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With composers from nearly every country in the world creating music in diverse styles, there has simply never been a more exciting time for classical music. Relevant Tones creator and host Seth Boustead dives into this treasure trove of music accompanied by first-person interview, In the Field segments that him to festivals and concert halls around the world, with stellar performances by talented ensembles and soloists.
Pianist Jenny Lin likes to test her limits. In 2006 she challenged composers to write virtuosic works for her in which they imagined that she had an eleventh finger. Not surprisingly, these pieces are now some of the hardest in the piano repertoire but she hasn’t rested on her laurels since then. Her latest labor of love is the Etudes Project in which she is commissioning composers to write new etudes for her and then pairing them with famous etudes from the standard repertoire.
On January 17th Jenny will take the stage at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City for a live broadcast of Relevant Tones to perform volume 1 of the Etudes Project featuring works composed for her by the ICEBERG composers collective. The ten composers of ICEBERG have written works that are incredibly challenging technically and yet always lyrical, rhythmic and often quite fun.
Most of the composers will be present to talk briefly about their inspiration and we’ll also hear from Jenny about how the project is evolving and what we’ll hear in future volumes.
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From Stravinsky’s famous In Memoriam: Dylan Thomas to Hindemith’s Trauermusik, composers have long written their most personal and moving music as a tribute to a friend or great figure they admired. We’ll remember several great personalities with musical tributes by modern day composers.
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Much like the novel, people are always pronouncing the symphony to be a dead form. And yet, composers continue to write symphonies at an incredible pace. We’ll feature music by composers around the world who are adding to the symphonic canon.
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Ground breakers, virtuosos, and commissioners of many of the world’s twentieth and twenty-first century string quartet masterpieces, the influence of the Kronos Quartet cannot be underestimated. We’ll feature a sampling of their luminous output over the years.
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Jeremiah Moss’ book, Vanishing New York inspired this program featuring the music of New York City composers who were an important staple of the ’70’s and ’80’s scene but were taken too soon. We’re honoring Julius Eastman, Arthur Russell, Ben Weber, and Tui St. German Tucker by representing their works and stories.
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Based on the Bhagavad Gita, a Sanskrit text that delves into the discussion between the divine Krishna and earthbound Arjuna, Douglas Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma draws from both Indian and western musical traditions to create a compelling musical drama. Cuomo joins Seth Boustead in the studio to talk about his composition.
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Bach’s Goldberg Variations is thought to be one of the most important examples of the compositional technique that repeats material in an altered form. Over the years composers have used this style to create modern versions.
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Rolling Stone declared Nels Cline as one of the 20 “new guitar gods” and one of the top 100 guitarists of all time. He may be best known as the guitarist of rock band Wilco, but he’s also a talented composer. Seth Boustead and Cline discuss his compositional and improvisational style, making the bridge to classical, and his album Lovers.
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Although a famous name can open some doors, it’s not always easy following in the footsteps of a great artist. Many children of great composers and performers have chosen to go a different route altogether, but others have found their own artistic identity.
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There is so much great music in the world and we’ve discovered a lot of great works for programs. Sometimes we find so much great music we can’t possibly fit it all into a one-hour program. ‘Outtakes’ is a sample of fantastic music that we weren’t originally able to air on shows like Drum Kit: Problem Child, Vinyl, Zygmunt Krauze, and more.
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There’s a subsection of contemporary music call ‘Musical Historicism,’ a genre of music that uses historical elements and revives them in modern works. From Minimalism to Totalism, Modernism to Post-Modernism to Neomodernism; we’re taking a look at pieces that influence contemporary compositions, either to mimic the past or to be the antithesis.
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Legendary composer George Crumb created a unique, haunting sound world that leaves an indelible impression upon anyone who hears it. This is the perfect landscape to celebrate his October birth-date and Halloween with an entire show dedicated to Crumb’s music.
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Once relegated solely to the status of folk instrument, the accordion is being used more and more by composers around the world in a stunning variety of different musical contexts. We’ll feature music for this storied instrument and talk to a few of the composers about how it inspired them.
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Over 60 years of composing, Thea Musgrave is a powerful voice that demand respect around the world. We’re taking a deep-dive into her massive library and showcasing her eclectic range including chamber, orchestral, and electronic works.
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The Open House movement began in the 1980’s in London as a celebration of the city’s justifiably famous architecture but it was so successful that it soon spread to more than 40 cities around the world. For five years, Access Contemporary Music has commissioned composers to write music inspired by the spaces and put musicians in the spaces to perform the music. We’ll feature a wide range of music written for, and performed in, buildings in Chicago, Milwaukee and Barcelona.
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As astrophysicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson learn more about the cosmos and present their often strange and wondrous findings to the public, the creative mind can’t help but be captivated and inspired, and composers are certainly no exception. From superstrings to quarks, multiple dimensions to M theory, we’ll play several imaginative works by composers captivated by our universe.
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The natural world is a never-ending source of fascination and inspiration for composers. From the datura plant in southern China to a rare bird in the wilds of Australia to strange animals that exist only in the composer’s imagination, we’re featuring music inspired by the boundless creativity of nature.
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During the LA Philharmonic’s 2018/19 season, they are commissioning 50 new works from artists including Louis Andriessen, Unsuk Chin, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich, just to name a few. Composer and curator of the first of the LA Phil’s new music series, entitled Green Umbrella, Andrew Norman talks about the Southern Californian composers that he’s presenting.
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Eighth Blackbird The twentieth century saw an interesting movement as composers banded together in collectives to help promote each other’s work. The movement has only gotten stronger in the twenty-first century with the rise of entrepreneurial-ism in classical music. We’ll feature the music of several composer collectives and take a close look at their inner workings.
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One of the world’s most famous new music festivals, Foster the Music, has been held in Darmstadt, Germany, since 1946. We’ll trace the festival from its beginnings through modern times and feature some of the seminal works that were premiered there.
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