Ning Baizura

‘From my father, Hu Wei Ming, a violinist and professor at the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, I learned all the Violin duets by BÉLA BARTÓK at a very early age, and came to love them. When I discovered the close relationship between Bartók’s Hungarian folk traditions and the folk traditions of China, I was greatly surprised: the peasant songs of Sichuan’s minority people, the Yi, were very much like Hungarian folk music!’ Zen Hu These early discoveries were of decisive importance in leading me to undertake an unusual musical journey, together with Ning Feng.

Kenny Barron & John Hicks - Rhythm-A-Ning (1989) {Candid CCD 79044}
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© 1989 Candid Productions | CCD 79044
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Piano

Kenny Barron and John Hicks are both well-respected veteran pianists whose styles fall well within the modern mainstream of jazz, initially influenced by Bud Powell but today much closer to McCoy Tyner. They join forces for this two-piano quartet date with bassist Walter Booker and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Only the 5:35 "Ghost Of Yesterday" (a feature for Booker's bowed bass) and "Rhythm-a-ning" at 9:50 clock in under 12 minutes. Although it can be fun to figure out who is playing what when, Barron and Hicks have such complementary styles that they often sound like one pianist with four hands. Their riotous version of "Rhythm-A-Ning" is the highpoint of this successful collaboration.

The violin was Edward Elgar’s own instrument and his Violin Concerto is almost like a personal confession: it was ‘too emotional’, Elgar admitted, adding that he loved it nonetheless. The solo part is one of the most exhausting in the repertoire – a veritable compendium of bravura violin techniques. In an interview, Fritz Kreisler, to whom the Violin Concerto is dedicated, ranked Elgar with Beethoven and Brahms. Elgar met the challenge: his Violin Concerto combines the singing quality of Beethoven with the symphonic drama of Brahms.

Back in 2014, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus performed a stage work as part of BAM’s Next Wave Festival, and they’ve recorded the piece in a studio for their debut album Black Mountain Songs. The project was co-curated by the National’s Bryce Dessner and Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry, and the first track that’s being shared from it is its title track, which was composed by Dessner. The rest of the album features contributions from Parry, Caroline Shaw, Nico Muhly, and Tim Hecker.