And because it's so freakin' cool.
And because they're playing the Pageant in November.
Classical new releases @ KWUR, May-August 2011
October 1st, 2011 by George Y.Very late update on classical new releases at KWUR, 90.3 FM for a 4-month spell, but better late than never, or some such cliche. So here goes:
1. C.P.E. Bach: Sei concerti per il cembalo concertanto (Six Concerti for Harpsichord): Andreas Staier, harpsichord; Freiburg Baroque Orchestra; Petra Müllejans, leader (harmonia mundi HMC 902083.84)
2. Songs and Duets from Slovenija! (Slovenian Lieder and Duets): Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano; Marcos Fink, baritone; Anthony Spiri, piano (harmonia mundi HMC 902065)
3. Rose of Sharon – 100 Years of American Music, 1770-1870: Joel Frederiksen, Ensemble Phoenix Munich (harmonia mundi HMC 902085)
4. Stories – Berio and Friends (music of Luciano Berio, Cathy Berberian, John Cage, Roger Marsh, Jackson MacLow, and Sheldon Frank): Theatre of Voices; Paul Hillier, director (harmonia mundi HMU 807527)
5. The Songs of Johannes Brahms – 2: Christine Schäfer, soprano; Graham Johnson, piano (Hyperion CDJ33122)
6. Philipp Schoendorff – The Complete Works: Cinquecento (Hyperion CDA 67854)
7. Herbert Howells: The WInchester Service and other late works: Winchester Cathedral Choir; Andrew Lumsden, conductor; Simon Bell, organ (Hyperion CDA 67853)
8. Beyond All Mortal Dreams – American A Capella (music of René Clausen, Steven Stucky, Ola Gjeilo, Frank Ferko, Edwin Fissinger, Healey Willan, Stephen Paulus, and William Hawley): The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge; Stephen Layton, conductor (Hyperion CDA67832)
9. Constantinople & Françoise Atlan: Premiers songes (Early Dreams) (Analekta AN 2 9989)
10. Ernest Chausson – Concert, op. 21 and André Mathieu – Piano Trio & Piano Quintet: Alain Lefèvre, piano; David Lefèvre, violin; Quatuor Alcan (Alcan Quartet) (Analekta AN 2 9286)
11. Jean-Philippe Rameau: "L'orchestre de Louis XV" (Suites for orchestra) – Les indes galantes, Naïs, Zoroastre, Les Boréades (Alia Vox AVSA9882A+B)
Any questions, feel free to drop a note at classical@kwur.com. Will try to blog more promptly in the future, and thanks for reading.
Frak the Gods Tour: You should be there.
September 26th, 2011 by redluke22St. Louis often gets the short end of the stick as far as great metal shows are concerned. While we live in a respectably-sized city, we are in relative geographic isolation compared to some of our larger-market midwestern brethren: namely Chicago and Cleveland. In my opinion we get two or three or four really good shows per year, and as such we must make a concerted effort to support them when they do come to town. This is one of those moments. The "Frak the Gods Tour" (kudos to the promoter for the Battlestar Galactica reference) features a truly incredible lineup of some of the best up-and-comers the scene has to offer. Headliner Periphery has been making waves since their self-titled Djent-styled debut album came out last year, and better support cannot be found than Dutch metallers Textures and their American Tech-Death comrades The Human Abstract, both of which released monster albums this year (the latter's "Digital Veil" being one of my favorite records thus far in 2011). The show is tomorrow evening (Sept. 27) at Fubar in central west end. Now that you have been briefed on the significance of this event, you have no excuse not to be in attendance. I shall link to music videos from all three bands, for your visual and auditory pleasure.
Mastodon’s “The Hunter” is almost upon us!
September 19th, 2011 by redluke22Few things make me happier than the imminent release of a new Mastodon album. Their previous release, 2009's "Crack the Skye," was my favorite CD of that year, so naturally my expectations are steep. In order to tide you over, here's the video for "Black Tongue," from the upcoming album, "The Hunter," which comes out September 26 on Reprise Records.
George Yeh, a KWUR Celebrity
August 30th, 2011 by CecHey!
This past Sunday, classical music director George Yeh received some much deserved recognition in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
George, who you will notice is perhaps this humble blog's most regular contributor, not only curates an excellent collection of classical music and provides three hours of weekly local classical programming here at KWUR, but is also an avid supporter of classical music all around St. Louis — rarely do I attend an SLSO performance without seeing his face in the crowd.
Check out Sarah Bryan Miller's glowing article here.