7 Jun 2018

Sound Lounge: NY music critic Alex Ross and Stroma; Airkraft's new album inspired by their trip to North Korea

From Sound Lounge, 5:45 pm on 7 June 2018

9:00

Alex Ross

Alex Ross, author of The Rest Is Noise.

Alex Ross, author of The Rest Is Noise. Photo: Supplied

Normally it’s New Yorker classical music critic and author Alex Ross putting the spotlight on performers, but Upbeat’s Tim Dodd turns the spotlight on Ross, discussing his performance with Kiwi artists Stroma and Bianca Andrew. He also poses the big question: is classical music still relevant?

Airkraft - Pyongyang Express

In April 2009, Airkraft (baritone saxophonist Chris Caldwell, soprano player Pete Whyman, tenor saxophonist Frank Van Der Kooij) were invited by the organising committee of the “April Spring Friendship Art Festival” to play in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.This intriguing album provides a record of this experience, comprising a number of short field recordings of singing, news broadcasts, trains, street sounds etc., interspersed with trio pieces (mostly composed by Van Der Kooij) inspired by the trip. (LondonJazzNews)

THORNE/GIANNOULI: Te Tangi a mutu, from the album Rewa
Tania Giannouli (piano, prepared piano); Rob Thorne (ngā taonga pūoro); Steve Garden (treatments)
RATTLE RAT-D083

11:05 Relevant Tones - Composer Spotlight: Javier Alvarez

John Adams says, “The music of Javier Alvarez reveals influences of popular cultures that go beyond the borders of our own time and place.” The Mexican composer, Javier Alvarez, uses his travels to create eclectic electroacoustic works using influences from Mexico, Cuba, and the Caribbean to Korea. We’ll dive into Alvarez’s works from the early Temazcal (1984) to the more recent De tus manos brotan pájaros (2010.)