Never by Adjoa Skinner.

Adjoa is classically trained in voice, flute and piano, is an experienced jazz singer, and spent years living and working in Africa. Read more about this fantastically talented lady on our Artist In Residence page, or visit her own site at adjoaskinner.com. Find more of her music at myspace.com/adjoaskinner and youtube.com/adjoamusic.

In case you missed them, here are links to:

the first part of the interview,
his performance of the Mozart D Minor Concerto, and
the second part of the interview.

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Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 – I. Allegretto
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 – II. Lento
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 – III. Moderato
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 – IV. Allegro con brio

Derek Polischuk, piano
Richard Illman, trumpet
Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra
Shostakovich Concerto in C minor for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra, Op. 35
recorded in October of 2006 at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts in East Lansing, Michigan.

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This is an intriguing piece, and more challenging to listen to than the Mozart. The performance and the recording are both great and allow you to hear quite well one thing Derek suggests listening for—conversation between the piano, the trumpet and the orchestra. This is also a fun piece to see through the lens of music history. In the interview, Derek talks about how the Russian Shostakovich was covertly trying to be true to his personal artistic sensibilities while overtly catering to the nationalistic and old-fashioned standards of a horrific dictatorship. So this piece comes across as a strange “Where’s Waldo” of progressive ideas hidden among centuries-old musical structures and traditions. I think Derek and the orchestra do a fine job of making it all work—committing to the difficult dichotomy that stemmed straight from the composer’s frustrating artistic experience. Tune your ears in to this fun and unusual tour of the language of music and you’re in for a good time.

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Derek Polischuk performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor, 1st movement.

Derek Polischuk performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor, 2nd movement

Derek Polischuk performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor, 3rd movement

Derek Polischuk, pianist
Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra
Mozart Piano Concerto in D Minor, K. 466 (3 movements)
recorded in October of 2009 at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts in East Lansing, Michigan.

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I think you can enjoy a piece like this pretty easily, classical music fan or not. Derek plays with his typical precision, energy, and tastefulness. If you’re not a big classical music listener, check out the interview first for a few tips on where to point your ears. In summary, a concerto is like a conversation between the piano and the entire orchestra. Mozart writes beautiful, memorable melodies, and you’ll hear these passed around between the piano and the various other instruments. That in itself is a fun place to start listening.

I will soon post the second half of my interview with Derek, along with his performance of a piano concerto by Shostakovich. Stay tuned.

Here’s a video from uke-rocker (?!) Dan Rickabus. His smooth-yet-gritty voice and his big, ukelele-glazed rock sensibilities are very easy on the ears.

If you like what you hear, here’s a track from his album (under the name Dan Rickabus and Friends), “The Audio Tree Sessions.” The song is called Something Static.

I also had the pleasure of an interview with Dan, who is from Michigan. We talked about his musical roots, listening to music, family and other things. An interview with Dan Rickabus.

The latest edition to our Dan Rickabus collection is his performance on Music In Our House in March 2010.