Saturday 24 September 2011

Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky



From Wikipedia:

Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое озеро, Lebedinoye ozero) ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales [1] and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger. The ballet received its premiere on March 4 [O.S. February 20] 1877[2][3] at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, billed as The Lake of the Swans. Although it is presented in many different versions, most ballet companies base their stagings both choreographically and musically on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on January 15, 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised[clarification needed] by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre's chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo.

Quanta Qualia by Patrick Hawes



More on Patrick Hawes here.

Saturday 10 September 2011

Boom Boom - Nazia Hasan and Biddu

The Original song from the movie 'Star' in 1982  

Remix of the song from 1995

Hawa Hawa - Hasan Jahangir

Teesri Manzil (1966): Title Music

One of my favourites

Teesri Manzil (1966): Tumne Mujhe Dekha

Arturo Márquez: Danzón no. 2 conducted by Gustavo Dudamel



From Wikipedia:

Márquez was born in Álamos, Sonora, in 1950 where his interest in music began.

Although Márquez was already an accomplished composer in Mexico, his music started to reach the international stage with the introduction of his series of Danzones in the early 1990s. The Danzones are based on the music of Cuba and the Veracruz region of Mexico. In particular, Danzón no. 2 has received international acclaim and has catapulted the popularity of the composer. Danzón no. 2 was commissioned by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and was debuted in 1994 in Mexico City by the Orchestra Filarmonica de la UNAM under the direction of Francisco Savin. Due to the popularity of this piece, Danzón no. 2 has been nicknamed, along with Huapango by Pablo Moncayo, as the second national anthem by the Mexican people[citation needed]. Danzon no. 2 was included on the program of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on their 2007 tour of Europe and the United States. As a result of the strong public response to the orchestra's performance of the piece, Danzon no. 2 has established itself as one of the signature pieces performed by the orchestra. It has also opened the door for the discovery of other pieces by the composer that are increasingly being performed throughout the world and extensively in Latin America. Son a Tamayo for harp, percussion and tape was featured at the 1996 World Harp Congress.

Dawud Wharnsby Ali: Sing Children of the World

Pakistani Jazz: Take Five



More details on BBC News.