Two Stewart interviews on Ben Hur w/reunion mention

[njperry]

There is a nice interview with Stewart about the upcoming Ben Hur show in Norfolk from a nearby media outlet:

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/04/expolic ... -hur-score

Stewart talks about composing the score and playing the piece.

One bit that caught my eye (as someone who enjoyed the Arabic aspects of the Ben Hur Live soundtrack):
[quote]He will anchor the score, performing between two percussion rigs - one equipped with a gong drum, chimes and a darbuka, a goblet-shaped drum common in Middle Eastern and North African music. The score, transcribed in 430 pages, requires a combination of subtlety and bombast. The energy is more measured than when he played with the Police.[/quote]

There is also a discussion about the unlikelihood of a future Police reunion:

[quote]The 2007 reunion with his bandmates may have brought Copeland back to his core belief in the profound power of music, but don't expect another Police reunion anytime soon.

"It's not something I want to dwell on or go back to, but it came along that one time and it was really powerful," Copeland says. "It was hard, too, because we'd all grown up and away from each other. So to fit back together as a tightly tuned machine that we used to be took some compromise, shall we say. And even that was good for us, too."

Copeland chuckles.

"But let another 30 years pass and we will see." [/quote]

[sockii]

Nice interview.

Crap first comment which I'd love to respond to but I'm way too lazy to register on that website to deal with a Stingo troll...

[njperry]

Here is another interview, focused on the upcoming performance:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-mart ... ts&ir=Arts

The most interesting part to me as someone who enjoys Stewart's Arabic music:

[quote]"The other thing I bring to this," said Steven [sic; Stewart], "is that I grew up in the Levant -- in Beirut, Lebanon. Before that, in Cairo. I'm steeped in the music of that area. The score is very Middle Eastern. It's symphonic, but it's a very Middle Eastern sound, the rhythms are Middle Eastern. I'm playing through much of the show, so it's much more rhythmic. I hope the ethnicity of the score will stand out."[/quote]