College Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2017 22:33


This debut episode begins with Carmelo Pampillonio’s interview of Julie J. Thomson, the curator of our current exhibition “Begin to See: The Photographers of Black Mountain College.” It also features a segment dedicated to composer Lou Harrison, who taught at BMC. Lou Harrison would have been 100 today on May 14th, and we celebrate his […] The post Episode 1: Thomson + Harrison appeared first on Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center.

Classical Conversations
Lou Harrison Marathon at the TMA

Classical Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2017


The Toledo Symphony's Merwin Siu and the Toledo Museum of Art's Scott Boberg (both pictured) join us to talk about the fascinating music of American composer Lou Harrison, who is the focus of a marathon event at the TMA this weekend.Please note: due to copyright, audio samples have been truncated in this episode.

Upbeat Live
Upbeat Live - June 13, 2017: Eva Soltes re: Young Caesar

Upbeat Live

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2017 34:40


Concert: Young Caesar Upbeat Live provides historical and cultural context for many concerts, featuring engaging speakers, audio examples, and special guests. These events are free to ticket holders and are held in BP Hall, on the second floor, accessible after your ticket is scanned. For more information: laphil.com/upbeatlive About the Speaker: Eva Soltes is a prolific performing arts producer, dancer, and documentarian, who has championed the work of gifted artists and underserved art forms for decades. She is the Founder/ Director of Harrison House Music, Arts & Ecology, a residency/performance program based in the late Lou Harrison's straw bale retreat in Joshua Tree, California. Soltes enjoyed a multi-faceted personal and professional relationship with Lou Harrison that spanned nearly 30 years. During that time she developed a large body of media on the composer, culminating in her featurelength documentary, LOU HARRISON: A World of Music, which has been called “wizardly” (SF Chronicle) and “affecting” (The New Yorker). Other highlights of Soltes' career include producing Sound Design in Media, the first national conference on the creative use of sound in media at Lucasfilm's Skywalker Ranch, with John Cage as Keynote Speaker and Academy Award-winning sound designer Randy Thom and Radio Drama producer Erik Bauresfeld as hosts. Previously she was Concert Director of 1750 Arch Concerts in Berkeley, California, where with Music Director Tom Buckner she presented over 800 performances and hosted more than 100 live radio broadcasts with composers and musicians from around the world. As a dancer Soltes specializes in Bharatanatyam, classical dance of South India, having trained for decades with the late legendary South Indian artist T. Balasaraswati. In 2014/15 Soltes was a visiting teacher at the Balasaraswati Institute of Music and Dance in Chennai, and in 2016 she was invited to dance at the Madras Music Academy in a performance celebrating Bala's 98th birthday. Visit louharrisonhouse.org.

Oregon Music News
Coffeshop Conversations #22: Ron Blessinger - Third Angle in full bloom

Oregon Music News

Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2017 58:09


April 30, 2015 With me today is Ron Blessinger, the Musical Director of the internationally known Third Angle New Music Ensemble. I first met him a long time ago when I wrote and produced a TV story on their production of several compositions by Steve Reich, which included a visit FROM Steve Reich to work with them. It was an experience neither one of us will ever forget. Ron and I, that is. Ron talks about TA's landmark concert on Friday, May 1, 7:30 at the Alberta Rose Theatre as the ensemble teams up with The New Yorker’s Alex Ross, author of the bestselling 20th-century music history The Rest is Noise. Ross will read the story of the West Coast avant-garde, complemented by Third Angle’s performance of works by Harry Partch, Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison, and 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner John Luther Adams. Ron is also a long-time violinist with the Oregon Symphony. He had fought traffic to get to World Cup.

Naxos Classical Spotlight
Fusion and flowerpots. Music by Lou Harrison.

Naxos Classical Spotlight

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2017 20:00


This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the American composer Lou Harrison, who distinguished himself through his pioneering works in writing for percussion and integrating Western and Eastern idioms. “Everything in the world should be considered a legitimate influence,” he said. In his music, however, the sounds of the largely percussive Javanese gamelan matured from an influence into a complete fusion. Raymond Bisha introduces a new disc of his works, performed by violinist Tim Fain, pianist Michael Boriskin, the PostClassical Ensemble and conductor Angel Gil-Ordóñez, who provides additional commentary.

Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast
SOP Podcast #82 - Peter Holder On Playing The Organs At St Paul's Cathedral In London

Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2017 61:40


Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #82! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is Peter Holder who is Sub-Organist of St Paul's Cathedral in London. He was appointed at the age of 23 following two years as Organ Scholar at Westminster Abbey. His responsibilities at both institutions have involved playing at numerous events of national importance, including the 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and accompanying the world famous choirs. He completed both undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music whilst studying with David Titterington. During his studentship, he was awarded numerous scholarships and prizes, most notably HRH Princess Alice the Duchess of Gloucester's Prize for exemplary studentship at Graduation in 2013. He was appointed the Pidem Organ Fellow in 2014 and to the Junior Royal Academy of Music where he is now an organ tutor. He continues his repertoire studies with David Titterington, Jon Laukvik and Patrick Russill, and improvisation with Thierry Escaich. Peter Holder has previously held posts at St Albans Cathedral, Southwell Minster and The Royal Hospital Chelsea. He has broadcast for BBC radio and television, and performed in the 2012 BBC Proms with the combined Orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music and Juilliard School, conducted by John Adams. As a continuo player, he has performed with St James's Baroque at the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music's annual concert at Westminster Abbey. Recent performances include venues such as the Royal Albert Hall; Royal Festival Hall; Reading Town Hall; St John's Smith Square; Westminster Abbey; the Cathedrals of Gloucester, St Paul's, and Westminster; Cambridge Summer Music Festival; John Hill Memorial Series at St Lawrence Jewry; Lichfield Festival; and St Albans International Organ Festival. His first solo recording is scheduled for release later this year recorded on the magnificent 1797 Holzhey organ of Neresheim Abbey, featuring the works of members of the Bach family, WA Mozart and Christian Heinrich Rinck. Peter's solo repertoire is broad and eclectic, and includes transcriptions of celebrated orchestral scores (see link). His concerto repertoire includes works by Handel, Lou Harrison and Poulenc and his orchestral repertoire includes the works of composers such as Duruflé, Elgar, Resphigi, Saint-Säens (Symphony No 3) and Walton. He is also a keen player of both the piano and harmonium, and has performed the prominent roles in Fanshawe African Sanctus and Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle on these respective instruments. In this conversation Peter talks about what does it take to play such magnificent instruments at one of the most important cathedrals in the world and what is the musical life behind it. ​Enjoy and share your comments below. ​ And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant links: http://www.peterholdermusic.co.uk/ https://www.stpauls.co.uk/​

Private Passions
Steve Silberman

Private Passions

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2016 31:34


Steve Silberman is an award-winning investigative reporter based in San Francisco; he writes for The New Yorker, Nature, Wired and Time Magazine. He has spent ten years researching the untold history of autism for his book "Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently". Published last year, it won the biggest British prize for a non-fiction book, the Samuel Johnson prize, as well as many American awards. The book sets out to answer a deceptively simple question: why is so little understood about autism, 70 years after it was first discovered? Since writing it, Silberman has become an ally to thousands of people with autism who haven't had a voice, and for what's become known as "neurodiversity". In Private Passions, Steve Silberman talks to Michael Berkeley about his time listening to people with autism, trying to understand the world from their point of view. He discusses the connection between autism and eccentricity, and between autism and musical ability. He reveals too his own sense of being an outsider, growing up gay, and reminisces about years spent working as an assistant to the poet Allen Ginsberg. Steve Silberman's music choices are fascinating and unconventional, ranging from the 13th century to Steve Reich. He includes music by the contemporary American composer Lou Harrison, who was wonderfully eccentric - he built an American version of a gamelan out of hubcaps! Other music choices include Bill Evans with "Peace Piece" and "Timeless" by Oregon. Produced by Elizabeth Burke A Loftus production for BBC Radio 3.

A Day in the Life
Lou Harrison Symphony on G: "A Classical Day in the Life" for August 23, 2016

A Day in the Life

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2016 2:01


On this day in 1964, the American composer Lou Harrison's Symphony on G had its premiere. That's right - ON G, not IN G. On today's "A Classical Day in the Life" we explore the symphony and Harrison's playful titling philosophy.

Tollans musikaliska
Det osynligas piano del 4: Take the A Train to the West Side 2

Tollans musikaliska

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2016 39:23


Vi stannar kvar i Nordamerika. I Canada är det dödsstraff på sodomi till 1869, och homosexualitet avkriminaliseras först 1969. Två hatbrott: tonsättarna Marc Blitzstein och Claude Vivier mördades. Leonard Bernsteins heta förälskelse och nära samarbetspartner, tonsättaren Marc Blitzstein, mördas vid ett hatbrott 1964. 1983 dör den begåvade kanadensiske tonsättaren Claude Vivier en våldsam hatbrottsdöd, endast 35 år gammal. Vi möter Claude Viviers nära vän, Marjan Mozetich i Toronto, som kallas nutidens Tjajkovskij. I Mozetich musik är det emotionella elementet väsentligt och hans verk har titlar som The Passion of Angels och Weeping Clouds. Mozetich omhuldar det omdiskuterade begreppet gay sensibility. Klassiskt skolade sopranen, tonsättaren och real time-samplaren Kristin Norderval vägras skivinspelning av klassiska sånger p g a sin lesbisket och gör istället succé på alternativscener världen över. Möt denna elev till legenden Pauline Oliveros. Vi möter också professorn, författaren och hornisten Nadine Hubbs som skriver boken The Queer Composition of Americas Sound. Hubbs berättar intima detaljer om hur musik och sex smälter samman i den s k homosexuella maffia som har en central plats i New Yorks musikliv under mitten av 1900-talet och som fortfarande formar det mytomspunna amerikanska soundet inom klassisk musik. Vi lyssnar på musik av Eve Beglarian, Lou Harrison och Michael Tilson Thomas. Och så undrar vi vad tystnaden står för hos tonsättaren John Cage.Låtlista: Timesteps (Excerpt) Walter Carlos Walter Carlos A Clockwork Orange Warner Europe 246 127 Unfolding Sky Marjan Mozetich CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mario Bernardi, Conductor MOZETICH: Affairs of the Heart - The Music of Marjan Mozetich (2001) CBC Records SMCD5200 Pas De Deux Marc Blitzstein Bennett Lerner, piano American Piano Music Vol. II ETCETERA RECORDS KTC 1036 The Cradle Will Rock Marc Blitzstein dawn upshaw m fl Marc Blitzstein Pear GEMS 0009 Act I, Scene 1 Prologue Virgil Thomson Ashley Putnam, Aviva Orvath, Batyah Godfrey, Billie Nash, DArtagnan Petty The Mother of Us All, disc 1 New World Records NW 288/289-2 Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...) (1 - 7) Laurie Anderson Laurie Anderson A Chance Operation: The John Cage Tribute [Disc 2] KOCH 3-7238-2 Y6x2 Sine Music (A Swarm Of Butterfiles Encountered Over The Ocean) Richard Maxfield Richard Maxfield OHM+: The Early Gurus Of Electronic Music [Disc 1] ellipsis arts CD3670 Double Music Lou Harrison Lou Harrison. Collab: John Cage A Portrait argo 455 590-2 Serenade for Betty Freeman & Franco Assetto Lou Harrison Lou Harrison (Gamelan Sekar Kembar) Gay American Composers - vol.1 Composers Recordings CRICD 721 If Its On New Circle Five New Circle Five: Susie Ibarra, percussion; Pauline Oliveros, accordion. Kristin Norderval, soprano. CD-titel: Dreaming Wide Awake Deep Listening DL 20 - 2003 Ecstatic Plain, ur operan Mapping Venus Text: Hildergard von Bingen Tonsättare: Sorrel Hays Kristin Norderval, sopran. Tape. Radioinspelning, New York. Wolf Chaser Eve Beglarian Eve Beglarian, percussion and electronics. Robin Lorentz, violin and wolf chaser Lesbian American Composers CRI CD 780 SIDDHARTA Claude Vivier Orch Metropol. du Montreal. Dirigent: Walter Boudreau anthology of Canadian Music ACM 36 CD 1-4 (Radio Canada International) Pulau Dewata Claude Vivier McGill Percussion Ensemble. Dirigent: Pierre Béluse anthology of Canadian Music ACM 36 CD 1-4 (Radio Canada International) CHANTS CLAUDE VIVER Sju kvinnoröster. Dirigent: Lorrain Vaillancourt anthology of Canadian Music ACM 36 CD 1-4 (Radio Canada International) ZIPANGU Claude Vivier I Musici de Montreal anthology of Canadian Music ACM 36 CD 1-4 (Radio Canada International) I Unfolding Sky Postcards From the Sky Marjan Mozetich (2001) CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mario Bernardi, Conductor MOZETICH: Affairs of the Heart - The Music of CBC Records SMCD5200 II. Weeping Clouds Postcards From the Sky Marjan Mozetich CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mario Bernardi, Conductor MOZETICH: Affairs of the Heart - The Music of Marjan Mozetich (2001) CBC Records SMCD5200 III. A Messenger Postcards From the Sky Marjan Mozetich CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mario Bernardi, Conductor MOZETICH: Affairs of the Heart - The Music of Marjan Mozetich (2001) CBC Records SMCD5200

OPB's State of Wonder
State Of Wonder: June 13, 2015 - Third Angle New Music & New Yorker Music Critic Alex Ross

OPB's State of Wonder

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2015 49:43


This spring, Third Angle New Music knocked our socks off with its unique partnership with "New Yorker" music critic Alex Ross.In his history of 20th century music, "The Rest is Noise," Ross wrote about the role West Coast composers played in shaping classical music, as well as jazz and rock idioms, writing that, among other things, they expanded the boundaries of their era, creating work that still has power and playfulness in equal measures. So Third Angle put together a special program that included the likes of Steve Reich, Portland-born Lou Harrison, and more, and brought Ross to town to talk about the works between performances. Also on the show: Past and future — "The Goonies" persistent hold on Astoria, Oregon. It's a story in anticipation of our live show recording in Astoria on June 15.

New Sounds from WNYC
Gamelan Plus (Special Podcast)

New Sounds from WNYC

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2015 56:19


Listen to works that include gamelan, but take a more western approach for this New Sounds - like combining Celtic traditional music and Indonesian gamelan in music from Gamelan Son of Lion and composer/sax player and bagpiper Matthew Welch. In the music of Barbara Benary, the co-founder and guiding spirit of Gamelan Son of Lion, there is a juxtaposition of Cape Breton Celtic singing, gamelan and Benary herself on violin. Also, hear the Celtic-Balinese tapestry of Matthew Welch’s chamber rock hybrid Blarvuster with its Scottish bagpipes, Balinese gamelan, and Welch’s vocalizing in Indonesian. Plus, Lou Harrison’s "Threnody for Carlos Chavez," written for viola and gamelan ensemble, and music from NYC-based Patrick Grant, who serves his post-minimalism with a twist of Rock and Balinese gamelan. That, and more. PROGRAM #3691 Gamelan Plus (First aired on 2/3/2015)   ARTIST(S) RECORDING CUT(S) SOURCE Gamelan Son of Lion Sonogram John Morton: She (really) Had To Go [9:23] Innova 718 innova.mu Patrick Grant Patrick Grant Fields Amaze [8:35] Available at cdbaby.com Gamelan Son of Lion Sonogram Barbara Benary: Jigalullaby [8:23] Innova 718 innova.mu Matthew Welch  & Blarvuster Blarvuster Canntaireachd Masolah I [6:23] Tzadik 8077 tzadik.com Lou Harrison Drums Along The Pacific Threnody for Carlos Chavez [8:00] New Albion #122 Out of print, but available as a download via Amazon  Bill Alves (performed by Susan Jensen, violin; The HMC American Gamelan) Mystic Canyon Mystic Canyon for Violin and Gamelan [5:20] MicroFest Records Amazon

Spark
Center for Contemporary Music

Spark

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2014 2:18


Originally founded in 1961 as the San Francisco Tape Music Center, the Center for Contemporary Music (CCM) moved to Mills College in 1966. Since then a tradition of experiment music has taken root at Mills through the program's of composers such as Henry Cowell, John Cage, and Lou Harrison. Spark visits students at CCM as they explore the relationship between audience and performer.

Asia on Stage
In Concert: Wu Man and The Knights

Asia on Stage

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2013 111:18


Pipa virtuoso Wu Man joins progressive classical ensemble The Knights for an evening of music that encompasses Stravinsky, Debussy, Lou Harrison, and one of her own compositions. (1 hr., 52 min.)

Relevant Tones
Starting From Scratch

Relevant Tones

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2012 58:24


This week's Relevant Tones focuses on composers who have tried to step outside the box, redefine their definitions of music, and start over without limitations. We'll be examining the works of Alvin Lucier, Chris Preissing, James Tenney, Lou Harrison, and more. Hosted by Seth Boustead Produced by Jesse McQuarters Alvin Lucier: I am sitting in a room (excerpt) James Tenney: Cellogram, William Jason Raynovich, Cello Lou Harrison: Cornish Lancaran, Musicians of the Gamelan Si Betty, Berkeley Chamber Singers Colin McPhee: Tabuh-Tabuhan, Toccata for Orchestra Eastman/Rochester Symphony Orchestra-Hanson Harry Partch: Delusion and the Fury: A Ritual of Dream and Delusion (excerpt) Christopher Preissing: Pales Angela DiOrio, ClarinetLive in WFMT Studio Steven Mackie: Indigenous instruments Eighth Blackbird

The 7th Avenue Project
Lou Harrison's Musical World

The 7th Avenue Project

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2012 56:19


An hour-long interview wasn't enough to cover but a fraction of Lou Harrison's many accomplishments, but Eva Soltes and I did our best to hit some of the high points. Her new documentary, "Lou Harrison: A World of Music," uses footage she shot during her decades-long friendship with the eminent American composer, musical innovator and political activist, who died in 1982. The film was recently screened as part of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, which Harrison helped found and which is honoring him this year with a performance of his Third Symphony.