11-05-2025
Pokey LaFarge takes us to Rhumba Country, and the radical spirituality of Sofia Gubaidulina
Credited with 'making riverboat chic cool again', Pokey LaFarge brings his band in live to the Music Show studio. Pokey talks to Andy about how old Black gospel, his Christian faith and working on a farm have all influenced him on his latest album, Rhumba Country.
Oľga Smetanová joins Andy to remember the composer Sofia Gubaidulina, who has died at the age of 93. Gubaidulina's music has been described as 'holy modernism', which was a powerful provocation in the Soviet Union of her early career. The theological and musicological throughlines of her composition paint a dramatic picture, which Ol'ga reflects on with her knowledge of the woman herself.
Pokey LaFarge is on tour around Australia in May:
8 - The Croxton, Melbourne, VIC
9 - Barwon Heads Hotel, Barwon Heads, VIC
10 - Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan, VIC
13 - Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLD
14 - A & I Hall, Bangalow, NSW
15 - Liberty Hall, Sydney, NSW
16 - The Gov, Adelaide, SA
17 - Freo Social, Perth, WA
Music played live in The Music Show studio by Pokey LaFarge:
Fine to Me (from In the Blossom of Their Shade)
So Long Chicago (From Rhumba Country)
In the interview with Ol'ga Smetanova:
Title: Offertorium
Artist: Gidon Kremer (violin), Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Dutoit
Composer: Sofia Gubaidulina
Album: Offertorium
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Title: Seven Words; iv. 'My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?'
Artist: Maria Kliegel (cello), Elsbeth Moser (bayan), Camerata Transsylvanica
Composer: Sofia Gubaidulina
Album: Seven words/Silencio/In Croce
Label: Naxos
Title: Am Rande des Abgrunds (At the Edge of the Abyss)
Artist: Julius Berger, Sofia Gubaidulina, Viktor Suslin, Niklas Eppinger, Aleksandra Ohar, Diego Garcia, Yoonha Choi, Yoon-Jung Hwang, Tai-Yang Zhang
Composer: Sofia Gubaidulina
Album: Am Rande des Abgrunds
Label: Wergo
Title: The Canticle of the Sun; iv. Glorification of Death
Artist: Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), Andrei Pushkarev (percussion), Rihards Zaļupe (percussion), Rostislav Krimer (celesta), Chamber Choir Kamēr/Māris Sirmais
Composer: Sofia Gubaidulina
Album: The Canticle of the Sun
Label: ECM
At the end of the show:
Title: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major
Artist: Cédric Tiberghien (piano), Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth
Composer: Maurice Ravel
Album: Concertos Pour Piano
Label: Harmonia Mundi
The Music Show was made on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Gadigal and Gundungurra Country
Technical production by Tim Jenkins and Brendan O'Neill
