Roving Pittsburgher Review, Anoushka Shankar, April 12, 2012

Roving Pittsburgher Review

Anoushka Shankar

April 12, 2012

by Good News Reporter, Joanne Quinn-Smith, aka Techno Granny

Cohen & Grigsby TRUST PRESENTS Series

I must admit that I am an old yuppie head.  I think I made a new term.  But I have every Ravi Shankar album (on vinyl) that was ever produced but I had not really paid much attention to Anoushka.  Just by mere name recognition I decided to attend the concert with some Indian clients and friends.  Great move on my part. Cohen Grisby Trust Presents and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as usual did not disappoint  in their grand selection of artists.

What an evening.  I had no idea that flamenco had its roots in Indian classical music or that there were so many unusual instruments used in both Spanish and Indian music.  What a stroke of genius to combine Flamenco guitar, a Spanish Singer and classical Indian music.

It was a night of beautiful, relaxing and sometimes erotic Indian music combined with the haunting chords of the flamenco guitar.  Andalusian flamenco singer, Sandra Carrasco’s singing was both flawless and unforgettable.

Sanjeev Shankar was remarkable on the Shenal and flute taking you back hundreds of years with his renderings.  What a blending of the old and the new, the East and the West.  Who knew?  Obviously Anoushka as she smiled and moderated in between sets about the music.

And the percussion!  After this concert I am convinced there is no percussion or percussion instruments in the world that can rival Indian classical and flamenco rhythms.  Pirashanna Thevarajah and Bernhard Shimelsberger (not of course an Indian name) put the bong and the bang and bunches of other sounds in percussion as far as I am concerned.

And Melon Jimenez on flamenco guitar and solos in combination with Anoushka on sitar was simply genius.  I was so incredibly thankful for the close orchestra seats that we had because this truly was a smorgasbord of sight and sound as you watched the strumming and drumming and listened to the playing and singing.  Truly a night to remember!

Good News Reporter, Joanne Quinn-Smith is also the Host of PositivelyPittsburghLive Talkcast and the Publisher of PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com, Pittsburgh's first internet radio and TV network http://pplmag.com

Joanne is the Creative Energy Officer of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates a Pittsburgh Marketing firm which specializes in Web 2.0 Branding.  She is a speaker and author and prolific talkcaster.  Find her profile on LinkedIn at:  http://joannequinnsmith.com

(c) Joanne Quinn-Smith 2012 All Rights Reserved.

Roving Pittsburgher Review, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Roving Pittsburgher Review, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

by

Pittsburgh Good News Reporter, Al Levine

Last night, April, 12, 2012,  The Techno Granny, Good News Reporter, Joanne Quinn-Smith sent me to Heinz Hall for the opening performance of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" This was the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's PNC POPS! Thursday performance. Marvin Hamlisch is the Principal Pops Conductor.

Conductor Jack Everly returned to Heinz Hall with a talented group of vocalists. They included Eric Kunze, Terrence Mann, Jennifer Paz, Kathy Voytko (a Johnstown native), Marie Zamora, The Carnegie University Concert Choir and Director Robert Page.

Go to http://pso.culturaldistrict.org/production/27893/do-you-hear-the-people-sing you will enjoy their award winning resumes. I am sure that you will recognize these World Famous Performers.

They performed songs from the Tony Award winning Les Miserables. Broadway Legends, Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boubil collaborated to create this great musical. A few of the songs from Les Misarables were "I Dreamed a Dream", "Bring Him Home" and "One Day More".

We also enjoyed the Tony-nominated Miss Saigon hits "I'd Give My Life for You" and "The American Dream". They also performed many of the other Broadway songs from Claude-Michel and Alain.

The Conversations that Conductor Everly and the Vocalists shared with us after almost every song provided great Insights and Information that the audience enjoyed. There is an intermission of fifteen minutes after the fourteenth song. After the Performance, there was a Post-Concert Pops Talk on Stage with Conductor Jack Everly.

There will be Performances on Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 8PM and Sunday at 2:30PM. If you haven't heard the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra lately, they also performed at their usual High Standard. The Carnegie Mellon Concert Choir was fantastic too. My Girlfriend and I enjoyed our great seats and the World Class performance. 

  

Al Levine, Better known as "The Talking Machine" is one of the hosts of Pittsburgh Sports Line on the Bethel Park Public Access Channel.  He is also the

webmaster and "Pittsburgh Gaming Guru" at http://pittsburghgamingnews.com

and Community Relations and Development Director for PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com's upcoming

Hug-A-Thon Pittsburgh on September 6, 2012.