#5044, Western Strings Play Eastern Music
Hear works that draw on music of North Africa, Southeastern Europe, Central Asia, Iran, and the Far East, all featuring western strings, and many played by the Sphinx Virtuosi and the Silk Road Ensemble.
Photo of the Sphinx Virtuosi, courtesy of the artists
From Los Angeles-based composer, conductor, and musician Derrick Skye, hear a work for string quartet drawing on West African, North African and Eastern European music, “which reflects on the coming together of cultures in societies consisting of many generations and descendants of refugees” called American Mirror, (https://www.derrickskye.com/about). It's from a new record by Sphinx Virtuosi, which also includes work by Los Angeles-based cellist and composer Quenton Blache, Spanish-born cellist and composer Andrea Casarrubios, and violinist and composer Curtis Stewart.
Then listen to The Silk Road Ensemble and Yo-Yo Ma play music by Argentine-American eclecticist Osvaldo Golijov, which, ends “in a fast gallop boasting a theme that I stole from my friends of the wild gypsy band Taraf de Haïdouks”, (OsvaldoGolijov.com). There’s also music by composer and multi-instrumentalist Kayhan Kalhor, his piece “Mountains Are Far Away”, which features Kalhor on kemancheh, the spike fiddle of Persian classical music, and the Silk Road Ensemble. Plus, Brooklyn’s Colin Jacobsen looks to Iran, and The Silk Road Ensemble take us on a musical journey to Japan. - Caryn Havlik
Program #5044 Western Strings Play Eastern Music (First aired 9/2/25)
ARTIST: Sphinx Virtuosi
WORK: Derrick Skye: American Mirror [1:00]
RECORDING: American Mirror
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon
INFO: deutschegrammophon.com
RTIST: Apollo Chamber Players
WORK: Erberk Eryilmaz: Sis Cani (Fog Bell) [4:54]
RECORDING: BAN: Stories of Censorship
SOURCE: Azica Records
INFO: https://www.apollochamberplayers.org/ban.html
ARTIST: Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road Ensemble, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor
WORK: Golijov: Night of the Flying Horses Suite [6:49]
RECORDING: New Impossibilities
SOURCE: CBS/Sony 88697
INFO: silkroad.org/listen
ARTIST: Yo Yo Ma & Silk Road Ensemble
WORK: Kalhor: Mountains are Far Away [6:08]
RECORDING: Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet
SOURCE: Sony #93962
INFO: sonyclassical.com
ARTIST: Sphinx Virtuosi
WORK: Derrick Skye: American Mirror 2 [4:19]
RECORDING: American Mirror
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon
INFO: deutschegrammophon.com
ARTIST: Sphinx Virtuosi
WORK: Derrick Skye: American Mirror 3 [2:37]
RECORDING: American Mirror
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon
INFO: deutschegrammophon.com
ARTIST: Sphinx Virtuosi
WORK: Derrick Skye: American Mirror 4 [3:46]
RECORDING: American Mirror
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon
INFO: deutschegrammophon.com
ARTIST: Eric Jacobsen, Kayhan Kalhor, Sandeep Das, Greater Bridgeport Symphony
WORK: Colin Jacobsen: Atashgah [12:37]
RECORDING: Blue as the Turquoise Night
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: https://ericjacobsen.bandcamp.com/album/blue-as-the-turquoise-night
ARTIST: Silk Road Ensemble
WORK: Angel Lam: Rain from Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain [4:41]
RECORDING: Off the Map
SOURCE: World Village
INFO: https://www.silkroad.org/listen
