Best Featured Classical Recordings Arts And Music Podcasts (2024)

1
Conference of the Birds, 6-7-24 2:50:22

14d ago2:50:22

2:50:22

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: vintage Poly-Rythmo (as T. P. Orchestre) w. Betti Betti; also vintage, also from Benin: Orchestre/Band de Parakou Nord; from Mali: Orchestre Regional de Segou (misidentified on audio); vintage Billy Bang w. quartet (Don Cherry, Wilber Morris, Dennis Charles); Denman Maroney w. Leroy Jenkins, Rich O;'Donnell; from Cabo Verde: Nanc…

1
Conference off the Birds, 5-31-24 2:53:53

26d ago2:53:53

2:53:53

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: John Handy; flamenco and.or cante jondo from Rocio Jurado; Chocolate; Aurora Vargas; Pansequito; La Macanita; new music from Bill Cole's Untempoered Ensemble; vintage Dewey Redman w. Modular Dynamics; from UzbekistanL: Mariam Suttarova; Konembou musicians from Tchad; Sudanese pop from Mohammed Wardi (north) and Gordon Koang (sout…

1
Conference of the Birds, 5-17-24 2:46:49

1M ago2:46:49

2:46:49

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Sawt music from Bahrain w. Muhammed bin Faris & Ensemble; lots of Lusofonia: from Brazil: Marilia Medalha, Nelson Gonçalves, The Ipanemas, Elza Soares, and others; from Angola: Belita Palma and Teta Lando; new jazz from Annie Chen; experimental jazz/.gnaoua from Joachim Kühn, Majid Bekkas & Ramon Lopez; new Amirtha Kidambi & Elde…

1
Conference of the Birds, 5-10-24 2:50:14

1M ago2:50:14

2:50:14

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Ava Mendoza & Dave Sewelson; Fay Victor & Herbie Nichols SUNG; Herbie Nichols himself, w/ trio; Mal Waldron w. Steve Lacy; Romanian song from Dona Dumitru Siminica, as well as Dumitru Ridescu & Mituța Ridescu; Balkan music from Ilieve Glogovac Vaska and Ivo Popasov; Anthony Braxton's #296 (w/ quintet;) Algerian cha'abi from Amar …

1
Conference of the Birds, 5-3-24 2:51:44

2M ago2:51:44

2:51:44

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: new Farrah Kadoor; archival Alice Coltrane: Dominik Bukowski Quartet; Gulf singer Talah Maddah; Ta'arab from Zuhula Swaleh; from Vision Fest: Eri Yamamoto, Chad Fowler, William Parker, Steve Hirsh; quartet music from Lisa Mezzacappa, Vinny Golia, Marco Eniedi, Vijay Anderson; new vocal music from Ruiqi Wang; Lebanese pop from Goo…

1
Conference of the Birds, 4-19-24 2:49:35

2M ago2:49:35

2:49:35

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Mali Obomsawin; Girija Devi & Ustad Bismillah Khan; Nobuo Hara and His Sharps & Flats & Hozan Yamamoto; Louis Belogenis; Moroccan sufis Confrérie des Aïssawa in Tunisi a; cante jondo from Mariana de Cádiz, Love y Manuel, José Mercé; Greek song from Vassilis Tsitsanis and Poly Panou; Vangelis Soukas (clarinet from Epirius); The Ca…

1
Conference of the Birds, 4-5-24 2:47:13

2M ago2:47:13

2:47:13

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Egyptian vocalist Maryam Saleh w. Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, Maurice Louca; Pakistani vocalist Aroof Aftab w. Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily; rembetika (past and present) from Pasatempo w. Christos Govetas & Marcos Vamvakaris; bop from Sonny Clark; from the archives: John Tchicai, Garrison Fewell, Charlie Kohlhase, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart…

1
ep. 63: Scoring Decisions and Transitions 43:54

2M ago43:54

43:54

In this episode: Ben recaps his month’s activities in March 2024, talks about the subtleties of underscoring dramatic moments when a main character thinks through an important decision, a creative way to invent main themes for a program of 7 animated shorts, accompanying a 1914 “Italian Diva” melodrama, and picking up on something about the film fr…

1
Conference of the Birds, 3-29-24 2:49:11

2M ago2:49:11

2:49:11

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: new music from Nathalie Natiembé; new music from Bobby Zankel & Wonderful Sound; orchestral music from Keith Tippett; from Brazil: Monica Salmaso; Nana Caymmi; João Bosco; Jair Rodrigues; Nara Leão; vintage song from Doug Carn; hard Bop from Johnny Griffin & Jerome Richardson; Delta music from Bahr Abu Jerith; The Miyumi Project …

1
Conference of the Birds, 8-15-23 2:56:59

3M ago2:56:59

2:56:59

Blast from the (recent) past... THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Guerouabi (Algerian cha'abi. hawzi); Roma music from, Bajramio Selime; Romano Dives; Trio Zazaji, and others; long lost and recently found John Coltrane w. Eric Dolphy; Peter Brötzman (RIP); Other Dimensions in Music live in France; vintage LA jazz from Jesse Sharps; early JKacques Council w/ the J…

1
Conference of the Birds, 3-22-24 2:57:15

3M ago2:57:15

2:57:15

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Egyptian composer Nadah El Shazly; Congolese rumba from Bopol Mansiamina and Tabu Ley Rocheareau; Italian songstress Ornella Vanoni; vintage David S. Ware; recent Roscoe Mitchell (w. trio); brand new music from Amirtha Kidambi and Elder Ones; Kuwait/gulf singer Rabab; Dexter Gordon & Slide Hampton in Copenhagen; Kenny Duorham goe…

1
Conference of the Birds, 3-15-23 2:52:39

3M ago2:52:39

2:52:39

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: new music from the Blue Reality Quartet and Bobby Zankel & The Wonderful 8; vintage music from Dorothy Ashby, Dewey Redman & Ed Blackwell, Eric Dolphy & Booker Little; cante jondo from Enrique "el Extremeño" as well as Niña de la Puebla & La Paquera de Jerez; cha'abi from Boudjema el Ankis & Ali Yahyaten; from Haiti: Tabou Combo …

1
Conference of the Birds, 3-8-24 2:48:52

4M ago2:48:52

2:48:52

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: cante jondo from El Lebrijano; Lisle Ellis "What We Live" salute Lyn Hejinian; rembetika from Marika Papagika; Dominic Lash Quartet; Roy Haynes w. Roland Kirk et al; salsa from Orquesta Harlow (saluting Arsenio Rodriguez) and Orquesta Akokán; Leon Keita (vintage music from Mali); Lassana Hawa Cissokho; Billie Harris; from Morocco…

1
Conference of the Birds, 3-1-24 2:52:10

4M ago2:52:10

2:52:10

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Roma song from Vera Bila & Kale and Ljiljana Buttler; Aurora Vargas and El Torta (cante jondo); new music from Tomasz Dabrowski & The Individual Beings; new music from James Brandon Lewis; new music from Mali Obomsawin; new music from Roman Norfleet; vintage Art Ensemble of Chicago; Jim Pepper; Charles Lloyd; rare Moroccan orches…

1
Conference of the Birds, 2-2-24 2:51:59

4M ago2:51:59

2:51:59

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: recent (new) music from Matana Roberts; Mary Halvorson; vintage bop/post-bop from Fred Tompkins; Charlie Rouse; Lee Morgan live at the Lighthouse; cante jondo from El Cigala, "El Negri" and El Cabrero; Balinese pop from Detty Kurnia; Abida Parveen from Pakistan; salsa from Orquesta Cervantes; vintage music from Mali (Rail Band du…

1
Conference of the Birds, 1-26-24 2:49:43

5M ago2:49:43

2:49:43

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Raga (dhrupad) from Nirmalya Rey; Ravish Momin's Trio Tarana; vintage Balkan pop from Ramize Caka & Sala Bekteshi; recent Balkan song from Merita Halili;new music from Gordon Grdina's The Marrow featuring vocals from Fatheih Honari; Zoh Amba w/ Chris Corsano, Bill Orcutt; vintage Noura; cha'abi from Dahmane el Harrache; rembetika…

1
ep. 62: accompanying a Mary Pickford film on campus, Marcel Perez at the Silent Clowns, Monta Bell at MoMA, and more 51:36

5M ago51:36

51:36

In this episode: Ben accompanies Tom Mix in “Sky High” at the Library of Congress, adapting for organ some themes he originally composed for piano; Ben and Kerr discuss the importance of seeing silents with live music, and how a film may play one way when watched alone and completely differently at a show; Ben and Kerr discuss the hilarious and gif…

1
Conference of the Birds, 1-12-24 2:51:02

5M ago2:51:02

2:51:02

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Oud based post-bop from Ahmed Abdul-Malik; new music from NIU RAZA; Congolese vocalist Youlou Mabiala; contemporary Gulf singer and oud virtuoso Adade al Johar; Egyptian vocal w. out from Waed Bouhassoun; vintage Taarab (Zanzibar) from Malika & Party; new Asher Gamedze; new NIU RAZA; Malagasy from Jojoba and Ny Malagasy Orkestra;…

1
Conference of the Birds, 1-5-24 2:52:44

6M ago2:52:44

2:52:44

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Kurdish and Hunza music from Pakistan; Abdul Ghani Irani; raga from Prabha Atre; early Albert Ayler; Joe McPhee w. Bill Smith Ensemble; from Mali: Babani Koné, Kaniba Ouele Kouyate; from Guinea: Sona Diabate & M'mah Sylla; Oulaya from Tunisia; new Avram Fefer; much, much more!!!! Catch the BIRDS live on Friday nights, 9:00pm-MIDN…

1
Conference of the Birds, 12-29-23 2:52:59

6M ago2:52:59

2:52:59

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Modern and classical Tunisian music w. vocalist Hédi Juini and Khemaïs Tarnane conducting the Orchestre et chorale de la Radio Tunisienne; vintage Greek pop from Oula Baba; Gulf singer Abdel Karim Abdel Kader; flamenco from Mari Peña; flamenco jazz from Pedro Iturralde; new Amazighes music from Rkia Talbensirt; Cecil Taylor Works…

1
Conference of the Birds, 12-22-24 2:53:53

6M ago2:53:53

2:53:53

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: Loverly (feat. Maggie Nicols); Greek song with Katy Grey; Ioanna Georgakopoulou; and others; Oum Koulsum!!! vintage Ronnie Boykins; music from Rosi Hertlein's Improvising Chamber Ensemble; vintage performance from Joseph Bowie - Luther Thomas at Moers; Manno Charlemagne; Macire Sylla; Adedeje; pianist Marta Sanchez & group ; pian…

1
ep. 61: Improvising Themes for Re-Use and Development 59:52

7M ago59:52

59:52

In this episode: Ben shares his experiences accompanying the silent era blockbuster “The Big Parade”, the rare Italian film “A’ Santanotte”, Laurel & Hardy shorts, and others; he and Kerr discuss the practices of creating leitmotifs on the fly during a show, and then repeating them later in the film’s score; there’s some deep info and history on th…

1
Conference of the Birds, 12-15-23 2:50:30

7M ago2:50:30

2:50:30

THIS WEEK's BIRDS: vintage Johnny Griffin;music from Java, Bali, and Vietnam, including Gambang Kromong Drama Bersatu; new music from Blue Reality Quartet; new music from Eri Yamamoto; Roma rumba from El Noi (Spain); recently remastered: John Coltrane; radical black music from Ancient Infinity Orchestra and Infinite Sound; recent cantle jondo/flame…

1
ep. 60: Music on the Road: Late Summer – Autumn 2023 1:02:12

8M ago1:02:12

1:02:12

In this episode: accompanying several films at MoMA in August of new restorations and a series of early color process silents; audience response difference between San Francisco Silent Film Festival and MoMA screening, and how this affected Ben’s score in NYC; Ben talks about pivoting when presented before a show with a change of running time or of…

1
ep. 59: San Francisco Silent Film Fest, Undercrank’s 10th Anniversary, Tom Mix, and More 48:59

11M ago48:59

48:59

In this episode: Ben talks about preparing for his performance at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, his first time at the fest; his Undercrank Productions home video label celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2023; Ben talks about the two newly restored Tom Mix silent films that were released by Undercrank on Blu-ray in July; he shares some tip…

1
ep. 58: “Potato Salad”, TCM Classic Film Festival, Ernie Kovacs, Undercrank Prods 10th Anniversary 1:03:05

1y ago1:03:05

1:03:05

In this episode: Ben talks about doing double-duty as both silent film accompanist and Blu-ray producer-distributor; Ben talks about accompanying “Clash of the Wolves” starring Rin-Tin-Tin at the TCM Classic Film Festival and the differences between this performance and the one of recording a score for this film, along; Kerr and Ben talk about the …

1
ep. 57: Recording silent film scores for Tom Mix and Rin Tin Tin 1:01:32

1+ y ago1:01:32

1:01:32

In this episode: Ben and Kerr discyss about Ben’s process for creating and recording silent film scores for home-video releases, and how it differs from scoring a silent in performance. Ben talks about composing by using the start-stop possibilities of recording in place of traditional notation, as well as using underscoring to help audiences regis…

1
ep. 56: Back to scoring silent feature films 58:40

1+ y ago58:40

58:40

In this episode: Ben and Kerr talk about the current theme music for the podcast and its impending replacement; Ben talks about playing for a recent screening of the newly restored Chaney film “The Unknown” and how he musically meets the issues of possible inadvertent laughter in this and other silent dramas; Ben and Kerr discuss Ernie Kovacs’ use …

1
ep. 55: Music for unconventional silent films and other purposes 52:59

1+ y ago52:59

52:59

In this episode: Ben talks about scoring silent films that lack a traditional narrative – films made for educational purposes – and creating music that is more “visual” than what is usually done for silents; films discussed are the 1922 “Making of a Bronze Statue” and the 1970 “Spirals” produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Ben has been hired…

1
ep. 54: playing different theatre or pipe organs at shows in Oct & Nov 2022 1:03:17

1+ y ago1:03:17

1:03:17

In this episode: Ben talks about the fun and challenges of playing a number of different organs at silent film shows during October and November in Ocean Grove NJ, Ursinus College in PA, and at the historic Everett Theatre in Delaware; Ben and Kerr discuss how often to use leitmotivs and some techniques Ben uses to create themes before or during a …

1
ep. 53: underscoring “Frankenstein” (1931), leitmotifs and how often to use them, listener questions, and more. 1:02:23

1+ y ago1:02:23

1:02:23

In this episode: Ben reflects on his conversation with William Perry heard in the previous two episodes of the podcast; discusses how considering a show's intended audience is part of his programming process; covers the different film options for Halloween shows; talks at length about his recent live-underscoring of the 1931 "Frankenstein" at the L…

1
ep. 52: William Perry interview (part 2) – MoMA, Lillian Gish, composing orchestrally for piano, and more. 59:22

1+ y ago59:22

59:22

In this episode: Ben interviews composer, silent film pianist and television producer William Perry. Perry is probably best-remembered for his scores for the now-legendary television series "The Silent Years", produced by Paul Killiam, that ran for two seasons on public television, in 1971 and 1975. For twelve years Perry was the music director and…

1
ep. 51: William Perry interview (part 1) – “The Silent Years”, MoMA, and more. 51:00

2y ago51:00

51:00

In this episode: Ben interviews composer, silent film pianist and television producer William Perry. Perry is probably best-remembered for his scores for the now-legendary television series "The Silent Years", produced by Paul Killiam, that ran for two seasons on public television, in 1971 and 1975. For twelve years Perry was the music director and…

1
ep. 50: Serial Queens, Kovacs Music Videos, and the Charming Raymond Griffith 1:01:55

2y ago1:01:55

1:01:55

In this episode: Ben accompanies a bunch of shows of silent serials during June, and talks about the musical challenges of accompanying serials and in scoring an entire program of them; Kerr and Ben continue their conversation about Ernie Kovacs's use of music, and discuss Kovacs' "Street Scene" video of Bartok's "Concerto For Orchestra", and for m…

1
ep. 49: Rudolph Valentino, Ernie Kovacs, Buster Keaton, and the Craft of Supporting Subtleties 51:50

2y ago51:50

51:50

In this episode: Ben plays with holding back musically to help an audience of art deco fans connect with Valentino and Nazimova during a show of "Camille" (1921); he and Kerr Lockhart dig in to details about "Oriental Blues", the theme song Ernie Kovacs used for all of his shows from 1951-1962; and Ben discusses the various intricacies of live-scor…

1
ep. 48: interview with Rick Benjamin, of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra 29:42

2y ago29:42

29:42

In this bonus episode, podcast co-host Kerr Lockhart talks with Rick Benjamin, musical director of The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, about mood cues and photoplay music from the silent era.By Ben Model

1
ep. 47: accompanying The Patsy, The Cameraman, and Gilbert Gottfried 37:44

2y ago37:44

37:44

In this episode: Ben trusts his instincts and has a little magic happen during a show of "The Patsy"; makes a decision and tries something new when it comes to using a "characteristic" musical mode in scoring Keaton's "The Cameraman" and "The General"; pays tribute to Gilbert Gottfried and talks about getting to do a comedy bit with him when Ben wa…

1
ep. 46: Kansas Silent Film Festival…and Other In-Person Shows, plus some new Undercrank Projects 52:32

2+ y ago52:32

52:32

Ben talks about: being a guest accompanist at the 25th annual Kansas Silent Film Festival; playing for Edward Everett Horton in a Cathedral, and the use of a "Bowery waltz"; introducing Marcel Perez to fans at the KSFF; playing for William S. Hart in Brooklyn; being able to turn on a dime in underscoring and have it make sense musically; live-scori…

1
ep. 45: Home Video Releases, Kickstarters, Marion Davies, Wesleyan and MoMA 57:06

2+ y ago57:06

57:06

Ben talks about: the process of scoring "Zander the Great" and "Beverly of Graustark" for home video release; a recent Kickstarter that funded super-quick; Marion Davies's talents as a silent film actor; teaching in-person and on-campus again after two years; accompanying Edward Everett Horton shorts and "The Fire Brigade" at the Museum of Modern A…

1
ep. 08 (re-posted): “A Trip to the Moon” in Tromsø, an Organ in Oslo, live comedy show “Everybody Gets Cake”, Marcel Perez 34:38

2+ y ago34:38

34:38

This is a re-posting "flashback" of episode 8, which originally posted on February 4, 2015. Welcome – News from January: composing and performing music for Parallel Exit's "Everybody Gets Cake", running off-Bway thru Feb 8, 2015 – Recording: instrumental from "Cake" show: "A Shakespearean Smoke Break" – the restoration of Georges Melies' "A Trip to…

1
ep. 07 (re-posted): News From the Road, “Peter Pan”, Hitchcock’s “Blackmail”, physical comedy show “Everybody Gets Cake” 33:14

2+ y ago33:14

33:14

This is a re-posting "flashback" of episode 7, which originally posted on January 21, 2015. Welcome – News from the road – December 2014 recap: the Silent Clowns Film Series, Chaplin Mutuals, Library of Congress holiday party, the Powers kids in "The Skeleton" – Recording: live performance, accompaniment to "Peter Pan", Peter saves Tinkerbell –Usin…

1
ep. 44: Exploring the Music of “City Lights”…From Inside the Score 54:28

2+ y ago54:28

54:28

Ben relates the journey of playing piano as part of a full orchestra live accompanying Chaplin’s City Lights under the baton of the score’s restorer, Timothy Brock, during the Silent Film Days Festival in Tromsø, Norway. Ben also explores how he experienced Chaplin’s score “from the inside” and what he learned about making music to support silent f…

1
ep. 06 (re-posted): Re-Starting the Podcast, Recap of 2014, “The Spice of the Program”, Marcel Perez on DVD, Arthur Kleiner, SFSMA 52:47

2+ y ago52:47

52:47

This is a re-posting "flashback" of episode 6, which originally posted on January 7, 2015. Welcome — Mea culpa, and welcome to the podcast reboot — The Silent Film Sound and Music Archive — My new DVD label Undercrank Productions and the LoC — Live performance: "My Best Girl" at St. Francis College — Using pre-existing music in film accompaniment —…

1
ep. 05 (re-posted): Marathon of shows, Music for Doug and Mary, Organ Benches and Piano Lights 27:11

2+ y ago27:11

27:11

This is a re-posting "flashback" of episode 5, originally posted on March 18, 2013. Welcome – A whirlwind week of performances and travel - 7 shows in 8 days Live performance: "The Mark of Zorro" at Central Baptist Church – Preparing for a performance: music prep, bench height, piano light, etc – Live performance: "My Best Girl" at Port Washington …

1
ep. 04 (re-posted): “Accidentally Preserved” Kickstarter, getting clues from film intros, return to Boise 26:47

2+ y ago26:47

26:47

This is a re-posting "flashback" of episode 4, originally posted on January 14, 2013. Welcome – Playing the organ at the Library of Congress theater – My Kickstarter project to release rare/lost silents on DVD and YouTube – Live performance: Raymond Griffith in "You'd Be Surprised" at Silent Clowns – Listening to a film's spoken intro can give clue…

1
ep. 03 (re-posted): Two Silent Griffiths (Raymond and D.W.), Music for Weddings and Funerals, DVDs, Alternate Scores 27:09

2+ y ago27:09

27:09

This is a re-posting "flashback" of episode 3, originally posted on July 12, 2012. Welcome – Playing for "The Avenging Conscience" and "Paths to Paradise" – Live performance: "Paths to Paradise" at Silent Clowns – Thoughts on scoring "The Saphead" and "The Devil's Needle & Other Tales of Vice and Redemption" on DVD from Kino Lorber – Downloadable m…

1
ep. 02 (re-posted): Unidentified films, DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments”, YouTube ethics, The Crowd, and more 28:00

2+ y ago28:00

28:00

This is a re-posting "flashback" of episode 2, originally posted on June 29, 2012. Welcome – report on what was the first “Mostly Lost” film identification workshop – live performance recording "Ten Commandments" on Steere & Sons organ in Brooklyn – an ethical issue on uploading silents to YouTube from DVDs – on quoting popular songs of the day in …

1
ep. 01: re-posting of premiere (2012) episode 28:37

2+ y ago28:37

28:37

This is a re-posting "flashback" of the very first episode of The Silent Film Music Podcast, originally posted on June 9, 2012. Welcome - score for "The Eagle" - new web series - Mabel Normand - Raymond Griffith at The Silent Clowns - score for "The Night Club" - playing for Ernie Kovacs - unidentified silents at Library of Congress - King Vidor's …

1
ep. 43: End of the Year 2021 Recap – Part 2 43:04

2+ y ago43:04

43:04

In the second half of this 2-parter, Ben Model recaps the past pandemic year: producing and releasing the Edward Everett Horton DVD set, a handful of DVD release projects in development, remembering MoMA's Eileen Bowser, and looking toward the future of silent film live-streaming in 2022.Episode 43 Show Notes: Announcement: Episodes 1 through 8 of …

1
ep. 42: End of the Year 2021 Recap – Part 1 33:08

2+ y ago33:08

33:08

"End of the Year 2021 Recap" – in the first half of this 2-parter, Ben Model recaps the past pandemic year of silent film live-streaming, rediscovering the meaning of providing entertainment for fans, the return to in-person accompaniments, and ponders the future of the silent movie virtual cinema.Episode 42 Show Notes: Live shows return in early s…

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