Monday, May 28, 2007

Episode 026 - feat. Stratospheerius, Penn State Viola Ensemble, Richard Brooks, Acoustical Romance

Stratospheerius - "Heavy Shtettle Part II: Heavier Shtettle"
Penn State Viola Ensemble - View from the Rear Window
Richard Brooks - "Loops 1"
Acoustical Romance - "Road to Fortitude"

Hosted from aboard The Pennsylvanian

http://bowed.org/026/026.mp3

Greetings! And to those in the USA, a Happy Memorial Day!

Stratospheeerius is a group out of New York led by violinist and Joe Deninzon. The self-described bastard child of Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dave Matthews, and Blues Traveler; these guys have a brand new disc out called Headspace with which they are touring a substantial portion of the US.

The Penn State Viola Ensemble is, as one might guess, a string ensemble comprised solely of violists -- performing works written specifically for multiple violists. Their offering on this program is a recording of the world-premiere performance of Robert Gardner's View from the Rear Window

Richard Brooks is a fusion jazz violinist in the New York City area who dabbles in the styles of various traditions from around the world, as well as developing his own experimental work. This piece is a "loops" piece developed for solo violin concert performance.

And rounding things off is Acoustical Romance, a young acoustic ensemble from the Frankfurt area featuring the talents of cellist Manuel Schröder. These guys have just created a beautiful, delicate collection of recordings that sounds mature well beyond their years.

Enjoy the show!!

Mark
string@bowed.org

Monday, May 21, 2007

Episode 025 - feat. Upton Trio, David Kempers, George Gao

The Upton Trio - "Electromagnetism"
David Kempers - Danse Macabre
George Gao - "Crying by the River"

recorded at the Peninsula Library, Peninsula, OH

http://bowed.org/025/025.mp3

Hi everybody -- feeling better

The Upton Trio is a group out of South Carolina led by violnist and composer Mary Lee Taylor. Her broad compositional style with this trio is both programmatic and impressionistic. Not too reserved to get dangerous when the occasion arises, yet not too cerebral to enjoy a sweet melody. This tune is from their recent release Transformations.

David Kempers is a Cleveland-based violinist whose latest project Electronic Symphonica explores the violin in a wide variety of styles, from electric violin rock operas to multi-tracked renderings of classical scores. The selection featured on this show is one of the latter - a recording of Saint-Saens' "Dance Macabre." He acheived the effect of a 32-member string orchestra by multi-tracking his violin in various tunings 32 times -- then added the solo line on top.

And finally on the show is George Gao, an erhu player based in Toronto. Gao performs many of the traditional Chinese works on the erhu, but often backs them up with a Western-tinged accompaniment. This piece is a take on the traditional Chinese piece "Crying by the River."

Enjoy the show!!

Mark
string@bowed.org

Monday, May 14, 2007

Episode 024 - feat. Sierra Noble, Stereo Art, Lucio Amanti, Deadwood Revival

Sierra Noble - "Orange Blossom Special"
Stereo Art - "Messner's Messenger"
Lucio Amanti - "Chega de Saudade"
Deadwood Revival - "Bound to Go"

http://bowed.org/024/024.mp3

Hello listeners. I regret to report that I have had a cold all week long. I recorded my bits in moments of lucidity, but just in case... "do not adjust your set."

Sierra Noble is a fiddler from Winnipeg specializing in the traditional music of the Metis people. Her work also extends into traditional North American old-time and country western music. This tune is a take on the 1939 Ervin Rouse and Chubby Wise fiddle tune "Orange Blossom Special" - later covered by artists such as Charlie Daniels and Johnny Cash.

Stereo Art is a group out of London, England featuring cellist Martin Radford and electronics wizrard Tatsuji Mikajiri. Their full-length release entitled 11:11 will be released later this month. A stunning mix of electronica and soul, these guys are a lot of fun.

Lucio Amanti is a cellist based in Berlin. A jazz player, he is in the practice of making smooth multi-tracked recordings with the cello playing every part - from the bass line to the solos to the percussion -- all performed on the cello.

And finally is a tune from Deadwood Revival - a guitar and banjo duo out of Washington state. For this tune, they were joined by fiddler Ellie Holzemer of the group Cross Eyed Rosie. Big fun. Big sound. Good stuff.

Enjoy the show!!

Mark
string@bowed.org

Monday, May 7, 2007

Episode 023 - feat. Moripton, Helix Quartet, Basilica, Avner Dorman

Moripton - "Sakura"
The Helix Quartet - "Tea For Two"
Basilica - excerpt from theforevervictoriousunfathomablegreatmightyone
Avner Dorman - Mandolin Concerto

http://www.bowed.org/023/023.mp3


Moripton is a violinist out of Osaka, Japan. He has been primarily working as a guitarist with the band Stonehenge. He is currently devloping his violin work - this ia one of his first recorded pieces.

The Helix Quartet is a group out of France. A non-traditional quartet, their instrumentation consists of two violins, tenor violin, and double bass. Their work is wildly eclectic - with elements of Irish, gypsy, jazz, country-werstern, and others

I have been waiting with some considerable anticipation for the release of the debut disc by Basilica. An uncommon mix of death metal, math rock, and chamber music, these guys are relentlessly creative. An unearthly mix of the pious and the profane.

Rounding off the show is composer Avner Dorman - Israeli by birth and currently a resident of New York. His work is seamless, using non-traditional instrumentation with great invention of melody. Or to rephrase, his work doesn't sound nearly as strange as you might expect. The recording featured on this program is the world premiere, recorded late last year. The US premiere will take place on May 24 at the Angel Orensanz Center for the Arts, 172 Norfolk Street in the lower east side of New York. Featured mandolin soloist will be Avi Avital.

Enjoy the music!!

Mark
string@bowed.org