The Music Show

Omar Musa is an author, artist, poet, and woodcutter making music and art from Borneo to Brooklyn. He is back in Australia to talk about his latest album The Fullness. His third album touches on the environment, culture, religious identity, and mortality. He creates poetry from a spoken-word background, melding hip-hop, jazz, and electronic sounds with earnest lyricism. Gillian Dooley joins us on The Music Show to talk about her latest book She Played and Sang, which explores the music of Jane Austen. From Haydn piano sonatas to Scottish folk songs, Gillian gives us a sense of what not only Elizabeth Bennett and the Dashwoods were playing in their parlour, but also Jane Austen herself. Also new music from Leila and Sean ShibePerformance Dates -- Omar Musa4 May – 2 June All My Memories Are Mistranslations, Humble House Gallery Canberra, 2 August ACO Up Close: Omar Musa and Mariel Roberts, ACO Pier 2-3 - The Nielson, 7pmGillian Dooley -- She Played and Sang: Jane Austen and Music, Manchester University Press

Australian tenor Stuart Skelton returns to The Music Show as he prepares to sing Mahler’s Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde) with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Looking over his increasingly heroic career from oddball roles like the titular Peter Grimes to the pantheon of Wagner’s men, Stuart reflects on growing into his voice, and what he learned from the conducting and musical leadership of the late Andrew Davis.Story of Another Soul is a “decolonial dreaming of new futures that seeks truth in the roots of improvisation”, from Meanjin/Brisbane based spoken word poet Huda Fadlelmawla and jazz trumpeter, composer and producer Reuben Lewis. They join Andy to talk about the process of improvisation in which words and music come together.Stuart Skelton performs Mahler’s Song of the Earth with the Australian Chamber Orchestra until 26 May.Story of Another Soul is out now via Life Before Man.Title: These StoriesComposer: Reuben Lewis, Huda FadlelmawlaArtist: Huda The Goddess & Reuben LewisAlbum: Story of Another SoulLabel: Life Before ManTitle: Das Lied von der Erde; i. Das Trinklied von Jammer der ErdeComposer: Gustav MahlerArtist: Stuart Skelton, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon RattleAlbum: Das Lied von der ErdeLabel: BR Klassik 900172Title: “Now the Great Bear and Pleiades” from Peter GrimesComposer: Benjamin BrittenArtist: Stuart Skelton, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward GardnerAlbum: Peter GrimesLabel: Chandos CHSA5250Title: “Take me away, and in the lowest deep there let me be” from The Dream of GerontiusComposer: Edward ElgarArtist: Stuart Skelton, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew DavisAlbum: The Dream of GerontiusLabel: Chandos CHSA5140Title: When People Ask You, BreakComposer: Reuben Lewis, Huda FadlelmawlaArtist: Huda The Goddess & Reuben LewisAlbum: Story of Another SoulLabel: Life Before ManTitle: Love So DeepComposer: Omar MusaArtist: Omar MusaAlbum: The FullnessLabel: Monkeycat MusicThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

Andrew is at the Canberra International Music Festival, where we get to catch up with an Australian who lives in the UK, a Belgian who tours the world, and another Belgian who lives in Australia.Lotte Betts-Dean, Aussie mezzo-soprano now based in London, makes a trip home to perform a series of form-expanding vocal works from composers like Michael Finnissy, one of the masters of so-called "new complexity". Belgian jazz pianist Bram de Looze invites The Music Show into the Belgian Embassy where he's staying with the two resident llamas to talk about where improvisation and composition meet for him, and what he's taken from jazz idols like Hank Jones, Keith Jarrett and Thelonious Monk. And CIMF Artistic Director Roland Peelman looks back on his ten years leading the festival, the joys and tribulations of wearing multiple hats, and the particular way the city of Canberra has shaped the festival. Look out for Bram De Looze on ABC Jazz’s Jazztrack Live in June.Music heard in the show:Title: Spotting GatewaysArtist: Bram de LoozeLive in Canberra – courtesy of ABC JazzTitle: Blessed Be IArtist: Lotte Betts-Dean, Marsyas TrioComposer: Michael FinnissyAlbum: Alternative ReadingsLabel: Divine Art MEX77102Title: Botany BayArtist: Lotte Betts-Dean, Marsyas TrioComposer: Michael FinnissyAlbum: Alternative ReadingsLabel: Divine Art MEX77102Title: parallaxis formaArtist: Lotte Betts Dean, Explore EnsembleComposer: Catherine LambAlbum: 3 Compositions for Voices and EnsembleLabel: Another Timbre at-215CDTitle: BowArtist: Bram De LoozeComposer: Bram De LoozeAlbum: Spotting GatewaysLabel: Independent releaseTitle: Monk’s MoodArtist: Bram De Looze, Joey Baron, Robin VerheyenComposer: Thelonious MonkAlbum: MiXMONKLabel: UCJTechnical production by Simon BranthwaiteRecorded on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Country.

Rainbow Chan returns to The Music Show to discuss her latest audio-visual project, The Bridal Lament. In an attempt to preserve her mother's mother tongue, Rainbow has spent the last five years researching and learning the Weitou language, an endangered Cantonese dialect, through learning traditional bridal laments. Rainbow talks to Andy about the defiant tradition of performing these laments in the face of arranged marriages, and her process of learning the language through song from the 'grannies' preserving it. You might think Broadway composer George Gershwin and pioneer of 12-tone music Arnold Schoenberg would have had little in common, but when Gershwin arrived in Beverly Hills in August 1936, he found Schoenberg (who had fled Nazi Germany in 1933), was his neighbour. Gershwin was in the last year of his life, but during that time the two composers played tennis together every week. They also admired each other’s music - and Schoenberg admired Gershwin’s business acumen. When Gershwin asked Schoenberg for lessons, the older man enquired how much Gershwin earned, suggesting he should the one taking lessons from Gershwin. When George Met Arnold is the title of a film/concert from pianist Simon Tedeschi and conductor/violist Roger Benedict with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and they’ll be in the music studio to This week’s show was recorded on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country and produced on Gadigal Land.Technical production by Simon Branthwaite.

Bringing huge amounts of energy, musicianship and a sense of humour to the Australian folk scene is Apolline. They chat to Ce Benedict about their trio's unusual line up (fiddle, cello, bass), their approach to arranging and layering tunes, and having varied musical influences—from jazz to Scandi folk and Eurovision. They'll also perform two sets of tunes live in The Music Show studio.American jazz pianist and singer Blossom Dearie would have turned 100 this week. We revisit a delightful interview from 1995 (one of the first Andrew Ford ever recorded), where he gets a strong telling off for suggesting that she played chords like Thelonious Monk. And we hear new music from Tessa Bird, Cedric Burnside, and Allysha Joy.

Norwegian trumpet player Tine Thing Helseth returns to The Music Show as she prepares to play with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She talks to Andy about the peculiarities of trumpet concertos, about composers writing for her versus writing for her instrument, and about expanding her musical life to include playing and writing.Maanyung is a proud Aboriginal man with strong connections to Gumbaynggir and Yaegl nations. His songwriting comes from Language and Country – he’s a surfer, a youth worker and a songwriter and he’s released a string of singles in the last few years. He’s on The Music Show to talk about saltwater, sand, and sound.Plus new music from Charlie Grey and Joseph Peach.The Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra LandTechnical production by Roi Huberman and Tim Symonds

It's been forty years since the 1984–5 United Kingdom miners' strike and The Music Show has dug into the archives for a special program looking at the role that music played in this political, industrial and personal struggle. From Peggy Seeger to Paul Weller, Billy Bragg to brass bands—there's music supporting the striking miners, songs tormenting strikebreakers and tracks referencing (and sometimes sampling) National Union of Mineworkers leader Arthur Scargill and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia John Street guides us through the history and music of this divisive time, plus we hear interviews from the ABC archives with folklorist A L Lloyd, singer songwriter Billy Bragg, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, folk singers Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and composer David Lumsdaine.

For over fifty years, Sir Andrew Davis (1944–2024) was one of the world's busiest conductors, He conducted in the opera house and the concert hall and his repertoire ranged from Bach to Birtwistle. In the mid 1970s, he became chief conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, then took on Glyndebourne Opera, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago - always for long stretches. From 2012 to 2019 he was chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and thereafter the orchestra's conductor laureate. He died this week at the age of 80, and we remember him in the company of Benjamin Northey, the MSO's principal conductor, and listen to excerpts from some of Sir Andrew's Music Show interviews.  Martha Wainwright returns to Australia, playing old and new songs. She dips into her family’s discography as well as her experiences of rebirth over the last few years in her latest album, Love Will Be Reborn, which was accompanied by a memoir that looks back at a life of joy, grief and family.Martha Wainwright is on tour around Australia:Wednesday, May 8 – Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLDThursday, May 9 – Anita’s Theatre, Wollongong, NSWFriday, May 10 – City Recital Hall, Sydney, NSWSaturday, May 11 – Civic Theatre, Newcastle, NSWSunday, May 12 – Blue Mountains Theatre, Blue Mountains, NSWTuesday, May 14 – The Gov, Adelaide, SAThursday, May 16 – Odeon Theatre, Hobart, TASFriday, May 17 – Recital Centre, Melbourne, VICSaturday, May 18 – Capital Theatre, Bendigo, VICMusic heard in the show:Title: Symphony No. 9 in E minorComposer: Ralph Vaughan WilliamsArtist: Bergen Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: Symphony No. 9Label: Chandos CHSA5180Title: Your RockabyComposer: Mark-Anthony TurnageArtist: Martin Robertson (saxophone), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: Turnage: Your Rockaby; Night Dances; Dispelling The FearsLabel: Argo 4525982Title: Enigma Variations; x. NimrodComposer: Edward ElgarArtist: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: The Queen’s Diamond JubileeLabel: Warner Classics 2564660472Title: The Mask of Orpheus; 3 Orphic Hymns – Hymn of CatharsisComposer: Harrison BirtwistleArtist: BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, Martyn Brabbins (conductor), Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: The Mask of OrpheusLabel: NMC NMCD050Title: Brigg Fair (An English Rhapsody)Composer: Frederic DeliusArtist: Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)Album: Delius Orchestral WorksLabel: Chandos CHAN10742Title: Love Will Be RebornComposer: Martha WainwrightArtist: Martha WainwrightAlbum: Love Will Be RebornLabel: Pheromone RecordsTitle: Dinner at EightComposer: Rufus WainwrightArtist: Martha WainwrightAlbum: Love Will Be RebornLabel: Pheromone RecordsTitle: Tell My SisterComposer: Kate McGarrigleArtist: Martha WainwrightAlbum: Love Will Be RebornLabel: Pheromone RecordsTitle: Being RightComposer: Martha WainwrightArtist: Martha WainwrightAlbum: Love Will Be RebornLabel: Pheromone RecordsTitle: There Is Power In A UnionComposer: Billy BraggArtist: Billy BraggAlbum: Talking With the Taxman About PoetryLabel: Cooking Vinyl COOKCD304The Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra CountryTechnical production by John Jacobs

Beethoven's five sonatas for cello and piano span his career - two from the beginning, one from the middle and two from his late period - so they provide a good framework for talking about the composer. Timo-Veikko Valve and Aura Go have recorded them alongside the complete music for cello and piano by Anton Webern (three works, together lasting under ten minutes) and they'll be in the studio to talk about them and play excerpts. Alison Cotton is a London-based experimental artist whose viola/drone/voice/soundscape-rich music is very hard to pigeonhole. Her new album Engelchen (meaning 'little angels') follows the incredible story of British opera-loving sisters Ida and Louise Cook who helped save 29 Jewish people before the start of World War II. The sisters used their love of attending operas as a guise for travelling to Germany, where they actually met refugees and helped smuggle their valuables out of the country. Items like jewellery, furs and watches were sold in the UK to help fund their owner's safe passage. The sisters would do things like restitch British labels to the German coats to avoid suspicion from the Nazi border guards... who thought they were just spinsters dressed in finery returning from a weekend trip to the opera. Timo-Veikko Valve and Aura Go are performing at ACO Up Close: Beethoven Arranged on 20 April in Sydney and 22 April in Melbourne.Alison Cotton’s Engelchen is out now.Music in the show:Title: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69; ii. ScherzoComposer: Ludwig van BeethovenArtist: Timo-Veikko Valve (cello) and Aura Go (piano)Performed Live in The Music Show studioTitle: Three Little Pieces, Op. 11Composer: Anton WebernArtist: Timo-Veikko Valve (cello) and Aura Go (piano)Performed Live in The Music Show studioTitle: Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1; ii. Adagio – Tempo d'andante – Allegro vivaceComposer: Ludwig van BeethovenArtist: Timo-Veikko Valve (cello) and Aura Go (piano)Album: Beethoven Cello Sonatas, Webern Works for Cello & PianoLabel: ABC ClassicTitle: The Letter Burning; We Were Smuggling People’s Lives; Crepuscle; Engelchen NowArtist: Alison CottonAlbum: EngelchenLabel: Feeding Tube Records LAUNCH339RTitle: CrepuscleComposer: Jules MassenetArtist: Amelita Galli-CurciAlbum: Amelita Galli-Curci Volume OneLabel: The Rubini Collection GV.578Title: As The Trees Have Always KnownArtist: Melanie HorsnellAlbum: As The Trees Have Always Known (Single)Label: Independent releaseTechnical Production by Russell Stapleton and John JacobsThe Music Show is produced on Gadigal and Gundungurra Land

In Southern Louisiana, a few hours from New Orleans, Ann Savoy has spent a lifetime studying, playing and collecting Cajun music. She's best known for her trio Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, her duet album with Linda Ronstadt Adieu False Heart, and touring and playing festivals with the Savoy Family Band. Ann has just released her first ever solo album, Another Heart, which pays tribute to her early musical loves, the English and American singer songwriters of the 1960s and 70s, but with a Cajun twist.Pianist and composer Wilbur Whitta has released Wildfire, his debut album as bandleader. During the midst of a NSW tour, Wilbur joins Andrew on The Music Show to explain the blend of improvisation and composition on the album, writing for a quartet with two horns and no bass, and about the importance of having mentors in jazz.Music in the show:Title: Two Step D'AmédéArtist: Savoy-Doucet Cajun BandComposer: Marc SavoyAlbum: Two-Step D'AmédéLabel: Arhoolie Records CD-316 Title: Cajun Love SongArtist: Ann SavoyComposer: Ann SavoyAlbum: Another HeartLabel: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40256Title: Waterloo SunsetArtist: Ann SavoyComposer: Ray DaviesAlbum: Another HeartLabel: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40256Title: Walk Away ReneeArtist: Linda Ronstadt, Ann SavoyComposer: Bob Calilli, Mike Brown, Tony Sansome Album: Adieu False HeartLabel: Vanguard 79808-2Title: Stolen CarArtist: Ann SavoyComposer: Bruce SpringsteenAlbum: Another HeartLabel: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40256Titles: Leave To Enter; Pizza; Not Interested; RED; Sea LegsArtist: Wilbur Whitta piano and keyboards, Tom Avgenicos trumpet, Jack Stoneham saxophone, Alex Inman-Hislop drumsComposer: Wilbur WhittaAlbum: WildfireLabel: ABC Jazz ABCJ0026D