New Zealand composer John Psathas to appear for 2 1/2 hour radio visit

[marvin]

http://www.johnpsathas.com, one of New Zealand's leading composers, will join Marvin Rosen live in the http://www.wprb.com studio on Wednesday, April 23, 2008, from 8:30 am ET until 11:00 am ET during a special extended edition of http://www.classicaldiscoveries.org The entire five hour program starting at 6:00 am ET is titled: "In The Land Of Kiwi" will be devoted to music from New Zealand.

[some guy]

Be nice to know what else Marvin has in store for this show. (The site just has this tease: "details to follow.")

Anyway, if there's no mention of Douglas Lilburn or Denis Smalley or John Rimmer, then you know where Marvin's blind spots are, anyway.

As for Mr. Psathas, here's a quote from Jim Svejda, which is either high praise or the most damning thing one could think of...:

"John Psathas is one of the most exciting composers working anywhere today. This is vital, wholly original, instantly appealing, obviously important music."

[UB]

If you want to see and hear some of his music go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNoF_KcYD1E - Percussion fans will love it.

[marvin]

You are correct; it looks like a tease but I do have a full time teaching job and sometimes I prepare my program 2-3 days before going on the air (sometimes I change it in the last moment if I get something so exciting that I do not want to wait one more week).
At this point some works and composers are already listed on the website and I am also aware that most of the composers are totally unknown to average non NZ listener so listing each name would not probably mean much.
In addition, I rely on someone else (volunteer like me) to update my site and that would be extra work.
Unfortunately my whole program will be a tease because only 2.5 hours of the other composers barely scratch the surface of NZ music. I could easily put together a whole week of programs based on my private collection and I know that much more music is available.
Any missing names should not be treated as a proof of blind spots in my programming, but as a hard choice I needed to make due to limited time on the air.
I must also consider that a majority of my listeners are listening while they are getting ready, driving and starting their morning work meaning that more avant-garde works might be not appropriate during the hours of the program.

Regarding John Psathas, I have been a very big fan of his works for some years now.
I do agree that he is one of the most exciting of our younger living composers.
His music is not only exciting, exuberating and exploding with rhythm and melody but is often incredibly romantic as well.
Based on reactions from my radio listeners and students (young and adult students in my music history classes) he is a composer that can bridge a mythical generation gap.
Why mythical?  Because I do not believe that this gap exists.  I feel that there is an artificial wall (gap) that was imposed and created to separate serious music listeners from other music listeners for the reasons I would rather not speculate.
What I would do to hear "View from Olympus" in the middle of a concert between some Beethoven and Haydn.  I have not doubts where the bravos would be!

[some guy]

Any missing names should not be treated as a proof of blind spots in my programming, but as a hard choice I needed to make due to limited time on the air.

Consider it to be so. (I used to do a radio show, too. I did a couple for a couple of different stations, actually. I agonized over every "concert," too, knowing that each one was a complete mess and unrepresentative of anything and why would anyone in their right mind ever do this.

And then, not being in my right mind, I'd go in the next day and do it all all over again.)

I must also consider that a majority of my listeners are listening while they are getting ready, driving and starting their morning work meaning that more avant-garde works might be not appropriate during the hours of the program.

Damn the majority! (No really, do it.) I know I've always been in a minority on this point, so I can only say that the happiest minutes I ever spent listening to radio were some around noon one day as I was driving home to lunch and there was Keith Rowe's Dial: Log-Rhythm (with Jeffery Morgan) blasting through my car speakers.

Bliss!!

What a thrill to hear some really wild, new music on the radio of all places! You, Marvin, could make someone in the minority very very happy here, I'm thinkin'. Anyway, good times. All the best with the show. New Zealand is indeed a fecund place for music. I'm writing up a report right now about a festival from 2006 (yeah, I'm a bad person--lazy, indolent, lethargic) that included several concerts of New Zealand electroacoustic music. Good times. (I met Keith Rowe at that festival, too, and could tell him in person about my cool radio experience.)

[Wanderer]

Now, here's a name new to me. Considering he's of Greek descent and being "the composer of the key ceremonial music for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games", I find it astonishing that he's not better known here.