James Baker
Producer, Host: Classics a la CarteJames first introduced himself to KPAC listeners at midnight on April 8, 1993, presenting Dvorak's 7th Symphony played by the Cleveland Orchestra. Soon after, he became the regular overnight announcer on KPAC.
If pressed to describe himself, James will say he is a musician who hosted classical music. For over 40 years, he has worked as a professional French horn player, holding posts in the Austin Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico, and Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa, the oldest orchestra in Mexico.
James also is an avid marathoner. Look for him running the streets of San Antonio with his three rescued border collies.
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The 2024 season of Momentos Musicales comes to an end as the ensemble Inti-Illimani presents “Quiaquenita” and Gabriela Ortiz returns alongside pianist Ana Cervantes with her extraordinary “Estudio No. 3.” Eugenio Toussiant has the honor of the final bars of music with his “Palabras sin Sonida,” words without sound. -
Ana Cervantes shares the story behind her set of commissions from 16 composers, from five countries, for a project called “Canto de la Monarca: Mujeres en Mexico.” The music, old and new, modern and indigenous, tells histories and mythologies. If there are no literary languages, they are surely implied in at times highly dramatic fashion. Gabriela Ortiz was one of the best-known of the composers who answered Ana's call for submissions. -
Today's journey begins with flute music from R. Carlos Nakai, born into the Navajo nation. His song echoes the souls of Nakai's ancestors as they beat out foot paths to the south, establishing trade routes connecting the Navajo nation with the Huichol of northwestern Mexico. Trade continued all the way to the great Aztec city which we know today as Mexico City. Gabriela Ortiz speaks of discovering Huichol chant which she then integrated into her modern orchestral score, “Kauyumari.” -
Carlos and Allison Franzetti take us once more into the Teatro Colón to encounter ghosts and other surprises. Carlos also tells of working as a producer and arranger for the legendary singer, Mercedes Sosa, while also explaining how he continues to compose music as an Argentinian writer despite having lived the past 50 years in New Jersey. -
Lila Downs, a keeper and protector of many early languages of Latin America, sings poetry of the Zapotec poet, Ta Rey Baza, a legendary character from Oaxaca. Also, the Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin demands his soloists and chorus to sing in Nahuatl his “Cantos Aztecas,” based upon poetry from the 15th century Aztec scholar, architect and ruler, Nezahualcoyotl. We also hear the great quena virtuoso, Juan Lazaro Mendolas, championed by Carlos Franzetti, and the amazing virtuosity of the Mexican ensemble, Los Folkloristas. -
We meet the Argentinian composer Alberto Williams, whose earliest music sounded more like his teacher, Cesar Franck, than of Argentina. However, in 1890 Williams shifted his attention to the forms, melodies and rhythms of Argentine folk music. Carlos Franzetti returns to speak of that most Incan of wind instruments, the quena, and also introduces us to Alberto Ginastera's “Cantata para America Magica,” an amalgam of pre-Columbian texts and rituals, combined with indigenous mythology, a prime example of the modern meeting the ancient, resulting in something completely new. -
Flutist Laurel Zucker takes us to Quito, Ecuador, arguably the highest national capital in the world, and then describes being rolled out of her bunk on choppy seas in route to the Galapagos Islands. Laurel then writes music about her adventures on her laptop computer. Also on this episode, we hear Los Chiriguanos, a multi-lingual duo whose hearts are into the preservation of the tongue of their long ago ancestors. -
Heitor Villa-Lobos and Carlos Chávez both wrote music that echoed the sounds of their homelands of Brazil and Mexico. Villa-Lobos' music often imitates bird calls and other sounds of the Amazonian jungles, while Chávez pursued an “imagined Aztec music.” Flutist Laurel Zucker takes us along on some of her own adventures into exotic places such as the forests, jungles and wetlands of Central and South America. -
Carlos and Allison Franzetti take us on a tour of the legendary Teatro Colón, in Buenos Aires, with a stop to visit the Argentine composer, Carlos Guastavino. They explain what makes Guastavino's music speak in Argentinian. -
Today we meet the Mexican folk ensemble, Los Folkloristas, introduced by Gabriela Ortiz. Gabriela's parents were founding members of the ensemble, which sang in numerous indigenous languages, surrounded by an array of both indigenous and Euro-influenced musical instruments. Ms. Ortiz also speaks of some of her most recent work as a composer as she prepares to assume the title of Composer-in-Residence at Carnegie Hall.
