For many of us the television channel PBS brings up thoughts of sitting in front of the TV as a child watching Sesame Street, or perhaps the Electric Company or maybe as we got older… taking in English comedies that originally aired on the BBC. Perhaps for many it brings up iconic personalities such as the painter Bob Ross, Mister Rodgers, or Bill Nye the Science guy.
For us Canadians PBS has been something we have been lucky enough to get from television affiliates south of the Border.
One of the relatively new PBS personalities that is becoming an icon, is the American Violinist, Conductor, producer and explorer Scott Yoo. Scott Yoo is the host and Executive Producer of PBS’s “Now Hear this” a television program that is presented by PBS’s Great Performances.
This month of April brings us the fourth season of “Now Hear This.” In this season Yoo explores the music of composers Astor Piazzolla, Robert Schumann, Isaac Albeniz, and the young New York based Steel drum virtuoso and composer Andy Akiho.
‘Now Hear This” is a totally immersive series that explores not only the music of the chosen composer, but also the sights, sounds and overall environmental backdrop that the composer was dealing with. The series is part musical exploration, part travel guide, part history lesson and part food magazine.
As Yoo explains, “We know that for some people classical music is a reach… but somebody might like dance, somebody might like wine, somebody might like cuisine…architecture; what have you. We try to put as many points of entry as we can into the series.”
Episode 1 of this fourth season deals with the music of Astor Piazzolla, and the golden age of tango in Buenos Aires. It is not just about Piazzolla , but also the tango groups that Piazzolla would have played in, the building and playing of the bandoneon; an instrument that is so associated with tango, and of course the actual dance itself. Yoo meets up with some of the best tango musicians, and dancers in the world. “It’s so easy for them. It’s so natural for them…you just can’t help but admire that these people have put their entire lives into doing what they do at the best of human ability…it’s staggering,” states Yoo
Episode 2 of the season is called Schumann--- Genius and Madness. This episode deals with the association of creativity with mental illness. Again it is not just about Schumann, but the episode also deals with other artists who struggled with manic depression and created great works of art. Artists such as Vincent van Gogh and the poet of Scotland Robert Burns. Yoo asks the question, “Is it a prerequisite to be a one-of-kind artist to have some kind of mental health disorder? I’m not sure if you can definitively say one way or another…but certainly the output of those three giants would have been completely different had they not had bouts of mental illness.”
Episode 3 deals with the music and creative world of New York City based composer and percussionist Andy Akiho. Known for creating percussion instruments out of literally anything, Akiho’s music has elements of Jazz, minimalism, and experimentation that are really unique and powerful. “His music is wild, colorful and energetic…and bristling with energy,” says Yoo “Once he writes the music, that’s only the half way point for Andy…at that point he starts working with dancers, or choreographers, or cartoonists.” For Akiho music making is very much a collaborative experience.
Episode 4 takes the audience to the sights, and sounds of Spain. It explores the music of Isaac Albéniz and the impact the landscape of Spain had on his music. Scott Yoo takes on a trip to see some of the amazing architecture, wall tile work, and landscaping of Andalusia. We explore how Spanish culture fused with the influences of the moors from North Africa. As Yoo explains, “Control of those regions in Andalucía sort of kept going back and forth between the Christians and the Moors…what remains today is the best of both. When I went to the Alhambra, it something that is so jaw dropping…it defies believe that something like this could be created… Truly amazing!”
Season four of “Now Hear This” is extremely engaging and informative. It airs Friday nights throughout the month of April. For those who have missed episodes and still want to enjoy this fantastic program, “Now Hear This” can be streamed through PBS’s website.
Let Scott Yoo be your guide. Take a trip around the globe and experience the world through the eyes of these four exceptional composers; Astor Pizzolla, Robert Schumann, Andy Akiho and Isaac Albéniz.