"Discoveries at Disney Hall" is back for 2008 with an all-new lineup of ten concert specials recorded live at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. From singer-songwriters to classical, world music and Broadway stars, it's an eclectic celebration of the diversity of our thriving musical culture. In addition to the dynamic live performances, these programs feature the artists introducing their music from stage and weaves in brief interview clips. Hosted by Renée Montagne.
Programs:
Neko Case
With The New Pornographers, Case belts artful tunes with one of the most powerfully seductive voices in rock, while her solo work is steeped in bittersweet country and gospel. Case displays the best of both musical worlds in this showcase concert from L.A.'s Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Venice Baroque Orchestra
The Venice Baroque Orchestra is one of the world's most adventurous and exciting period instrument ensembles. Led by harpsichordist and Baroque scholar Andrea Marcon, and featuring the inventive, virtuoso violinist Giuliano Carmignola, this concert includes striking performances of concertos by Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Tartini.
Horace Silver Tribute
A legion of jazz all-stars, including bassist Christian McBride, pays tribute to the amazing musical legacy of a jazz icon and hard bop pioneer: pianist Horace Silver. Many of Silver's friends and former colleagues perform on this program, including Roger Humphries, Cedar Walton, Andy Bey, Randy Brecker, Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Coleman, Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, Bernie Maupin and Charles Tolliver.
Los Lobos
Ranging from traditional Mexican and Spanish music, to rock, folk, jazz and even experimental, sonic psychedelics, the East L.A. band Los Lobos has successfully redefined their sound, collecting three Grammy awards and consistently topping the charts. This concert features songs from their latest album, The Town and The City -- with its poignant stories of recent immigrant arrivals -- along with tunes spanning their entire career, going back to the mid-seventies.
Burt Bacharach
Legendary songwriter and pop icon Burt Bacharach takes the Disney Hall stage with vocalists and a full string section, to survey some of his greatest hits from the '60s and '70s -- "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," "What the World Needs Now is Love" and "Walk on By," among others -- as well as newly minted songs from his latest album, At This Time.
McCoy Tyner
A jazz titan, Grammy-winning pianist McCoy Tyner heads a quartet of luminaries in this performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Evolving from his legendary work with John Coltrane in the '60s, Tyner's blues-based piano style, abounding with sophisticated chords and an explosively percussive left hand, has become one of the most identifiable sounds in improvised music. He's joined by Dave Holland (bass), Joe Lovano (saxophone) and Lewis Nash (drums).
Yefim Bronfman
Grammy Award-winning piano virtuoso Yefim Bronfman joins members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Schubert's Piano Trio in B-Flat, D. 898, a piece bursting with melody and considered one of the composer's most important works. Bronfman's commanding technique and exceptional lyrical gifts have won critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences worldwide. Also on the program are excerpts of Hadyn's String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 74 No. 3.
Charles Mingus' Epitaph Orchestra
A full jazz orchestra gives a thrilling performance of Epitaph, a dynamic and highly-personal masterpiece by the late Charles Mingus. The prophetically named work -- Mingus said he "wrote it for my tombstone" -- was composed for an ill-fated performance in 1962, and then discarded. After Mingus died in 1979, it was reconstructed from his scores by archivist Andrew Homzy. Epitaph was performed again in 1989, under the direction of Gunther Schuller, in a concert the New York Times called "the jazz event of the decade." This program features extended excerpts from the work -- a full version can be heard at npr.org/music.
John Adams
Minimalist master John Adams celebrates his 60th birthday by leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group in two of his own compositions, Gnarly Buttons and Grand Pianola Music. A musician of enormous range and technical command, Adams' symphonic and operatic works have been acclaimed for their exceptional depth of expression, the brilliance of their sonic palette, and their profoundly humanist themes.
Roseanne Cash
Using her album Black Cadillac as a roadmap, Rosanne Cash reflects on her soul-searching journey, and musical legacy, in this intensely personal performance. Through songs written during the final days and eventual passing of June Carter Cash, Johnny Cash, and Vivian Cash Distin -- her stepmother, father and mother -- Rosanne reflects on her personal story, and explores the universal concepts of loss, grief and acceptance. Cash is joined by John Leventhal (guitar, piano and vocals), Zev Katz (bass) and Dave Mattacks (drums).
Copyright © 2008 National Public Radio, Inc.
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