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Music

Shaham siblings embark on seven-city tour

It has been seven years since violinist Gil Shaham and pianist Orli Shaham released their acclaimed CD "Dvořák for Two." Now their "sibling harmony" returns in a new album by this brother/sister duo, in music by Prokofiev. MPR's John Birge caught up with the siblings just before they set off on a seven-city tour which includes stops at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, Washington's Kennedy Center, and New York's Carnegie Hall.
by John Birge

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What's next for First Avenue?

Minnesota's most famed nightclub, First Avenue, went dark this week, after its owner filed for bankruptcy. Two former managers are planning to take control of the beleaguered club and hope to reopen it very soon. Meanwhile, 120 First Avenue employees are now without jobs.

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What's the score?

Imagine writing classical music and but not being able to hear it performed properly. That's one of the biggest challenges facing young composers. For the last several years, the Minnesota Orchestra has been trying to address the problem by holding a "Composer Institute." Recently, seven promising young composers spent a week in Minneapolis, immersed in the world of a top-flight orchestra. Not only did they hear their work played in Orchestra Hall, they also were schooled on how to make composing their livelihood.

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The House on Cedar Street: musical interactive environment

Remember that house where you went for your first piano lessons? Scary, eh? Well not as scary as what that house looks like now it has been empty for years and devoid of life, or at least, human life... hahahahahahaha. It lies abandoned there on Cedar and 7th Street among the derelict ruins of downtown Saint Paul. Some say there was once a radio station run out of the attic and ghostly sounds can be heard from the cobweb-ridden furniture. Enter yourself at your own risk: play the "House on Cedar Street" virtual environment.

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Sh-h-h-h, it's music for slumber

Aaron Molina is throwing a slumber party this weekend, but it's not for little kids. He's getting a bunch of bands together in Duluth. They're going to start playing Saturday night and they won't stop until breakfast time on Sunday. If you go, bring a pillow. You're supposed to go to sleep during the show.

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Guy Davis and the legacy of the blues

If you like the blues, and like it played the way people would have done so 100 years ago, Guy Davis is your man. The award-winning blues guitarist, banjo and harmonica player brings a powerful, raw energy, and a deep gravelly voice, to blues standards that have been played for years. Davis has two perofmrances scheduled in Minnesota this weekend.

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House concerts make a comeback

If you've got a living room and a few dozen friends with a few bucks, then you can turn your house into a jazz club. That's what a budding group of jazz fans and musicians are doing in the Twin Cities.

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Rokia Traore' brings songs of Mali to Minnesota

West African singer Rokia Traore' created quite a stir in her homeland of Mali. She shaved her head and sang in public about the plight of women. Traore's behavior was a huge break with tradition. In Mali, only select vocalists, mostly men, are allowed to perform. These days, Traore' tours the world and performs her blend of traditional and contemporary music to a growing audience of admirers. She performs Oct. 10 in Minneapolis.
by Dan Olson

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Dylan on Dylan

Singing legend Bob Dylan's autobiography "Chronicles" was released this week. Since Dylan rarely gives interviews and has never written about his life before, the book is a unique opportunity to learn more about the life of an American icon. Filmmaker Mary Feidt is putting together a documentary about Dylan's childhood in Minnesota. He was born Robert Zimmerman in Duluth and grew up in Hibbing. Feidt told MPR's Cathy Wurzer she was eager to read "Chronicles" and find out Dylan's impressions of Minnesota. The working title of Mary Feidt's forthcoming documentary is "Tangled up in Bob."
by Cathy Wurzer

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Springsteen fans divided over his political coming out

The "Vote For Change" tour, featuring Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M. and John Fogerty, stopped at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center Tuesday night. The concert raised an estimated $1 million for America Coming Together, a group raising money for Democratic candidates. The tour has had a polarizing effect on some Springsteen fans, including a St. Paul musician who makes his living off Springsteen's songs.

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