This could be you at Northwest Public Radio's giant cd sale! Of course, the cds are not giant, but the bargains are! Every cd sells for only $4.00 per disc and boxed sets for $3.00 per disc. We have everything from classical to jazz to folk to world to blues!
Henryk Gorecki's "Symphony No. 3" topped the classical charts in both Britian and the U.S. when it was released back in 1992. To date it has sold over a million copies, a feat that is rare in the world of classical music.
Learn more about the piece and read the poetic texts in this beautiful work, also known as the "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs."
What isit about a road trip that makes us long to collect our favorite tunes, our favorite snacks, get behind the wheel and take off for parts unknown? This summer NPR featured a number of stories about this quintessential American automotive adventure.
The siren song of the open road strongly appeals to me even when it's over a route I've made so many times I could probably do it in my sleep (NOT RECOMMENDED).
is one that I know by heart. Over the years I've become rather fond of a series of landmarks, mostly geopgraphical, that mark the passing of time, climate and red vines reduction on a typical trip to my home town.
1.) Pepto Pig: If you travel on 26 between Colfax and Washtucna you know Pepto Pig!
With a face this attractive a close up is surely called for!
2.) Red Rocks!
3.) Connell National Forest It must be seen to be believed! A few years ago I met a native of the area who told me that the tree was once much bigger. A vandal cut it down in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the resilience of nature overcame the destructive qualities of humankind and out of the stump grew a shoot!
8.) Meredith Gorge Hotel Sign Sadly, to my shock and dismay I discovered that the hotel went out of business. The big sign that sat on the bluff above the river just outside of Hood River was like the final lap bell in a track meet! I'll miss you.
9.) Wind Surfers The Columbia River Gorge is known to many as the "windsurfing capital of the world."
10.) View from Starvation Creek rest stop
11.) Hill And now I'm only about 18 miles from Portland.
Your "Sunday Baroque" host Suzanne Bona adds her suggestions to our summer book lists.
- Companion to Baroque Music (Compiled and edited by Julie Anne Sadie; University of California Press 1990) This is a good all around reference book. - Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment (by James R. Gaines; Harper Perennial 2005) - The New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents (edited by Hans T. David and Arthur Mendel, revised and expanded by Christoph Wolff; WW Norton 1998) - Handel (by Christopher Hogwood; Thames & Hudson 1996) - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (by Christoph Wolff; WW Norton 2000) - Vivaldi: Voice of the Baroque (by H.C. Robbins Landon; University Of Chicago Press 1996) - Master Musicians Series: Vivaldi (by Michael Talbot; Oxford University Press 2000) - Master Musicians Series: Handel (by Donald Burrows; Oxford University Press 2001)
What a gorgeous setting for the August 3rd Victoria Symphony Splash! The concert includes a world premiere by local composer Tobin Stokes, the South Island Dancers and pieces premeired in 1858, the year of the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia. The concert ends with Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" complete with bells, cannons and who knows what else?!
The Swingle Singers perform in Richland, WA at the Richland High School Auditorium on April 12th, as part of the Community Concerts of the Tri-Cities.
Biss = best bio ever!
Check out the biography of 29 year old pianist Jonathan Biss. It's a hoot!
Albinoni's "Adagio in g minor"
Peter Weir's "Gallipoli" is an amazing film. I still remember the feeling in the theatre when the final shot faded and the "Adagio in g minor" started playing. We were stunned. People were weeping and as we began to file out of the theatre it was dead quiet.
Christian Bale in "Empire of the Sun"
Glass Harmonica
Check out the man dressed as Benjamin Franklin, the creator of the glass harmonica!
Jan Garbarek
For a very ethereal experience listen to Garbarek with The Hilliard Ensemble in the cd "Officium" on the ECM label.
And the winner is......
Here is Kevin McChesney one of the winners of Yo Yo Ma's "Celebrate and Collaborate" contest!
Daniel Barenboim on Diane Rehm
Daniel Barenboim was the guest this morning on the Diane Rehm show. He spoke with guest host Katie Kay about the transforming power of music in our lives. Barenboim is a world-reknowned pianist and conductor and a tireless worker for peace in the Middle East.
Andre Feriante at The Seasons
Guitarist Andre Feriante, voted one of the 12 sexiest bald men, performs tonight at The Seasons in Yakima. In back-to-back concerts he'll be joined by guitarist Peppino D'Agostino. Feriante blends music and poetry in his performances which include some beloved standards as well as his own compositions. Tonight's performance begins at 7:30.
Yellow River
Baby done a bad, bad thing!
Chris Isaak is bringing his band to the Wildhorse Resort and Casino in Pendleton, Oregon for an outdoor concert on July 27th!
Conducting with Joy 101
For more great images of Conductor James Levine go to metoperafamily
Vinyl rules!
Fred Meyer is the best variety store ever. End of discussion. To prove my point they recently started selling vinyl records. Okay, it started by accident when a employee inadvertently ordered LP's of REM instead of a CD-DVD special edition. They were put on the shelf and 20 sold the first day. Now Freddy's is testing vinyl sales at 60 of its stores in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Mr. Meyer would be proud.
What?!?!
Michael Johns was voted off "American Idol" last week. Once again my faith in the taste of the American public is shattered. I've also lost my enthusiasm for a program that I never seriously watched until hearing and seeing this man sing. He actually caused me to like songs that I previously disliked. He is the one person connected to this show whose cd I will buy.
Congratulations Dr. Gregory Yasinitsky!
Dr. Yasinitsky, Meyer Distinguished Professor and Coordinator of Jazz Studies was recently named a Regents professor of Washington State University. This honor celebrates Dr. Yasinitsky's distinctions in the field of teaching, scholarship and public service. Over 140 of his works are published and performed throughout the world and he has led the W.S.U. jazz studies program to national prominence.
What musician's name best matches their instrument? All genres of music eligible so e-mail other candidates to rilette@wsu.edu.
Bach is hot again!
Meet Simone Dinnerstein, whose interpretations of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" are winning rave reviews. Check out her NPR interview with Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition on November 5th. Dinnerstein will be in Spokane on December 2nd at the Bing Crosby Theatre to perform Beethoven's "Emperor Concerto" with the Gonzaga University Symphony Orchestra.
Where do the feet go?
This is a harmonium. Dvorak used it very effectively in his "Bagatelles" which you heard this morning on Northwest Public Radio.
Meet the new Music Director of the New York Philharmonic!
For the first time in its history the New York Philharmonic has appointed a native New Yorker as its next music director. 40 year old Alan Gilbert, who succeeds Lorin Maazel, is also one of the few Americans to hold the position.
Other American Music Directors include the NYP’s founder, Ureli Corelli Hill (now there’s a name that practically fated this man to be a conductor!) back in 1842, and of course Leonard Bernstein.
Forget hybrid cars. Check out this hybrid instrument!
This is a baryton, an instrument popular until the 18th century. I think it looks like a cello and a guitar met, fell in love and started a family! Haydn wrote a series of "Baryton Trios" specifically for this instrument. It probably had something to do with the fact that his patron, Nikolaus Esterhazy played it.
Will success corrupt yet another rising star?
This is Esmee Denters. She lives in The Netherlands. Justin Timberlake "discovered" her on youtube and has signed her to his new label. There is something so natural and unstudied about her now. Let's hope that she doesn't turn into yet another cleavage baring, stiletto-heeled diva. Check our her amazing talent at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69Grnh7Qin8
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words?
I miss my friend Sueann. She is on a much deserved vacation but I miss her spunk, her attitude, her humour, her fashion advice and her wisdom! Check out her blog.
Favorite Movies
The Outsider with Tim Daly and Naomi Watts
Crossing Delancey
Emma
The Black Stallion
The Man from Snowy River
A Christmas Story
Roman Holiday
Chariots of Fire
The Year of Living Dangerously
Witness
Gallipoli
What's Up Doc? (Tribute to "Bringing Up Baby")
Bringing Up Baby
Holiday with Gary Grant and Katherine Hepburn
The Darjeeling Limited
The Bourne Ultimatum
Once
Miss Potter
Read, Enjoyed, Perhaps Challenged By
William P. Young's "The Shack"
Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" (for the umpteenth time!)
Cesar Millan's "Cesar's Way"
The Lymond Chronicles (for the third time!)
John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany"
Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns"
Gentlemen and Players (Joanne Harris)
The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Shane Claiborne)
At the age of 19 I was a full-time student with a great part-time job. I was a delivery driver for a dental technician. I drove around Portland all afternoon listening to the radio and thinking, "That has to be the coolest job ever!" Who knew that one day I would be behind the mike?
Dreams do come true! I hope that you'll join me weekday mornings from 9am until Noon, PST for a variety of classical music from the traditional to the whimsical!
