Operagoers who know Georg Büchner's name will probably know him solely for his play Woyzeck, the source material for Alban Berg's Wozzeck; however, many of the German writer's compositions have inspired extraordinary operatic works. Tune in to Saturday Night at the Opera on Saturday July 25th to hear two vastly different adaptations of Büchner's operas.
Gnawa Diffusion and Innove Gnawa on In All Languages -- Sunday July 26th from 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM: This special show will feature live performances and and interviews with two great bands in the tradition of Gnawa music - trance music from Morocco. First, we will broadcast a live set from WKCR's studio with Innove Gnawa. Then, we will broadcast the live performance of Algeria's Gnawa Diffusion recorded last week at Lincoln Center.
Tune in to Thursday's edition of Afternoon Classical on Thursday, July 23rd 2015 from 3:00 to 6:00 PM for an exploration of the compositions of French composer and organist Louis Vierne. Born on October 8th 1870, Vierne was technically legally blind and would have many ocular issues throughout his life. Despite his poor vision, Vierne exhibited both a gift for and appreciation of music, he went on to study with César Franck, and ultimately Vierne dedicated his entire life to music.
Tonight from 11pm to 1am join us for Jassvan de Lima's interview with Mauro Refosco from the group Forro In The Dark. Forro in the Dark is a New York-based collective of Brazilian expatriates that formed in 2002. The group combines the musical style of forró (pronounced "faux-HAW"), “the percussion-heavy, rhythmic dance music” of their native Brazil, with elements of rock, folk, jazz, and country. Mauro Refosco is a Brazilian percussionist.
From 6-9 PM on Wednesday, July 22nd, guitarist, composer, and sound artist Terrence McManus will be joining us live in the WKCR Studio for this week's edition of the Musician's Show. Originating from Brooklyn, McManus is a pioneer of contemporary music, having collaborated with other seminal artists such as John Zorn, Gerry Hemingway (tune in this Sunday the 26th to hear him on Jazz Profiles), Mark Dresser, Marty Ehrlich, and more. He is a regular member of the Gerry Hemingway Quintet, and also frequently performs with Hemingway in a duo.
Tune in Tuesday evening from 6-9 PM to hear the first of two installments of the Musician's Show taking place this week, where we will be joined by guitarist, composer, and educator Jonathan Kreisberg. A New York native, Kreisberg began playing guitar at age 10 after moving to Miami with his family. He won a scholarship to the University of Miami and the guitar seat in the Concert Jazz Band, which gave him the opportunity to tour Brazil and performing with Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, and Red Rodney.
In tandem to Gerry Hemingway’s six day residency at the Stone between July 28th and August 2nd, WKCR presents a profile of his over 40 year musical career in a program that will feature Mr. Hemingway himself, along with rare and unreleased recordings from his personal archive.
Tune in this Monday, July 20th, from 3-6PM to hear an in-studio performance by jazz legend Gunter Hampel and dancer/percussionist Danilo Cardoso. The duo came to WKCR last week to perform a series of improvisations that explore the possibilities between music and dance. They then talked to us about the history of the duo, and their plans to spread awareness and understanding of improvisation through their performances. Listen!
BIO
Tune in at 9:30 on Monday, July 20th, to hear an interview with Sarah Fornace and Ben Kauffman, two of the artistic directors at Manual Cinema, a Chicago based shadow puppet company. Fornace and Kauffman talk with WKCR programmer Danielle Smith about Manual Cinema, Shadow Puppetry, and the show currently running in New York City, ADA|AVA. The show, using overhead projectors, shadow puppets, and live music, follows the elderly woman Ada as she deals with the death of twin sister Ava.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Alan Curtis had passed away. The founder and director of Il Complesso Barocco, Curtis was instrumental in the restoration and performance of many forgotten operas by Vivaldi, Handel, and more. Tune in to Saturday Night At The Opera on Saturday July 18th to hear his 2011 recording of Handel's Ariodante.
Tune in Thursday, June 16th, to hear two interviews concerning the use of various substances. The first interview is with Professor Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center. Professor Olfson conducted a study entitled, "Treatment of young people with antipsychotic medications in the United States," which found that though antipsychotic prescriptions had decreased in children and young children, there had been an increase in prescriptions among teenagers and young adults.
Tune in Thursday, July 16th, to hear an interview with Professor Philip G. Zimbardo and Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez discussing the IFC Film: The Stanford Prison Experiment. The film is based off of the actual experiment conducted by Prof. Zimbardo in 1971 and explores questions of authority, oppression, and human nature. In this interview, Prof. Zimbardo and film director Alvarez talk to WKCR programmer Danielle Smith about the motivations behind making the film, cinematography choices within the film, and the disturbing nature of the film and experiment itself.
Tune in Tuesday, July 14th, at 9:00 pm to hear an interview with Professor Rafael Yuste, a professor of the biological sciences and neuroscience at Columbia University. Professor Yuste is the director of the newly founded Neurotechnology Center at Columbia University, a coalition of interdisciplinary labs dedicated to innovating advances in neurotechnology.
Jon Vickers, undoubtedly one of the greatest and most important tenors of the twentieth century, has just passed away. For over three decades, Vickers was a titan on the operatic stages. A controversial singer to say the least, Vickers used his massive, craggily voice to challenge the very conceptions of the most challenging tenor roles. His repertoire was large and varied, from Monteverdi to Berlioz and Britten, and his discography is extraordinary. To this day, Vickers' interpretations of Otello, Peter Grimes, and Florestan have set a standard that few tenors have ever matched.
On Friday, July 10th, we will be reading on-air the names of our supporters of $100 or more! This will happen at the beginning of The Early Music Show (9:30am), Out to Lunch (12pm), Afternoon Classical (3pm), and Jazz Alternatives (6pm). We are incredibly grateful for our supporters who help keep WKCR alive!
Although Poland undoubtedly boasts a rich and varied operatic repertoire, few have been performed outside the country with any frequency; however, one particular opera has just started gaining the attention it deserves. Karol Szymanowski's Krol Roger is now recognized as a towering masterpiece.
Tune in Tuesday, July 7th, between 9-9:30 pm to hear the latest from Conversations on the Leading Edge. Conversations on the Leading Edge presents the latest dialogues surrounding conflict resolution and is a collaboration between WKCR's Late City Edition and the Earth Institute's Advanced Consortium of Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4). which presents the latest dialogues surrounding conflict resolution.
Tune in on Thursday July 2nd, from 9:30-10:00 pm to hear an interview with Nalo Hopkinson, esteemed science fiction and fantasy author. Hopkinson has written renowned books such as Sister Mine and Brown Girl in the Ring. Her latest book, Falling in Love with Hominids, a compilation of short stories written over a period of about ten years, will be available August 11th. Hopkinson talks with WKCR programmer Danielle Smith about the story collection, science fiction and fantasy and magic realism, and the writing process.
Tune in Wednesday evening from 6:00-9:00 PM to hear this week's edition of the Musician's Show, where we will be joined by drummer Whit Dickey. Throughout the 90s he performed and recorded with the groups of saxophonist David S. Ware and pianist Matthew Shipp. In 1996 he took a break from these groups and devoted his efforts to advancing his own compositions. This period resulted in the album Transonic, his first as a leader, recorded in 1997 and released in 1998 on the AUM Fidelity label. On it he is joined by saxophonist Rob Brown and bassist Chris Lightcap.
Tune in on Tuesday June 30th, from 9:30-10:00 pm to hear an interview with Elaine Lee, travel writer and author of the first black travel guide of this era–Go Girl: The Black Women's Book of Travel and Adventure. The book is a compilation of travel stories written by African American women including Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Audre Lorde, Jill Nelson, Alice Walker and Pearl Cleage. Lee talks with WKCR programmer Danielle Smith about representation in the genre of travel writing, what it's like to be a "wander woman," as well as some traveling tips.
Tune in to Live Constructions this Sunday, June 28th, at 10PM to hear a live set by an electroacoustic trio composed of Hans Tammen, Erhard Hirt, and Michael Lyttle. Tammen (electronics), Erhard (prepared guitar and electronics) and Lyttle (clarinet) use a set up of acoustic instruments and electronic gadgets to create sprawling improvised pieces, creating an eclectic combination of different timbres. The trio came into our studio last week to play a 40 minute improvisation, and then they spoke to us about their music and history playing together. Listen!
Artist Bios:
Tune in on Tuesday June 30th from 9:00 to 9:30 PM to hear an interview with Christopher Collins PhD, Professor of Radiology at NYU School of Medicine & Principal Investigator at NYU's Center for Advanced Imaging and Research, and NYU Polytech School of Engineering doctoral student Ting Wu about their research on mmwaves. Dr.
Tune in on Saturday, July 4th as we celebrate the chosen birthday of one of the foundational figures of jazz, trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong. We will be preempting all regular programming as we honor Pops with 24 hours of swing. In his autobiography, Swing That Music, Louis Armstrong titled the first chapter “Jazz and I Get Born Together.” Dating his birthday July 4, 1900, Armstrong created a mythology that linked his own birth to the birth of Jazz and the birth of America.
Tune in this Saturday, June 27th from noon to 6:00 PM for a celebration of what would have been Willie Dixon’s 100th birthday, coming up on July 1st. Dixon’s name has become synonymous with the creation of the Chicago blues. He wrote, produced, and backed some of the biggest names in the business from the late forties onward.
Tune in Wednesday evening from 6:00-9:00 PM to hear this week's edition of the Musician's Show, where we will be joined by drummer and educator Steve Johns. He was born into a musical family in Boston in 1960, and began playing drums at the age of nine. Since the early 1980’s he has performed and recorded with The Sonny Fortune Quartet, The Benny Carter Quartet, The Billy Taylor Trio, Nat Adderley, Jimmy Owens, Stanley Turrentine, Jimmy Heath, The Randy Brecker Quintet, Jessye Norman, Dave Liebman, The Ronnie Cuber Band, and many others.
WKCR mourns the death of Gunther Schuller, a remarkable composer, conductor, artist, teacher, musician, and innovator of music. Born in New York on November 22nd 1925, Schuller would go on to be a pioneer of uniting the genres of jazz and classical music and creator of the "Third Stream." Schuller died at the age of 89 on June 21st 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Tune in to Arts and Answers Tuesday night, June 23rd from 9:30 to 10:00 PM, to hear an interview with Zvi Gotheiner, the artistic director of Zvi Dance. Gotheiner grew up in Northern Israel where he studied the violin with the Young Kibbutzim Orchestra until he began studying dance at the age of 17. He has performed with Joyce Trisler Dance Company, Feld Ballets/NY, and Bat Sheva Dance Company.
Komitas Vardapet is often considered the true father of modern Armenian music. In addition to assembling a 300-person chorus in Constantinople, creating definitive editions of Armenian liturgical music, and advocating this music throughout Europe, Komitas's greatest achievement may be as the country's foremost ethnomusicologist. Over his life, he recorded as many as 4,000 folk melodies (1,800 of which survive today).
Sun Ra visits WKCR! Is he eating ice cream? Yogurt? Who knows?
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