Glissando Glissando

On our Season 2 opener, our guest is Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the United States Supreme Court. She talks about her love for the opera and about friends and family that have been part of her story, and she shares some of the wisdom she has gained during her long and productive career.
Justice Ginsburg and many of her loved ones are presented as characters in the song cycle The Long View, composed and performed by her daughter-in-law, Patrice Michaels. These can be heard on Cedille Records' 2018 release Notorious RBG in Song, available to purchase or stream from any of these sites.

On episode 1.9 we talk to trumpeter and composer Hannibal Lokumbe, whose compositions tell the stories of ordinary people with the courage and strength to stand up to racism and to fight for social justice. We take a look at two of his oratorios, one inspired by his own family's history and the other by Mrs. Rosa Parks.
Our Deep Cut is James Price Johnson's Yamekraw Rhapsody, composed as a more authentic response to George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

On episode 1.8 we talk to composer Oliver Davis, whose extensive resume of television and film scoring includes the couch gag sequence for an episode of The Simpsons, which you can watch below. He's also released four highly regarded albums, the most recent of which, Liberty, came out in February 2018.
Our Deep Cut is Kurt Atterberg's Suite No. 3, a short set that packs an emotion punch and shows why Atterberg should be considered an important Scandinavian composer of the 20th century.

On episode 1.7 we talk to composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir about her work In the Light of Air, which will be performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble at the upcoming Big Ears Festival. We also discuss the music scene in her homeland of Iceland.
Our Deep Cut is Rued Langgaard's Music of the Spheres, a stunning work for orchestra and choir that was about fifty years ahead of its time.

On episode 1.6 we talk to Cristina Spinei, a rising composer who makes her home in Nashville, Tennessee. We discuss her album Music For Dance, her Blind Ear Music project, and the classical scene in Music City.
In place of a Deep Cut, we're featuring a Grammy-nominated recording by Nashville's ALIAS Chamber Ensemble of Gabriela Lena Frank's Hilos for piano, clarinet, violin, and cello.

On episode 1.5 we talk to Marin Alsop, one of the top conductors in the world. We discuss her recent Prokofiev recording on Naxos as well as the work she does promoting and encouraging classical music in Sao Paulo.
Our Deep Cut is Symphony No. 1 in E Minor by Florence Beatrice Price, which upon its premiere in 1933 became the first work by an African-American woman to be performed by a major orchestra.