ACP #29

On this episode of All the Cool Parts, I talk with composer/guitarist Scott Johnson.  We discuss music from his recent CD Americans, as well as the merging of pop and classical music, the old battle between "downtown" and "uptown" composers in New York City, progressive rock, punk, Bach and so much more!

DIRECT LINK: http://anthonyjosephlanman.com/acp/acp29.mp3

ACP #28

This week on All the Cool Parts we are joined by guitarist Kevin Gallagher to talk about his recording of classical guitar music for Naxos.  In addition, we are re-joined by Dr. Jonathan Kulp as co-host for this laureate edition.

We had a fun and fascinating conversation with Kevin about the music on the CD as well as his experiences recording the CD and also winning the competition that allowed that recording to happen.

Kevin has been busy of late creating videos of classical guitar music and posting them on You Tube.  I'll include some of those videos below!

In addition to that, we feature composer/guitarist Frederick Carrilho on this edition of All the Cool Parts Idol.  We hear his beautiful piece (Re)Birth for electric guitar, flute and electronics.  You can learn more about Fred and his music HERE.







DIRECT LINK:  http://www.anthonyjosephlanman.com/acp/acp28.mp3

ACP #27

This week on All the Cool Parts - the NOW Ensemble. Judd Greenstein, Mark Dancigers and Patrick Burke talk with me about the ensemble and about their new CD Awake.

Check out the fantastic short film on Greenstein's Change.


PLAN OF THE CITY from Joshua Frankel on Vimeo.


DIRECT LINK:  http://www.anthonyjosephlanman.com/acp/acp27.mp3

ACP #26

This week on All the Cool Parts - Our 2010 ACP Idol winner, composer Nicholas Vasallo.  We spend some time with this young, up and coming composer and discuss his music among other topics.  Come check out some cool new classical music!

DIRECT LINK:  http://www.anthonyjosephlanman.com/acp/acp26.mp3

ACP #25

This week on All the Cool Parts we continue our series of podcasts on the CD's of the Naxos label - their Laureate Series.  Thomas Viloteau was the winner of the 2006 Guitar Foundation of America International Guitar Competition, and the CD he recorded for Naxos as part of his prize turned out to be one of the best classical guitar CDs I've ever heard.  Journey through the music with myself and my guitar cohort Dr. Jonathan Kulp, and experience some awesome music and even more awesome-er (yes that's right - awesome-er) playing!

I will also embed some videos below - a few of Thomas and also one I mentioned on the show of Brazilian musician Egberto Gismonti.



Check out Viloteau playing Llobet's Variations on a Theme of Fernando Sor, and especially the "left hand" variation at 6:10 - Eddie Van Halen eat your heart out!!



Here is Viloteau playing the second movement from Leo Brouwer's Ritos de las Orishas:



Here is the video of Egberto Gismonti that I talked about in the show:



Direct Link:  http://www.anthonyjosephlanman.com/acp/acp25.mp3

Sehnsucht - Johannes Brahms

Here's one of Brahms' choral pieces that's (imo) not heard enough.  I just wish there was a video of slightly better audio quality on You Tube.

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Schubert - Der Erlkönig

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Schubert - Der Erlkönig!  The fantastic tale of a father racing through the forest  (on horseback - represented by the repeated notes in the right hand of the piano) with his ill son.  Only the boy can hear the calls of the evil Elf King, trying to lure the boy away from his father.  In the end, the father reaches home but too late - the boy dies.

Also, if you can do anything with this much intensity and sincerity, you are as awesome as Dietrich.

David Goode plays JS Bach

David Goode plays JS Bach's G major Prelude and Fugue, BWV 541 at the Gottfried Silbermann organ of Freiberg Cathedral, Germany. Recorded July 2010.

2010 ACP Idol results

Aaaand we have a winner!!  Composer Nick Vasallo has garnered the most votes in our 2010 ACP Idol poll and will be featured in an upcoming show.  Congratulations to Nick!  More details soon!

ACP Idol 2010 Retrospective is live!

The All the Cool Parts Idol 2010 Retrospective show is live!  Here's how it works:

Listen to the first minute of each piece by all the 2010 Idols.  (I even direct you to the original airing episode if you'd like to hear more and/or want more information)

Choose your favorite Idol of 2010.

Go to this very web site and vote for that Idol on the poll.  The poll will be open until April 31st, 2011.

The winner will be announced on this blog on May 1st, and will be invited to submit a new piece to be played on the podcast, as well as be invited for an interview on that same podcast.

Best of luck to all of the 2010 Idols - you are all awesome - but there can be only one winner - VOTE!!!

Here is a list of all the Idols and they original episodes they aired on:

Jessica Rugani - Nymphshadow - Episode #5 (main topic was Andreas Scholl and Dowland)

J.C. Combs - Prologue - Episode #7 (main topic was the choral music of Eric Whitacre)

Nick Vasallo - Expand the Hive - Episode #9 (main topic was chamber music of Jennifer Higdon)

Michael Kaulkin - City Walks - Episode #10 (main topic was classical guitarist Steve Kostelnik)

John Astaire - Rebonds (Xenakis) - Episode #11 (main topic was Monteverdi's Orfeo)

James Holt - Action Items - Episode #12 (Fugue-O-Rama #1)

Charlie McCarron - The Mysteries of Grey Matters - Episode #13 (main topic was music of Arvo Part and Louis Andreissen)

Bret Williams - Head of Flowers - Episode #14 (main topic was music of Carl Stalling)

David Farrell - 8_BIT_CHACONNE - Episode #19 (main topic was Boulez and Sur Incises)

Gregory Hall - Woodstock 8-14-10 - Episode #20 (main topic was Astor Piazzolla)

Carl Schimmell - Elemental Homunculi - Episode #22 (main topic was interview with David T. Little and Newspeak)

All the Cool Parts Idol 2010 - VOTE!!!

I'm currently working on a special edition of All the Cool Parts that features all of the ACP Idols in a retrospective of sorts.  You'll be able to hear the first minute or so of each piece, and then vote for your favorite Idol on the poll at the top of the website.  Voting will be open until April 31st, 2011.  The winner will have a new piece played on the podcast, as well as be invited for an interview.

So get on the poll and vote!!!

ACP #24

This week on All the Cool Parts I take you through Antonio Vivaldi's famous Four Seasons concertos.  The recording I use is the brilliant release of Vivaldi's complete Op. 8 concertos by the fabulous Europa Galente, lead by violin soloist Fabio Biondi.












http://www.anthonyjosephlanman.com/acp/acp24.mp3

Early Music Friday: Apollo's Fire play Vivaldi

Today:  The Apollo's Fire orchestra under the direction of Jeannette Sorrell play Antonio Vivaldi's Variations on La Folia.  One of the very cool things about this video that I love - besides being a great performance - is that, during his life, Vivaldi's "day job" was headmaster of the Pieta, which was an orphanage for girls.  The orphanage was music centric, and taught all of its students music first.  As a result, the orphanage continually turned out great ensembles, soloists and singers.  So, back in Vivaldi's day when this piece would have received its premier, this is probably really close to how it would have looked!

Wind Wednesday AND Vocal Thursday: Mnozil Brass play Queen

I decided to combine Wind Wednesday and Vocal Thursday for this one special, über post!  The very multi-talented Austrin Brass Ensemble Mnozil Brass perform their own special rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody!

Keyboard Tuesday: Elaine Comparone plays Couperin

Today:  Harpsichordist Elaine Comparone plays Francois Couperin's beautiful Les Baricades Misterieuses.

Guitar Monday: Jason Vieaux plays Bach

Today:  Classical guitarist Jason Vieaux performs the Prelude from J.S. Bach's Prelude, Fugue and Allegro BWV 995.

Wild Card Saturday: Bowed Piano Ensemble perform Stephen Scott's Entrada

Today:  The very recent phenomenon of the bowed piano ensemble, here performing Entrada by Stephen Scott.

Early Music Friday: Jonas Nordberg plays de Visée

Today:  A MUST SEE - Jonas Nordberg performs Robert de Visée on one of the absolute coolest instruments ever made - the theorbo.  Also in HD - this is the best video of theorbo I've ever run across - check it out!

Vocal Thursday: Cecilia Bartoli sings Vivaldi

Today:  Incredible Italian Mezzo-Soprano Cecilia Bartoli sings Antonio Vivaldi.  Her voice and vocal control is just - wow...

Wind Wednesday: Joseph Schwantner, Black Anemones

Today:  Joseph Schwantner's beautiful Black Anemones for flute and piano, here performed by Daniel Stein (flute) and Carlin Ma (piano).

Guitar Monday: Kevin Gallagher plays Narvaez

Today:  AcP friend Kevin Gallagher plays 2 Fantasias of Spanish composer Luis de Narvaez.

Kevin Gallagher, guitarist - http://www.guitar69.com

Recorded January 7th and 8th, 2011 in New York City

Luis de Narváez (fl. 1526--49) was a vihuelist born in Granada at the end of the Fifteenth Century. He was a court musician of the Comendador of León and then of the later ascending Felipe II. Narváez's most important surviving music is contained in Los seys libros del delphín (Valladolid, 1538), a six-volume collection of music for vihuela. 

Contemporary Music Sunday: Marc-Andre Hamelin plays Frederic Rzewski

Today:  Super virtuoso pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin performs parts of Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated - a monumental set of 36 variations on the South American revolutionary song.  He's seen performing several of the latter variations in this Japanese documentary.  Unfortunately the quality is pretty low, but it's still super cool to see him playing these live.

Wild Card Saturday: Domeniconi on Baroque Lute

Today:  Lutenist Edin Karamazov performs Koyunbaba by Carlo Domeniconi.  I thought this video was fascinating because guitarists have been making transcriptions of lute music for decades, but I've never seen it go the other way - a lutenist making a transcription of a guitar piece?  Very cool - and Karamazov just never ceases to amaze me with his musicality and his musical choices.

Early Music Friday: Nigel North performs John Dowland

Today:  Lutenist Nigel North performs The Earle of Darby's Galliard by renaissance composer John Dowland.

Vocal Thursday: Andreas Scholl Performs Handel

Today:  Countertenor Andreas Scholl performs an aria of George Frederick Handel.  This aria would have been performed by a castrato back in Handel's day.  Here, performed on a period pianoforte, we can hear this piece as it would have sounded back in 1730.

Wind Wednesday: New Trombone Collective perform Jacob TV

Today:  The New Trombone Collective perform Jesus is Coming by Jacob TV.

Keyboard Tuesday: J.S. Bach - Passacaglia

Today:  Hans-Andre Stamm performs J.S. Bach's Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582.  Watch this monumental piece in HD - awesome.

Guitar Monday: Sergio and Odair Assad play Gershwin

Today:  A fantastic video of the incredible Brazilian classical guitar duo of Sergio and Odair Assad playing something I've never heard on guitar until today - George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

Contemporary Music Sunday: Joseph Schwantner - Velocities

Today:  Percussionist Justin Stolarik performs Joseph Schwantner's Velocities for solo marimba.

Wild Card Saturday: Peter Schickele - "New Horizons in Music Appreciation"

Today - a hilarious take on the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony by the incomparable Peter Schickele.

Early Music Friday: Marin Marais - Chaconne

Today, a Chaconne of French composer Marin Marais, performed on two viol da gambas (one 6 string, one 7 string) and harpsichord.

Josh Cheatham (viola da gamba), Julien Léonard (viola da gamba) and Skip Sempé (harpsichord) - Marin Marais, Chaconne (Livre V) - From the album Marin Marais & Sainte Colombe, Pièces de Violes (PA0006) www.paradizo.org

Vocal Thursday: Eric Whitacre - Water Night

Today:  Eric Whitacre's beautiful and haunting Water Night for choir.  Here performed by the fantastic Minneapolis based Vocal Essence.  It's worth trying to follow the text, as Eric does some masterful text painting:

Water Night

Night with the eyes of a horse that trembles in the night,
night with eyes of water in the field asleep
is in your eyes, a horse that trembles,
is it your eyes of secret water.

Eyes of shadow-water,
eyes of well-water,
eyes of dream-water.

Silence and solitude,
two little animals moon-led,
drink in your eyes,
drink in those waters.

If you open your eyes,
night opens, doors of musk,
the secret kingdom of the water opens
flowing from the center of night.

And if you close your eyes,
a river fills you from within,
flows forward, darkens you:
night brings its wetness to beaches in your soul.

Octavio Paz, 1914-1998

Wind Wednesday: Joaquin Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez, II. Adagio

So, I know this is a guitar concerto...  Actually, I think it's one of the finest examples of a solo for a wind instrument anywhere.  The English Horn (a larger cousin of the oboe) takes this beautiful and haunting solo.  The piece also features many smaller solos for flute, oboe and bassoon - and the setting where they filmed this in Spain is unbelievable.  It's good to be John Williams :)

Keyboard Tuesday: Daniel Barenboim plays Beethoven

Today, pianist/conductor Daniel Barenboim performing Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 No. 1.  Amazing he performed all 32 sonatas in a series of concerts given in Berlin.

Guitar Monday: Paul Galbraith performs Isaac Albeniz

Today I'm posting a video by the great classical guitarist Paul Galbraith.  He's performing Bajo la Palmera by Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz on his unique 8-string classical guitar.

Contemporary Music Sunday: Steve Reich 2x5

Today - a video of the Bang on a Can All Stars in rehearsal with composer Steve Reich, working on his recent piece 2x5.

BTW - just some inside information about this piece.  One of the performers (in this very video) told me that the piece was originally written for Radiohead, but that they were unable to get it together, so it was passed onto Bang on a Can to do.  You might wonder why Radiohead had such trouble with it, but the challenge of performing rhythmically complex notated music can be daunting if you don't have much experience doing that.

Wild Card Saturday - Chopin "Revolutionary" Etude

I'm going to post a little Romantic music today, but done in a new, one could say "revolutionary" way.  This video features Frederick Chopin's awesome "Revolutionary Etude in C minor Opus 10 No. 12" for piano - featuring California Guitar Trio member Bert Lams playing the left hand part on acoustic steel-string guitar, and Tom Griesgraber playing the right-hand part on Chapman Stick - a new instrument invented in California in the 1980's. The performance comes from the Shoal Creek House Concert in Austin, Texas on August 19, 2009.

Early Music Friday:

Lutenist Xavier Díaz-Latorre performs a variations by French Composer Robert de Visée.


Please visit www.xavierdiazlatorre.com

New Blog Only Series - Daily Classical Music Videos!!

I'm starting a new blog-only series of posting classical music videos daily!  The schedule will look like this:

Sunday: Contemporary Music
Monday: Guitar
Tuesday: Keyboard
Wednesday: Winds
Thursday: Vocal
Friday: Early Music
Saturday: Anything Goes

Check in to this blog every day to see great new classical music discoveries!!