Radio
Savannah Music Festival LIVE is a new weekly public radio show featuring performances from the last five years of Georgia's largest musical arts event. Join host Rob Gibson to listen to world-class artists such as the Emerson String Quartet, Mariza, Daniel Hope or Derek Trucks, along with special productions about past and present Georgia music luminaries such as Wycliffe Gordon and Johnny Mercer.
Listen in Athens on Thursday nights at 8 pm (WUGA - 91.7 fm), or anywhere else on the GPB Radio Network on Mondays at 9 pm. Stream featured shows below.
Comments or suggestions? Please email us at radio@savannahmusicfestival.org.
SEASON TWO is now underway,
featuring concert recordings from the 2009 Festival!
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 211 - Bela Fleck Africa Project, Episode One
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On the final weekend of the 2009 Savannah Music Festival, banjoist Bela Fleck brought an incredible group of musicians to the stage at the Trustees Theater. His "Throw Down Your Heart" project resulted in a ten-city tour in 2009 featuring himself, Toumani Diabate, Anania Ngoliga, D'Gary, Vusi Mahlasela and others. Hear episode one of the two-part special featuring Bela Fleck's Africa Project at the Savannah Music Festival.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 210 - Soul of Schubert
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Original air date: week of June 22
The Austrian composer Franz Schubert wrote some six hundred lieder, nine symphonies, liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music, all before his untimely death at the age of 31. On this episode, we listen to some of Schubert's most majestic work, including his famous "Death and the Maiden Quartet" performed by Daniel Hope & Friends, as well as excerpts from his Winterreise cycle, sung by tenor Mark Padmore and accompanied by pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout. Winterreise is the second of two great song cycles on Wilhelm Müller's poems, the earlier being Dei Schöne Müllerin. Both works were performed in the rotunda at the Telfair of Arts & Sciences on Telfair Square.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 209 - Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and Väsen
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The country of Sweden has a folk music tradition that goes back at least 700 years. Importantly, this tradition still serves as the impetus for songs being created today. One of the most original Swedish groups to emerge in the late 20th century is a trio known as Väsen, whose creative output has shown that Swedish traditional music is still alive and well in our time. During this episode, we listen to Väsen as they combine forces with two of American music's finest improvisational players, Mike Marshall and Darol Anger, in a performance the group gave at the 2009 Savannah Music Festival. Each of the five players brings his own personality to the table and the sum of the parts is one that takes instrumental music in new, innovative directions.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 208 - Sensations chamber music with Daniel Hope & Friends: Classical Period
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Original air date: Week of June 8, 2009
The term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of western musical styles from the ninth century to the present - but the Classical period in western music is generally accepted as a 75-year long era between 1750 and 1825, and its two most famous composers are Mozart and Beethoven. On this edition of the Savannah Music Festival LIVE, we'll be featuring Beethoven's String Trio in G Major and the renowned Clarinet Quintet by Mozart, each of which were performed during the 2009 Savannah Music Festival in the rotunda at the Telfair Academy of Arts & Sciences. These two works embody nearly everything great about the Classical period, and we begin with the Opus 9 Trio in G Major by Beethoven, a beautifully inventive composition that reveals the young composer already a master of his craft.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 207 - Gershwin Songbook
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Original air date: Week of June 1, 2009
While it is often said that George Gershwin was ahead of his time, the fact remains that he created music in his time, and at his time. On this episode, hear a range of piano music performed at a concert during the 2009 Savannah Music Festival called "Gershwin Songbook." The program included both popular songs and concertos, some of it played as written on the sheet music by classical pianist Sebastian Knauer, and other works improvised on the spot by jazz pianist Marcus Roberts.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 206 - Bob Seeley's Boogie Woogie
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Original air date: Week of May 25, 2009
The sound of a train rolling down the tracks has long served as the metaphor for American musical styles rooted in the blues. One such style was created especially on the piano and it's known as boogie woogie. Tune in to this episode to hear one of the genre's greatest living exponents, the 80-year old Bob Seeley. Having studied under Meade Lux Lewis, one of the kings of boogie woogie piano, Seeley's playing style is virtuosic, creative and showcases a very powerful left hand.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 205 - Prazak Quartet
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Original Air Date: Week of May 18, 2009.
For nearly a thousand years, the country now known as the Czech Republic was originally two different regions called Bohemia and Moravia. During the 19th century, two composers were born in Bohemia who created works of great significance. On this edition of Savannah Music Festival LIVE, hear one of Prague's most esteemed string quartets playing the String Quartet No. 1 ("From my Life") by Bedrich Smetana, followed by Antonin Dvorak's String Quartet No. 12 in F, Opus 96 ("The American"). This concert was recorded on Saturday, March 21 in the rotunda at the Telfair Academy of Arts & Sciences, during the 2009 Savannah Music Festival.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 204 - Garrick Ohlsson at the Lucas Theatre
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Original air date: Week of May 11, 2009
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson is an interpreter of great originality, whose playing combines supreme elegance with extraordinary tonal projection. These qualities have placed him among the ranks of the world's foremost pianists. On this edition of the Savannah Music Festival LIVE, we listen to Mr. Ohlsson playing a recital during the 2009 Savannah Music Festival at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts. He begins with the very first sonata written by Beethoven, composed in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn: the Piano Sonata in F Minor, Opus 2.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 203 - Punch Brothers with Chris Thile
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Original air date: Week of May 4, 2009
Composer/Singer/Mandolinist Chris Thile released his first recording when he was just 13. But that was half his life ago, and the now 28-year old virtuoso is involved in an ensemble that has occupied his life since 2007 called the Punch Brothers. It was after the breakup of his very popular contemporary acoustic group Nickel Creek that Thile joined four of his musical buddies to conceive a modern bluegrass band - one with a lot of range, but aesthetically a bluegrass band. Tune in for an episode featuring the Punch Brothers' incredible performance at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts earlier this year during the 2009 Savannah Music Festival.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 202 - Mariza at the Lucas Theatre
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Original air date: Week of April 27, 2009
Fado, which translated means "destiny" or "fate," is a musical genre that can be traced from the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics. The music is usually linked to the Portuguese word "saudade," which has no match in English but could be understood as nostalgia felt while missing someone. The origins of fado are a mixture of African slave rhythms, the traditions of Portuguese sailors, and the influence of Arabic music. Join us for a captivating performance given by Mariza, the genre's biggest star, at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts on March 21, during the 2009 Savannah Music Festival.
Savannah Music Festival LIVE - 201 - Mendelssohn at 200, featuring Sebastian Knauer
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Original air date: Week of April 20, 2009
Two hundred years ago this year, composer Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Germany. He is now widely regarded as one of the most popular composers of the Romantic period. Tune in for an hour-long recital of Mendelssohn's music by pianist and SMF favorite Sebastian Knauer, given at the historic Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church. This celebration of the Mendelssohn Bicentennial took place on Thursday, March 26th as part of the 2009 Savannah Music Festival.