From Vietnam to Finland, from bordellos to concert halls: new tango voices book tells the global side of the genre
They say that every fifteen minutes, somewhere in the world, someone is playing Tango Jalousie, one of the most beloved of all tangos. Dizzy Gillespie jammed to it. The British blockbuster film “The Full Monty” includes it. Tenor Placido Domingo recorded it, as did the Boston Pops Orchestra. But it wasn’t until influential KCRW DJ Tom Schnabel handed music professor, folklorist and retired attorney Donald Cohen a Vietnamese recording of it that he realized few know its story.
Read more…
DAMASCUS, Syria — The Damascus Opera House was practically full one recent weeknight as a gathering of medical professionals from around the Arab world came together to hear the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra. The lights dimmed, and conductor Missak Baghboudarian strolled on stage to mild applause. He launched the orchestra of about 60 musicians into a rendition of the overture from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.”
BEIJING — Grant Xia had the misfortune of trying to take up violin as an amateur during the collective madness of the Cultural Revolution. Chinese officials banned classical music and sent musicians to re-education camps. Mr. Xia’s family collection of more than 1,000 vinyl records was destroyed. Mr. Xia soon stopped playing the violin.
DUJIANGYAN, China – Tang Zhongxuan remembers the night after the earthquake, when sleeping indoors was no longer safe but outside the rain had arrived.
The roots of Thor and many other comic book figures stretch back to Wagner’s epic and earlier. Look, up in the sky! In case you haven’t noticed already, our entertainment stratosphere has grown crowded with muscle-bound superheroes in almost every conceivable shape and size: the franchise-rebooted likes of Spider-Man and Superman, battle-armored warriors such as Robin Hood and Perseus.
Hundreds of spectators – Palestinians and Israelis alike – crowded opposite the small stage, where dozens of young female singers (with a few boys among them too) stood excitedly, representing three choirs: the Jasmine Choir of the Magnificat Conservatory, run by the monastery; the Sawa Choir (which means “together” in Arabic) of Shfaram; and the Efroni Choir of Emek Hefer. 
Part of the genesis of my Yo-Yo Ma feature on Sunday was my curiosity about how artists deal with the responsibilities of assuming a political role.
It’s that time of year again, when practical jokers have a field day. Good-humored horseplay seems prevalent in cultures everywhere, even — according to Morning Edition commentator Miles Hoffman — within the hallowed halls of classical music.
I think it’s time to emphasize solutions on my blog. I’ve made so many criticisms of the classical music world — justified criticisms, I don’t hesitate to say. And I love the theoretical discussions we get into, which I’m often (but, wonderfully, not at all always) the one to start.
Sign up for newsletter
