This week, we begin the buildup to a special Anniversary - the 10th Anniversary of the Premiere of the Galaxy on WDBX. I have always been partial to celebrating birthdays and anniversaries on the show, and it is always special when we can celebrate our own birthdays or anniversaries. Even so, to celebrate 10 years (ok, this includes a few interruptions in service, but the spirit was always here, even if the body has not always been present) is a special occasion, and requires special consideration.
The Anniversary falls on the first week of March (I've always estimated my premiere on WDBX to have been March 7th, but I do not have exact records that cover this, so I could be off a bit). But given the significance of this anniversary, and the breadth of the material that I cover here on the Galaxy, I've decided to start celebrating a little early by taking a look at some of the music that I've covered over the many years. This decision was inspired in part by my covering the On Tour slot for Kevin (who was soooo nice in covering my slot for me during my surgical absence), especially since our opening salvo (so to speak), Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, takes a full 3 hours to play, and I have always hated to play just part of a song or piece - I prefer to play the whole piece, or nothing.
The second part of our program unfortunately requires a redirection of efforts. I had intended to use this part of the show to premiere an excellent recording of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied Von Der Erde, a song cycle he wrote just prior to his 9th Symphony (there is quite an interesting story involved with this that I shall not go into here). Unfortunately, owing to unexpected time constraints and my inability to correctly estimate how much time it would take to do a full performance of Le Nozze di Figaro, I cannot play this 62 minute piece of music. This shall have to be delayed until next week. However, I am still able to work within the stated theme of the evening, as I have happily discovered a copy of the excellent Live at Stubbs recording by Matisyahu, a most interesting artist who has an intriguing musical and lyrical direction. I also fortunately thought to bring along my copy of the excellent Dredg recording Catch Without Arms. Both Dredg and Matisyahu (who has a new album coming out within days) are promising artists whom I fully intend on inserting into our regular featured rotation, a selection given to artists that I feel offer so much long term promise that I feel they deserve special attention. So my stated theme remains in force! Oh Happy Day!
I do love it when I can feature music that has served as a standard for excellence, as tonight's opera has done for over 200 years. I also love featuring new music, even if this is just music that is new to the station. Hence, our theme for this evening, A Look Back (our opera has been featured multiple times on our program), and A Look Ahead (to music that most likely shall grace our program for many years to come).
As always, I appreciate your taking time to listen to our program, and to read my musings on the music and the reason behind playing it. I pray that you find the opportunity to listen over the next few weeks, as we shall continue to celebrate that which has come, and that which is yet to come. As always, I am also appreciative of the opportunty WDBX has provided me over the years to follow my musical muse, wherever it may lead me.
Douglas Flummer
Composer's name is listed where notable (i.e. Classical Performance, Jazz Performance).
For more information on any of the rock, pop and Jazz music featured on this program, I frequently utilize AllMusic , an excellent free database holding a huge plethora of information about music and the artists that make it.
| Composer | Performer | Title | Genre | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) |
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado, cond., -w- Lucio Gallo, Sylvia McNair, Cheryl Studer, Boje Skovhus, & Cecilia Bartoli; Vienna State Opera Choir |
Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) |
Classical, Classical Era, Opera |
Deutsche Grammophon, 1994 |
One of the standards of the operatic
repertoire, and a truly majestic piece of operatic literature. It was premiered in Vienna on 1 May 1786, and uses a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte that itself was based on a popular play by Beaumarchais, a play with such scandalous sexual and political overtones that the Emperor Joseph II had banned it's production in Vienna unless it was severely censored. This play was actually a sequel to Il barbiere di Siviglia, (which, of course, later became another operatic standard under the pen of Giaocomo Rossini), and Mozart's writing here demonstrates a certain inspiration from an earlier operatic setting of Il barbiere di Siviglia by Giovanni Paisiello - obviously, Mozart took this inspiration to great heights. As was his pattern, Mozart delayed the writing of this masterpiece, entering it in his catalogue on 29 April 1786, two days before its premiere, and he is known to have made significant modifications to the opera during the 2 month rehearsal for the premiere. He in fact altered it again in 1789, adding several large-scale pieces. The initial results were quite successful, especially when it received its initial performance in Prague, and it's success led to Mozart's commissioning to write Don Giovanni and, eventually, Cosi Fan Tutte. In some quarters, the quality of the comedy is compared to that of Shakespeare. |
Not That Simple |
Rock, Modern |
Interscope, 2005 |
Touring with the Deftones, As I Lay Dying, Thrice and Atreyu, possibly appearing in St. Louis on March 13th. I am not completely certain whether Dredg will be appearing at this show, as their website shows them playing at dates starting the next week. |
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Zebraskin |
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Planting Seeds |
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Spitshine |
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Jamais Vu |
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Sea to Sea |
Hasidic Reggae |
JDub, 2005 |
Songs about love and healing - can't help but love stuff like this. |
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Chop Them Down |
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Warrior |
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Lord Raise Me Up |
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King Without A Crown |
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This page is maintained by Douglas Flummer , your humble pilot and navigator.
Last Update: February 21st, 2006
Email: saxman@siu.edu