Meyer Auditorium Concert Series

Enjoy the Romantic music that so entranced Japan in the late nineteenth century with this recital by the acclaimed Swiss-born pianist Gilles Vonsattel, whose 2011 CD was named a classical album of the year by Time Out New York. Beethoven’s beloved “Moonlight” Sonata and Bagatelles are played alongside works by Liszt and Schumann. The podcast concludes with Debussy’s atmospheric Images, Books I and II, compositions that were directly inspired by Japanese prints. This concert took place in conjunction with the 2014 exhibition, Kyochika: Master of the Night. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

The brilliant Japanese violinist Mayuko Kamio, a gold medalist at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, performs Johannes Brahms’ Scherzo from his F-A-E Sonata; Maurice Ravel’s Tzigane; Toshio Hosokawa’s Vertical Time Study III; Shinichiro Ikebe’s Themes from the Japanese film Catharsis, and an encore of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee. This concert was recorded in 2014 in conjunction with Kiyochika: Master of the Night. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

The art music tradition of the Afghan rubāb is a hybrid creation. Indeed, Afghan music represents a confluence of cultural influences whose sources lie to the east, north, and west of present-day Afghanistan in the historical empires of Persia, Central Asia, and India. The rubāb itself is of Central Asian origin, one of a family of lutes that includes the Iranian tar, Tibetan danyen, and Pamir rubab. While rooted in the raga tradition of North India, the art music performed on the Afghan rubāb also has stylistic links to Iran. The tabla (drum pair) is indisputably Indian, but its creators seem to have drawn inspiration from older forms of Central and West Asian kettle and goblet drums. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Bell Yung performs on the qin at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in conjunction with the exhibition Painting with Words: Gentleman Artists of the Ming Dynasty. He is emeritus professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh. He specializes in the history and theory of music of the qin as well as Chinese ritual music and Cantonese opera and narrative songs. The qin he plays, named Pines in Ten Thousand Gullies, dates to the late Ming dynasty. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Experience traditional music for Saudi weddings, fishing expeditions, love songs, and other occasions performed by this six-member ensemble from Jeddah. The musicians play violin, ‘ud (lute), nay (flute), tabla (drum), and qanun (zither). Recorded in November 2012 in conjunction with the exhibition Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Take a jazz journey to the Arab world of the 1950s with Lebanese pianist Tarek Yamani and his original arrangements of music from the classic era of Arab songs. The Beirut-born Yamani is joined by bassist Petros Klampanis and drummer Evan Sherman. Yamani breathes invigorating new life into songs made wildly popular by such singers as Uum Kulthum and composers Sayyid Darwīsh and Mohammad al-Maslūb and their orchestras. Winner of the Thelonius Monk Competition in 2010, Yamani created the annual music initiative Beirut Speaks Jazz in 2013 and has performed at the United Nations and in clubs across New York City. This concert was originally performed at the Meyer Auditorium on December 6, 2014. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Immerse yourself in the soothing sounds of Javanese gongs and xylophones in this performance by the gamelan ensemble of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts. The orchestra features a vast array of bronze gongs and bronze-key xylophones; mellifluous vocals and classical fiddle complete the beguiling mix. This performance was recorded in 2013 as part of Performing Indonesia: A Conference and Festival of Music, Dance, and Drama. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Two virtuosos of the Iranian hammered dulcimer explore the subtle nuances and dramatic flair of Persian classical music on this ancient instrument. Their improvisations, performed at the Freer Gallery of Art in 2014, are based on the Persian dastgāhs, melodic modes that are comparable in richness and history to the ragas of India. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Return to the era of exploration of Columbus and Magellan, when missionaries, merchants, diplomats, and artists first traveled to Asia. Hear sixteenth-century songs from Spain and Portugal that express the sadness of leaving home, the joy of returning, and the invigoration of experiencing new cultures. The ensemble Vozes Alfonsinas, based in Lisbon, features the Renaissance guitar and vihuela, the bowed rebec, and the long-necked theorbo, along with a variety of recorders, percussion, and vocals. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Thrill to the high-voltage music of the Balinese gamelan in this electrifying performance by the professional ensemble of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts. This all-star orchestra conveys the virtuosic tempos and dramatic shifts for which the Balinese gamelan is so justly famous. This music was recorded in 2013 as part of Performing Indonesia: A Conference and Festival of Music, Dance, and Drama. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

A Grammy Award nominee and the first traditional artist to be named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America, Wu Man is widely considered the premiere soloist on the pipa, an ancient Chinese lute. Enjoy her virtuosic renditions of classical pieces meant to evoke Chinese sunsets, Buddhist chanting, and an ancient battle. This 1999 concert at the Freer Gallery concludes with a contemporary work written for her by composer Bung-Ching Lam. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

During the era of Bach and Handel, European music traveled to Asia and the Americas with missionaries, merchants, and performers. This concert, recorded in 2011, features a sonata written by a Jesuit composer for the emperor of China in the Forbidden City in 1720, along with baroque music heard in Latin America and the newly founded United States. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Four jazz-oriented artists from the Middle East merge the musical traditions for Persian and Arab bagpipe, double clarinet, lute, and drums along with the Western saxophone. Together they forge new sounds that transport ancient melodies into modern idioms. This performance was recorded live in concert at the Freer Gallery on December 12, 2013, and was presented in cooperation with the Aga Khan Music Initiative. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Immerse yourself in the yoga of sound (nada yoga) through contemplative melodic explorations and invigorating rhythmic improvisations performed by K. Sridhar, one of India’s most prominent soloists on the sarod (Indian lute). Sridhar believes Indian ragas “can be appreciated as a language that reveals different aspects of the Divine,” and he discusses the yoga of sound in the podcast notes. This performance was recorded live in concert in 2013 in conjunction with the exhibition Yoga: The Art of Transformation. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Imagine a Buddhist monk deep in the scenic mountains of China, contemplating the towering pines, babbling brooks, and shape-shifting clouds as he plays a qin. Virtuoso Bell Yung preserves the musical tradition of this ancient Chinese zither, one of the few types of music in the world that is played primarily for the enjoyment of the performer. Bell Yung, emeritus professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh, recorded this concert at the Freer Gallery in 2005. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts