December 11, 2002 - Mainstreet Radio’s Cara Hetland reports on modern violin makers who want to unravel the mysteries of how the old great instruments were made. The Stradivari violins are among the most mysterious and most expensive instruments. For centuries, makers have wanted to copy the techniques used by Antonio Stradivari but they don't know how.
December 12, 2002 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson interviews Knut Jørgen Moe, who wrote the libretto for "Olav Tryggvason," and is looking for support in bringing a full-scale touring production to Minnesota. Moe says many Americans are familiar with the Viking hero because he was such an influential and charismatic man.
December 13, 2002 - Award-winning children's book author Mary Casanova takes young readers into the world of 18th century Versailles in her new book "Cecile: Gates of Gold". Casanova's previous books have mostly been set in Minnesota's north woods--a setting inspired by her own backyard near the Canadian border. Her latest book follows 12-year-old Cecile in the court of Versailles in the year 1711. Mary Casanova spoke to Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham and said it was a challenge to convey the grandeur of Versailles.
December 17, 2002 - MusicMatch Artist on Demand Service.
December 20, 2002 - Well, if you're looking to expose you're child to something other than violent video games, you might consider taking him or her to an exhibit that is about to open at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "Eternal Egypt Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum" is a rare opportunity to see pieces that are thousands of years old, many of which have never traveled before. The exhibit, which opens Saturday, was planned in part because the British Museum is being renovated and the art would have gone into storage otherwise. I got a sneak preview with Marcel Maree ma-RAY, an Assistant Keeper of Collections at the British Museum. He started our tour with a statue of Egyptian King Sesostris the third which dates from around 1850 B.C.
December 24, 2002 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer talks with church bell ringers in the Twin Cities.
December 26, 2002 - Jennifer Egan's novel "Look at Me" intertwines the live of two women named Charlotte--one is a fashion model recovering from a serious car crash--the other is a rather plain looking high school student trying to find her place in the world. "Look at Me" was a finalist for the National Book Awards. Egan says her work as a journalist for the New York Times Magazine often fuels her fiction writing. She says "Look at Me" is an investigation of beauty in American society.
January 1, 2003 - MPR's Euan Kerr reports on Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov and his composition "La Pasión según San Marcos" (St. Mark Passion) draws from many influences. There is the classical music and klezmer he learned through his Russian Jewish immigrant parents; passionate tango of Astor Piazzola which resonates through Argentina; as well as the deep, and at times militant, Christianity of South America.
January 1, 2003 - Advice columnist Dan Savage gave himself an enviable assignment for his new book- he decided to tour across America, taking an in depth look at the seven deadly sins. He traveled from Texas to Iowa, from California to New York and made at least one stop in Las Vegas, Nevada. He learned to shoot, gamble, swing... he ate with abandon, envied the rich, lazed around and joined a pride parade. The result was "Skipping Towards Gomorrah", a parody of Robert Bork's 1996 book "Slouching Towards Gomorrah." Savage says he wanted to write the book to counter conservatives like Bork who accuse Americans of living lives full of sin:
January 7, 2003 - MPR’s Euan Kerr interviews local musician David Levin about his CD "Zuni." Levin is part of a song circle, a group of individual musicians who meet to play their own songs, and to accompany one another.