Adapted from Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm's story ‘Die zwölf Brüder,' Danish composer Poul Ruder's two-act opera The Thirteenth Child is a setting of an atmospheric, wonderfully singable libretto by Becky and David Starobin, the founders of Bridge Records. Under their guidance, this world-première recording, the release of which coincides with the opening of the opera's inaugural production at Santa Fe Opera on 27 July 2019, gives the opera a truly memorable début. The vocal music conducted by David Starobin and the superlative playing of the Odense Symfoniorkester, by which ensemble The Thirteenth Child was commissioned in partnership with Santa Fe Opera, led in Act One by Starobin and in Act Two by Benjamin Shwartz, there is not one passage of the score that seems haphazardly paced. The opera advances with cinematic celerity that incites both Starobin and Shwartz to conducting of gripping urgency. Throughout the performance, maintaining the intelligibility of the text is paramount. The result of this concentration on the impact of the words is a drama that ensnares the listener's heart. READ THE FULL Voix des Arts REVIEW p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

 

Berklee College of Music scholarship student Sarah McKenzie simply loves making music. She enjoys the composition process and her extensive international travel is a significant inspiration for her lyric writing. McKenzie writes original songs that pay tribute to lots of people. On her list are Wayne Shorter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Michel Legrand and George Gershwin. This makes her hard to categorize. She also admires a number of women musicians, and includes the legendary Marian McPartland as an early inspiration. After the great success of her 2017 disc, Paris in the Rain(Impulse! Records), the 31-year-old pianist, singer, composer returns with the poignant, Secrets of My Heart, reuniting with noted Australian composer, arranger, and events music director, Chong Lim, who produced her first two discs – Don't Tempt Me and Close Your Eyes. Recorded in New York City, Secrets of My Heart exudes cosmopolitan flair with its lineup that includes French bassist Pierre Boussaguet and Brazilian percussionist Rogerio Bocattoalongside guitarist Dan Wilson, drummer Donald Edwards, vibraphonist Warren Wolf,tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts, and cellist Jody Redhage Ferber(all of whom based in the United States). McKenzie who interviewed with KWMR: Point Reyes Station CA during her Spring west coast road trip returns for a segment with KWMR's The French Touch, a show that presents French pop music from France, Quebec, Belgium and other French speaking countries, with your host Emmanuel. Listen to the attached interview.

Interview with KWMR: The French Touch

 

There are times that I feel as if the phrase "American original" has been invoked so often across such a diversity of sources that it has become trivialized. Composers representative of that epithet on this site easily include Charles Ives, John Cage, Lou Harrison, Henry Cowell, and, for that matter, Edgard Varèse, who moved from France to the United States in December of 1915 and turned away from his traditional training in Paris almost immediately. Nevertheless, there are several ways in which Harry Partch has his own personal distinctions. One of them involves the nine years he spent as a hobo during the height of the Great Depression. Another led to his approach to just intonation that differed significantly from Harrison's pursuits and ultimately resulted in an ensemble of invented instruments to accommodate a division of the octave into 43 unequal intervals. A little over a week ago, Bridge released the third volume in its series. As might be expected, there is considerable overlap when it comes to the pieces being performed. Nevertheless, this series is the latest to involve a contemporary ensemble committed to providing faithful accounts of Partch's music without the benefit of direct contact with the composer. In spite of the wealth of archival material, there are three selections being recorded for the first time. One of these, "Sonata Dementia," provides the title for the album. Another, "Windsong," is the original version of what would eventually become "Daphne of the Dunes." That original version was written for a film made by Madeline Tourtelot; and "Daphne" would later emerge as an expansion of the score for a dance-drama. Finally, there is the first release of a "bonus track" of Partch himself playing what has become one of his best-known compositions, "Barstow," as a solo performance at the Eastman School of Music in 1942. While the historian in me has been drawn to all of that archival material that began to emerge after Partch's death, I definitely laud the commitment of a present-day ensemble to keep the composer's music alive through both concert performances and recordings. I first encountered PARTCH on the Color Theory album released by the PRISM Quartet in the spring of 2017. However, the Sonata Dementia album provided my first opportunity to listen to the group perform compositions by its namesake. I have been impressed by the freshness of the groups immediacy, which interleaves with Partch's "original spirit" without making too much of a show of itself. Perhaps it is time for me to look into the two preceding volumes! p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL REHEARSAL STUDIO REVIEW

 

On March 15 Ludovico Einaudi released the first episode of a seven-part new album called Seven Days Walking (Decca Records/Universal), before embarking on a North American tour at the end of May. Recorded in September and October 2018 in Schloss Elmau (Germany) and Air Studios in London (England), Seven Days Walking happens as seven episodes modeled after the days in a week, one episode a month through September. A physical box set of all seven albums will be released in December. Each episode focuses on several main themes, which recur in different forms; seven variations following the same imaginary itinerary.  Einaudi's Seven Days Walking Tour hit select North American cities on May 31 and first shows will take place at New York City's Carnegie Hall (June 4), Philadelphia Kimmel Center (June 1), San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall (June 14), and Los Angeles's Walt Disney Hall (June 16).  Over the years, Ludovico has had a couple of Echoes 'CD of the Month' Picks and has appeared live on the show on four previous occasions.  Today, Echoes welcomes him back for his fifth appearance and his first time in our home at Echoes, to promote the new album - Seven Days Walking, a 7 CD set of deep chamber works for piano, violin and cello.  

Listen Live Tonight p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

 

Anna Shelest's first release featuring virtuosic repertoire by women composers from the last three centuries is called 'Donna Voce.'  The program sheds light on the under-explored territory of piano repertoire and makes the case that the music of female composers, many of whom were virtuoso pianists, is as relevant today as the music of their male counterparts. The Ukrainian-born, New York City-based pianist, performs selections by Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Cecile Chaminade, Amy Beach, Lili Boulanger and Chiayu Hsu. For June 17, Anna Shelest 'Donna Voce' is the KDFC: San Francisco 'Album Of the Week' p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

 

Anna Shelest's first release featuring virtuosic repertoire by women composers from the last three centuries is called 'Donna Voce.'  The program sheds light on the under-explored territory of piano repertoire and makes the case that the music of female composers, many of whom were virtuoso pianists, is as relevant today as the music of their male counterparts. The Ukrainian-born, New York City-based pianist, performs selections by Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Cecile Chaminade, Amy Beach, Lili Boulanger and Chiayu Hsu. For June 17, Anna Shelest 'Donna Voce' is the KUSC: Los Angeles 'Album Of the Week'   p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

 

On Friday night, Tedeschi Trucks Band opened up their three-night run at Tokyo, Japans' Tokyo Dome City Hall with an electric performance, which featured a guest sit-in from acclaimed record executive, producer, and musician, Don Was. The band opened up their one-set show with "High Times", which was followed up by TTB originals "Do I Look Worried" and "Don't Know What It Means". Moving forward, the 12-piece ensemble offered up a trio of covers with The Box Tops‘ "The Letter", Bob Dylan‘s "Down In The Flood", and Willie Nelson‘s "Somebody Pick Up My Pieces". Tedeschi Trucks band continued on with setlist staples "High & Mighty", "Part Of Me", and "Midnight In Harlem", which was followed up by a cover of Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Pity The Fool". TTB brought their set to a close with "I Want More". READ / LISTEN via Live For Live Music