Today's show collects pieces from Dr. Paul's favorite musical paradise: Spain. The piquant harmonies, the infectious rhythms and melodies of this land of passionate music are all on display. Some of the greatest composers from diverse lands have been bitten by the Spanish music bug. On tap is the iconic "Bolero" by Ravel (French), "Capriccio Espanole" by Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian), "Fandango" and "Night Music from the Gardens of Spain" by Boccherini (Italy), as well as the celebrated Spanish composers Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados, and Pablo de Sarasate.

Though most romantic Spanish composers were primarily pianists, plenty of pieces were composed or transposed for Spain's national instrument, the guitar.

Come and experience the Gypsy-infused sounds that make Spanish music irresistible.

Why does Davis have so many Thai restaurants? Why does it have so many restaurants, period? Mark Anderson (pictured) helps explain these and other apparent puzzles of the local restaurant business on today’s Davisville.

Anderson has been a reporter since the mid-1990s for the Sacramento Business Journal, where he writes about areas of the regional economy ranging from banking and venture capital to tourism and hospitality--and restaurants.

On Davisville, he discusses elements common to such food trends as Thai, frozen yogurt and bagels (appealing, and hard to make at home); why public inspections help independent restaurants (you no longer need a recognized brand to assure cleanliness); and the connection between Davis and Sacramento restaurants. Many Sacramento restaurants are opening locations in Davis, but as Anderson points out, many restaurants that started in Davis have also expanded to Sacramento.

Today's show is a potpourri in two senses of the word. It's both a melange of a choice diversity of musical pieces, and it's a program that fills the air with beauty for your ears in much the same way that a collection of dried rose petals fills the air with fragrant beauty for your nose. Dr. Paul wanted to broadcast for you pieces that are not easily categorized, from composers who are not always familiar, and with pieces that are seldom heard. And yet, every one is a winner.

Though known primarily for smaller works for piano solo, Chopin composed his second piano concerto on a grand scale. Here it is played by the incomparable Chopinist, Artur Rubinstein. There are also included some salon songs by the bel canto composers, Donizetti and Bellini. There is an unusual duet for double bass and violincello by Rossini, as well as a lovely flute concerto by the baroque era composer Pergolesi. You will hear the lively Roumanian rhapsody by Enesco, the mysterious gymnopedies of the eccentric Frenchman Erik Satie, as well as the elegaic Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber.
Allow Dr. Paul to take you on a scented stroll through some of the most beautiful classical pieces you've never heard!

Today's show starts with the love song, "Give me your hand, Zerlina," from Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni. From there, hypnotic slow movements from larger works by Mozart follow. These include pieces for piano and orchestra, violin and orchestra, piano/violin sonatas, and a flute and harp concerto. Schubert is well represented with a beautiful lullaby, "Mille cherubini in coro" (A thousand cherubs in chorus), several slow movements from Schubert's ouevre for violin and piano, and a stunning movement from Schubert's piano trio #1.

You'll also find an enigmatic piece by Scriabin, some light-hearted music by Muzio Clementi, Spanish guitar pieces played by Liona Boyd, and another Mozart aria or two thrown in for good measure.

Dr. Paul thought he'd forgo an overture today to make room for the procession of lovely, heart-on-the-sleeve movements that only the incomparable Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Peter Schubert could have written.

Matthew Harral paints – with coffee, at present – and depending on where you buy books or coffee in Davis, you might have seen his art. He first exhibited at Logos Books last summer. From November 2011 through January 2012 he has shown his work at the Cloud Forest Café (the painting shown here, Unsinkable, comes from that display). His work is also available at the Pence Gallery, and more exhibits are pending.

Harral, who also plays guitar, has lived a varied life. He left his hometown, Redding, for Davis at 18 to help a friend illustrate T-shirts in Old Sacramento. He has worked as a limousine driver, karaoke host, in radio, in landscape design, and as a cosmetics salesperson at the Arden Fair Sears. After nearly dying in a car crash three years ago, he decided to start showing his work. On today’s Davisville, Harral talks about why he paints, why he uses coffee, his work and themes, what draws him to Davis (he currently lives in West Sacramento to save on rent), and what's coming next.

Franz Schubert, the most lovable and accessible of the great Viennese composers, wrote music that speaks directly to the human heart. He thoroughly enjoyed performing his music with a group of friends who would sing his melodies or play his instrumental pieces accompanied by Schubert himself at the piano. These sociable evenings of his songs, chamber music, and solo piano works, came to be known as Schubertiads.

In addition to the gorgeous selections by Schubert, today's program includes Mozart's playful Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, an overture, and two vocal pieces by Mozart from his opera, Cosi Fan Tutte. A cello concerto by Edward Elgar, a guitar concerto by Vivaldi, and a nocturne by Chopin round things out.

Happy New Year! to all listeners and supporters of Dr. Paul's Classics and KDRT. Dr. Paul got an e-mail from above the clouds this week that reminded him that Mozart and Schubert were born in January. So, this month will feature the music of these two very different, but equally inspired composers of Vienna.

However, Dr. Paul knows that man does not live by Mozart and Schubert alone, and so he will continue to mix in surprise guest composers with an ear for pieces of ravishing beauty and heart-stopping lyricism. Today's program has a Schubert overture in the Italian style, a Mozart piano trio, a Mozart sonata for two pianos, Schubert's "Arpeggione" sonata for the cello, music by Fritz Kreisler and Chabrier....well, you get the picture! Too much richness and perfection to articulate in full. Listen!

One of the first major civic questions facing Davis in 2012 is Measure C, the latest local tax measure to benefit Davis public schools. If at least two-thirds of voters approve it--the election occurs by mail in February and March--then Measure C will replace two existing parcel taxes that expire in June. The new levy would raise $6.5 million per year.

Numbers are a big part of this subject, but the larger story concerns the size, variety and nature of public education in Davis. Susan Lovenburg, president of the Davis school board, comes by Davisville to discuss the numbers, and what they mean for the district’s 8,400 students.

The mornings are cold. Dusk arrives at a time that would barely qualify as late afternoon in July. The holidays are diverting the usual business of life, bringing people back home for celebrations or visits, in memory if not in practice. It’s a fine time for stories. And so, for the last Davisville of the year I asked three people with some of the best voices in town to read out 2011 with a story, or part of a story, that means something to them.

We hear from:

• Rebecca Plack (right), a classically trained singer and voice teacher who grew up in Davis. She chose part of a story that she often re-reads in December.

• Jeff Hudson, a freelance reporter whose venues include Capital Public Radio, and who chose poems by California poet Robinson Jeffers.
• Anne Hance, a co-founder of the Explorit Science Center and former teacher. She selected a recent short story written by an author who is, like her, from Great Britain.

I thank all three for helping Davisville end the year well—and I thank all of you for tuning in. Happy new year, and see you again in 2012.