We had the pleasure to feature St. Louis band Art Majors at our station on the evening of August 16. They played three songs, including 2 brand new ones. We will have the complete session posted shortly, but until then, please enjoy two videos that we shot. They have a new EP out, so check it out if you like what you hear.
Archive for August, 2010
Stack Sessions: Art Majors
Thursday, August 26th, 2010Album Review: Beth Bombara and the Robotic Foundation
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
St. Louisian Beth Bombara has a new band and a new sound on her recent self titled EP Beth Bombara and the Robotic Foundation. With the addition of bass and drums, her sound has matured considerably from her last EP. Expect tight bass lines, smooth drumming, and soaring vocals on every song. On “Not the World” the group proves they can do rocking pop songs as well as they can do mellow organ-driven numbers like “Beautiful You.” The instrumentation plays beautifully, but it is still the arching vocal that captures your attention on each song. I understand Beth and Co are working on a new full length, so keep an eye out for that in the coming year.
Your next chance to see Beth Bombara and the Robotic Foundation live is on September 17 at the Map Room in St. Louis.
STACK SESSIONS: Ava, Wait
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010Tune in tonight at 9:30ish pm to hear an in-studio with Ava, Wait, a St. Louis-based quartet!
Classical new releases at KWUR, 8/2010 edition
Saturday, August 14th, 2010More good (actually, much better than good) new classical CD releases have arrived at KWUR, from which I am happy to broadcast for your listening pleasure:
* The Songs of Johannes Brahms – 1, with mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager and pianist Graham Johnson (Hyperion CDJ33121), the newest “compleat” song series masterminded by Graham Johnson, Hyperion’s resident lieder scholar/pianist extraordinaire
* Britten: Songs and Proverbs of William Blake and other selections, with baritone Gerald Finley and pianist Julius Drake (Hyperion CDA 67778)
* The Romantic Piano Concerto – 51: piano concertos by Wilhelm Taubert and Jacob Rosenhain, with Howard Shelley as soloist and conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (Hyperion CDA67765)
* Henri Dutilleux: “D’ombre et de silence”: music for solo piano and one selection for two pianos, with Robert Levin (all tracks) and Ya-Fei Chuang (second pianist in Figures de résonances (ECM New Series 2105)
* Thomas Larcher: Madhares: featuring Till Fellner (solo piano in Böse Zellen), Kim Kashkashian (solo viola in Still), Larcher (piano in Still), and the Munich Chamber Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies (Böse Zellen and Still), and the Quatour Diotima in Madhares (String Quartet No. 3) (ECM New Series 2111)
* Krysztof Penderecki: Violin Concerto No. 1 and Horn Concerto (Winterreise), with violinist Robert Kabara and horn soloist Radovan Vlatkovic, and the composer conducting the Sinfonietta Cracovia (Channel Classics CCS SA 30310)
* Ferdinand Ries: Piano Sonatas and Sonatinas – 3, with pianist Susan Kagan (Naxos 8.572204)
* Mi Alma Mexicana (My Mexican Soul): music of José Pablo Moncayo, Gustavo Campa, Ricardo Castro, Candelario Huízar, Manuel Ponce, Juventino Rosas, Arturo Márquez, Silvestre Revueltas, Carlos Chávez, Federico Ibarra, Eugenio Toussaint, Mario Lavista and Enrico Chapela, with Alondra de la Parra conducting the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (Sony Classical 88697755552)
* El Nuevo Mundo: Folias Criollas: music from the era of Spain’s colonization of the Caribbean lands, with Monserrat Figueras, the Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hesperion XXI, led by Jordi Savall (Alia Vox AVSA 9876)
As always, comments and feedback are welcome. Please feel free to drop me a line at classical@kwur.com, or you can IM me during my regular Saturday show (11 AM-2 PM). Thanks for reading.
Stack Sessions: The Blind Nils
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010St. Louis band the Blind Nils joined us in the lounge at the station the other day for a short live performance on the air. They played 5 of their original tunes with eclectic instrumentation including banjo, slide guitar, and xylophone. Take a look the videos below for a peek into their set. Their entire set will be rebroadcast this Thursday at 3:30pm, so don’t forget to tune in at www.kwur.com.
If you like what you hear, your next chance to see the Blind Nils llive is on August 23 at Hajari House.