Entrevista a Lou Harrison y Bill Colvig

16.02.1989

Charles Amirkhanian

Charles Amirkhanian talks with one of America's most distinguished composers, Lou Harrison (Portland, 1917 - Lafayette, 2003), whose use of gamelan instruments and interest in other musics of the world helped bring an appreciation of Pacific and Asian music to the U.S. William Colvig (1917-2000) has collaborated with Harrison for many years, building original and gamelan-inspired instruments. The program begins with Eric Marin's film documenting Harrison & Colvig, and continues with excerpts from Harrison's Piano Concerto (featuring Keith Jarrett) and "Suite for Violin, Piano and Small Orchestra." The second part of the program includes a demonstration of original instruments by Harrison & Colvig.

Entrevista a Frederic Rzewski

09.01.1989

KPFA-FM / Charles Amirkhanian 

Charles Amirkhanian interviews one of the most important American composer/performers of the past quarter century, Frederic Rzewski (Westfield, 1938), who has lived in Rome and Brussels during that period. The composer of a famous set of piano variations on Victor Jara's “El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido”, Rzewski discusses his recent music and artistic tastes. Rzewski is known for both his remarkable virtuosity as a performer, improviser and composer, and his committed involvement in left politics. How he resolves these in his work is a problem which he has concluded with thoughtfulness and inventiveness of an uncommon sort.

Entrevista a Philip Glass

Speaking of music - 13.09.1988

Charles Amirkhanian

Charles Amirkhanian interviews Philip Glass (Baltimore, 1937). They discuss his early experiences in theater, his work with Ravi Shankar, his development of minimal music, and his work with modern opera and cinema.

Boulez Twentieth Century - MATERIAL

Boulez Twentieth Century 
IRCAM / FR3 (1988)
Nat Lilenstein

MATERIAL

Boulez Twentieth Century - FORM

Boulez Twentieth Century 
IRCAM / FR3 (1988)
Nat Lilenstein

FORM

Boulez Twentieth Century - MELODY

Boulez Twentieth Century 
IRCAM / FR3 (1988)
Nat Lilenstein

MELODY

Boulez Twentieth Century - TONE

Boulez Twentieth Century 
IRCAM / FR3 (1988)
Nat Lilenstein

TONE

Boulez Twentieth Century - RHYTHM

Boulez Twentieth Century 
IRCAM / FR3 (1988)
Nat Lilenstein

RHYTHM

Boulez Twentieth Century - HARMONY

Boulez Twentieth Century 
IRCAM / FR3 (1988)
Nat Lilenstein

HARMONY

Leonard Bernstein: Teachers & Teaching

Humphrey Burton - 1988

This 60-minute program honors the great American conductor, pianist and composer Leonard Bernstein as a teacher.

It assesses his importance, his credo and his sense of obligation to pass on to following generations what he himself learned and experienced. Leonard Bernstein saw himself as a link in a long chain of musical tradition leading from Koussevitzky, Mitropoulos, Reiner and Copland to himself and on to a younger generation represented by Seiji Ozawa and Michael Tilson Thomas, and to the youngest musicians he particularly enjoyed teaching, those who were still dreaming of a career.

The film shows Leonard Bernstein as the great "roaming rabbi" of music and love, two concepts which were synonyms for him, just like learning and teaching. We see the great musician who offered his knowledge without reservation and was still developing himself in his last years, eager to learn from other artists. The film also shows Bernstein during rehearsals with orchestras, with famous soloists (e.g. Krystian Zimerman), in conversation with friends and pupils and at work in Vienna, New York, Tanglewood and Salzau.