Meyer Auditorium Concert Series

Experience the powerful music of Kazakhstan's nomadic culture, performed by three women who specialize in performing heroic epics, lyrical songs of celebration, and shamanic fiddle. Their music evokes the expansive plains and open skies of Central Asia as well as the long history of the Kazakhs who have prospered in a harshly beautiful land at the heart of the Silk Road. This concert features Ulzhan Baibosynova and Ardak Issataeva on vocals and dombyra (Kazakh lute) and Raushan Orazbaeva on qobyz (Kazakh fiddle). It was presented in conjunction with the exhibition Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan in 2012. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Hear evocative solos and refreshing new arrangements of Arab music performed by Naseer Shamma and his Cairo-based ensemble. One of the Middle East’s leading ‘ud (lute) virtuosos, Shamma is joined by musicians performing on violin, flute (nay), dulcimer (qanun), cello, and percussion. The concert includes Shamma’s original compositions, Venus and Halat Wajd (Rapture.) See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Enjoy virtuosic arrangements of feisty folk songs from China and Vietnam, along with new music evoking calm landscapes of Asia. These selections are drawn from performances by pianists Xiayin Wang, Jenny Lin, and Quynh Nguyen, who appeared at the Freer Gallery of Art in 2010 and 2011. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Hear this three-time Grammy nominee and original member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble return to his roots in this performance of Persian classical music on kamanche, the traditional Iranian fiddle. Kayhan Kalhor’s fluid and compelling improvisations on the classic Persian modes have brought this venerable music tradition to new heights for audiences around the world. This performance was recorded at the Meyer Auditorium of the Freer Gallery of Art on March 17, 2012. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Hear new and reconstructed music for an ancient West Asian harp that was preserved, along with other Silk Road treasures, at the Shoso-in, an eighth-century Japanese imperial storehouse in the temple city of Nara. Harp soloist Fuyuhiko Sasaki recreates the sound of the kugo (harp) in works commissioned for the National Theater of Japan and to commemorate the 1,200th anniversary of the city of Kyoto and honor the victims of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. He was joined by five other ensemble members for this concert recorded at the Freer Gallery on February 22, 2012, as part of Music From Japan Festival 2012. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Composers from Malaysia, Japan, China, and the United States explore aspects of Buddhism through music written for string quartet. Formed in 2004, the adventuresome Momenta Quartet has performed often in New York at BargeMusic, Tonic, Le Poisson Rouge, The Stone, Roulette, and Symphony Space. It also serves as the quartet-in-residence at Temple University. This concert was recorded as part of the Meyer Concert Series at the Freer Gallery of Art on November 8, 2012. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Enjoy the graceful melodies and lovely textures of the classical Chinese guzheng, a zither with twenty-one strings that dates to the fifth century BCE. Virtuoso Bing Xia and her student Rujia Teng perform classical and contemporary works that embody many aspects of the mythical phoenix of Chinese legend. Their performance was recorded in 2013 in conjunction with the exhibition Nine Deaths, Two Births: Xu Bing's Phoenix Project, which was on view in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery from April 27 to September 2, 2013. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Enjoy the expressive warmth of the Arab 'ud (lute) with virtuoso Omar Bashir in this concert honoring the memory of his father, Munir Bashir, who elevated the instrument to new prominence in the twentieth century. Omar Bashir coaxes a wealth of emotions from the guitar-like instrument, utilizing a variety of Arab melodic modes (maqam) and interpreting works made famous by his legendary father, including Love and Peace, Seville, and Andalusian Señora. This concert took place in the Freer Gallery of Art on September 14, 2003. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Hear a gorgeous new concerto for the Japanese koto and Western string quartet by American composer Daron Hagen, who has written works for the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Kings Singers, among many others. Preceding that are two contrasting works for solo koto: a classical piece by seventeenth-century composer Kengyo Yatsuhashi and Yumi Kurosawa's own new work for the instrument. This concert was recorded in the Freer|Sackler's Meyer Auditorium as part of the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series on October 13, 2011. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Hear Korea's most beloved folksong, "Arirang," interpreted by seven leading improvisers from Korea and New York. Led by Heo Yoon-jeong on zithers and Ned Rothenberg on reeds, the Tori Project treats five regional styles of "Arirang" to a compelling array of variations and extrapolations. This concert was recorded at the Freer|Sackler on December 8, 2011. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Experience the painterly palette of sounds created by composers Claude Debussy and Enrique Granados in this concert celebrating the 150th anniversary of Debussy's birth. The virtuosic Calefax Reed Quintet, from the Netherlands, performs its own lush arrangements of Debussy's works, which were deeply influenced by the American expatriate artist James McNeill Whistler. This concert was presented as part of the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series on March 2, 2012, and made possible in part through support from the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Experience the painterly palette of sounds created by composers Claude Debussy and Enrique Granados in this concert celebrating the 150th anniversary of Debussy's birth. The virtuosic Calefax Reed Quintet, from the Netherlands, performs its own lush arrangements of Debussy's works, which were deeply influenced by the American expatriate artist James McNeill Whistler. This concert was presented as part of the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series on March 2, 2012, and made possible in part through support from the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Hear new works for violin, cello, piano, erhu, and pipa composed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Zhou Long; Beijing-based composer Lu Pei; and Chen Yi, winner of the Charles Ives Living Award. Two outstanding ensembles--Music From China and Music From Copland House--join forces for this performance, presented as part of the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series on November 3, 2011. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Hear the ancient improvisational tradition of Persian classical music played masterfully by one of Iran's greatest musical legends. Hossein Alizadeh is a two-time Grammy nominee, once for his solo album Endless Vision and again as a member of the Masters of Persian Music ensemble, with which he has toured internationally. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts

Get ready to move to the infectious rhythms of baila, a unique form of dance music from Sri Lanka that originated among Portuguese fishermen and African slaves in the colonial period. Modern baila is now popular in Sri Lankan communities around the world, played at parties, weddings, and dance clubs. This concert was recorded on the Freer Gallery's plaza, facing the National Mall, in conjunction with the exhibition Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts