Presenter：Stacey Rodda 盧廸思
MAY 2025 FOCUS: FRANCE
VIDEO PROMOTIONS ...
…connecting music to visual arts, literature, film and theatre while discovering the delights of these arts in different parts of the world
NEW
FOCUS: FRANCE
The Culture Show with Mr. Benjamin Cabouat, Consul for Culture, Education and Science in HK and Macao
The Culture Show with Mr. Benjamin Cabouat, Consul for Culture, Education and Science in HK and Macao
The Culture Show with Mr. Benjamin Cabouat, Consul for Culture, Education and Science in HK and Macao
PREVIOUS
The Culture Show with Mr. Timo Kantola, Consul General of Finland in Hong Kong
The Culture Show with Mr. Timo Kantola, Consul General of Finland in Hong Kong
The Culture Show with Ms. Alice Fratarcangeli, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Hong Kong and Macau
The Culture Show wirh Ms.Klára Jurčová, Consul General of the Czech Republic in Hong Kong
The Music of Miró
In this episode a pairing of music and art, not by my design, but by way of Joan Punyet Miró’s playlist to accompany some of his grandfather’s masterpieces.
Punyet Miró believes music, by composers from Mozart to John Cage, help to expand a viewer’s experience of his grandfather’s art. He has paired musical compositions beloved by Miró with some of his works - like fine wines with a main course.
Dutch Interior (1) - Badinerie from the Orchestral Suite No.2 in B Minor, BWV 1067 by J S Bach
The Hunter (Catalan Landscape) - Presto from The Four Seasons, Summer by Vivaldi.
The Birth of the World - Introduction to Part One Adoration of the Earth from The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky
Woman (Opera Singer) - extract of “O ciechi, ciechi” from Monteverdi’s Selva morale e spirituale
Hirondelle Amour - Molto allegro from Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550
The Flames of the Sun Make the Desert Flower Hysterical - extract from Stephen Hartke’s piano quartet The King of the Sun
Musicians in Paintings
We will look at an old guitarist in a painting of Picasso and a man with a violin by Georges Braque, who, by the way, are also connected.
As for rarely heard music on Radio 4 - the Picasso painting is complemented by a selection of Miguel Llobet’s Catalonian Folk Songs played by guitarist Lorenzo Gasparo, and Braque's work by one of his contemporaries, Ravel. Ravel’s music, particularly works like La Valse, shares structural parallels with the artist's Cubism through fragmentation, angularity, and the "re-assembly" of traditional musical forms. We will hear La Valse in an arrangement for piano trio.
Presenter：Stacey Rodda 盧廸思
CHAGALL REVISITED
This week we look at Marc Chagall's painting Commedia dell’arte, originally created for the Frankfurt Opera House in 1959.
Historically, the circus, one of Chagall’s favourite subjects, had grown from the theatrical features of the old Italian Commedia dell’arte. In this extremely large 'circus' painting, all of Chagall’s favourite performers can be seen, together with an orchestra and audience. Chagall’s work is filled with brilliant colour and exuberant activity - it is joyous and life-affirming.
We will also hear Ana Sokolović’s Commedia dell'arte (I, II, III), an acclaimed trio of string quartets that bring the theatrical characters to life through music. Her very recently staged Clown(s) met with sweeping critical acclaim with reviewers recognising the work as a landmark contribution to contemporary opera.
