HBO premieres ‘The Music of Strangers’ doc
What in the world is the Silk Road Ensemble? Directed by Oscar-winner Morgan Neville (“20 Feet From Stardom”), the 2015 documentary “The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble” (8 p.m., HBO) celebrates artists from around the world who create new sounds out of instruments and traditions rooted in ancient cultures.
At its core, “Strangers” is a profile of renowned cellist Ma, a symbol of “world music” before the term was even coined. We see a clip of a young Ma introduced on a television special by conductor Leonard Bernstein as a Chinese musician playing French music for American audiences. The camera pulls away to reveal that the audience that day included President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
A clear prodigy, Yo-Yo Ma admits he never felt a clear passion for Western classical music. He was simply a great player at a very early age. He spent much of his youth and middle age searching for his musical voice, a search that brought him to create the Silk Road Ensemble in 1998.
The rotating group of musicians blends new music out of instruments familiar and obscure. “Strangers” puts the spotlight on the stories of Kinan Azmeh, a Syrian clarinet player and composer; Wu Man, a pipa player and composer from China; Kayhan Kalhor, an Iranian kamancheh player and composer; and Cristina Pato, a bagpiper, pianist and composer from Spain.
Each tells stories filled with tragic history. Wu Man championed a form of traditional Chinese music all but stamped out by the Cultural Revolution. Kalhor was driven from his home after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, despite the fact that he was striving to keep traditional Persian music alive. Azmeh has watched his beloved Syria reduced to rubble.
All the musicians involved in “Strangers” have been criticized for abandoning their traditions to create an artificial hybrid music for trendy audiences. Yet each of these musicians has used the ensemble to champion and preserve ancient sounds.
At a time when societies around the world are wrestling with nationalist movements that see global cooperation as a threat to their culture and heritage, “The Music of Strangers” could not be more timely.
And the music will blow you away.
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTS
› Cartoon Network launches an animated series adapted from the 2009 movie “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” (5:30 p.m., TV-G).
› Night four of blind auditions on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
› Evidence may exonerate a vigilante on “APB” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› Brothers discover themselves heirs to a puppet opera on “Strange Inheritance” (9 p.m., Fox Business Network).
› A stolen museum piece may fuel a nuclear weapon on “Scorpion” (10 p.m., CBS, repeat, TV-14).
› Bryan’s first day goes badly on “Taken” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
› “Booze Traveler” (10 p.m., Travel, TV-PG) visits Portugal to taste something called the “wine of death.”
› Penny meets her public on “The Big Bang Theory” (8 p.m., CBS, repeat, TV-PG).
› Nick can’t decide on “The Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
› Kara manipulates the press on “Supergirl” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
› Carter and the CTU locate their target on “24: Legacy” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› The kids must come clean on “Man With a Plan” (8:30 p.m., CBS, repeat, TV-PG).
› Arthur takes a day off on “Superior Donuts” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
› Deep insights on “The Bachelor: The Women Tell All” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
› Aspiring magicians perform on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (9 p.m., CW, repeat, TV-PG).
› A major investment on “Kevin Can Wait” (9:30 p.m., CBS, repeat, TV-PG).