On today's episode, we’ll hear from Kazuko Miyashita about Stephen Foster’s music in Japan. Kazuko is a Professor Emerita and has published extensively on the influence of Foster’s music in her native country. Due to the time difference, Kazuko recorded a brief summary of her work and shared that with me for the podcast rather than attempting a live interview. Her contribution is highly valued, though, as exploring the influence of Foster’s work outside of the United States is an important frontier in the future of Foster studies.
Continuing with the international theme of this episode, my co-host Jennie will share some of her own experiences with Foster’s music while in China, and tell us some of the context behind “Oh! Oksana,” the Russian language cover of Stephen Foster’s “Oh! Susanna” that plays at the end of each episode. We’ll end the episode by playing “Oh! Oksana” in full, adapted and performed by Dan Veksler.
To learn more about the show and the book, visit our website at: www.StephenFosterAt200.com.