Spinning World: 13 Ways of Looking at a

Spinning World: 13 Ways of Looking at a Bio:

I'm looking for that song from Sex and the City...

You mean the one played at the end of the episode La Douleur Exquise - season 2-24.? The song they play when Carrie realizes she and Big are over? It's called Anna, and it's just one of many tunes from Spinning World: 13 Ways of Looking at a Waltz that were heard throughout the 2nd season of Sex and the City. Selections from this CD have also been featured many times on NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and This American Life - and in the Marisa Tomei film Just a Kiss.

But Waltzes…aren’t they kind of boring?

Not THESE waltzes! These are lyric, tempestuous, drunken, sad, always soul-stirring and goose-bump good. Who said a waltz has to be in 3/4 time? Some of THESE waltzes are in 5/4. And if you’re hoping for tradition, there’s one waltz that would make Johann Strauss sit up and wave his baton again. Dancers rejoice, for here is music you can twirl to all night.

What exactly does Spinning World sound like?

Imagine Rufus Wainwright and Randy Newman sitting down to write a movie soundtrack for Yo-Yo Ma and Cirque du Soleil in 1917, and you’re getting close. It’s beyond new age, it’s modern but old fashioned at the same time. But why not simply listen for yourself? We have sound samples available for you and whatever computer you're using at
http://www.spinningworldwaltz.com

Gunnar Madsen (composer, piano) - The grammy-nominated composer of Spinning World is also an accomplished singer, writer, filmmaker and actor. He is well known as the co-founder and songwriter and performer with the legendary acapella group The Bobs. His solo efforts have yielded critically acclaimed albums across dramatically different genres. He has received commissions from Lincoln Center, the Los Angeles Theater Center, the Minnesota Opera, Oberlin Dance Collective, ISO Dance Theater, National Public Radio and many others. He is a featured performer on the soundtrack of "At Play in the Fields of the Lord," in the National Geographic Special "Asteroids: Deadly Impact," and is the emotionally charged voice of Sammy Davis, Jr. in the Emmy-award winning HBO film, "The Rat Pack."

Gunnar's new stage musical based on the outsider group The Shaggs (with collaborator Joy Gregory) premiered in Los Angeles in November of 2003 to thunderous critical and popular acclaim. It set new box office records and won Best Original Score from Entertainment Today (beating out Mel Brooks' The Producers), and won 6 Garland Awards, 3 LA Drama Critic's Circle Awards and 4 LA weekly awards, including Musical of the Year and Best Score.

Gunnar's family CDs have received numerous prestigious national awards, including Parents' Choice Gold Award, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold, NAPPA Gold, Scholastic Teacher's Pick Award, and the CMW Best Recording for Older Children award. His new storybook adaptation of his song Old Mr. Mackle Hackle will be published by Little, Brown in Spring 2005.

Gunnar journeyed to Russia to film a documentary on a remarkable farming community for disabled people. The film, Svetlana Village: The Camphill Experience in Russia, was an official selection of the Ojai International Film Festival. More information on all Gunnar's activities is available at: www.GunnarMadsen.com