|
|
About The Show |
|
[About The Show] [Playlists] This web site is updated weekly. |
|
|
If you wish to receive my weekly playlists and upcoming show notices by e-mail every week, please send your e-mail address to the webmaster. |
|
I have been hosting a weekly show on CKCU FM since
1994 and the Thursday afternoon time slot since 1995. Over this time the foundation of this program has remained the
same: this show is based on the ideal of maximum diversity and an
all-encompassing love of music. I firmly believe it is the difference between
people and cultures which provides the necessary richness to life. I believe
that through examining the apparent differences found in music by highlighting
the salient aspects of a piece or a tradition, it is possible to discover common
threads which bind disparate cultures and traditions together. (For example,
discovering the similar effects achieved through different means by an
unaccompanied violin sonata by Bach and a Baluchistani Sufi trance piece played
on Sorud). Music is not a universal language, but it is universal. It is my
hope that through exposure to the world of music, the listener can come to
enjoy and understand the multitude of different musical responses to this
shared experience of life, which binds us all together.
The show does have a few prominent trends.
Foremost is my love for the piano. I have built up a significant collection of
piano recordings and you will probably hear something every week. Included in this is an ongoing survey of Hyperion’s Romantic Piano
Concerto series, an extensive interest in the music of Franz Liszt, as well as
programming rarely heard repertoire and obscure composers of piano music from
the 18th century to the present day.
Another important feature is to note that excerpts
are not heard on this show. Pieces are always played uncut, in their entirety,
whether this may mean a 45 minute piano concerto, 70 minute Indian raga, or a 2
hour Sufi ceremony. Live releases, whatever the tradition, are often presented
as complete concerts.
In-depth interviews with many first class national
and international musicians are also a regular feature. Recent interviews have
included Marc-Andre Hamelin, Giora Fiedman, Shujaat Hussein Khan, Lilya
Zilberstein, Daniel Gordon, Brave Old World, Kayhan Kalhor, and many others.
There is music featured from every continent and
almost every tradition which exists in sound recordings, and I try to squeeze
in as much as I can. Browse through almost 18 months of playlists to get an
idea of the music heard on my show. The
world is a much larger place than we can imagine, too large to wrap our minds
around it, but your ears can cope, I promise.
If you have any comments, suggestions, requests or
questions about music or my show, feel free to email me, I always try to help to
the best of my knowledge and abilities.