WorldView Episode 50: Elisabeth Lutyens & Joshua Uzoigwe
Welcome to another episode of WorldView, and one of the first to feature music written for the screen! This hour begins with Elisabeth Lutyens’ title music from the 1965 film “The Skull”. Episode fifty of WorldView also features a work by Nigerian artist Joshua Uzoigwe, known for both his compositions and work as an ethnomusicologist.
Born in London, England, in 1906, Elisabeth Lutyens was one of five children in the wealthy Lutyens family. She expressed an interest in composition at a young age, and studied in both England and France as a young adult. During this time, Lutyens became heavily involved in the Theosophical Movement; theosophy, at times recognized as either a new religious movement or an occultist tradition, was founded in 1875 and spread throughout the West. Lutyens began composing actively after returning from France, quickly amassing a large collection of compositions. In the 1950s and 60s, she wrote all or part of the scores for more than 10 feature films (most of them horror thrillers), including “The Skull”. In this episode, conductor Jac van Steen and the BBC Symphony Orchestra perform Lutyens’ “The Skull: Title Music”.
Rounding out this episode is a work by Nigerian ethnomusicologist Joshua Uzoigwe. Uzoigwe, a member of the Igbo ethnic group, was born in modern-day Abia State, Nigeria, in 1946. He studied music at the University of Nigeria before receiving an undergraduate degree in the subject from the Guildhall College of Music in London. In his compositions, Uzoigwe blended elements of traditional Igbo music with Western and African classical techniques. Today, Uzoigwe remains one of the most well known Nigerian and African composers, in part due to his contributions to the modern style of African classical music. In this episode, pianist William Chapman Nyaho performs Uzoigwe’s “Talking Drums: Egwu Amala”. Enjoy!
WorldView Episode Fifty Playlist:
Elisabeth LUTYENS, “The Skull: Title Music”, {BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jac van Steen} - NMC Records
Ruth SEEGER, “Suite for Wind Quintet”, {Ensemble Aventure, Pellegrini Quartet} - cpo
Alberto NEPOMUCENO, “Aria (Arr. Flavio Apro)”, {Flavio Apro (gtr)} - Brilliant Classics
George GERSHWIN, “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in F”, {Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Erich Kunzel, William Tritt (pf)} - Telarc
Joshua UZOIGWE, “Talking Drums: Egwu Amala”, {William Chapman Nyaho (pf)} - MSR Classics
WorldView is a classical music radio show featuring composers from everywhere in the world - except Western Europe. Tune in to hear works by lesser-known artists such as Nancy Dalberg and Isang Yun, and widen your knowledge of classical music. Hinke Younger hosts each week’s episode of WorldView on Mondays at 9AM and 6PM (with a rebroadcast Saturdays at 2PM) on Charlottesvilleclassical.org..