Relevant Tones: Recent Episodes

Seth Boustead

A podcast about the most fascinating time in classical music history: right now.

Relevant Tones features interviews with and music by some of the most creative figures in contemporary classical music, themed shows exploring new trends in classical music and frequent live streamed shows featuring conversations and music performances.

Hosted and produced by Seth Boustead, Austin Williams, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Matt Dotson.

Access Contemporary Music's Thirsty Ears Festival is Chicago's only classical music street festival. For two days we close Wilson Ave. in front of our music school for stellar music performances, craft beer and wine, food trucks and community vendors. We feature a small sample of the contemporary music performed on this year's festival.

Composer, improviser, and producer David Crowell speaks with host Austin Williams about their new album Point/Cloud. This post minimalist gem explores collaborations with a variety of arts that David has worked with previously. "...the work’s pointillistic texture and thick counterpoint, amassing over time into “clouds” of sound.

Erin Rogers is a saxophonist, composer, and improviser dedicated to new and experimental music. Her “decidedly future-oriented” music has been described as “whimsical, theatrical” (Brooklyn Vegan), “radical and refreshing” (Vital Weekly) and “a richly expressive display of stentorian brilliance” (The Wire Magazine).

Her work ranges from chamber music performance to solo experimental improvisation to individual and collaborative compositions that incorporate live electronics, theatre, and text. Host Seth Boustead talks with Rogers and features an array of her wonderful music.

Austin and Elori speak about Elori’s recently release Drifts and Surfaces. This sparks a lively conversation about signal processing, compositional process and the majestic and powerful force that is the Northern Shore of Minnesota.

It’s part two of our coverage of SPLICE institute 10. Host Austin Williams chats with a number of organizers about the festival and it’s history along with some featured guest artists and regular faculty.

Enjoy recordings and performances from a number of these organizers and faculty as well. We hope you enjoyed this two part series on SPLICE. It was truly a joy and pleasure to get to know and understand the organization just a little more intimately. We hope you enjoyed as well!

Join host Austin Gray Williams on this deep dive into the people, music, and culture that create the SPLICE Institute. SPLICE is a week long intensive focusing on electroacoustic concert music.

There are a number of Electroacoustic music festivals and conferences that composers have participated in the past, namely SEAMUS and EMM. SPLICE is here to shake things up. From the beginning with composer Christopher Biggs and Composer/Performer Keith Kirchoff, there was a huge emphasis on education and community.

Both organization founders felt compelled to create a program to support performers and composers of Electroacoustic music and create successful collaborations between them. Through a variety of conversations and interviews we find out how the last 10 years has created a community and relationships that expand well beyond the SPLICE institute and into artistic careers.

In a series of ten chamber concerts, the Zafraan Ensemble relates the history of Berlin from the 1910s to today through music. Each concert represents a decade, in which a work that premiered in Berlin anchors a program of music centered in or inspired by that decade. Host Seth Boustead talks with pianist Clemens Hund-Goeschel and cellist Martin Smith about this fascinating project. Part 2 covers the 1960’s through the 2000's.

In a series of ten chamber concerts, the Zafraan Ensemble relates the history of Berlin from the 1910s to today through music. Each concert represents a decade, in which a work that premiered in Berlin anchors a program of music centered in or inspired by that decade. Host Seth Boustead talks with pianist Clemens Hund-Goeschel and cellist Martin Smith about this fascinating project. Part 1 covers the 1910's through the 1940's.

Matthew Dosland interviews composer, performer, and teacher Vijay Iyer. They discuss Iyer's early work in music cognition, his courses and teaching methods, as well as his most recent album Trouble.

The conversation also covers the cross-genre nature of Iyer's work and how that has influenced his output through the years.

We commemorate the anniversary of the passing of Robert Black on Relevant Tones. Robert Black was an absolute force in the Double Bass repertoire and new music. Through interviews with his previous students and cohorts, Christie Echols, Sean Rubin, Caroline Doane, and Evan Runyon, we find out he was so much more than a bass player. Robert was first and foremost a creative, and surrounded himself with other creative individuals. Robert was enthusiastic about artistic projects and would use every resource and effort to make sure projects were done to the best of his ability. Robert thought of himself as a grain in the sand amongst so many other grains, never allowing his ego or status to dictate what or who he worked with. His students enlightened host Austin Williams of all of these aspects about Robert through stories. Please enjoy these stories shared about Robert Black and his legacy.

Austin Williams speaks with Same Wells and Adam Vidiksis about their recent collaboration with composer Scott Miller.

Through speaking with Adam and Sam, Austin learned that the process used to create the album was rather strange. All of the tracks that are heard on the album are a result of ‘Zoom Jam Sessions’ where the performers in the height of the lockdown figured out a meaningful way to host virtual jams with one another.

The music was compelling enough for them to create an album of what was created. Listen to the interview to find out more details about how this process went and what it meant to the performers in the moment.

Wayne Horvitz is the leader and principal composer for a number of groups including The Snowghost Trio, Sweeter Than the Day, the Gravitas Quartet, and The Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble.

He’s also written for groups like the Kronos Quartet, the Seattle Symphony, and he composes music for film. He also owns and operates the club The Royal Room in Seattle’s Columbia City.

Host Stephen Anthony Rawson spoke with Horvitz last week at his Seattle home about a number of music projects he’s worked on over the years, as well as his musical style and people and collaborators who’ve been with him along the way.

Composer Ian Wilson's ten-movement piece Orpheus Down is inspired by the story of Orpheus’ journey to the Underworld to bring his lover Eurydice back from the dead.

The myth and its themes of deep and dark inspire fascinating music on a new release featuring bass clarinettist Gareth Davis and double-bassist Dario Calderone, for whom the piece was written.

Composer/guitarist/rapper/Di.J./producer Gene Pritsker has written over 900 compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, electro-acoustic music and songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles.

He is the founder and leader of Sound Liberation; an eclectic hip hop-chamber-jazz-rock-etc and he is also the co-director of Composers Concordance, a new music presenting organization with a 30-year history of producing concerts in NYC.

Gene talks with host Seth Boustead about his new album Gene and the Strings coming out August 2nd of this year.

Saad Haddad is a composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, and electroacoustic music who achieves a “remarkable fusion of idioms” (New York Times), most notably in his work exploring the disparate qualities inherent in Western art music and Middle Eastern musical tradition

His music delves into that relationship by transferring the performance techniques of traditional Arabic instruments to Western symphonic instruments, while extending their capabilities through the advancement of technology.

Host Lisa Dell talks with Haddad about his music and recent projects.

Composer, performer, producer Ben Lumsdaine does it all! Austin and Ben had a lovely chat about their album Murmurations Without End.

While Ben has a strong background in straight ahead jazz playing with some heavy hitters such as John Raymond and Dustin Laurenzi he has invited the cast to develop some compelling minimalistic works.

Austin and Ben end up talking shop for a bit about gear but ultimately it all comes back to the music. Watch out for whatever Ben touches, it's going to be gold!

Host Austin Gray Williams and Sarah Belle Reid dig into Sarah’s multidisciplinary practices of being a composer, improviser, educator, and active member of the modular synthesis community.

While discussing these topics Austin gains insight into what goes on for Sarah’s preparations on improvising a set. Her affinity for deep listening and how that sculpts her way through with improvising and composing.

Sarah is also deeply passionate about education and making electronic music as accessible possible for anyone who is interested. If you’re curious about Sarah and her works find her on BandCamp, here and her website https://www.sarahbellereid.com/ for more info!

Multidisciplinary artist and composer ess whiteley sheds some insight on their works and the process they engaged with for the compositions. ess is particularly interested in topics such as memory and the post-internet world we currently live in, often belnding topics togethe to create compelling works of media. ess had some lovely comments about process and the variety of ways it can afflict a work. ess is curently finishing up their PhD at UCSD.

On this episode of On the Radar join Austin and Matt as they discuss some music that has been on their listening for the past couple months!

Matt shares a compelling work by a collective of Greek composers demonstrating noisy yet formally organized music.

Austin speaks largely about the composer Ted Moore his ability to effectively write concert music while also maintaining the ability to improvise in other projects.

Have a suggestion or would like to share some music you have been listening to? Drop us a line! We’d love to hear from out listeners and what is on their radar.”

Host Austin Williams speaks with composer and sound artist Joo Won Park on a variety of topics related to performance and composition aesthetics and the intersection between them.

Joo Won is an electronic music composer, performer, and programmer. We talk about what makes a laptop orchestra unique and necessary to perform certain types of music.

Joo Won is just as passionate about pedagogy and teaching as he is about composing and performing.

Please check out more of his works and projects at https://joowonpark.net/

Originally from New Zealand, Tessa Brinckman is an interdisciplinary flutist/composer who has been praised for her “chameleon-like gifts” and “virtuoso elegance” (Gramophone).

Now based in New York City since 2022, she enjoys creating and performing unique work that honors synesthesia, dialect, innate meter and collaboration, often on geo-political themes in a surrealist spirit.

She talks with host Seth Boustead about her latest release Take Wing, Roll Back, now out on New Focus Recordings.

National Haiku Poetry Day is April 17 and we celebrate it early with a selection of music by composers inspired by this transcendent poetic tradition. Hosted and curated by Stephen Anthony Rawson and Seth Boustead.

Music by Paul Chihara, Libby Larsen, Ursula Mamlok, Lisa Neher, James Falzone, Stephen Melillo, Dai Fujikura, John Cage, Toru Takemitsu

Called “the quintessential modern composer” by the London Independent, Austin, Texas based composer-bandleader-improviser Graham Reynolds records and performs music for film, theater, dance, television, rock clubs, and concert halls with collaborators across a multitude of disciplines.Host Seth Boustead talks with Reynolds about, and features music from, two recent releases: Insectum and Music From Prophet.

Published 50 years ago this year, Studs Terkel’s seminal book Working (The New Press) is, then and now, a compelling look into the world of jobs and the people who do them.

Relevant Tones celebrated this landmark with a unique evening of new music commissioned by ACM and inspired by Studs alongside a fascinating conversation about how work has changed since his time and where it might be going next.

Speaking guests include Dr. Anna Tavis (Humans at Work, Kogan Page), Erik Loomis (A History of America in Ten Strikes, The New Press) , Tod Lippy (Esopus Foundation, Ltd)

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Music Performed by:
Black Oak Ensemble
Alicia Walter

Multi instrumentalist, composer, and improviser Erik Fratzke blurs the line between jazz, avant grade, classical, and a variety of influences to create an absolute plethora of original musical groups and tunes.

While he plays with heavy hitters such as Dave King, he also has solid roots in the improvised and experimental music of the Minneapolis scene. Erik is always making new projects with a variety of folks in the local scene and they always seem to be nothing short of stellar.

Please check out some samples of his works on https://erikfratzke.bandcamp.com , You will not be disappointed!

Founded in 2010, Seattle Modern Orchestra (SMO) is the only large ensemble in the Pacific Northwest solely dedicated to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Led by co-artistic directors Julia Tai and Jérémy Jolley, SMO commissions and premieres new works from an international lineup of composers, in addition to presenting important pieces from the contemporary repertoire that are rarely if ever heard by Seattle audiences.

The ensemble “operates at that exciting cusp between old and new, between tradition and innovation” (Vanguard Seattle) curating new sounds and experiences for concert goers in the region.

Host Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down with Jérémy and Julia to discuss the collaborative relationship they’ve forged together, the formation and history of Seattle Modern Orchestra, their bold and barrier-breaking strategies in reaching new audiences and performers, and some of their favorite concerts from the past 14 years.

This week host Matthew Dosland talks with composer and teacher Osnat Netzer who has just released her first album Dot : Line : Sigh with New Focus Recordings.

From the liner notes of the album: “Though the pieces differ in musical language and aesthetics, they all share the tropes of a punctuated sustain (Dot-Line) and many forms of pitch bends, glissandi, and stylized portamenti (Sigh).”

Join Matthew and Osnat as they discuss how she went about choosing the music from her catalogue for this album, her inspirations in teaching and composing, and how moving to Chicago and the collaborations that has led to have influenced her music.

Frank Horvat is "one of the most inventive songwriters to come out of the contemporary scene in Canada." (WholeNote Magazine) This award-winning composer’s music is emotional and intense and explores a wide array of themes from love to the environment, mental health and social justice issues. Hosted by Matthew Dosland.

Join host Austin Williams as he speaks with composer Noah Jenkins about his most recent album release in collaboration with Riley Leitch Without Persistent Environments.

Noah speaks about the importance of space and how it shaped his compositional process for the record. He also speaks deeply about the importance of collaboration and how giving music time to marinade with a performer is terribly important when trying to imagine what it is in its entirety.

Grammy-nominated Haitian-American composer, singer and flutist Nathalie Joachim’s work centers an authentic commitment to storytelling and human connectivity while advocating for social change and cultural awareness.

Her latest album Ki moun ou ye, is out now on Nonesuch and New Amsterdam Records. The original songs on this album ponder its title’s question: “Who are you?”

Host Seth Boustead talks with Joachim about the new album and her musical journey.

Clarinetist, composer, and improviser James Falzone is an acclaimed member of the international jazz and creative music scenes, a veteran contemporary music lecturer and clinician, and an award-winning composer.

Falzone performs throughout North America and Europe, appears regularly on Downbeat magazine’s Critics’ and Readers’ Polls, and was nominated as the 2011 Clarinetist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association.

He is also a respected educator and scholar and has been on the faculty of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Deep Springs College, North Central College, and was a fellow at The Center for Black Music Research.

At present Falzone is the Dean of Music at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington.

Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down with Falzone at Cornish’s historic Kerry Hall, where John Cage first began to experiment with the prepared piano, and where Cage met his life partner, renowned dancer Merce Cunningham. They talk about Falzone's life in music, the “crooked line” he’s walked as an artist, bringing to balance the Already and the Not Yet in music-making, Wayfaring’s new album, Intermezzo, and a whole lot more.

The latest in our recurring feature On the Radar features new music currently top of mind for hosts Austin Williams, Neve Jahn, Stephen Rawson and Matthew Dosland.3

Carrie Frey is a New York City-based violist, improviser, and composer who “conjures an inviting warmth that leaves her virtuosity on the margins, placing the focus on her humanity (Bandcamp Daily).”

Frey is the violist of the Rhythm Method and a founding member of string trio Chartreuse and string quartet Desdemona. She has performed with many of New York City’s notable contemporary ensembles, including Wet Ink Large Ensemble, AMOC*, Talea Ensemble, and Cantata Profana.

Host Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down with Carrie to talk about her new album, Seagrass: Works for Solo Viola. They take a dive into the music and composers featured on the album, as well as the science fiction writings of Arkady Martine, and the violist’s need for a bigger wardrobe.

The 'Paris Chapters' project is centered around new commissions based on works by Irish writers who lived in Paris (James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, W.B Yeats etc.) for voice, saxophone and piano.

Host Seth Boustead talks with saxophonist Robert Finegan and soprano Clara Barbier Serrano about this fascinating project which also features pianist Tia Ling.

Music by Rhona Clarke, Lise Borel, Denise Ondishko and Kenneth Edge.

We feature a small selection of the many incredible albums released this year. Hosted by Seth Boustead, Matthew Dosland, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Austin Williams.

The California Festival was a two-week statewide festival celebrating the most innovative and compelling music composed around the world in the last five years.

The festival was spearheaded by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony but also included 100 organizations, 140 composers and 180 new works.

Host Lisa Dell talks with Meghan Umber, AJ Benson and Phillippa Cole from each of the lead organizations about this incredibly ambitious festival.

Doug Bielmeier's recent release Music For Billionaires is full of irony and brings accessibility to the front of the question for new classical music. Host Austin Williams speaks with Doug about the relationship between privilege and accessibility to be able to create art and what that means as an artist. Along the way Doug and Austin also find interesting conversation on the use of contemporary compositional techniques and how they have made their way into a lot of new classical music that is being released today.

Sophia Jani is currently the Composer in Residence for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the 23/24 and 24/25 seasons, the 2023 Musical Artist in Residence at the Arvo Pärt Center, and last year released her first album, Music as a Mirror.

Matthew and Sophia sit down to talk about her upcoming work in Dallas, how a venue is chosen for a new music series, and what it was like to spend four weeks with access to Arvo Pärt's library.

Over the past century, verbal notation has been embraced as a means of composition with abundant possibilities. Varying from the most precise performance instructions to structured social meditation, composers have found unique and highly accessible ways to share their music with words.

Join co-hosts Austin Williams and Stephen Anthony Rawson as they survey a variety of music featuring verbal notation.

Jackson Greenberg is an accomplished film composer in LA who has recently released two substantial works of his own artistic volition this past October. Austin and Jackson speak about the process of these works and a little bit of the history behind them and what they mean to him and his past.

Virtuosic flutist Robin Meiksins has a unique series called Beers and Flutes that she has curated over the past couple years. Austin and Robin chat about the series and how it came about. Both individuals are involved in the craft beer community in Chicago and love to showcase the craft and care that a lot of these brewers place in their products.

Robin showcases this appreciation by offering her talents and a flute performer and improviser creating brief but memorable improvisations about the beverage. Robin speaks about how it is not just the physical experience of the beverage but the memories and context in which they exist in our heads.

Violist Michael Hall, described by the New Music Connoisseur as “utterly masterful,” and Chamber Music Today as having “superb technique" is a major champion for new music who has commissioned hundreds of composers over the years.

In addition to global concertizing, he's also the Co-Artistic Director and the Director of Educational Programs with the Bandung Philharmonic. Simply put, Michael Hall is the best friend a composer could have. Austin Williams talks with him about his life in music and features a sample of pieces written for him.

What is art worth and who determines its value?

Join host Seth Boustead and special guests composer Douglas J. Cuomo (operatic adaptation of Doubt; Sex and the City theme), art curator Tod Lippy (Esopus magazine) and filmmaker Juliet Ellis (The Virtues) for a lively discussion of this pertinent topic.

The music performed includes Cuomo's piece A Far Playground for cello and piano, Commercial Etudes by Will Rowe and Nivea Hair Care Styling Mousse by Jacob TV.

We celebrate our 400th episode by revisiting some of our favorite interviews to include new material that didn't make it into the original show. Music and conversation from Annie Gosfield, Felipe Perez Santiago, Mario Lavista, David Harrington and Nick Zoulek.

Viva Relevant Tones!

Composer Aleksandra Vrebalov left her native Serbia for San Francisco in 1995 where she was soon commissioned by the Kronos Quartet with whom she has formed a long and fruitful collaboration. Her music ranges from concert music to opera and modern dance and music for film.

She has been commissioned and performed by some of the most innovative musicians working today and her music is energetic, highly personal, multi-faceted and always irresistible. Host Seth Boustead talks with her and features a wide range of pieces.

Holding to the belief that creativity is an elemental part of human nature, composer Rain Worthington has followed her own instinctive path. Self-taught and cross-disciplinary, her creative impulses include concert music and sculptural concepts in search of new spaces for attentive reflection. Host Matthew Dosland talks with her about her fascinating musical journey.

A one page score is where a composer imparts all of the musical information the performers need on a single page. One-page pieces often incorporate graphic elements, written instructions and improvisation from the players. Enjoy this program of one-page pieces curated by Sam Alvarez.

Called a composer of “uncompromising brilliance” by the Washington Post, Michael Hersch is considered among the most gifted composers of his generation whose work has been described by The New York Times as “viscerally gripping and emotionally transformative music ... claustrophobic and exhilarating at once, with moments of sublime beauty nestled inside thickets of dark virtuosity.”

Host Matthew Dosland talks with him about his music and current projects

The iconic, groundbreaking Kronos Quartet celebrates an incredible 50-year run this year. Host Matthew Dosland talks with founding violinist and Artistic Director David Harrington about the quartet's history and their most recent project 50 For the Future, an unprecedented initiative to commission 50 new works and distribute materials—including scores, recordings, and coaching materials—online for free.

It’s another On the Radar Episode! Austin and Matt take the listeners through some of their recent finds with tunes they have been interested in lately. We have a variety of works ranging from purely electronic to chamber music with some Toy Piano even sprinkled in there. Please enjoy this musical dialogue we have created!

Host Austin Williams talks with Cassie Wieland about the intersection of her classically informed compositional techniques and her newest endeavor into singer songwriter material. Her latest album ‘Birthday Party’under the moniker Vines is a collaboration with the saxophone quartet ~nois.

We discuss this collaboration and how there are a lot of similarities between standard classical composition in the collaboration but the format changed drastically once the recording session began.

We met violist Nathan Sherman at the New Music Dublin festival in April and were excited to learn that he had not one but two albums featuring commissioned music written as companion pieces to works by Luciano Berio.

Host Seth Boustead talks with Sherman and features music from the albums Folk Songs featuring Michelle O'Rourke and Ficino Ensemble and Totemic featuring the Sherman Petcu Duo.

Bassoonist Dana Jessen and composer Taylor Brook team up for a collaborative album length electro-acoustic work, Set, that combines through composed (Songs) and improvised sections.

Much attention in the the composed sections is devoted to an exploration of a range of extended techniques on the bassoon that Jessen has cultivated.

The improvised sections are framed by guidelines and rules that Brook provided and computer improvisation that accompanies the instrumental soloist. In these ways, the boundaries between composer and performer is blurred.

In its 9th year, Texas New Music Ensemble goes big with its inaugural week-long summer music festival (July 10-16). Held at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston: MATCH, the Texas New Music Festival 2023 featured 6 concerts, a film screening, 10 lectures, and included 20 composer participants.

Relevant Tones co-host Stephen Anthony Rawson attended the festival, and had the opportunity to speak with many of the contributing artists. In this two-part episode, we feature their music and insights into new music performance, community building, wellness, and much more.
In this second installment, we will feature Martín Quiroga Jr, executive director of Texas New Music Festival, guest composer Rob Smith, guest conductor Felipe Tristán, and student competition winner Mojgan Misaghi.

Host Austin Williams had the opportunity to travel to Kalamazoo Michigan to be a participant at the Splice festival at the end of June. The program offered a plethora of seminars on a variety of topics dealing with electronic and electroacoustic music.

While attending Austin interviewed other participants that had their works premiered at the festival. This is merely a snapshot of the depth and creative/artistic level that was offered at the festival.

Please check out more at Splicemusic.org. Enjoy!

9th year, Texas New Music Ensemble goes big with its inaugural week-long summer music festival, held at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston: MATCH.

Relevant Tones co-host Stephen Anthony Rawson attended the festival, and had the opportunity to speak with many of the contributing artists.
Part 1 of this episode highlights Chad Robinson, composer and artistic director of Texas New Music Festival and guest performer artist Meg Griffith.

Expanding on our recent live show Overlooked No More, we are featuring the music of Tui St. George Tucker, a composer who absolutely deserves to be better known. Host Seth Boustead talks with Roger Tréfousse and Robert Jurgrau, both of whom knew Tucker in person, about her life and music.

Raíces Imaginadas (Imagined Roots) presents four works written by Tomás Koljatic, Igor Marques, Felipe Pinto d’Aguiar, and Vicente Atria, performed by the Nuevo Mundo Baroque Orchestra (Chile). The idea was to frame writing for historical instruments in contemporary perspectives; its title alludes to this notion and suggests a music that is speculative, nonexistent, or historically and hypothetically possible, bound to the past by its instrumentation and timbre.

Host Seth Boustead talks with the four composers about this fascinating project and features the music.

Happy Juneteenth! Relevant Tones would like to extend a warm celebration for this day. We are featuring a plethora of new music that has been composed by a variety of Black American composers.

As always, we are excited to share the depth and variety that these different artists and composers bring to their audiences. We hope this setlist is a nice accompaniment to your holiday, please enjoy!

Tina Davidson creates music that stands out for its emotional depth and lyricism. She has been acclaimed for her authentic voice, her “vivid ear for harmony and colors” (New York Times) and her works of “transfigured beauty” (OperaNews).

Join co-host Stephen Anthony Rawson and Tina Davidson as they discuss her music and new memoir Let Your Heart Be Broken: Life and Music from a Classical Composer.

Kaija Saariaho was a force to be reckoned with in the new classical music world: an innovator in so many ways while maintaining the highest musical integrity.

From her early work at IRCAM to her operas and the many works she wrote for ensembles large and small, Saariaho developed a distinctly individual voice that was instantly recognizable.

We mourn her premature death as it is truly a loss to the musical community. May she rest well now and may we remember her through her art.

Join host Austin Williams as we go through selected modern works for the Organ. The organ has large history in the context of western classical music and the tradition continues with living composers. The instrument offers a vast range of different colors and textures for a composer to explore.

In this episode we have examples ranging from traditional, extended techniques, adjustments of intonation, and the use of electronic accompaniment for the instrument. This is a wide topic that we hope to continue to explore as we learn about more works that have been written for this instrument.

Join host Austin Williams with guest’s Chris Windle (Artistic Director of Williams Ferris Chorale) and composer Kile Smith as they break down Kile’s newly commissioned work by the ensemble. Kile has a lot to say about the fugal nature of his work and how he approaches this older technique to a modern context. Kile worked with a unique text that heavily juxtaposes the topics of life and death.

He explains in the interview how this was a large inspiration for the use of fugue. A large chunk of the program from this concert is also featured on this episode. Please enjoy what the William Ferris Chorale has to offer us and their dedication to new choral music.

Join Austin Williams and Angelica Olstad as they talk about her fourth debut album America. In this album Olstad explores what it means to be an American as a mixed race Chinese individual that grew up in rural Colorado in the 90’s and now lives in New York City.

This album touches on topics ranging from racial discrimination, old music tastes that continue to influence her works, gun violence in America and so much more.

Olstad slaps the listeners in the face with nostalgia by using old recordings from her youth including some of the very first recordings of her playing piano. Angelica Olstad opens the conversation for other AAPI individuals for them to have a piece to identify and relate with.

The New York Times’Overlookedserieswas introduced on March 8, 2018 for International Women's Day, when they published fifteen obituaries of "overlooked" women, and has since become a hugely successful bi-weekly feature in the paper.

As part Relevant Tones: Live, Access Contemporary Music has commissioned five composers to write musical portraits of the lives in the series, including surrealist painter and mystic Remedios Varo, singer-songwriter Judee Sill, journalist, teacher and political activist Jovita Idár, food inventor and war heroine Maria Orosa and the first African-American registered nurse in the United States, Mary Eliza Mahoney.

Each new string quartet was performed live by The Overlook, and host Seth Boustead talked with special guests Amy Padnani, creator of the Overlooked series, filmmaker Vanessa Gould and obituary writer Jacques Kelley in between each performance.

Live from Symphony Space in Manhattan.

As the William Ferris Chorale enters their 50th Anniversary season, they celebrate the idea of movement. Movement, as an idea, exists throughout music in a myriad of ways: momentum, tempo, change, renewal, phrasing.

This season, the celebrated chorus will celebrate this idea of patterns, of detail, of movement – the vision of contemporary vocal music and living composers in Chicago for the last 50 years.

Join Austin Williams and Chris Windle, Artistic and Music Director of the William Ferris Chorale, as they chat about the ensemble, the music they champion, and this strange intersection that seems to occur between early vocal music and modern, new vocal music.

We celebrate the upcoming Record Store Day by visiting local record stores in Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago and New York to see what's in their contemporary classical and avant garde bins. A lot of great music as it turns out.

Hosted by Seth Boustead, Matt Dotson, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Austin Williams.

Access Contemporary Music has produced a new video series for PBS that explores the intersection of music and architecture. ACM has commissioned ten pieces inspired by culturally and historically relevant buildings and filmed a performance of the piece in the space that inspired it.

They provide context for the performance through interviews that tell the history of the building and how it inspired the composer. Now airing on PBS stations around the country. We feature a sample of this great music.

Ben Roidl-Ward is a bassoonist interested in expanding the repertoire and possibilities of his instrument through collaboration, improvisation, and the exploration of unusual instrumental pairings.

Ben’s dedication to working with and advocating for composers of his generation has led him to commission and premiere numerous works featuring the bassoon with the goal of broadening the repertoire and expanding the possibilities of the instrument.

Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the “irresistible” (San Francisco Chronicle) music of Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been commissioned and performed on six continents.

In his music Cuong enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or oddly satisfying.

Host Matthew Dotson chats with him and features an eclectic mix of music.

Since their founding in 2007 New Music Detroit has produced an annual marathon of new music called Strange Beautiful Music, commissioned new works, presented concerts in major institutions and off-the-beaten path venues alike and generally been an all-around force in adventurous music.

Seth Boustead talks with pianist and Creative Director Justin Snyder, co-founder and saxophonist Erik Rönmark, soprano Jocelyn Zelansko and cellist Una O'Riordan.

Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, DMA is a soprano, improviser, composer, and organizer specializing in contemporary classical music. She is the founder of Quince Ensemble, an all-women contemporary vocal group, and Hasco Duo, an experimental improvisation and songwriting project.

She is also a member of and program curator for Ensemble Dal Niente, a Chicago-based chamber orchestra that commissions and performs the music of living composers. The Bones Still Glow is a series of emotional ballads and intimate portraits written and collected over the past 16 years.

Bartlett says, "they traveled along with me as a young, touring classical musician, helped me reach back home when I needed it, or get lost in space when I needed that, chronicled my transformation into motherhood, and were a source of comfort during chaotic times."

Set against Afghanistan’s volatile history, A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the breathtaking story of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women. Brought together under the brutal Taliban rule, the bond between Laila and Mariam leads to unthinkable sacrifices, and ultimately, one family’s survival.

Based on Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel, this story has captured the hearts of millions including American composer Sheila Silver and librettist Stephen Kitsakos who adapted the novel for the opera stage.

Host Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down to talk with Sheila Silver about her opera, its journey to the Seattle stage, and her musical studies in India with vocalist Pandit Kedar Bodas.

Suzanne Farrin is a composer and performer of the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument created by the engineer Maurice Martenot in the 1920s as a response to the simultaneous destruction and technological advances of WWI.

Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times called her first opera, dolce la morte, a work of “shattering honesty.” Her debut recording, Corpo di Terra, was described in Timeout Chicago, “like field recordings from inside the cerebral cortex.”

Her works are frequently performed at festivals around the world and she has performed in a wide range of film scores, and appeared as herself in an episode of Mozart in the Jungle. Matthew Dotson talks with her about several exciting upcoming projects.

Chicago musician & composer Raquel Gonzalez has spent the last five years as a studio and live musician for various bands throughout the Midwest, often involved in the composing and arranging process. Their composition series, Sonic Creations with a Lyra-8 highlights a synthesized violin sound and duets between the instrument and a Lyra-8 synthesizer.

About the album & its process, Gonzalez says, “Sonic Creations for Violin and Lyra yielded experimentation with my electric violin and a Soma Lyra-8 both separately and together. Side A is mostly standalone Lyra. Straight up, a fair amount of it is harsh noise.

I enjoyed tuning the Lyra, which was an excruciating process, to create resonance and dissonance intentionally. Side B challenged my ability to compose for violin and my ability to improvise. I would plug my electric violin into the Lyra and mess with the LFO or use other pedals. I love exploring how I can make my instrument beautiful in unconventional ways, and this album is exactly that.“

This is Gonzalez’s debut release, where near-industrial soundscapes bump shoulders with radiophonic ambience. “Sonic Creations For Violin And Lyra” is a stunning intro to a beguiling new voice who transcends the “woodshedding” nature of the tracks & elevates them toward a conscious whole.

Host Austin Williams chats with LoadBang ensemble members Andy Kozar and William Lang about their most recent Premieres concert.

This is the 20th volume in this concert series where the ensemble continues to champion new works by composers at all stages of their career.

The unique ensemble instrumentation allows for specific writing to showcase each members ability. Together the ensemble creates a wonderfully cohesive and ubiquitous experience throughout the concert. Featuring music by Alex Burtzos, Christina J. George and Chen Yi.

JUNO Award-winning composer Vivian Fung has a unique talent for combining idiosyncratic textures and styles into large-scale works, reflecting her multicultural background. Matthew Dotson talks with her about her upcoming opera and new string quartet projects with the Jasper Quartet.

The country's largest chamber music conference was back this year after a three-year hiatus and Relevant Tones was there. One of the highlights of the conference was two days of incredible ensemble showcases at Drom in lower Manhattan.

We feature audio recorded live at these showcases from Shouthouse, Interwoven, the Beo String Quartet and the Johnston Brothers plus a piece featuring Lucy Shelton, one of the conference honorees.

Featuring music by Gabriela Ortiz, Thomas Osbourne, Liu Tianhua, Chan Yaoxing, Nigel Westlake, Will Healy, Daron Hagen and Paolo Bellinati.

Nina Shekhar is a composer who explores the intersection of identity, vulnerability, love, and laughter to create bold and intensely personal works. Described as “tart and compelling” (New York Times), “vivid” (Washington Post), and “surprises and delights aplenty” (LA Times), her music has been commissioned and performed by numerous leading artists. Since 2021, Shekhar has been the Composer-in-Residence for Young Concert Artists.

Host Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down to talk with Nina about the recent performance of her piece Lumina at the Seattle Symphony, exploring identity through remixing and sampling, mental health, and much more.

Clarinetist Thomas Piercy's Tokyo to New York project presents masterpieces from 20th century Japanese avant-garde composers alongside newly commissioned works from New York City composers of today.

The result is a fascinating collision of musical worlds. All of the music featured was performed live in a recent concert at the Martha Graham Dance Studio in New York City by musicians from Random Access Music.

It's that time again! Our favorite albums from 2022 include Pripyat by Marina Herlop, A Thousand Butterflies by Aftab Darvishi, Ghost Song by Cécile McLorin Salvant, Evergreen by Caroline Shaw and the Attaca Quartet and What is American by PUBLIquartet.

The music has been chosen by Relevant Tones hosts Austin Williams, Matthew Dosland, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Seth Boustead.

Welcome to part two of our series with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and their work with the Lakota Music Project. Today’s episode will largely be about traditional Lakota vocal techniques and incorporating it in the context of the symphony orchestra.

Jared Tate is a native Chickasaw composer and pianist who approached David Gier about doing a massive work for orchestra and voice which utilizes both traditional native, and western classical vocal techniques. Vocalist Robert Moore was a baritone that was the right person for the job.

Robert Moore was a native American with a background in classical singing. Being knowledgeable in both worlds of music allowed for this unique collaboration to begin.

Relevant Tones has the honor and privilege to present this two part series on the music from South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and their Lakota Music Project. This project is a powerful collaboration between native Lakota music and the symphony orchestra.

Joined on the interview is Music Director Delta David Gier and special soloist Bryan Akipa. Bryan Akipa is a specialist in the natural wood flute which is prominently featured in many of the tracks in this first part.

Please enjoy the music, anecdotes, and friendships that have been developed between the native Lakota population and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and stay tuned for part two!

For over a century, Japanese mandolin orchestras and clubs have been performing and commissioning music, broadening the instrument’s repertoire and genres with diverse artistic voices.

Join host Stephen Anthony Rawson as we listen to a sample of music by Yasuo Kuwahara, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Yoshinao Kobayashi, and more!

Regina Harris Baiocchi is a prolific and highly accomplished composer, poet, author and educator. At home in seemingly any musical genre, her music has been performed by classical ensembles like the Chicago and Detroit Symphonies, on jazz festivals, sacred music festivals and everywhere in between.

Sandbox percussion partners up with Composer/Performer Matt McBane on an 8-movement virtuosic underwater adventure. Drawing on classical minimalism, electronic production, ASMR Youtube videos, and the diverse landscape of ambient modular synth music, Bathymetry features McBane’s Moog synth with Sandbox Percussion on a mix of found instruments (mixing bowls, ping pong balls, glass bottles, etc.), orchestral percussion (vibraphone, tam tam, etc.), and drum sets.

‘Bathymetry’ is the study of the “beds” or “floors” of water bodies, including the ocean, rivers, streams, and lakes.. McBane began studying bathymetry as an ocean-obsessed teenage surfer. The bathymetry of the ocean floor is a key factor on how waves break. On the album, the bass synthesizer interacts with the treble percussion in ways reminiscent of how the ocean floor shapes the waves passing above.

We celebrate the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos with music written in homage to those who are no longer with us. Music by Miguel del Aguila, Sandunes and Kyla-Rose Smith, Elliot Carter, Michael Gordon and Gabriela Ortiz.

Golden Hornet's String Quartet Smackdown is a unique event in which a professional string quartet performs music by sixteen finalists letting the audience decide who will advance to the next round and who will ultimately be the Champion of Smackdown.

Submissions are now open for String Quartet Smackdown VIII through December 1st! More info at www.goldenhornet.org.

Music by Feona Lee Jones, Chidi Obijiaku, Renato Marsiglia, Kennedy Taylor Dixon, Pertti Jalava, Cecilia Muylaert, Melika M. Fitzhugh, Minzuo LU, Juan Sebastian VarMon, Francis Kayali, James Ogburn.

Andrew Trim is a guitarist and composer. He can be found regularly working with some of the most talented and unique musicians in the midwest region and creating everything from mind-altering improvised flights to tightly contained, composed melodies. His instrumental projects - a quartet called Hanami and a trio called Dim Lighting - are the primary vehicles for his expressions. In Retroreflector Andrew Trim's soaring melodies and psychedelic jazz flurries guide a sonically charged quartet grounded firmly in the Chicago sound. Together their swirling group improvisations explore haunting, timeless musical landscapes with peak immediacy.

Marc Mellits is a composer who creates short visceral works often comprised of contrasting sections. He is influenced by minimalist and rock music and often composes for amplified instruments. Mellits also directs and plays keyboards in his own ensemble, the Mellits Consort.

Since its founding in Milwaukee in 1982, the mission of Present Music has been to commission and perform new concert music with programming that introduces innovative concert formats, embraces a broad diversity of repertoire, and makes the music of our time accessible to audiences with deep expression and serious fun.

Host Austin Williams talks with co-Artistic Director David Bloom about their upcoming 41st season.

The featured music includes works by Ryan Carter, Jonah Elrod, Michael Torke and Kamran Ince.

Access Contemporary Music's latest album features music commissioned as part of their innovative project Composer Alive. Each piece was composed in short installments and rehearsed and recorded in real time as they were received. Host Seth Boustead features a sample of this fascinating music.

Sunshowers by Jane O'Leary (mvmts 1 and 2)

De Ánimos y Quebrantos by Gabriela Ortiz

Toy by Alexandre Lunsqui

Dance With My Breath by Agnieszka Stulginska (mvmt 1)

Commercial Etudes by Will Rowe (mvmts 1 and 2)

Micro Moments IX: Hommage a Avicenna by Arshia Samsaminia

Qubit presents an audio(guide) companion to the 2022 Whitney Biennial, "Quiet as It's Kept." Curated by Alec Hall, Loud as It Playsis a listening landscape of contemporary American music arranged around the themes and forces shaping our world over the past two years: breath, time, hope, test, and war.

For a biennial survey of American art should also include a survey of its current sounds. Host Austin Williams brings you a sample of this timely playlist.

Featuring music by:

Deidre Huckabay

Anaïs Maviel

Panayiotis Kokoras

Vanessa Place

Taylor Brook

Anthony Tan

Weston Olencki + Laura Cocks/Zs/Vanessa Place

Daniel Bachman/Alec Hall

David Bird

Id M Theft Able/Sally Decker

Shawn E. Okpebholo is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning composer whose music has been described as “devastatingly beautiful” and “fresh and new and fearless” (The Washington Post), “affecting” (The New York Times), “searing” (The Chicago Tribune), “staggering” (The New Yorker), “lyrical, complex, singular” (The Guardian), and “powerful” (BBC Music Magazine).

Host Stephen Rawson talks with him and features a wide range of his music.

Join Host Austin Williams as he interviews world-class composer Michael Oliva about his upcoming project for various interments playing with Tampura and fixed media.

Michael has been creating various collaborations with a variety of instruments for this project to create a diverse sound world for listeners to experience.

In the interview you will hear about Michael’s use of the Tanpura and how he manipulates and adjusts it to make it truly unique for this project.

Michael will have the chance to premier these works in an installation type event at ColorScape festival. More details and times in this link https://michaeloliva.net/index.php/colourscape/

The remarkable Da Capo Chamber Ensemble has been going strong for 50 years and they're celebrating this milestone with a series of concerts called Bridges.

Host Austin Williams talks with flutist Patricia Spencer and composer Bruce Adolphe about their incredible run and the featured music in their 50th season.

Castor and Patience is a new opera by composer Gregory Spears and libretto by former poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith.

The opera takes on the pervasive barriers to land ownership for Black Americans by telling the story of two cousins' struggles to own and keep property long held by their family.

Stephen Rawson attended the premiere and talked with Spears and Smith about the opera.

Join us as we celebrate and honor the centennial of Charles Mingus! This episode will take a deep dive into his album Mingus Plays the Piano. Charles Mingus was a pioneer of the modern jazz movement and this album speaks to that.

Amongst his vast discography, this album takes a slight departure from his typical music styles. The listener will hear various influences of early 20th c. composers along with Mingus’ own amount of spice.

In the episode we will feature the album along with excerpts from the biography Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Charles Mingus.

Host Austin Williams explores the cross roads of experimental music and Jazz. Many artists featured on today’s show come from the Twin Cities area which has a large free and experimental jazz scene.

Much like one might see in an improvising chamber group or players working from a graphic score, the music you hear is incredibly collaborative and raw in nature. Some groups will directly reference new classical music while others will show it through their practice and aesthetic

Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? Hey, isn't that from the "Cheers" theme song? Yes it is but after the last couple of weeks who can disagree? Join host Austin Williams for a much-needed musical escape...

Music by Robert Honstein, Cassie Wieland, Wally Gunn.

The former front man of experimental rock band Battles, Tyondai Braxton has since ventured out into composing a wide array of wildly inventive original music.

He has been commissioned to write pieces for ensembles such as The Bang on a Can All Stars, Kronos Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, and Brooklyn Rider.

Host Austin Williams plays a few of his favorites.

Host Austin Williams features a variety of pieces that incorporate spoken word in some way. Featuring music by Pamela Z, Tori & Ashley, Nina and Redacted Bell.

February 2nd, 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce’s landmark novel Ulysses.

To celebrate the importance of this milestone, the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland (CMC) teamed up with the Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI) to present an international celebration across Ireland and Europe from February to June 2022.

Seth Boustead talks to the CMC’s Linda O’Shea Farren from the CMC about this project and features music from the resulting concert and film series.

Classical:NEXT is the global networking and exchange hub dedicated exclusively to classical and art music, for all professionals – artists, managers, presenters, orchestras, labels, educators, press, media, publishers and more.

Seth Boustead traveled to Hannover to cover this extraordinary festival for Relevant Tones. Part 2 features music from the showcases, club nights and project pitches.

Classical:NEXT is the global networking and exchange hub dedicated exclusively to classical and art music, for all professionals – artists, managers, presenters, orchestras, labels, educators, press, media, publishers and more.

Back in person after two years, host Seth Boustead traveled to Hannover to cover this extraordinary festival for Relevant Tones. Featured music by Flex Ensemble, Kai Schumacher arranging and playing Steve Reich, Asambura Ensemble and Ayana Witter Johnson.

We listen to a lot of music here at Relevant Tones. Here are a few new pieces currently on the radar for Matt Dotson and Austin Williams. Featured music includes Land by CARM, String Quartet No. 1 by Sophi Jani, For Ennio and Arctic horizon by Wøunds and I Know I'll Never Know by Masaya Ozaki.

Annika Socolofsky is a composer and avant folk vocalist who explores corners and colors of the voice frequently deemed to be "untrained" and not "classical." Described as “unbearably moving” (Gramophone) and “just the right balance between edgy precision and freewheeling exuberance” (The Guardian), her music erupts from the embodied power of the human voice and is communicated through mediums ranging from orchestral and operatic works to unaccompanied folk ballads and unapologetically joyous Dolly Parton covers.

MUSIC

Shy One, Sweet One

Performed by Annika Socolofsky and Latitude Forty-Nine

I Tell You Me

Performed by ~Nois and Annika Socolofsky

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: silience

Performed by the Zöllner-Roche Duo

Turadh

Performed by Parhelion Ensemble and Annika Socolofsky

Barry Paul Clark is an active composer, bassist and improvising musician and he’s a frequent collaborator with artists of all disciplines nationally and internationally.

Host Austin Williams talks with him and features tracks from Tontine Ensemble’s latest release Dogma Protocols.

MUSIC

Dogma Protocol - Regeneration

Dogma Protocol - Call Signal

Dogma Protocol - Analysis Paralysis

Dogma Protocol - Violence

Milwaukee Ballet collaboration - Affixed

Dogma Protocol - Splatter

Throughout the centuries composers have challenged performers to new heights of manual dexterity by writing études, pieces of music expressly designed to push the boundaries of what is technically possible.

Host Stephen Anthony Rawson features a selection of 21st century études. Yannis Kyriakides, Karaoke Etudes has a graphical score element. Check out the video here https://youtu.be/F0T6DVhyedw?t=992

Composers Kelly Sheehan and Chi Wang are finding great creativity in everyday technological objects like Wii remotes. Host Austin Williams gives us a glimpse into this fascinating musical world.

D-Composed is a Chicago-based chamber music experience that honors Black creativity and culture through the music of Black composers. Since 2017, they have created intimate, out-of-the-box experiences that celebrate a mix of genres and sounds of Black music throughout history.

Seth Boustead talks with founder and Executive Director Kori Coleman and violist and Artistic Director Yelley Taylor.

New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow’s widely acclaimed memoir is the source for this extremely moving story of his traumatic youth in Louisiana.

Composer Terence Blanchard, one of the most influential figures in American jazz, teamed up with librettist Kasi Lemmons, director of such remarkable films as Harriet and Eve’s Bayou to create an opera adaptation of this remarkable story.

The result is an an opera that is timely, moving and powerful, revealing the Black experience in this country as few other operas have done and it's currently at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

Stephen Rawson talks with Blanchard and features excerpts from the opera, courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.

Versatile saxophonist, composer and improviser Nick Zoulek specializes in an innovative technique that allows him to play multiple notes at the same time or use multiple techniques at the same time.

Fluent in a wide range of idioms, Zoulek creates highly charged, often beautifully kinetic music that hits hard.

Hosted by Austin Williams

Dal Niente's latest release on SIDEBAND RECORDS features works by three composers using elements of pop, musique concrète and film music transformed into a contemporary classical music idiom.

Austin Williams talks with ensemble members Ben Melsky and Emma Hospelhorn about this remarkable recording.

She's the youngest person to win the Pulitzer Prize for music, she toured with Kanye, and the Met Museum's Limor Tomer called her the "future of music." Caroline Shaw is a wildly successful composer, performer and producer who has created an impressive body of distinctly eclectic work. Matt Dosland talks with her about life, music, oranges and eggs.

Sarah Cahill’s The Future is Female is a three volume series, which celebrates and highlights women composers from the 17th century to the present day. These recordings feature more than 70 compositions by women around the globe and includes many première recordings.

Austin Williams chats with Sarah ahead of the release of this extraordinary three-volume album on March 4th.

We celebrate Twosday (2/22/22) with antiphonal pieces selected by host Austin Williams.

In 2015 we corresponded with several composers from Ukraine, at that time openly at war, about the challenges they faced. With Ukraine in the news again and the future again uncertain, we feature another small sample of the incredibly vibrant music being created by Ukranian composers today. Music by Valentin Silvestrov, Bohdana Frolyak, Ludmila Yurina and Virko Baley.

Eschewing the collection of traditional titles that describe single elements of her body of work, The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker refers to herself as a “New Renaissance Artist” that embraces a constant stream of change and rebirth in practice, which expands into a variety of media, chiefly an exploration of how sonic and spatial worlds can be manipulated to personify a variety of philosophies and principles both tangible as well as intangible.

Austin Williams talks to her about her latest album Remain Calm.

Award-winning composer Jimmy López Bellido has been performed by leading orchestras and his music has been heard in some of the world’s most prestigious venues.

His opera based on the bestselling novel “Bel Canto” was premiered by Chicago Lyric Opera to great acclaim and he served as the Houston Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence from 2017 until 2020.

Seth Boustead talks with him about his new album Aurora & Ad Astra featuring Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Leticia Moreno, and the Houston Symphony.

Angel Island – Oratorio for Voices and Strings by Huang Ruo is inspired by the poems carved into the walls at the detention center at Angel Island Immigration Station during the Chinese Exclusion Act years.

This new work, commissioned by the Del Sol Quartet, takes an unflinching look at discrimination and immigration issues in our nation, past and present. Host Seth Boustead talks with Huang Ruo and founding violist of the Del Sol Quartet Charlton Lee.

Based on the rap song of the same title by Nas, Undying Love is a tragic love story set in 1960’s Queens, New York.

Stephen Anthony Rawson talks with composer/librettist Steve Wallace and Artistic Director of Hearing in Color LaRob K. Payton about this collaborative project.

2021 is a wrap! Matt, Austin, Seth and Stephen choose some of our favorite album releases of the year including music by Pamela Z, Danielle Eva Schwob, Third Coast Percussion, Sergio and Clarice Assad and more!

Composer Douglas J. Cuomo’s Seven Limbs, written for and featuring Nels Cline and the Aizuri Quartet on Sunnyside Records is a ritual in seven movements, based on the Seven Limbs – a fundamental Tibetan Buddhist practice of purification.

Doug talks about the music and his collaborative experience with host Austin Williams.

Taped live as part of the third night of the 2021 Relevant Tones Festival, this is the album release party for Carla Kihlstedt and Rafael Oses' stunning collaborative project Necessary Monsters.

Necessary Monsters is a collaboration between composer/musician Carla Kihlstedt and poet Rafael Osés. It is a contemporary song cycle based on Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges’ Book of Imaginary Beings — a collection of fantastical creatures culled from literary and mythological traditions around the world.

Seth Boustead talks with Carla, Rafael and author Stephen Asma.

A cowboy from Texas, Martín Quiroga's music makes use of traditional compositional techniques and a unique harmonic language in order to honor the musical forms of the past while capturing the harmonic language of the present.

Stephen Anthony Rawson talks with him about his music and the Space City New Music Festival which he directs.

Hearing In Color is a Chicago-based organization dedicated to sharing music, stories, and composers, that have been historically excluded from musical spaces, with its community. Stephen Anthony Rawson talks with Artistic Director LaRob K. Payton and composer Steve Wallace.

Jonathan Hannau is a Chicago-based composer and pianist devoted to the surreal, minimal, abstract, and colorful possibilities of music. Austin Williams talks with him about his new album Pieces I Wrote on a Cold Winter Night.

Hailed as the "future of chamber music," string quartet Brooklyn Rider is a powerful force for musical creativity. Matt Dosland talks with cellist Michael Nicolas about several recent projects.

Described by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a “rising star”, composer Elijah Daniel Smith is quickly establishing himself as one of today’s leading young composers.

Longtime friend and fellow composer Austin Williams chats with him about a big new commission from the CSO and his approach to music-making.

For the second night of the Relevant Tones Tenth Anniversary Festival we were honored to welcome architect Daniel Libeskind and Open House New York's Dorothy Dunn to the stage.

We screened a special preview of several videos from Access Contemporary Music's upcoming Songs About Buildings and Moods video series exploring the intersection between music and architecture and had a fabulous discussion.

The opening night of the Relevant Tones Tenth Anniversary Festival featured an exciting multi-media concert of music inspired by Rube Goldberg machines.

We were joined by Rube’s granddaughter Jennifer George who is also the director of the Rube Goldberg Institute, and an all-star roster of musicians for an unforgettable evening.

Indian-American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces.

Annie Gosfield, whom the BBC called "A one woman Hadron collider" lives in New York City and works on the boundaries between notated and improvised music, electronic and acoustic sounds, refined timbres and noise.

Her music is often inspired by the inherent beauty of found sounds, such as machines, destroyed pianos, warped 78 rpm records and jammed radio signals.

Stephen Rawson talks with her about her life in music and features excerpts of several key works including her opera War of the Worlds.

(photo by Paula Court)

In 1949 a 23-year old composer named Daphne Oram wrote a pioneering new work for two orchestras, live electronics and turntables that was subsequently lost for decades.

Only vague references survived until composer and archivist James Bulley rediscovered the complete score in 2015. He enlisted composer and turntable artist Shiva Feshareki to help him realize the electronics using the technology that would have been available to Oram.

In 2018 the work was finally premiered at the BBC Proms. It was the first work of its kind and it is a masterpiece.

ACM's Thirsty Ears Festival is Chicago's only classical music street festival combining stellar performances with great craft beer from Empirical Brewing.

We did an intimate live broadcast the night before from the ACM School of Music featuring performances by Michael Hall, the Wurtz-Berger Duo and the Quijote Duo.

Composer inti figgis-vizueta writes "magically real musics through the lens of personal identities, braiding a childhood of overlapping immigrant communities and Black-founded Freedom schools—in Chocolate City (DC)—with direct Andean & Irish heritage and a deep connection to the land."

Stephen Rawson talks with them about music, poetry, magical realism and more.

We feature three works that recast age-old myths from a woman's perspective. Milica Paranosic's Penelope and the Geese reimagines the Odyssey from Penelope's point of view. We talk with her about the opera and feature three key scenes.

And Marisa Michelson's Naama's Ark tells the flood myth from the perspective of Noah's wife and Salvatore Sciarrino's La Nuova Euridice lets Orpheus' famous bride tells her own story.

Photo by charis isis

A palimpsest is a manuscript whose original text has been scraped or washed away and overwritten with a new one, often many times over. The original text is still present but visible only in fragments.

This concept has inspired composers to overlay music in similar ways to fascinating effect. We feature a small sample of musical palimpsests. Music by Kevin Ernste, George Benjamin, Paul Novak and Gabriel Kahane.

Texu Kim writes music that's fun, often humorous yet sophisticated, detailed and connected to his South Korean heritage in fascinating ways.

He's also the only composer we know to offer "major-league cuteness” (Broadway World) while also demonstrating “surprising scope.” (San Diego Story)

Access Contemporary Music's Sonic Walkabout is a fun way to explore a neighborhood and see and hear it as never before.

ACM commissioned composers to write music inspired by historic and cultural sites in Chicago's Wicker Park and Lakeview neighborhoods and combined their musical creations with narrative storytelling. Music by Amy Wurtz, Amos Gillespie, Seth Boustead, Kyle Gregory Price, Trevor Patricia Watkin and Jonathan Hannau.

Trailblazing composer Louis Andriessen was one of the most influential composers of his generation. Sadly, Andriessen passed away on July 1st of this year. We talked to him in 2014 about his life in music and featured some of his best-known pieces.

They're on 60 Minutes, they're in the New York Times, they're the subject of an eagerly awaited report to Congress. UFOs haven't been this hot since the '90's. We feature music inspired by these celestial mysteries. Music by Michael Daugherty, Katherine Young and Philip Glass.

In honor of Children's Day in the US we feature music written for and by kids of all ages. Concept and research by Stephen Anthony Rawson, hosted by Seth Boustead. Music by Karen Tanaka, Meredith Monk, inti figgis-vizueta and Osvaldo Golijov.

Laura Elise Schwendinger is a composer whose strongly personal style of music is filled with kinetic energy and slow-burning intensity. Feature music includes High Wire Act, Chiaroscuro Azzurro, Waking Dream and Esprimere for Cello and Orchestra.

Originally aired December 27, 2014. Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Hailed by The Guardian as “a cellist of power and grace” who possesses “mature artistry and willingness to go to the brink,” cellist Seth Parker Woodshas established a reputation as a versatile artist straddling several genres.

We talk with him and feature several of his collaborative projects.

We commemorate the 135th anniversary of the death of great poet Emily Dickinson by featuring some of our favorite musical settings of her poems as well as music inspired by her. Music by Emily Lau, John Adams, Judith Weir and Lee Hoiby.

Access Contemporary Music presents the 16th annual Sound of Silent Film Festival featuring newly commissioned scores performed live to modern silent films in every genre. We chat with a few of the filmmakers and composers and play some great music.

M Lamar is a composer, artist, operatic countertenor and consummate performer who blends elements of horror, opera, African-American spirituals and B-movie camp to create spectacular, compellingly original music.

We talk to him and feature music from two albums: Funeral Doom Spiritual and Surveillance Punishment and the Black Psyche.

The American Composer's Alliance has been a force in new music for nearly a hundred years. During Covid they found a new way to serve their inspiring mission through a program called Shelter Music which facilitated dozens of creative collaborations.

Since 2004 New Focus Recordings has put out dozens of wildly creative albums by some of the most interesting figures in contemporary classical music every year.

Part 2 features conversation with label founder Daniel Lippel and music by Taylor Brooks, Colin Hinton, Robert Honstein, Dmitri Tymoczyko and Ryan Streber.

Since 2004 New Focus Recordings has put out dozens of wildly creative albums by some of the most interesting figures in contemporary classical music every year. We talk with founder Daniel Lippel and feature a small sample of their incredible catalog in the first of a two-part series.

Alex Shapiro is an accomplished composer who has created an impressive body of works in a wide arrange of styles while always staying true to her own personal vision. She is also a mentor to other composers and a tireless champion of new music. We talk with her and feature a small sample of her wonderful music.

Adam Marks is a gifted, sensitive pianist with far-ranging interests and an insatiable appetite for new music. We talk with him about several recent projects including One Page Pieces, a new album of piano music by Alex Shapiro and a virtual program for the Omaha Under the Radar festival.

Music by Jamie Evans, Conrad Tao, Johanne Heraty, Anselm McDonnell, Alex Shapiro, Eleanor Alberga and Philip Glass.

We feature composers writing string quartets inspired by Heavy Metal in all its incarnations from Death Metal, Black Metal, Grindcore, Mathcore to Industrial Metal and more.

Music by Earl Maneein, Gene Pritsker, Maria W. Horn, Nick Vasallo, Aeryn Santallan and Annie Gosfield

Still life paintings encourage us to see everyday objects in a new context but, as applied to music, the still life concept has taken on a life of its own. We feature several musical interpretations of the still life.

As an ensemble of four composer-performers, The Rhythm Method strives to reimagine the string quartet in a contemporary, feminist context.

They are Meaghan Burke, Marina Kifferstein, Leah Asher and Carrie Frey and their most recent album is A Few Concerns.

A new album by New York-based ensemble Founders presents a wildly imaginative interpretation of Olivier Messiaen’s classic chamber work Quartet for the End of Time. The result is a respectful homage to the transcendent beauty of the original work while also incorporating jazz, rock, and other non-classical styles.

We celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Ox with music by composers from countries that celebrate the lunar new year.

For more than twenty years the Tribeca New Music Festival has brought bold new classical music infused with American pop culture to audiences in New York City and, increasingly, to the world.

We talk with composer and Artistic and Executive Director Preston Stahly about their mission, history and creative pivots during the pandemic.

We celebrate a string of palindromic dates - 1/20/21 to 1/29/21 - with music written in palindromic form. Music by Martha Horst, Ben Johnston, Frank J. Oteri, Andrew Norman, Ted Hearne, Joseph Schwantner and Bela Bartok.

We take a break from our chaotic world to listen to music from composers inspired by utopian visions from Ursula K. LeGuin, Thomas More, Plato, HG Wells, John Milton and Greek myth.

Two exciting commissioning projects were a bright spot during this very dark year. They are Thomas Piercy's Moments in this Time and Los Angeles-based piano duo Hocket's #What2020SoundsLike.

For each project composers were asked to write short pieces that represent an incredible array of styles and mental states as we all navigate this difficult time.

We talk with the performers and feature a sample of the 90 - that's right, 90! - commissioned pieces.

The symphonies of Gloria Coates have been hailed as "the spirit of an expressionistic-apocalyptic-mystical world view" by German musicologist Ludwig Finscher. Over sixteen symphonies, Coates has created an indelible, absolutely unique and highly personal sound world.

We talk with her and feature movements from symphonies 1, 4, 7 and 14.

Begun by composer Stephen Lias in 2012 Composing in the Wilderness is a "shared wilderness experience for adventurous composers at all levels."   Participants spend two weeks in the wilds of Alaska drawing from that inspiration to write a new piece that will be performed at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival.

Applications for 2021 close on November 1st, 2020. Apply at composinginthewilderness.com

Clarice Assad is a highly acclaimed composer, pianist, singer and arranger renowned for her musical scope and versatility.

A prolific Grammy nominated composer, Clarice Assad’s numerous commissions include works for Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orquestra Sinfônica de São Paulo, Chicago Sinfonietta, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Youth Orchestra, the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Queen Reef Music Festival and the La Jolla Music Festival, to name a few.

Her compositions have been recorded by some of the most prominent names in the classical music, including percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and oboist Liang Wang.

In short, she's a badass and we're thrilled to chat with her and feature a sample of her wonderful music.

There are a variety of reasons that people decide to leave home for good and settle in another country.

But according to the U.S. State Department there has been a veritable exodus lately with a 47% spike in expatriation in 2019 over 2014.

We talk with four composers living abroad about their lives and music.

MUSIC

Studies for Player Piano: Prelude by Conlon Nancarrow

A Winter Sketchbook, mvmts I and III by Jane O'Leary

Earthly Chants mvmt I. The Singing Wall; Tools mvmt VIII Telescopic Ladder; Wood Burn by Ned McGowan

When the Waves Crash, mvmt III by Colleen Schmuckal

Among the Asteroids by Gloria Coates (excerpt)

This is a pivotal moment for Hong Kong as it fights for political autonomy and searches for a national identity. Hong Kong has long been a global hub for artists and musicians but the future is uncertain.

We talk with Antony Dapiran, author of City on Fire: the Fight for Hong Kong, about the protest movement and William Lane, the founder of the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, and we feature the music of several composers active in Hong Kong's burgeoning new music scene.

Music by Fung Lam, Mei-Fang Lin, Austin Yip, Galison Lau and Hin Yan Austin Leung.

The great Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges has had an enormous influence on artists, writers, philosophers and thinkers of all kinds and composers are no exception.

We spoke with renowned Borges scholar Daniel Balderston about the incredible legacy of one of the most influential writers of all time, and with composers Carla Kihlstedt, Diego Vega and Gheorghi Arnaoudov about how this legacy inspired their musical creations.

New music releases have slowed to a trickle, it's true, but they haven't stopped entirely!

Seth chats with four creative musicians and ensembles who have recently released wildly inventive new music including saxophone quartet Nois, Third Coast Percussion, Sunny Knable and Amy Wurtz.

Features music by Nikki Harlafti, Matthew Arrellin, Ryan Lott, Sunny Knable and Amy Wurtz.

Access Contemporary Music's popular Sound of Silent Film Festival features newly commissioned scores performed live to modern silent films.

2020 marks the 15th anniversary and they're celebrating with two ambitious programs presented virtually. Seth talks with several of the filmmakers and composers about their inspiration and process and plays selections of the scores.

Find out more about the fest at acmusic.org.

Composers and performers are finding incredibly creative ways to continue connecting and making great music in the midst of a global pandemic. Seth talks with composers Suzanne Farrin, Gene Pritsker, Carlos Simon, Liza Sobel and Greg Bartholomew as well as countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and American Composers Orchestra's Artistic Director Derek Bermel.

MUSIC

Nacht (excerpt) by Suzanne Farrin

Performed by: Suzanne Farrin, ondes Martenot

Alice Teyssier, voice

Ross Karre, percussion

Randall Zigler, bass

Nuiko Wadden, harp

Ryan Streber, audio engineer

Pandemic Dance #32 and #30 by Gene Pritsker

Performed by: Carson Cooman, organ

Kristof Knoch - bass clarinet

Gene Pritsker - electric guitar

Another Rising by Carlos Simon

Presented as part of American Composers Orchestra's Connecting ACO Community

Performed by: Anthony Roth Constanzo, counter tenor

Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Dianne Berkun Menaker - Founder and Artistic Director

Brian Losch, sound editing and mixing

Reverse Forward by Liza Sobel

Performed by the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Ken-David Masur - conductor

Fire and Ice and Prairie Spring by Greg Bartholomew

Performed by: Matt Curtis

Useless Machines for Thinking, Dreaming, Feeling

mvmt 3 Mind Fire by Seth Boustead

Performed by Ford Fourqurean - bass clarinet

David Keller - cello

Henry Zheng - violin

Narrative is an important aspect of both music and storytelling. Seth talks with composers Nathalie Joachim and David T. Little and writer J. Robert Lennon about how they structure their music and stories.

We’ll hear music performed by cellist Nicholas Photinos and pianist Yasuko Oura and chat with them about their perspectives on narrative structure in the works they’re performing.

Air Date: May 1, 2020 8:00 EDT

This program was streamed live to Facebook and YouTube. Don’t worry, we were all safe at home…

MUSIC

Dam Mwen Yo by Nathalie Joachim

Whitespace by Seth Boustead

Sonnets by Andrew Norman

1) with shifting change

2) to be so tickled

3) my tongue-tied muse

4) so far from variation

5) confounded to decay

Song of Songs by Karen Tanaka

and the sky was still there by David T. Little

Narrative is an important aspect of both music and storytelling. Seth talks with composers Nathalie Joachim and David T. Little and writer J. Robert Lennon about how they structure their music and stories.

We’ll hear music performed by cellist Nicholas Photinos and pianist Yasuko Oura and chat with them about their perspectives on narrative structure in the works they’re performing.

Air Date: May 1, 2020 8:00 EDT

Location: The comfort of your couch (though we know you’re probably sick of that by now)

This program was streamed live to Facebook and YouTube. Don’t worry, we were all safe at home…

MUSIC

Dam Mwen Yo by Nathalie Joachim

Whitespace by Seth Boustead

Sonnets by Andrew Norman

with shifting change
to be so tickled
my tongue-tied muse
so far from variation
confounded to decay

Song of Songs by Karen Tanaka

and the sky was still there by David T. Little

According to a recent article in the New Yorker, "astrology is currently enjoying a broad cultural acceptance that hasn’t been seen since the nineteen-seventies. The shift began with the advent of the personal computer, accelerated with the Internet, and has reached new speeds through social media."

This live broadcast from Caveat in Manhattan features conversation with celebrity astrologers Rebecca Gordon (Dr. Oz, Harpers Bazaar) and Sam Reynolds (Bill Nye) about sun signs, the western zodiac versus Chinese zodiac and what you can do if through no fault of your own you were born under a bad sign and are, consequently, a bit of a jerk.

Music in Part 2 includes

Run Rabbit Run (excerpts) by Sufjan Stevens

Enjoy Your Rabbit

Year of the Rooster

Year of the Ox

Year of the Horse

Year of the Boar

Performed by the Osso Quartet

According to a recent article in the New Yorker, "astrology is currently enjoying a broad cultural acceptance that hasn’t been seen since the nineteen-seventies. The shift began with the advent of the personal computer, accelerated with the Internet, and has reached new speeds through social media."

This live broadcast from Caveat in Manhattan features conversation with celebrity astrologers Rebecca Gordon (Dr. Oz, Harpers Bazaar) and Sam Reynolds (Bill Nye) about sun signs, the western zodiac versus Chinese zodiac and what you can do if through no fault of your own you were born under a bad sign and are, consequently, a bit of a jerk.

Music in Part 1 includes

Sun in Virgo by Peri Mauer

Zodiac by Marc Mellits

Performed by:

Peter Ferry - marimba

Ford Fourqurean - clarinet

Jeremiah Moss’ book, Vanishing New York inspired this live 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.

This program took place at the Lincoln Center Atrium and also featured a pre-concert panel presentation with Jeremiah Moss, Open House New York director Gregory Wessner, author of Country of Cities Vishaan Chakrabarti and composer Frank J. Oteri.

Hosted by Seth Boustead 

Produced by Dan Goldberg

Music

Piano Sonata No. 2 by Tui St. George Tucker

Roger Tréfousse, piano 

Three Short Pieces by Arthur Russell 

Arranged: Seth Boustead 

Caeli Smith viola; James Kim, cello 

Lyric Piece by Ben Weber 

Adelya Nartadjieva, violin; Suliman Tekali, violin; Caeli Smith, viola; James Kim, cello 

Experimental Music for Ezra Pound by Arthur Russell 

Arranged: Seth Boustead

Roger Tréfousse, piano; Neil Beckmann, guitar; Sae Hashimoto, percussion; Aaron Wolff, cello/narrator

The Moon’s Silent Modulation by Julius Eastman

Opera on Tap; Suliman Tekalli, violin; Adelya Nartadjieva, violin; Caeli Smith, viola; James Kim, cello; Sam Suggs, bass; Beomjae Kim, flute; Sae Hashimoto, percussion; Erika Dohi, piano; Mika Sasaki, piano; Mila Henry, conductor

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 sits down with Cline to discuss his compositional and improvisational style, making the bridge to classical, and his album Lovers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Dan Goldberg

Music Introduction: Diaphanous by Nels Cline

Nels Cline Big Band

Hydrofoil by Nels Cline and Devin SarnoNels Cline, electric guitar, electric autoharp, effects, loops; Devin Sarno, electric bass guitar, effects

Onan Suite: Amniotica, Lord and Lady, Dreams in the Mirror by Nels ClineNels Cline, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, sruti box, autoharp, zither, megamouth, kaossilator, quintronics drum buddy

Harbor Child by Nels Cline

Nels Cline Singers

Dirty Baby- Parts III and IV by Nels ClineNels Cline and Friends

Invitation by Nels Cline

Nels Cline Big Band

The Bond by Nels ClineNels Cline Big Band

There’s a subsection of contemporary music called ‘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.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Dan Goldberg

Music A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky by Charles WuorinenLondon Sinfonietta; Oliver Knussen, conductor

Concerto for Orchestra by Luciano BerioOrchestre National de France; New Swingle Singers; Pierre Boulez, conductor

Absolute Jest by John AdamsSan Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

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.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Dan Goldberg

Music Turbulent LandscapesBBC Symphony Orchestra; Osmo Vänskä, conductor

Concerto for OrchestraGervase de Peyer, clarinet; Scottish National Orchestra; Alexander Gibson, conductor

GreenScottish Ensemble

Impromptu No. 1Nicolas Daniel, oboe; Emer McDonough, flute

During the LA Philharmonic’s 2018/19 season, they commissioned 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.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Omie Wise **by Bryce Dessner

E**ighth Blackbird

Codex Seraphinianus: Machinery, Anthropology, Games by Marcos BalterInternational Contemporary Ensemble

Aheym by Bryce Dessner

Kronos Quartet

Templating Tranquility(excerpt) by Tyshawn SoreyTyshawn Sorey Trio

New York Tendaberry by Laura NyroRenée Fleming, soprano; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Billy Childs, piano

The Manufacture of Tangled Ivory- Part II by Annie GosfieldRoger Kleier, electric guitar; Christine Bard and Jim Pugliese, percussion; Annie Gosfield, sampler

Four Rosesby Annie Gosfield

Ted Mook, cello; Annie Gosfield, sampler

Virtuosic violinist Jennifer Koh is known for her commanding performances and technical assurance. Although she performs Tchaikovsky and Bach she’s interested in finding the connection between the arts and music of all eras from traditional to now.

Jennifer Koh tells us about some of the 60 works that have been written especially for her including a new work by Kaija Saariaho.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Bedeviled by Phil KlineJennifer Koh, violin

Sense by Kaija SaariahoJennifer Koh, violin

The Singing Rooms by Jennifer HigdonJennifer Koh, violin; Atlanta Symphony Orchestra ; Robert Spano, conductor

Graal théâtre: Delicato and Impetuoso by Kaija SaariahoJennifer Koh, violin; Conner Covington, conductor; Curtis 20/21 Ensemble

We live in a charged political environment and though music is often seen as an escape, many composers have chosen to use their work to make a statement.

From Ted Hearne’s The Source, based on the story of Chelsea Manning, the US Army Private who infamously leaked classified military documents to WikiLeaks in 2010 to David T. Little’s operas about modern warfare to Bright Sheng’s music about the Cultural Revolution, we feature several composers who are speaking out.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

We’re opening our doors to Nick Photinos, David Schrader, and other Thirsty Ears Street Festival performers for a preview concert. The third annual festival kicks off on Saturday, August 11 and ends on Sunday, August 12.

You can visit the festival at Wilson street between Hermitage and Ravenswood; the two day event will feature fifteen stellar ensembles and soloists performing music from Beethoven to Shostakovich to Reich and everything in between on the main stage.

There’s delicious beer from Empirical Brewing, vendor booths, kid friendly activities and food trucks on both days.

$10 suggested donation, all proceeds support the ACM School of Music, a non-profit organization.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Bex Nystedt

Music Information, from “Artifacts” by Florent GhysNick Photinos, solo cello and electronics

**“La” Suite for Flute and Piano by Amy Wurtz

IV. Love**

V. LaudeJohn Wachala, Flute; Amy Wurtz, Piano

Middleground by Shelley WashingtonZafa Collective

Improvisation by David SchraderDavid Schrader, piano

Arizona Mirage by Mauricio Arias

Josephine Yang, piano

On a Windswept Plain by Trevor Patrick WatkinTrevor Patrick Watkin, flute; Josephine Yang, Piano

Factory and Flowers, from “Artifacts” by Florent GhysNick Photinos, solo cello and electronics

Grammy-winning composer, pianist and conductor, Joan Tower, has been said to be “one of the most successful women composers of all time” by The New Yorker.

This year she’s celebrating her 80th birthday and we're celebrating by talking with her about her most memorable works and stories. The Grammy-award winning Made in America made the cut and you’ll be surprised by Joan’s insight on how the piece came to be.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music

Fanfare No. 1 for the Uncommon Woman

Marin Alsop, Conductor; Colorado Symphony Orchestra

Black Topaz

Laura Flax, Clarinet; Patricia Spencer, Flute; Deborah Moore, Jonathan Haas, Percussion; Stephen Gosling, piano; Mike Powell*, trombone; Chris Gekker, trumpet

Silver Ladders

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor

PetroushskatesEighth Blackbird

Made in America

Nashville Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Chopin, Kreisler, Bach and more have written compositions less than three minutes in length. This trend is no stranger to contemporary pieces. We’ll pack as many of these tiny gems as possible as we uncover why composers enjoy creating these mini masterworks.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music

3 Miniatures for Violin and Pianoby Krzysztof Penderecki

Ida Bieler, violin; Nina Tichman, piano

Petit Quatuor, by André Cormier

Bozzini Quartet

Free Tango Lessons on Wednesday by Jeff Morton

Bozzini Quartet

Slanted Birds by Anna Höstman

Bozzini Quartet

Talking with Strangers by Alex Eddington

Bozzini Quartet

Six Fugitive Memories by Vera Ivanova

Nadia Shpachenko, piano

Piano Miniatures by Mohammed Fairouz

Katie Reimer, piano

Fractal Miniaturesby Roger Zare

EOS Repertoire Orchestra; Jiao Wang, conductor

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project is widely known as the leading orchestra in the United States dedicated exclusively to performing the 20th and 21st century music and its signature record label BMOP/sound reflects those standards.

In Boston, we’re listening to the newest recordings off BMOP/sound label and talking to Creative Director and Conductor, Gil Rose.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Symphony IV: III Scherzo: Vivace by Lukas FossBoston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose, Conductor

Shanti by Peter ChildBoston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose, Conductor

Toccata Concertante by Irving Fine

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose, Conductor

The Blizzard Voices by Paul Moravec

NEC Concert Choir; Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose, conductor

Composers and musicians meet in a “speed dating” style at the New Music Gathering at Boston Conservatory at Berklee in Boston, Massachusetts

New Music Gathering is an annual three-day conference dedicated to the performance, production, promotion, support and creation of new concert music held at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

This year’s keynote speaker is Helga Davis, host of Q2, who discusses this year’s conference theme: accessibility. Performances include Matt Marks, Hub New Music, Sarah Bob, and the Boston-based Firebird Ensemble.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Soul House by Rob Honstein

Hub New Music

She Thinks of Him Adam Tendler

Adam Tendler, electronics and vocal

Penetration Overture by Matt Marks

Matt Marks, performer; Mellissa Hughes, performer

OMG I’m Shot by Matt Marks

Matt Marks, performer; Mellissa Hughes, performer

Dark Flowers; I: Black Baccara by Jonathan Bailey Holland

Christopher Chaffee, flute; Joshua Nemith, piano

Mud Wrestling at the OK Corral by Eric Moe

Firebird Ensemble; Jeffrey Means, Conductor; Sarah Bob, soloist

(Le) Poisson Rouge (LPR) is a multimedia art cabaret founded by musicians on the site of the historic Village Gate in New York City. We’re here live for an exciting musical program dedicated to Mexican composers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Neuroma de Morton by Felipe Peréz Santiago

Coleman Itzkoff, cello; Beomjae Kim, flute; Mike Sasaki, piano; Caeli Smith, viola; Suliman Tekali, violin

Tres Danzas Seculares by Mario Lavista

Coleman Itzkoff, cello; Mika Sasaki, piano

De Animos y Quebrantos by Gabriela Ortiz

Brandon Ilaw, percussion; Coleman Itzkoff, cello; Beomjae Kim, flute; Caeli Smith, viola; Suliman Tekali, violin

Y Los Oros La Luz by Ana Lara

Bixby Kennedy,clarinet; Coleman Itzkoff, cello; Beomjae Kim, flute; Mika Sasaki, piano; Suliman Tekali, violin

Neurocardiogénico by Felipe Peréz Santiago

Coleman Itzkoff, cello; Beomjae Kim, flute; Mike Sasaki, piano; Caeli Smith, viola; Suliman Tekali, violin

We’re traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee for the Big Ears Festival! Regarded as one of the most unique, boundary-defying and eagerly anticipated cultural gatherings in the world – “a music festival with a rare vision” (The New York Times) Big Ears Festival returns in 2018 with perhaps its most multi-faceted and diverse line up to date.

Spanning four days – Thursday, March 22 – Sunday, March 25 – the festival will feature over 100 performances, including Bang on a Can, Brooklyn Rider, and International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), in venues throughout downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music In the Light of Air by Anna Thorvaldsdóttir

International Contemporary Ensemble

Griff by Béla Fleck

Béla Fleck & Brooklyn Rider

Cheating, Lying, Stealing by David Lang

Bang on a Can All-Stars

Flowers for Prashant by Tyshawn Sorey

Tyshawn Trio

Relevant Tones is proud to partner with The Look + Listen Festival, an annual event dedicated to presenting contemporary music in contemporary art galleries like Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Brooklyn’s BRIC House and The Studio Museum in Harlem.

The festival seeks to expand and engage audiences of 20th and 21st music by providing a unique opportunity to simultaneously experience new music and contemporary visual art.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Spero Lucem by Nina Young

Ensemble Échappé

Springs by Paul Lansky

Sō Percussion

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space by Žibuoklė Martinaitytė

Yarn/Wire

Tuning Meditation by Pauline Oliveros

Phyllis Chen, piano

Deep Thought Music by Craig Harris

The Saints and Aints Brass Choir

Great music is a game of expertise, luck, and chance. Seth deals out a playlist of great music including David Maslanka and discusses why it’s a winner in this year’s Dealer’s Choice.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music A Child’s Garden of Dreams by David Maslanka

Illinois State University Wind Symphony; Stephen K. Steele, conductor

Shadow Light by Elena Ruehr

New Orchestra for Washington; Marcus Thompson, viola

The Glass Bead Game; Mvmt III. The Glass Bead Game (Fantasia)

by Claude Baker

St. Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, conductor

The Shaman by Vincent Ho

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra; Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor; Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussion

Elastic Band; Mvmt II. Pure Happenchance by Joel Philip Freidman

New Orchestra for Washington

Mexican composer Javier Alvarez uses his travels to create eclectic electroacoustic works using influences from Mexico to Cuba, the Caribbean to Korea.

Composer John Adams said the music of Alvarez “reveals influences of popular cultures that go beyond the borders of our own time and place.”

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Jardines conPalmeraI. Jardín de la estela de madera

II. Jardín del sueño de Magali

Florent Jodelet, Orchestre Nationale de France & Didier Benetti

OffrandeI. Mains aux oiseauxIV.

Delfín herido de muerte

Tambuco, ensamble de percusiones, Ricardo Gallardo and Alfredo Bringas

Geometría FoliadaI. De mis días en el campo

II. Otoño pentagonal

III. Puntos en Eje

IV. Un primer hola para un último adiós

V. Memorias futuras.

Cuarteto; José White, José Areán and Orquesta Sinfónica del Palacio de Minería

The ever-busy New York-based chamber orchestra The Knights has worked with some of the top composers and musicians in the world including Osvaldo Golijov on a stunning new release of his large scale symphonic work, Azul.

The piece draws on several world music traditions as do the other pieces on the album. We talked to founding violinist and composer Colin Jacobsen about music, world travel and more.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Ascending Bird by Siamak Aghaei & Colin Jacobsen

The Knights

Azul: I. Paz Sulfúrica, II. Silencio by Osvaldo Golijov

The Knights

Azul: III. Transit, IV. Yrushalem by Osvaldo Golijov

The Knights

JUNO-nominated composer Nicole Lizée creates new music from an eclectic mix of influences including the earliest MTV videos, turntablism, rave culture, Hitchcock, Kubrick, 1960s psychedelia and 1960s modernism.

She is fascinated by the glitches made by outmoded and well-worn technology and captures these glitches, notates them and integrates them into live performance.

Nicole’s compositions range from works for orchestra and solo turntablist, featuring DJ techniques fully notated and integrated into a concert music setting, to other unorthodox instrument combinations that include the Atari 2600 video game console, omnichords, and stylophones just to name a few.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Bookburners

Stéphane Tétreault, cello; Paolo Kapunan [DJ Love], Turntables

Death to Kosmische*

Kronos Quartet

*Recorded by New York Public Radio’s New Sounds at The Greene Space

White Label Experiment

Sō Percussion; Nicole Lizée, turntables & omnichord

Hitchcock Études

Megumi Masaki, piano & background vocals

We invite some of our favorite musical friends to bring a new recording into the studio for listening, lively discussion and the joy of new discoveries. Seth sits down with violinist Doyle Armbrust and composers Kyong Mee Choi, Nomi Epstein, and Jeff Kowalkowski.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music In the Light of Air: I. Luminance, by Anna ThorvaldsdottirInternational Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)

In the Arms of Peril, by Scott A. WyattScott A. Wyatt, electronics

Brocade, by Linda Catlin Smith

Katelyn Clark, harpsichord; Luciane Cardassi, piano

Nonet (1969), by Herbert BrünUniversity of Illinois New Music Ensemble feat: David Barford; Darrell Dalton; John Fonville; William de Fotis; Charles Lipp; Jim Staley; Dana Thomas; James Thornton

Since his early teens, Thomas Adès has been a commanding figure in the world of classical music as a triple threat pianist, conductor and composer.

Seth talks with him about his career including his work at, among others, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw, Melbourne and Sydney Symphonies, BBC Symphony, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Chamber Symphony

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; Thomas Adès, conductor

Living Toys

London Symphonietta

Violin Concerto: Concentric Paths

Anthony Marwood, violin; Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Thomas Adès, conductor

Asyla

London Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Adès, conductor

Tevot

Berliner Philharmoniker; Sir Simon Rattle, conductor

Founding cellist of Eighth Blackbird, Nick Photinos, joins us in WFMT’s Levin Studio in Chicago to play pieces from his first solo album.

Nick worked with an exciting array of diverse composers on the album including David T. Little, Angélica Négrón, Florent Ghys, Andrew Norman and Bryce Dessner.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Lewisburg, by Bryce Dessner

Nick Photinos, cello

Sit and Dance, by Molly Joyce

Nick Photinos, cello

and the sky was still there, by David T. Little

Nick Photinos, cello

Panorama, by Angélica Negrón

Nick Photinos, cello

Petits Artéfacts, by Florent Ghys

Nick Photinos, cello

The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) holds arguably the world’s most important contemporary music festival in a different city each year. Much like the Olympics, cities bid to be the host and this year it’s in Vancouver.

In this second program of two, we hear from Canadian composer, Jennifer Butler, Lituanian composer, Sabina Ulubeanu, young American composer, Robert J Coe, and more, all performed by Vancouver’s best musicians.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Klee Wyck Woman, by Jennifer Butler

Emily Carr Quartet; Marion Newman, mezzo soprano

Tonight My Shadow Sinks Into the Wall, by Vytautas Germanavicius

Müge Buyukcelen, violin

Vox Terminus, by Frederik Gran

NOW Society Ensemble; JP Carter, trumpet; Joshua Zubot, violin; Lisa Cay Miller, piano; James Meger, bass; Skye Brooks, drums

Gestalt X, by Frederick Neyrinck

Bozzini Quartet

Freycinet, by Robert J Coe

Emily Carr Quartet

Cadenza lirica, by Sabina Ulubeanu

Müge Buyukcelen, violin

Production company Access Contemporary Music has partnered with the esteemed Manhattan venue, LPR – (Le) Poisson Rouge a multimedia art cabaret founded by musicians on the site of the historic Village Gate.

Pianist Jenny Lin is taking the stage for the first in this exciting new series. This concert is celebrating Philip Glass’s 81st birthday with a live performance of his Piano Etudes coinciding with her album release.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Composer Jeremy Gill recently had the opportunity of a lifetime when the Boston Modern Orchestra Project agreed to record not one, not two, but three of his concertos.

We’ll talk with Jeremy and clarinet soloist Chris Grymes about this fantastic new release and play as much of it as we can.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Before the Wresting Tides

Serenada Concertante

Notturno Concertante

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose, conductor

Four-time Grammy winning super group Eighth Blackbird unveils their newest creative project: “to inspire the next generation of performers and composers to share in the ensemble’s vision: to champion a distinctive, dynamic and engaging performance aesthetic.”

We’ll talk to the birds and this year’s participants and bring you into the creative process as the lab comes to life.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Conduit; Mvmt I: Touch; Mvmt II: Pulse by Robert Honstein

eighth blackbird

Duos: Mvmts 21-24 by Jörg Widmann

Nick Photinos, cello; Michiko Theurer, violin

Cold Mountain: “Listen” by Jennifer Higdon

Justine Aronson, soprano; Jocelyn Zelasko, soprano; Robert Fleitz, piano

Only the Words Themselves Mean What They Say by Kate Soper

Justine Aronson, soprano; Erika Boysen, flutes

Electric Aroma by Viet Cuong

Michael Maccaferri, clarinet; Dylan Ward, saxophone; Phoebe Wu, piano; Matt Keown, percussion

Dogs by Invoke

Invoke: Zachariah Matteson, violin; Nick Montopoli, violin; Karl Mitze, viola; Geoff Manyin, cello

The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) holds arguably the world’s most important contemporary music festival in a different city each year.

Much like the Olympics, cities bid to be the host and this year it’s in Vancouver. In this first program of two, we hear from Jordan Nobles, Charlotte Bray, Jocelyn Morlock, and Stefan Prins.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Skywriting, by Jordan Nobles

Redshift Vertical Orchestra & Electric Guitar Orchestra

At the Speed of Stillness, by Charlotte Bray

Aldeburgh World Orchestra; Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Lux Antiqua, by Jordan Nobles

The Esoterics; Eric Banks, conductor

My Name is Amanda Todd, by Jocelyn MorlockCanada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra; Alexander Shelley, conductor

Hände Ohne Orte, by Stefan Prins

Hamburg-based Decoder Ensemble; Carola Schaal, clarinets; Jonathan Shapiro, percussion; Andrej Koroliov, piano; and Sonja Lena Schmid, cello

A special broadcast with Chicago’s Kontras Quartet, a group that has been blending the line between classical and folk music since 2009.

On this program we’ll hear folk-inspired repertoire from South Africa to Japan back home to the Midwest.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Strum by Jessie Montgomery

String Quartet No. 1 “White Man Sleeps”: Movement I. “First Dance”

by Kevin Volans

Exodus Quartet: I. “A Tale; Generations of Suffering” by Rudy Perrault

Appalachian Polaroids by Steven Snowden

Japanese Folk Song Suite No. 2: Movement I. Yagibushi & Movement II. Nambu ushioi otaby Hajime Komatsu –

Komeng by Mokale Koapeng

8 Chinese folk songs: No. 5: Horse Herds Mountain Song & No. 8: Leaving Home by Zhou Long

Shortnin’ Bread by Florence Price

String Quartet No. 3 “Old Time” by Mark O’Connor

Black Bend by Dan Visconti

One of the most important new developments in contemporary classical music is part of a wider societal trend of gender fluidity. We talk with three composers who have transitioned about their music before and after, and their personal experiences.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Forces Part 1 by Devin Fanslow

Ball State University Sax quartet: Soprano, Amanda Fratangeli; Alto, Om Srivastava; Tenor, Ethan Edwards; Baritone, Sean Sumwalt

Rotational Games by Brin Solomon

Brin Solomon, bassoon; Nic Gerpe, piano; Recording by Adam Borecki

Purple Stain by Alex Temple

Julia Holter, Voice; Spektral Quartet

This Changes Everything! by Alex Temple

John Seaton, Soprano Sax

Lake Song by Alex Temple

Jenna Lyle, Voice

Produced by Access Contemporary Music, the Discovery Series is a process-based exploration of musical creativity.

Three pieces are chosen for each program from a pool of more than seven hundred submissions. These pieces were workshopped at National Sawdust in Brooklyn and the sessions were led by composer/pianist Jeremy Gill.

The Discovery Series is an exciting sneak peak into the creative process, and the process of putting the piece together for the musicians tasked with bringing the music to life.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Recurrent Stages: Stage II, by Ryan Homsey

Adelya Nartadjieva, violin; Suliman Tekali violin; Andy Lin, viola; Julia Yang, cello

Deux Fois Miro, by Adina Dumitrescu

Mak Dover, clarinet; Andy Lin, viola; Martin Smith, piano

Tune My Heart, by Roger Briggs

Joenne Dumitrascu, violin; Anna Betka, piano

Soundtrack of an Open Road, by Ted King

Maria Hadge, cello

Sonata form is one of the oldest composition structures in classical music but it’s being rediscovered, and in many cases re-purposed, by contemporary composers.

What is the lasting appeal? We’ll play music by four composers looking to the past for formal inspiration. This episode also features a tribute to David Maslanka who passed away shortly before the taping.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Piano Quintet, mvt. I by Thomas Adès

Thomas Adès, piano; Arditti Quartet: Irvine Arditti, Ashot Sarkissjan, violin; Ralf Ehlers, viola; Lucas Fels, cello

Camille for Sax and Piano, mvt. I by David Maslanka

Stephen Jordheim, alto saxophone; Christina Dahl, piano

2, by Keeril Makan

Either/Or Ensemble: Jennifer Choi, violin; David Shively, percussion

Piano Quintet by Thomas Adès

Thomas Adès, piano; Arditti Quartet: Irvine Arditti, Ashot Sarkissjan, violin; Ralf Ehlers, viola; Lucas Fels, cello

Composer Mason Bates brings Steve Jobs’ life story to the stage in Santa Fe Opera’s production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

The opera combines expressive electronics with electric guitar, Bates’ signature rich orchestration and sleek lighting design for a truly modern experience.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Dark Interlude and Scene 13Santa Fe Opera

Scene 5Santa Fe Opera; Sarah Coit; Edward Parks; Wei Wu; Otogawa Garrett Sorenson; Jessica Jones

Scene 3Santa Fe Opera; Edward Parks; Wei Wu

Prologue (Paul’s aria)San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Kelly Markgraf; Robert Tweten; Mason Bates; James Moore

Scene 6 (Chrisann aria)San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Jessica Jones at San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Scene 2San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Sarah Coit; Edward Parks

Overture and Scene 1Santa Fe Opera

Scenes 3-4 (Reed College)San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Wei Wu

Scene 8 (Stanford)San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Edward Parks; Sarah Coit

Scene 16 (Humans are Messy aria)San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Edward Parks; Sarah Coit

Scene Walking InterludeSan Francisco Conservatory of Music

Pulitzer Prize winning composer, Bernard Rands shares his thoughts on his catalogue of over a hundred published works and recordings.

From his 1963 premiere at Darmstadt to 1986 Kennedy Center Friedheim Award winning orchestral suites Le Tambourin, to his 2011 Chicago Symphony Orchestra commission, Danza Petrificada and beyond.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Tre Espressioni by Bernard Rands

Ursula Oppens, piano

Preludes mvt. IV Elegia, by Bernard Rands

Robert Levin, piano

Canti Lunatici, mvt. I Ed è Subito Sera by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Lucy Shelton, soprano; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti Lunatici, mvt. IV La Luna Asoma by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Lucy Shelton, soprano; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti Lunatici, mvt. VIII Mondsand by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Lucy Shelton, soprano; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti Lunatici, mvt. IX The Moon by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Lucy Shelton, soprano; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti Lunatici, mvt. XV Finita e la Notte by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Lucy Shelton, soprano; Gil Rose, conductor

Preludes, mvt. VI Toccata by Bernard Rands

Robert Levin, piano

Now and Again by Bernard Rands

Network for New Music; Jan Krzywicki, conductor

Canti del Sole, mvt. I Mattina by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Douglas Ahlstedt, tenor; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti del Sole, mvt. II The Dawn Verse by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Douglas Ahlstedt, tenor; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti del Sole, mvt. III The Masque of the Twelve Months by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Douglas Ahlstedt, tenor; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti del Sole, mvt. IV Soleil et Chair by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Douglas Ahlstedt, tenor; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti del Sole, mvt. V Portami il girasole by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Douglas Ahlstedt, tenor; Gil Rose, conductor

Canti del Sole, mvt. VI Vision and Prayer by Bernard Rands

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Douglas Ahlstedt, tenor; Gil Rose, conductor

Relevant Tones is highlighting the performers and works featured in the second annual Thirsty Ears Festival: Chicago’s only classical music street festival!

This LIVE broadcast is coming straight our broadcast studio on Friday August 11th featuring several of the exciting ensembles and soloists taking the stage at the fest.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón writes music for accordions, toys and electronics as well as chamber ensembles and orchestras.

Her works Bubblegum Grass Peppermint Field and La Isla Magica are as whimsical as their names suggest.

Leap into Negron’s mind and music in the latest installment of our Composers Among Us series.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Ramon Llull was a leading philosopher, logician and writer in medieval Catalonia and the foundation that today bears his name works to export Catalonian culture and music throughout the world.

Their most recent project in the U.S. is an exciting weekend of concerts and workshops in New York and a window into current trends in Catalonian music.

Relevant Tones travels in the field to feature the music and interviews with the composers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Aproximación a lo Indivisible by Luis Codera Puzo

Cantiga Vazia by Octavi Rumba

Meta-Morphé by Joan Bagés i Rubi

18byJoan Arnau Pàmies

G-Waves by Mateu Malondra Flaquer

A Memory Palace is a technique for memorizing long lists of names or places by associating each list item with an object in your imaginary “memory palace”.

This is derived from the method of loci developed in ancient Greece and Rome. Many composers have been inspired by this technique and have written pieces with this title.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Memory Palace by Elizabeth Brown

Elizabeth Brown, flute; Greg Hesselink, cello; Margaret Kampmeier, piano

Memory Palace by Michael Small

Momenta Quartet

String Quartet in F Major by Maurice Ravel

Parker Quartet

Helix Spirals,mvt.I Loci, Memory Palace by Augusta Read Thomas

Parker Quartet

Memory Palace, mvts. I Harriman and III Foxhurst by Chris Cerrone

Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion; Jennifer Koh, violin; Shai Wosner, piano

It’s a format as old as time: two guys sit down to play music and talk about it.

Soundward, a continuing collaboration between Relevant Tones and Q2 Music, features lively conversation, new releases from composers around the globe and interesting new discoveries.

Hosted by Seth Boustead and Phil Kline

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis and Hannis Brown

Music Canticles of the Holy Wind, mvt. I Sky With Four Suns by John Luther Adams

The Crossing chamber choir; Donald Nally, conductor

Crumbling Arches by Vytautas Germanavičius

Trio Kaskados: Albina Šikšniūtė, piano; Rusnė Mataitytė, violin; Edmundas Kulikauskas, cello

A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke: Uncut Emeralds by Vijay Iyer

Wadada Leo Smith, trumpet; Vijay Iyer, piano and electronics

Songlines by Michael Ippolito

Attacca Quartet: Amy Schroeder, violin; Keiko Tokunaga, violin; Nathan Schram, viola; Andrew Yee, cello

Canticles of the Holy Wind, mvt. IV Hour of the Doves by John Luther Adams

The Crossing chamber choir; Donald Nally, conductor

From Mozart and Chopin to Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland the composer-pianist is easy to trace through time. Now, in the 21st century, there is a resurgence in the tradition.

Relevant Tones is examining the diverse composer-performer community from Philip Glass to Yiruma.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Loose Changes by Jed Distler

Quattro Mani

Three Landscapes for Peter Wyer by Jed Distler

Margaret Leng Tan, Toy piano

Home Stretch by Timo Andres

Timo Andres, piano; Metropolis Ensemble

Secondhand: Used Poetry by Jessica Krash

Jessica Krash, piano

Four Movements for Piano Trio, mvts. I Eighth Note=54 and II Quarter Note=66 by Bright Sheng

Bright Sheng, piano; Nicholas Tzavaras, cello; Weigang Li, violin

The Dumbarton Quintet by Joan Tower

Blair McMillen, piano; Daedalus Quartet

Though it’s definitely not true of all composers, many have a facility and fascination with math. We’ll talk to several composers who use math in their compositions and find out how this affects the resulting music.

Is it all cerebral? What is the balance between emotional expression and mathematical precision?

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Désintégrations by Tristan Murail

Sudden Light by Mark Bowden

Love Obsession by Mischa Zupko

As The Sunflower Turns on her God by Timothy Takach

Thèses-Antithèse-Synthèse by Ionel Petroi

Diasporas by Ravi Kitappa

Counting Duets by Tom Johnson

Q2 Music’s Phil Kline joins us to chat about music that strikes a chord. The newest recordings that are certain to become a classic.

Hosted by Seth Boustead and Phil Kline

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Double Happiness by Christopher Cerrone

Duet with Shifting Ground by Meredith Monk

Pavement Steps by Meredith Monk

Dark, Light 2 by Meredith Monk

Expectancy by Marcin Bortnowski

Tassel by Anna Meredith

Symphony No. 2 Innerspace, mvt. IV Fast by Jonathan Leshnoff

Podcast and live radio collide in an evening of music inspired by fractals, dynamic systems, feedback loops and nature.

Open G Records and Access Contemporary Music present:

Caroline Mallonee‘s Butterfly Effect, a string quartet inspired by the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in Australia could cause a tornado in Texas, Chin Ting Chan’s gorgeously abrasive Fractals, Lyudmila German’s nod to organic systems Six Fragments and Four Miniatures, David Glaser’s haunting Moonset No. 1 and two world premieres written for acclaimed soprano Sharon Harms and clarinetist Mark Dover of Imani Winds.

Late Night at National Sawdust is a quarterly live taping of Relevant Tones, a contemporary music podcast hosted by Seth Boustead that will also be broadcast in real time on the nationally syndicated WFMT Radio Network and on WKCR in New York. Live radio has never been so intimate.

The broadcast will be preceded by the Discovery Series, a process-oriented exploration of musical creativity led by composer/pianist Jeremy Gill. The three composers to be performed, chosen from a pool of more than five hundred, are Henrique Coe, Adina Dumitrescu and Ryan Homsey.

Cambodian composer Chinary Ung came to the U.S. to study clarinet and composition but was forced to stay when the Khmer Rouge uprising broke out in his home country killing millions.

Over the years he has helped many family members and friends escape that regime and has documented his struggles in music. He talks to Relevant Tones about his life and music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Oracle by Chinary Ung

Da Capo Chamber Players; Lucy Shelton, soprano; Michael Adelson, conductor; William Anderson, guitar

Singing Inside Aura by Chinary Ung

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Susan Ung, viola and voice

Grand Spiral: Desert Flowers Bloom by Chinary Ung

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose, conductor

We had the distinct pleasure of attending two recent opera premieres, the World Premiere of Heresy in Dublin by Roger Doyle and the Met’s premiere of L’Amour de Loin by acclaimed composer Kaija Saariaho.

Both operas explore universal themes in strikingly different ways, from Doyle’s setting of the infamous heresy trial of Giordano Bruno, to Saariaho’s mythic setting of idealized love.

We’ll hear from Eric Fraad, the director of Heresy on what it’s like to adapt to experimental music and storytelling. We’ll also talk with both composers and feature music from the operas.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music At the Court of Elizabeth I Pt. 2 by Roger Doyle

Daire Halpin, soprano; Robert Crowe, male soprano

The Divine Sophia by Roger Doyle

Daire Halpin, soprano; Catriona O’Leary, mezzo soprano

L’Amour de Loin Overture by Kaija Saariaho

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Susanna Mälkki, conductor; Eric Owens, bass-baritone

The Cell – Hallucination by Roger Doyle

Iestyn Morris, counter tenor; Ahmad Alkaran, guest tenor; Caitriona O’Leary, mezzo soprano; Alex Smith, boy soprano

L’amour de Loin, Act II by Kaija Saariaho

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Susanna Mälkki, conductor; Susanna Phillips, soprano; Tamara Mumford, mezzo soprano

Death by Fire by Roger Doyle

Morgan Crowley, tenor

L’Amour de Loin, Act IV by Kaija Saariaho

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Susanna Mälkki, conductor; Susanna Phillips, soprano; Eric Owens, bass-baritone

L’Amour de Loin, Act V by Kaija Saariaho

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Susanna Mälkki, conductor; Susanna Phillips, soprano

With important commissions from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic among others, and a new and highly praised album release, James Matheson has established a reputation as a composer of finely tuned, individualistic music with wide ranging appeal.

We’ll chat with him about his career and play his music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Chaconne by James Matheson

Caprice by James Matheson

Dance by James Matheson

Taught, Energetic by James Matheson

It’s a format as old as time: two guys sit down to play music and talk about it.

Soundward, a continuing collaboration between Relevant Tones and Q2 Music, features lively conversation, new releases from composers around the globe and interesting new discoveries.

Hosted by Seth Boustead and Phil Kline

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

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.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music A Way Through by Jane O’Leary

Dermot Dunne, accordion; Madeleine Staunton, alto flute; Paul Roe, bass clarinet

Slow Motion by Toshio Hosokawa

Teodoro Anzellotti, accordion

Gate Keepers by Tomi Raisanen

Wu Wei, sheng; Pascal Contet, accordion

Glimmer by Richard Warp

Stas Venglevski, accordion

Metal Work by Magnus Lindberg

Sofia Ahjoniemi, accordion; Julien Mégroz, percussion

Recall by Per Norgard

Bjarke Mogensen, accordion; Danish National Chamber Orchestra; Rolf Gupta, conductor

For this exciting new series Relevant Tones is teaming up with Open G Records and Access Contemporary Music to present a quarterly live broadcast at Brooklyn’s hottest new venue National Sawdust.

Much of the music for this series will be programmed from an international ‘call for scores.’

Music Squaring the Circle, by J Mark Scearce

Veil, by Seth Boustead

Umber Sepia, by Deirdre McKay

Three by Three, by Eric Nathan

Touching the Fog, by Agnieszka Stulginska

Sleep Now, O Sleep Now, by Alan Theisen

Book of Hours, mvts. 1 & 2, by Jeremy Gill

Performers:

Chris Grymes, clarinet and bass clarinet

Molly Morkoski, piano

Adelya Nartadjieva, violin

Suliman Tekalli, violin

Matthew Cohen, viola

James Kim, cello

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams, who until very recently made his home in Alaska, is far from the only composer to be inspired by winter landscapes.

We’ll celebrate the season with music from around the world by composers inspired by winter.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Der Greise Kopf by Franz Schubert

Schnee by Hans Abrahamsen

Tundra Songs by Derek Charke

Lullaby by Derek Charke

Throat Song by Derek Charke

Winterlicht VIII by In-Sun Cho

Cercle du Nord III by Derek Charke

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 the last six 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.

For more videos of other ACM performances check out the website here.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the Gaudeamus Muziekwiek is a powerhouse contemporary music festival showcasing young talent from around the world.

The second of our two-part series will feature interviews and audio from the established mentor composers at this year’s festival.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Yair Klartag

There’s no lack of void

Anthony Vine

For Agnes Martin

Ruud Roelofsen

|<örperlich |||

Shih-Wei Lo

Things Hoped For

James O’Callaghan

Pre-Echo (after empties)

Seung-Won Oh

JungGa

Ton de Leeuw

Modal Music

Anthony Vine

Between Blue

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the festival, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, in the Netherlands is a powerhouse contemporary music festival showcasing young talent from around the world.

Every year the Gaudeamus Award is granted to a new music pioneer, this year nominees include Giulio Colangelo, David Bird, James O’Callaghan, Anthony Vine, and Shih-Wei Lo, all under the age of 30.

In this first of a two-part series we travel to Utrecht to feature music from the young composers chosen to take part this year.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Michel van der Aa

Up Close

David Bird

Drop

Giulio Colangelo

Organismo Aperto no 1

Stefano Scodanibbio

Voyage Started

Shih-Wei Lo

Madhye II

It’s quite common in academia, journalism and literature for two authors to team up to write an article or book but significantly less so in music.

Still, it does happen and the results are often fascinating. Where does one idea start and the other continue? How do two composers work together to write a seamless piece?

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

For more than thirty years, young composers have traveled to Holland to worship at the altar of Louis Andriessen, perhaps most notably the three composers from the storied collective Bang on a Can.

As a result Andriessen, and Bang on a Can themselves, have had an outsize influence on the music of our time.

We’ll feature Andriessen’s work and many of the composers who have made the pilgrimage.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Louis Andriessen

Workers Union

David Lang

Street

Steve Reich

Music For 18 Musicians

Louis Andriessen

Hoketus

Oscar Bettison

O Death – Take leave of carnal vain delight

Missy Mazzoli

Cathedral City

Julia Wolfe

Mvmt IV: Flowers

Bryce Dressner

St. Carolyn By The Sea

Not surprisingly, 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’ll feature music inspired by the boundless creativity of nature.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Mason Bates

Anthology of Fantastic Zoology

Alexander Raskatov

Night Butterflies: Volante

Alexander Raskatov

Night Butterflies: Adagietto

Alexander Raskatov

Night Butterflies: Vivo meccanico

Don Freund

There is Often No Pressure to be a Giraffe If You Are Not One

Paintings Composed

Mamoru Fujieda

“The Olive Branch Speaks”: Pattern A

Takashi Yoshimatsu

And Birds are still?

Tobias Picker

Invisible Lilacs: Very Fast

Mason Bates

Anthology of Fantastic Zoology

The second part in our two-part feature of the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music includes interviews with composers, performers and organizers of the event and more audio performances recorded live in the concert halls of Warsaw.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Wojciech Blazejczyk

Trash Music

Krzysztof Woleck

un Claro del Tiempo

Marta Sniady

Aer

Grażyna Pstrokońska-NawratilRainforests

Since its beginning in 1956 the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music, for many years the only festival of its kind in Eastern Europe, has presented new music by leading Polish composers and composers from around the world.

Today it is one of the most prestigious contemporary music festivals in the world and we are honored to have the chance to travel to Warsaw to feature music from artists like Wojciech Blazejczyk, Krzysztof Wolek, and current Artistic Director of Warsaw Autumn, Tadeusz Wielecki.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Gérard Grisey

4 Chants pour franchir le seuil

Tadeusz Wielecki

Tafle for Orchestra

Jerzy Kornowicz

Gullfoss

Wojciech Blazejczyk

Quiver

Paweł Łukaszewski

Prayer to the Guardian Angel

Marcin Bortnowski

Expectancy

Anna Zaradny

Olive Queen

Polish composer, concert pianist and educator Zygmunt Krauze is a hugely respected figure on the international contemporary music scene and the recipient of numerous honors including the French National Order of the Legion of Honour among many others.

We’ll play selections from his music and talk with him about his storied career.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Zygmunt Krauze

Piece for Orchestra No. 1

Zygmunt Krauze

Polychromy

Zygmunt Krauze

Piano Concerto No. 2

After discovering Sebastian Huydts’ newest album, Delicias de Blancanieves or Snowwhite’s Delights, Seth is sharing his newest musical ‘delights’.

We’ll share selected works of Huydts, Caroline Eyck, and Johann Johannson and more with you.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Old is new again as composers and performers return to the LP format for their latest releases. We’ll dust off our record player to feature a variety of new music released on vinyl.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Frank Zappa

“Igor’s Boogie”

Zbigiew Turski

“Sinfonia Olimpica”

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchetra

Dana Lyn

“Maintenance Music”

John Harbison

“The Flower Fed Buffaloes, mvt 1”

Pete Swanson

“Corrections”

Christopher Bono

Invocation No. 2 “Fish, Father, Phoenix”

Clint Mansell

“Fall”

Bryce Dessner

“Omie Wise” from Murder Ballades

Seth talks with composer Stacy Garrop about the new recording of her Mythology Symphony inspired by Greek myths.

Starting with the exhilarating piece Becoming Medusa, which tells the story of Medusa, a beautiful woman turned into a hideous monster, to the quiet sounds of Penelope Waits, the touching tale of a wife waiting for her heroic husband, and much more.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Stacy Garrop: Mythology Symphony

Chicago College of Performing Arts Orchestras/ Alondra de la Parra

I. “Becoming Medusa”

Stacy Garrop: Mythology Symphony

Chicago College of Performing Arts Orchestras/ Alondra de la Parra

II. “Penelope Waits”

Stacy Garrop: Mythology Symphony

Chicago College of Performing Arts Orchestras/ Alondra de la Parra

IV. “The Fates of Man”

Stacy Garrop: Mythology Symphony

Chicago College of Performing Arts Orchestras/ Alondra de la Parra

III. “The Lovely Sirens”

Stacy Garrop: Mythology Symphony

Chicago College of Performing Arts Orchestras/ Alondra de la Parra

V. “Pandora Undone”

Back by popular demand! Seth welcomes Phil Kline, host on Q2 Music and composer who makes music in many genres and contexts, into a rousing debate and conversation about newly released music like Abrahamsen’s Let Me Tell You while rediscovering old favorites like Satie’s Portrait De Socrate.

Another exciting installment of Soundward! Check out Phil Kline weekdays at 11am – with repeat presentations at 7 pm – on Q2 Music

Hosted by Seth Boustead and Phil Kline

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis and Hannis Brown

Music Let Me Tell You, by Hans Abrahamsen

Voice-Barbara Hannigan, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Andris Nelsons

Four Visions, by Thiago Cury

Epifania Piano Trio

There Are Neither Wholes Nor Parts, by Scott McLaughlin

Trio Scordatura

“At Least Two Things”

String Quartet No. 8, Night Descending Like Smoke, mvt. IV Night Descending, by Per Nørgård

The Kroger Quartet

Socrate, Part 1, by Erik Satie

Voice-Barbara Hannigan, Piano-Reinbert de Leeuw

Though relatively new, the Classical Next conference attracts composers, performers and presenters from nearly fifty countries every year to share performances and new ideas for strengthening classical music.

Seth travels to Rotterdam to take in the sounds and share them with you.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music Violin Sonata No. 2, mvt. II Brutal, Fast, by Solomia Soroka

Ralph Van Raat

Squares on the Stairs

Electric Counterpoint, by Steve Reich

Aart Strootman

Dallenas, by Fatima Miranda

Chco Chca, by Fatima Miranda

Untitled, by McDaniel Brothers

Babylon Quartet

Waves, by Peter Adriaansz

Ensemble Klang

The Lost Garden, mvt. II, by Huang Ruo

International Contemporary Ensemble

Seth explores the country and overseas identifying the hottest young talents and try to guess at emerging trends that are inspiring the next generation of composers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music

Three Epitaphs for singer and chamber orchestra

Alex Weiser, Performed by Kettle Corn New Music

A Walk (For Emilio) by Conrad Tao

Performed by Conrad Tao – piano

Unusual by Mátyás Wettl

Performed by: Eliza Bagg, soprano; Dan Lippel, guitar; Sam Pluta, live electronics

Beetles, Dragons, and Dreamers Mvt. III “The Inanimate Spider”

by Melody Eotvos

Performed live by Musicians from the Jacob School of Music at Indiana University

Illegal Cycles by José Martínez

Performed by The Mizzou New Music Ensemble/ Stefan Freund – director

With recent commissions and performances from the L.A. Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the New York Philharmonic, in addition to his work with celebrated collective Sleeping Giant, Andrew Norman has emerged as a major figure in today’s classical music world.

He stops by the studio to chat with Seth about music, life and everything.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Play: Level 1 (excerpt)

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose conductor

Switch

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose conductor

Play: Level 3

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose conductor

Phil Kline is a composer who makes music in many genres and contexts, from experimental electronics and sound installations to songs, choral, theater, chamber and orchestral music.

He also hosts a two-hour show weekdays at 11am – with repeat presentations at 7 pm – on Q2 Music. Seth and Phil passionately discuss music that’s hot off the presses in this new series ‘Soundward.’

Hosted by Seth Boustead and Phil Kline

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis and Hannis Brown

George Hurd, Carla Kihlstedt

Navigation Without Numbers [EXCERPT]

George Hurd: Navigation Without Numbers

Nathan Davis

Ghostlight [EXCERPT]

On the Nature of Thingness

Nathan Davis

On the Nature of Thingness – An Outside with the Inside in it

On the Nature of Thingness

George Hurd, Carla Kihlstedt

Navigation Without Numbers

George Hurd: Navigation Without Numbers

Knut Müller

Gnomon

Stravinsky

Les Noces – Scene 4: The Wedding Feast

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Stravinsky: Les Noces

Zachary Wadsworth

A Symphony of Glances – A Symphony of Glances: II. Down the long desolate streets

Augenblick

Danny Clay, Mabel Kwan

Build 1

Inventions

Danny Clay, Mabel Kwan

Build 5

Inventions

Chicago’s storied Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians has provided a unique place for musicians of all kinds to create unique and stunning new creations.

AACM turned 50 in 2015 and we’ll celebrate with performances of Afterword, an opera about the AACM by longtime member and celebrated composer George Lewis.

We’ll chat with Lewis about the piece, the AACM, and play music by other AACM composers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Music

Muhal Richard Abrams

Blues Forever [EXCERPT]

George Lewis

Afterword, an Opera; Act I [EXCERPT]

Henry Threadgill

Ceroepic (For Drums And Percussion) [EXCERPT]

In For A Penny, In For A Pound

George Lewis

Afterword, an Opera; Act I [EXCERPT]

Nicole Mitchell

Afrika Rising Mvmt III: Intergalactic Healing

Afrika Rising

George Lewis

Afterword, an Opera; Act II [EXCERPT]

Tomeka Reid

Super Nova [EXCERPT]

L.A. based ensemble wild Up is making their mark on the national contemporary music scene. We caught up with them at the recent Sonic Festival in New York City and will play music from that concert.

Live recordings from their albums Feather and Stone and You of All Things, an album collaboration with Icelandic choir Graduale Nobili, are also featured.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

In light of Steven Stucky’s recent and sudden death, we will be featuring works from his impressive repertoire. Stucky had a chameleon -like composing range using influences from Debussy, Schönberg, Lutoslawski, and more.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Four-time Grammy-winning ensemble eighth blackbird performs music from their recent collaboration with the Sleeping Giant collective. A concert recorded live from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, where they are currently resident artists.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Timo Andres: Checkered Shade

eighth blackbird

Ted Hearne: By-By Huey

eighth blackbird

Robert Honstein: Pulse & Touch from Conduit

eighth blackbird

The Relevant Tones team travels to Shanghai for New Music Week, a relatively new but impressive festival held by the prestigious conservatory of music.

The final edition in this four part series features music of faculty composers at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Zhu Shirui: Three Poetic Fantasias

Ensemble Intercontemporain

LV Huang: Reset

Ensemble Offspring/Roland Peelman

Wen Deqing: The Deep Tunnel Oratorio for the 70th anniversary of Victory of the Anti-Fascist War

Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra & Shanghai Opera House Chorus; Shenyang, bass-baritone; Zheng Yao, tenor

Ye Guohui: Echoes of Shanghai

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra/Rabl; Mengla Huang, v.

The Relevant Tones team travels to Shanghai for New Music Week, a relatively new but impressive festival held by the prestigious conservatory of music.

This third in a four-part series features premiere performances of music by the guest composers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Karlheinz Stockhausen: Stimmung (excerpts)

Ensemble Vocal Sequence

Damien Ricketson: Tesserae

Ensemble Offspring

Koji Nakano: Time Song III- Reincarnation “The Birth of a Spirit”

Ensemble Offspring

Pierre Boulez: Improvisé

Ensemble Intercontemporain

Luciano Berio: Cries of London (excerpt)

Ensemble Vocal Sequence

Gérard Grisey: Vortex Temporum (excerpt)

Ensemble Intercontemporain

Fausto Romitelli: Domeniche alla periferia della’impero

Ensemble Intercontemporain

Though relatively new on the scene, with their signature combination of virtuosic playing, audience-friendly manner and willingness to take risks, Spektral Quartet is proving to be a string quartet to watch. We’ll feature their latest release on the Sono Luminus label, Serious Business.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Chris Fisher-Lochhead: Hack, Set I

Set I: Lenny Bruce/Sarah Silverman/Dave Chapelle

Spektral Quartet

Sky Macklay: Many Many Cadences

Spektral Quartet

David Reminick: The Ancestral Mousetrap (excerpts)

Spektral Quartet

Chris Fisher-Lochhead: Hack, Set III & IV

Set III: Rodney Dangerfield/Sam Kinison/Rodney Dangerfield/Redd Foxx/Rodney Dangerfield/Kumail Nanjiani/Rodney Dangerfield/Mort Sahl/Rodney Dangerfield/Susie Essman/Rodney Dangerfield

Set IV: Richard Pryor/Robin Williams/Ms. Pat/Tig Notaro

Spektral Quartet

The Relevant Tones team travels to Shanghai for New Music Week, a relatively new but impressive festival held by the prestigious Shanghai Conservatory of Music. This second in a four-part series features the resident composers and some of the students involved in the festival.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Chen Yi: Night Thoughts (excerpts)

Members of the Shanghai Chamber Orchestra/Gottfried Rabl

Chen Yi: Momentum

Shanghai Chamber Orchestra/Gao Jian

Jean-Patrick Besingrand: Interjections and Fragmentations

Ensemble Offspring/Roland Peelman

Geng Shiqi: Spring Rain of a Lotus Pond

Ensemble Offspring/Roland Peelman

Wu Fan: Jumping Lines and Surfaces

Ensemble Offspring/Roland Peelman

Beat Furrer: Gaspra (excerpt)

Ensemble Recherche

The Relevant Tones team travels to Shanghai for New Music Week, a relatively new but impressive festival held by the oldest conservatory of music in China. This first in a four-part series features the music of Chinese composers featured at the festival.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Wen Deqing: The Glamor of Shanghai Concerto (excerpt)

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra/Gottfried Rabl; Qin Li-Wei, vc.

Chen Musheng – Morning Rays on the Sea (excerpt)

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra/ Rabl; Yunggie Ma, voice

Wen Deqing: The Sound Shining

Ensemble Intercontemporain/Beat Furrer; Lu Yiwen, erhu

Jia Daqun: The Prospect of Colored Desert

Ensemble Offspring/Roland Peelman

Ye Guohui: Beijing Opera Silhouettes

Ensemble Offspring/Peelman

Lu Pei: Rhythm of Shanghai (excerpt)

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra/Gottfried Rabl; Jiang Hanchao, saxophone

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.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Sergei Prokofiev: Vision Fugitives Op. 22, No. 18

Sergei Prokofiev, p.

Gabriel Prokofiev: Strong Quartet No. 2, II

Elysian Quartet

Lisa Bielawa: Double Violin Concerto, II. Song

Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose; Carla Kihlstedt, violin and vocals; Colin Jacobsen, v.

Herb Bielawa: “Nightland” fr. Stone Settings

Marian Marsh, soprano, Herb Bielawa, piano

Gabriel Kahane: The Fiction Issue, Part I

Brooklyn Rider; Shara Worden & Gabriel Kahane, vocals

Ramon Zupko: Piano Concerto, Windsongs, II

Kalamazoo Symphony/Yoshimi Takeda; Abraham Stokman, p.

Mischa Zupko: Eclipse

Sang Mee Lee, v.; Wendy Warner, vc.

Gyorgi Ligeti: Piano Etudes, Book 1 No. 1

Pierre Laurent Aimard, p.

Lukas Ligeti: Great Circle’s Tune I (excerpt)

Lukas Ligeti, percussion and electronic percussion

Norman Dello Joio: Capriccio fr. City Profiles

Keystone Wind Ensemble/Jack Stamp

Justin Dello Joio: The March of Folly, I (excerpt)

Ani Kavafian, violin; Carter Brey, cello; Jeremy Denk, p.

Chinese composer Bright Sheng grew up hearing traditional Chinese music but became fascinated by Western classical music. As a composer, he’s forged a highly successful career blending both sound worlds into a fascinatingly distinctive sonic identity.

Bright Sheng: H’un Lacerations (excerpt)

New York Chamber Symphony/Gerard Schwartz

Sheng: Dance Capriccio

Shanghai Quartet; Peter Serkin, p.

**Sheng: Three Chinese Love Songs

“Blue Flower”

“At the Hillside Where Horses are Running”

“The Stream Flows”**

Lisa Saffer, soprano; Paul Neubauer, viola; Bright Sheng, piano

Sheng: The Blazing Mirage

Hong Kong Philharmonic/Sheng; Trey Lee, cello

Sheng: String Quartet No. 4, Silent Temple, III

Shanghai Quartet

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Shulamit Ran crafts music of an intimately personal nature, making her one of the most often performed composers of her generation.

We’ll talk with Shulamit about her music, the Contempo music series, and her legacy at the University of Chicago, where she was a highly regarded professor for many years.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

PLAYLIST Shulamit Ran: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, II (excerpt)

BBC Concert Orchestra/Charles Hazlewood; Ittai Shapiro, violin

Ran: Legends, I

Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Barenboim

Ran: Credo/Ani Ma’amin

Chanticleer

Ran: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, I & II

BBC Concert Orchestra/Charles Hazlewood; Ittai Shapiro, violin

Ran: Mirage (excerpt)

Da Capo Chamber Players

Relevant Tones heads into the field to Medellín and Bogota for a two-part survey of the music of Colombian composers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

PLAYLIST Victor Agudelo: VueltaOriente

Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad EAFIT/Cecilia Espinosa.

Johann Hasler: Three Pieces for Percussion

Grupo de Percusión de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Andres Posada: Sombra y Luz (excerpt)

Tatiana Pérez, Santiago Bernal, Daniel Arango and Sebastián Forero, cellos

Luis Fernando Franco: Almaguer (excerpt)

Juan Antonio Cuellar: Variations for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 32

Lincoln Trio

Relevant Tones continues our popular In the Field series with a trip to Bogotá and Medillín for interviews with composers and performers busily making this South American country a mecca for new music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Camilo Giraldo: Chucu Chucu

Trip Trip Trip Guitar Trio

Gustavo Parra: El Sapo Greñudo y Labión de Botswana

Jorge Meija, Juan Fernando Avendaño, Johnny Lucero, Giovanni Scarpetta & Juan Sepulveda, brass ensemble

Carolina Noguera: String Quartet No. 1, IV

Manolov Quartet

Francisco Zumaqué: Matanaganti

Damián Poncé: Dias de Papel

Cuarteto Q-Arte; Antonio Correa, prepared piano

Francisco Zumaqué: Colombia Caribé (excerpt)

Kickstarter has emerged as a viable way for artists to realize their wildest ambitions, including new albums, commissions, world premiere performances and more.

We’ll sample a few recent projects funded through Kickstarter.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Playlist Hannah Lash: C

Paul Kerekes, p.; Michael Compitello, vibes

Bonnie Miksch: Man Dreaming Butterfly Dreaming Man

Fear No Music

ACA 20088

Jessica Meyer: Source of Joy

Jessica Meyer, vla & looping pedal

Douglas Laustsen: Natural Interference (excerpt)

Mark Zelesky, toy piano + electronics

Fernanda Navarro: Parthenogenesis

Gnarwallaby

Andrea Clearfield: Convergence

Barbara Westphal, vla.; Christian Ruvolo, p.

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.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

PLAYLIST Alan Dorsey: Whatever Happened to the Hoodoo Meat Bucket?

Kronos Quartet

John Geist: Dark Razz

Kronos Quartet

Aleksandra Vrebalov: …hold me, neighbor, in this storm (excerpt)

Kronos Quartet

Harry Partch: U.S. Highball, “Did I ever ride freight trains- huh!” & “Leaving Little America, Wyo-ma”

Kronos Quartet; David Barron, narrator

Pēteris Vasks: String Quartet No. 4, II, Elegy

Kronos Quartet

John Zorn: Forbidden Fruit (excerpt)

Kronos Quartet

Steve Reich: Triple Quartet, II

Kronos Quartet

Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky: Lachrimosa

Kronos Quartet; Dawn Upshaw, ms.

Television: Marquee Moon (excerpt)

Kronos Quartet

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Colgrass has had a varied career as jazz drummer, freelance percussionist and composer of adizzying array of works in every conceivable genre.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Michael Colgrass: Winds of Nagual

New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble/Battisti

Michael Colgrass: Arctic Dreams

New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble/Battisti

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 entrepreneurialism in classical music.

We’ll feature the music of several composer collectives and take a close look at their inner workings.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

PLAYLIST Ed Harsh: Not a Single Night’s Sky (excerpt)

New Millennium Ensemble

Greg Simon: Blood on the Curb

Stepan Rudenko, p.

Melos Music (San Francisco)- live recording

Timothy Edwards: The Conjecture

Antonin Hradil, v.; Ludmila Bubenícková, vc.; Lucie Kaucka, p.

Belinda Reynolds: coming around?

New Millennium Ensemble

Eric Wubbels: Shiverer

Wet Ink Ensemble

David Gordon: The Alchemist and the Cat-flap

Adam Summerhayes, v.; Catherine Summerhayes, p.

Christopher Cerrone: Still Life with Arms Extended

Cerrone, p. & electronics

Carolyn Yarnell: Lapis Lazuli

New Millennium Ensemble

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.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Erkki Sven-Tüür: Symphony 3

Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Dennis Russell Davies

Poul Ruders: Symphony No. 3, Dream Catcher

Odense Symphony Orchestra/Yoo

Throughout history, composers who have been known for championing a particular musical style have shocked their fans by radically and suddenly changing their aesthetic. Why does this happen, and who’s changing their style in the modern era?

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

George Rochberg: String Quartet No. 3 (excerpt)

Concord String Quartet

George Rochberg: Bagatelle No. 3, con brio

Evan Hirsh, p.

Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (excerpt)

Polish Nat’l Radio Symphony Orchestra/Penderecki

Krzysztof Penderecki: Symphony No. 8 (excerpt)

Warsaw Nat’l Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir/Antoni Wit

David del Tredeci: I Hear an Army (excerpt)

Composers String Quartet; Phyllis Bryn-Julson, s.

David del Tredeci: Final Alice (excerpt)

CSO/Solti; Hendricks, s.

Arvo Pärt: Nekrolog (excerpt)

Stockholm Philharmonic/Järvi

Arvo Pärt: Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten

Estonian National Symphony Orchestra/Järvi

John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine

San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas

John Adams: Harmonielehre, Part II (excerpt)

San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas

Lois V. Vierk: Timberline (excerpt)

Relache/Lloyd Shorter

We all know the Pastoral Symphony of Beethoven, Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture inspired by Fingal’s Cave, and the music by Vaughan Williams inspired by the English countryside. But in the modern era, the urban environment is inspiring many composers to capture its sounds in music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

David Sampson: Chicago Moves, IV, Lake Shore Drive (excerpt)

Gaudete Brass

Bernard Hoffer: Road Rage

Neoteric

David DeVasto: II. Sudden and VI. London, 1665 fr. Winter Seven

DeVasto, p.; Scott Uddenberg, vocals

Chiayu: Urban Sketches

Members of the Curtis Institute

Joseph Kokkyar: Brady Street fr. Streets and Bridges

Jeri-Mae Astolfi, p.

Patricia Morehead: Cityscape

Czech Philarharmonic Orchestra/Robert Ian Winstin

Derek Bermel: Mulatash Stomp

Christopher Taylor, p.; Derek Bermel, cl.; Heleen Hulst, v.

Michael Torke: South Beach, Midnight fr. Miami Grands

Miami Piano Circle

Diane Jones: Street Song

Trio Casals

John Adams: The City and Its Double fr. City Noir (excerpt)

St. Louis Symphony/Robertson

Critic Kyle Gann says “Singleton’s music is soulful, with an understated simplicity that I particularly prize. Despite the studied economy of his means and the set character of his images, the music is never cold … nor abstract. It glows with warmth.”

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Alvin Singleton: Jasper Drag (excerpt)

Ted Gurch, cl.; Helen Hwaya Kim, v.; Laura Gordy, p.

Singleton: After Fallen Crumbs

Atlanta Symphony/Louis Lane

Singleton: Argoru Va

Ted Gurch, bs. clar.

Singleton: Sweet Charlottle

Doug O’Connor, sax.; Angel Hsiao, fl.: Julietta Curenton, fl.; Harrison Hollingsworth,

bsn.; Lionel Cottet, vc.

Singleton: In My Own Skin (excerpt)

Laura Gordy, p.

Where would Gustav Mahler be without the incredible support of Leonard Bernstein? Bach without the support of Mendelssohn?

Being championed by a famous performer or conductor is an incredible leg up to the career of many composers. Who are the modern day composer champions, and whose work are they promoting?

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

James Newton Howard: 133… At Least

Hilary Hahn, v.; Cory Smithe, p.

Norbert Moret: En Rêve, I

BSO/Seiji Ozawa

Thea Musgrave: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (excerpt)

LSO/Norman del Mar

John Psathas: Matre’s Dance

Philip Smith, p.; Evelyn Glennie, perc.

Sofia Gubaidulina: Offertorium (excerpt)

BSO/Dutoit; Gidon Kremer, v.

David Rakowski: Etude, Book 2 No. 14, Martler

Amy Briggs, p.

In recent years composers have become interested in the fact that the performers can do things on stage other than just play their instrument: stomp their feet, clap, play simple percussion, and even sing. We’ll feature a variety of pieces from composers who ask musicians (who are not trained singers) to vocalize and supplement their playing.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Leonard Bernstein: “Mambo” fr. West Side Story

Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela/Dudamel

Frederic Rzewski: De Profundis, section 1 & 2

Milton Schlosser, p.

Valentin Silvestrov: Drama Sonate for Violin and Piano

Cornelius Duffalo, v. Jenny Lin, p.

Tom Johnson: Counting Duets

Tim Munro, vocals

Joseph Hallman: imagined landscapes: six Lovecraftian elsewheres

Inscape/Richard Scerbo

Martin Bresnick: Willie’s Way (excerpt)

Lisa Moore, p.

Huang Ruo: Drama Theater No. 4, To the 4 Corners, Scene II (excerpt)

FIRE/Ruo

Steve Reich: Clapping Music (excerpt)

Pierre Laurent Aimard, hand claps

Stunningly versatile pianist Jenny Lin has recorded with jazz musicians, rockers, contemporary composers and everyone in between. Equally comfortable playing Shostakovich on the same concert as giving a world premiere, Lin is a vital talent that is taking concert halls by storm.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

George Gershwin: I Got Rhythm (excerpt)Earl Wild, arr.

Jenny Lin, p.

James Tenney: Chromatic Canon

Lin, p.

Arthur Kampela: Nosturnos (excerpt)

Lin, p.

Valentine Silvestrov: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Post Scriptum (excerpt)

Cornelius Duffalo, violin; Jenny Lin, p.

Elliot Sharp: Suberrebus (excerpt)

Lin, p.

David Wolfson: Sonata for Cello and Piano, IV

Laura Bontrager, vc.; Jenny Lin, p.

Claude Vivier: Shiraz

Jenny Lin, p.

William Bolcolm: Dream Shadows from Three Ghost Rags

Lin, p.

This new release by the Del Sol Quartet marks the first time that all of the string quartets by Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe have appeared on one recording. We’ll play several selections from this remarkable new album.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Peter Sculthorpe: String Quartet No. 16, I (excerpt)

Del Sol Quartet; Peter Kent, didjeridu

Peter Sculthorpe: String Quartet No. 12, From Ubirr

Del Sol Quartet; Peter Kent, didjeridu

Peter Sculthorpe: String Quartet No. 14, Quamby, IV

Del Sol Quartet; Peter Kent, didjeridu

Peter Sculthorpe: String Quartet No. 16

Del Sol Quartet; Peter Kent, didjeridu

One of the key pioneers in the incredibly influential minimalist movement, Terry Riley is a restless artist who has constantly sought to reinvent himself over his long career. We’ll start with the landmark piece In C and work our way through the numerous highlights of his musical output.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Terry Riley: Emily and Alice fr. The Cusp of Magic (excerpt)

Kronos Quartet; Wu Man, pipa

Riley: Music for The Gift (excerpt)

Chet Baker Quartet

Riley: In C (excerpt)

Member of the CCPA at the State University of New York and Buffalo/Riley

Riley: In C (excerpt)

Ensemble/Riley (In C 25th anniversary concert

Riley: A Rainbow in Curved Air (except)

Terry Riley, organ

Raga Shuddh Sarang (excerpt)

Pandit Pran Nath, voice

Riley: Anthem of the Trinity fr. Shri Camel

Terry Riley, org.

Riley: Salome Dances for Peace (excerpts)

Kronos Quartet

Riley: Requiem for Adam, III (excerpt)

Kronos Quartet

Riley: Havana Man (excerpt)

Riley, p.

Legendary Brazilian guitar duo Sérgio and Odair Assad have been performing and recording together for 50 years, reinventing guitar technique along the way. We’ll talk with Sérgio about their remarkable career and feature music by a wide variety of composers who have written for them.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Altamir Penha: Nós e o rio (excerpt)

Sérgio & Odair Assad, guitars

Ástor Piazzolla: Tango Suite

Sérgio & Odair Assad, guitars

Egberto Gismonti, arr. Sérgio Assad: Baião Malandro

Sérgio & Odair Assad, guitars

Sérgio Assad: Divertimento fr. Aquarelle

David Russell, guitar

Sérgio Assad: Sephardic Passage fr. Interchange for Guitar Quartet and Orchestra

Delaware Symphony Orchestra/David Amado; Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Sérgio Assad: Uarekena

Fandango Guitar Quartet

Ástor Piazzolla: Libertango

Yo-Yo Ma, vc.; Paquito D’Rivera, cl.; Odair Assad, gtr.; Kathryn Stott, p.; Sérgio Assad, g.; Nilson Matta, db.; Cyro Baptista, perc.

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.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

William Mayer: Brass Quintet, II

Iowa Brass Quintet

Ross Harris: Symphony No. 4 “To the Memory of Mahinarangi Tocker” (excerpt)

Auckland Philharmonia/Brett Dean

**David Maslanka: Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble

III. Be Content, Be Calm**

Illinois State University Wind Symphony/Stephen K. Steele

Fred Lerdahl: First String Quartet (excerpt)

Julliard String Quartet

David Lang: Memory Pieces for Solo Instruments: Cage

Andrew Zolinsky, p.

Robert Paterson: Elegy (for Two Bassoons and Piano)

Charles McCracken & Gilbert Dejean, bassoons, Elizabeth DiFelice, p.

Alex Shapiro: Perpetual Spark

Fifth House Ensemble

Access Contemporary Music has begun an innovative collaboration with Warsaw composer Agnieszka Stulgińska in which a piece of music is publicly performed in installments as work on it progresses.

We’ll hear Agnieszka’s thought process, play each installment, and sit alongside the composer as she hears the world premiere of the completed work.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Agnieszka Stulginska: Dance with My Breath (installments + complete piece)

Palomar Ensemble/Francesco Milioto

Marta Ptaszynska: Moon Flowers

Palomar Ensemble/Francesco Milioto

Relevant Tonespartners with the Santa Fe Opera to feature a sneak preview of Jennifer Higdon’s soon-to-be-premiered first opera, Cold Mountain, based on Charles Frazier’s best-selling novel.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Jennifer Higdon: String Poetic, III (excerpt)

Jennifer Koh, v.; Reiko Uchida, p.

Jennifer Higdon**: Cold Mountain (excerpts)

“The Metal Age has Come”

“Listen”

“A Fence is a Good Thing”

“I Don’t Know Why”

“Come Back to Cold Mountain”**

Recorded live at the Guggenheim Museum, NYC, 3/30/2015

Jarrett Ott, baritone; Emily Fons, ms.; Isabel Leonard, ms.; Jay Hunter Morris, ten.; Kevin Burdette, bass; Roger Honeywell, ten.; Lisa Keller, p.

Jennifer Higdon**: Cold Mountain (excerpts)

“Why Can’t We?”

“What Was His Name?”

“Ada’s Aria”

“Orion Duet”**

Recorded live at the Curtis Institute of Music

Relevant Tones has been carrying on a correspondence with several musicians in this war-torn region, where making music has recently been a challenge. We’ll share their stories and feature chamber and orchestral works by composers determined to carry on.

Julia Gomelskaya: Planet “The Life” for String Orchestra and Piano (excerpt)

Kiev Camerata/Valeriy Matiukhin; Dmitry Tavanets, p.

Valentin Silvestrov: “World of Peace” fr. Songs for Vespers

“Our Father” fr. Psalms and Prayers

Kiev Chamber Chorus/Mykola Hobdych

Igor Shcherbakov: Sonata for Violin and Violoncello, I

Olga Akolishnova, v.; Zoltan Almashi, vc.

Vladimir Runchak: Hosanna, to musicians who are no longer or not yet with us (excerpt)

Yevhen Kalyuzhny, saxophones; Christian Orosko, perc.; Nataliya Chuprina, p.

Yevhen Stankovich: Concerto for Violin and Piano (excerpt)

Lemberg/Lviv Youth Orchestra/Volodymyr Sirenko; Valeriy Sokolov, v.

Gabriela Ortíz: Denibee, Para Flauta, Percusión Y Contrabajo- Siempre Ritmico (excerpt)

Onix Ensemble

Gabriela Ortíz: Concierto Candela, I (Marimba Candela)

UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra/Zollman; Gallardo, perc.

Mario Lavista: String Quartet No. 6, Suite in cinco partes

I. Danza

II. Motete

III. Canon

Cuarteto Latinamericano

Toccata 106 (Purchase)

Javier Álvarez: Metal de Corazones

TM+ Ensemble Orchestral de musique d’aujourd’hui and Tambuco Percussion

Arturo Márquez: Danzón No. 2

Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela

Samuel Zyman: Música para Cinco- Con anima

Onix Ensemble

It gives technicians fits, but composers and performers are always experimenting with new “wrong” ways to play their instrument.

From Bartok pizz to prepared piano, multiphonics to slap tongue, many of these techniques have made it into the standard repertoire. What new extended techniques are being pioneered today?

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Stephen Scott: Four Note Aria fr. Baltic Sketches

The Bowed Piano Ensemble

George Crumb: Black Angels, III (excerpt)

Kronos Quartet

Frances-Marie Uitti: Britsum 2 Bow Chorale

Frances-Marie Uitti, vc.

Junghae Lee: Sonorence (excerpt)

Barbara Lieurance, p.; Chelsea Czuchra, flutes; Nora Krahl, vc.

Helmut Lachenmann: Pression (excerpt)

Walter Grimmer, vc.

Eric Mandat: Sub(T)Rains O’ Strata’s Fears

Robert Spring, cl.

Meredith Monk: Dolmen Music (excerpt)

Paul Langland, voice; Julius Eastman, voice and percussion; Robert Een, voice & vc.; Monica Solem, voice; Andrea Goodman, voice; Meredith Monk, voice; Julius Eastman, voice

Dai Fujikura: Calling, for solo bassoon (excerpt)

Rebekah Heller, bassoon

One of the leading composers of our time and an ardent promoter of new music throughout the world, Augusta Read Thomas is an artistic force to be reckoned with.

Championed by Pierre Boulez in her early years and later named composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Thomas rose early to the top of her profession and has remained there ever since.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Augusta Read Thomas: Words of the Sea, III

CSO/Boulez

Thomas: Aureole (excerpt)

DePaul University Symphony Orchestra/Colnot

Thomas: In My Sky at Twilight, I. Deeper than all Roses

CSO MusicNOW Ensemblep/Boulez; Brandes, s.

Thomas: Terpsichore’s Dream

Chamber Orchestra/Colnot

Thomas: Caprice fr. Traces

Makiko Hirata, p,

Thomas: (kiss me) fr. Two E.E. Cummings Songs

The Elm City Girls’ Choir

Literally “light-dark,” chiaroscuro in art is the creation of depth through the play of light and shadow. This artistic technique has inspired legions of composers to try and create the same contrasts in music through timbral shadings and instrumental colors.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Jacob Druckman: Chiaroscuro (excerpt)

Juilliard Orchestra/Foss

Steven Block: Shadows

Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Robert Stankovsky

Colin Brumby: Chiaroscuro, III

Perihelion

Huck Hodge: Pools of Shadow from an Older Sky, II. Ave Maris Stella

Huck Hodge, piano and computer

John Corigliano: Chiaroscuro, I & II

Jerome Lowenthan & Ursula Oppens, pianos

Richard Lavenda: Chiaroscuro

Matthew Strauss, vibraphone; Leone Buyse, alto flute; Benjamin Kamins,

bassoon; Timothy Pitts, double bass

Laura Schwendinger: Chiaroscuro Azzurro, III

Madison Sinfonietta/Nicole Paiement; Curtis Macomber, v.

Acclaimed micro-tonal composer Ben Johnston is justifiably famous for his rigorous work ethic, attention to detail and for constructing a sound world entirely his own.

One of the few composers using just intonation who is also interested in writing rhythmic music, Johnston is a true original and we’re happy to shine the spotlight on this modern master.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Ben Johnston: String Quartet No. 9 (excerpt)

Kepler String Quartet

Johnston: String Quartet No. 3 (excerpt)

Kepler String Quartet

Johnston: Sonata for Microtonal Piano, I & II

Robert Miller, p.

Johnston: String Quartet No. 4, Amazing Grace

Kepler String Quartet

Johnston: Prelude, The Many Wines & The New Rule fr. The Tavern

John Schneider, voice & microtonal guitar

Johnston: Trio

Trio Amici

Johnston: Calamity Jane (excerpt)

Dora Ohrenstein, soprano; Mary Rowell, violin; Phillip Bush, synthesizer; Bill Ruyle, drum set

Johnston: String Quartet No. 10, III

Kepler String Quartet

Ever since Ezra Pound’s famous advice to young artists, “make it new!” there has been a relentless interest in breaking new ground in art and music. But what about composers who are genuinely inspired by older forms like fugues, rondos, capriccios, even rags?

We’ll feature music by these “composers out of time” this week on Relevant Tones.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Lawrence Axelrod: Brandenburg Fantasia No. 5, V

Ensemble Nouvelle Epoque/Axelrod

Paul Chihara: Misty Fugue and Kleine Toccata fr. Bagatelles for Piano

Jerome Lowenthal, p.

Michael McLean: Suite for Viola and Orchestra, II

LSO/Francis; Meyers, vla.

Lawrence Axelrod: Brandenburg Fantasia No. 2, II & III

Ensemble Nouvelle Epoque/Axelrod

Carl Vollrath: Past Recollections, I. Piazzolla in Paris

Michael Norsworthy, cl.; Yoko Hagino, p.

Timo Andres: Mozart Coronation Concerto Re-Composition

Metropolis Ensemble/Cyr; Andres, p.

George Perle: Classic Suite

Michael Brown, p.

Reginald R. Robinson: Man Out of Time

Robinson, p.

Maria Newman: Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra, III

Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra/Scott Hosfeld

Pierre Boulez: Notations I – IV

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, p.

Esa-Pekka Salonen: Concerto for Violin, I

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Salonen; Leila Josefowicz, v.

Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Hrím

Caput Ensemble/Snorri Sigfus Birgisson

Anna Clyne: Fits + Starts

Ben Capps, vc.; Anna Clyne, 2nd cello

Shulamit Ran: Mirage (excerpt)

The Da Capo Chamber Players: Patricia Spencer, fl.; Laura Flax, cl.; Eric Wyrick, v.; Andre Emelianoff, vc.; Sarah Rothenberg, p.

Thea Musgrave: Concerto for Orchestra, I (excerpt)

Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Sir Alexander Gibson

We’re thrilled to receive hundreds of CDs a year from around the country as well as from far-flung corners of the globe. We listen to everything we receive and then feature an eclectic mix of music we think our listeners should hear from established labels to self-producing artists making their very first recording.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

William Susman: Vitality fr. Camille

OCTET

Joseph Byrd: Animals

American Contemporary Music Ensemble

Gyan Riley: Stumble Smooth

Jake Schepps Quintet

Katherine Young: Diligence is to Magic as Progress is to Flight, VI

Austin Wulliman, violins/viola; Katherine Young, electronics

Gordon Goodwin: Focus fr. Three Stages for String Quartet

Quartet San Francisco

Clancy Newman: Juxt-Opposition

Yael Weiss, piano; Mark Kaplan, violin; Clancy Newman, cello

Pamela J Marshall: Dance of the HooDoos- Allegro Vigoroso

Lexington Symphony Chamber Players (Audrey Markowitz, oboe; Elizabeth Whitfield, violin; Jane Sheena, cello; Paul Carlson, piano)

Composer Robert Kritz spent many years working in the corporate world by day and busily composing music into the wee hours of the night. A decision several years ago to show some of his pieces to professional composers was the occasion of great excitement and led to a flurry of public performances and commissions.

We’ll talk with Kritz about his unusual career path as a composer and feature live performances of several of his pieces by the musicians who support his work.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

**Robert Kritz: “When I Was a Green Girl” (from Songs of Later Love)

“You Are Not Really Mine” (from Songs of Later Love)

“The Tender Glance” (from Songs of Young Love)**

Amy Conn, soprano; Diana Schmück, piano

**Robert Kritz: Diaspora Dances

Nigeria: “Ile Labo Simi Oko” – Moderato, with an easy, swinging feel

Egypt: “Bint As Shalabiyeh” – Andante – with zest and passion**

Daedalus Duo: Bonnie Campbell, clarinet; Diana Schmück, piano

Robert Kritz: Concerto for Saxophone and Strings, II. Blue (excerpt)

Warsaw Radio Symphony/Tadeusz Wicherek conductor; David Pituch, saxophone

Robert Kritz: Blue Reflections for Saxophone and Piano

David Pituch, saxophone; Yoko Yamada-Selvaggio, piano

Robert Kritz: Connections, II & III

Orion Ensemble: Kathryn Pirtle, clarinet; Judy Stone, cello; Diana

Schmück, piano

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 super strings to quarks, multiple dimensions to M theory, we’ll play several imaginative works by composers captivated by our universe.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Daniel Kellogg: Beginnings from Divinum Mysterium (excerpt)

eighth blackbird

Derek Bermel: Heart of Space fr. Short History of the Universe

JACK Quartet; Derek Bermel, clarinet

Daniel Kellogg: The Spirit of God Moved Upon the Face of the Waters from Divinum Mysterium (excerpt)

eighth blackbird

Evan Ziporyn: Ka fr. Sulvasutra

The Silk Road Ensemble

Tristan Murail: Gondwana (excerpt)

ORTF National Orchestra/Yves Prin

Mark Petering: String Theory fr. Three Pieces for Mixed Trio

Adams Marks, piano; Andrew Williams, violin; Jennifer Woodrum, clarinet (Fifth House Ensemble)

Michael Gandolfi: The Fractal Terrace fr. The Garden of Cosmic Speculation

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra/Spano

John Corigliano: The Mannheim Rocket

Helsinki Symphony Orchestra/Storgårds

When harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg asked Bach to write pieces for him to play to help a Saxon count get to sleep at night he could hardly have realized that he was playing a key role in creating music that would inspire audiences and musicians for centuries.

Not only are the Goldberg Variations among the most frequently performed works today, they also continue to inspire composers to write new variations on the famous themes. We’ll feature an incredible array of these this week on Relevant Tones.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Dan Tepfer: Improvisation 1 & Variation 1

Dan Tepfer, piano

Uri Caine: The Introitus Variation

Kettwiger Bach Ensemble; David Moss, vocals

J.S. Bach: Aria fr. Goldberg Variations

Jeremy Denk, piano

Misha Zupko: Ghost Variation

Lara Downes, piano

Jennifer Higdon: Gilmore Variation

Lara Downes, piano

Derek Bermel: Kontraphunktus

Lara Downes, piano

Karlheinz Essl: Fantasia Chromatica fr. Gold.berg.werk for instruments and electronics

Christina Neubauer, violin; Martin Kraushofer, viola; Eva Landkammer, cello

Gabriela Montero: Improvisation on the Aria fr. Bach’s Goldberg Variations

Gabriela Montero, piano

Uri Caine: Variation 9 (Canon at the Third)

Ralph Alesi, trumpet; Don Byron, clarinet; Uri Caine, piano; Reid Anderson, bass

Uri Caine: Variation 10 (Fughetta)

Kettwiger Bach Ensemble; David Moss, vocals

J.S. Bach: Aria fr. Goldberg Variations (excerpt)

Lara Downes, piano

Bright Sheng: Variation Fugato

Lara Downes, piano

There is perhaps no more intimate connection in music than when a composer writes a solo piece specifically for a gifted performer, crafting the piece for the player’s specific strengths and musical tastes.

We’ll talk with several performers about solos that have been written for them and feature performances of the pieces recorded live in our studio.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Krzystof Penderecki: La Follia for Violin Solo (excerpts)

Anne-Sophia Mutter, violin

Amy Beth Kirsten: Pirouette on a Moon Sliver

Tim Munro, flute

Narong Prangcharoen: Antahkarana

Michael Hall, viola

Antonio Celso Ribeiro: Syrian Requiem, I & IV

Michael Hall, viola

Paul Yeon Lee: Lost in the Echo

Ian Maksin, cello

The second in our two-part series featuring composers and performers from Seoul, South Korea.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Eunwa Lee: Roadsound (excerpt)

Sun-in Jung, piano

Shinuh Lee: Chorale Fantasy No. 3

Hyojung Huh, piano

Dong-Il Sheen: Fantasy on a Korean Fisherman’s Song for Korean traditional ensemble, violin, cello and piano

Ensemble/Dong-il Sheen

Cheonwook Kim: Descent into the Bottomless Abyss

Ki Chung Bae, piano; Ji Eun Han, cello

Hyukjin Shin: Night Flight (excerpt)

Jae-Lin Park, violin; Song Hee Yang, clarinet; Yeonjin Kim, cello; Sunah Lee, piano

Uzong Choe: Piano Prelude No. 8

Sooyeon Lim, piano

Jun-il Kang: Concerto for Samulnori and Orchestra, Madang (playground) I

Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra/Chi-yong Chung; Kim Duk Soo Samulnori

Relevant Tones goes in the field to this hotbed of contemporary classical music- Seoul, South Korea- to discover emerging and established composers. In part I we’ll chat with the composers and showcase the dynamic music scene there.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Sue Hye Kim: Rendezvous I for Gayageum and Violoncello (excerpt)

Hee Jung Kim, gayageum; Gi Jung Bae, cello

Sung Ho Hwang: Nori for violin and violoncello (excerpt)

Sung Ho Hwang: Triskellion

Hyun-joo Ko, Hye-jung Kang and Lairent Techeney, harpsichords

Do-Won Yu: Action Painting

Anne Baumbach, flute; Borja Manzan, percussion

Gon Hwang: Wimbo Diplos (excerpt)

Ensemble Interactive Tokyo/Yuki Morimoto

Man Bang Yi: String Quartet No. 2, V

Bethesta String Quartet

Geonyong Lee: “Eli, Eli Lama Sabtani” from the Passion of Jesus Christ

Ok Joo Park, organ; Seon Ok Kim, piano; Jae Hyun Yun and Narea Kim, percussion; Village of Music Chorus; Chang il Park, Evangelist; Cheol Chang, Jesus/Junchel

Our popular series profiling composers continues with Laura Elise Schwendinger, an artist whose strongly personal style of music is filled with kinetic energy and slow-burning intensity.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Laura Elise Schwendinger: High Wire Act, V & IV

Brightmusic

Laura Elise Schwendinger: Chiaroscuro Azzurro for Violin and Chamber Orchestra

Madison Sinfonietta/Nicole Paiement; Curtis Macomber, violin

Laura Elise Schwendinger: Waking Dream

University of Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra/James Smith; Christina Jennings, flute

Laura Elise Schwendinger: Esprimere for Cello and Orchestra, II

Madison Sinfonietta/Nicole Paiement; Matt Haimovitz, cello

Large-scale sacred works might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of contemporary music, but a number of important composers are creating expansive works inspired by their concept of a higher power.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

John Adams: When Herod Heard fr. El Niño

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Nagano; Theatre of Voices; London

Voices; Willard White, bass-baritone

Arvo Pärt: Adam’s Lament (excerpt)Sinfonietta Riga, Latvian Radio Choir, Vox Clamantis/Tõnu Kaljuste

Kaija Saariaho: La Passion de Simone (excerpts)

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra & Tapiola Chamber Choir/Esa-Pekka Salonen; Dawn Upshaw, soprano

Richard Einhorn**: The Origin

Voyage of the Beagle

Annie’s Memorial

A Taste for Collecting Beetles**

Phil Kline: Kyrie fr. John the Revelator

Lionheart Vocal Ensemble

John Tavener: The Whale (excerpt)

London Sinfonietta/David Atherton

More music from the vibrant inferno of creative energy that is the Mizzou International Composers Festival, featuring Alarm Will Sound, exciting works by faculty composers and a bundle of premieres, concerts and workshops.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Stephanie Berg: Ravish and Mayhem

Alarm Will Sound

Michael Lee Schachter: Five – Six – Seven – Eight

Alarm Will Sound

W. Thomas McKenney: The Rising of the Moon

Mizzou New Music Ensemble

Nicholas S. Omiccioli: [fuse]

Alarm Will Sound

Nico Muhly: I know where everything is

Mizzou New Music Ensemble

Justin Pounds: A Leaf on the Wind

Mizzou New Music Ensemble

Fast becoming the go-to summer music festival in the Midwest, the concerts and workshops at the University of Missouri’s International Composers Festival are a sure-fire place to hear imaginative new music from emerging composers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

José Guillermo Martínez: Danzas Tórridas

Alarm Will Sound/Alan Pierson

Charlie Piper: zoetrope

Alarm Will Sound/Alan Pierson

David Biedenbender: SCHISM

Alarm Will Sound/Alan Pierson

Texu Kim: Bounce!!

Alarm Will Sound/Alan Pierson

Clint Needham: Urban Sprawl

Alarm Will Sound/Alan Pierson

John Cheetham: A Brass Menagerie, I

München Brass Quintet

One of the first composers to graduate from the Beijing Conservatory upon its reopening after the Cultural Revolution and the winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for his opera Madame White Snake, Zhou Long creates thoughtful, spiritually-infused music that has resonated with audiences across the globe.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Zhou Long: Wood fr. The Five Elements (excerpt)

Music from China

Zhou Long: The Rhyme of Taigu

Singapore Symphony Orchestra/Lan Shui

Zhou Long: Soul

Shanghai Quartet; Min Xiao-Fen, pipa

Zhou Long: Water fr. The Five Elements (excerpt)

Music from China

Zhou Long: The Future of Fire

Singapore Symphony Orchestra & Singapore Philharmonic Chamber Choir/Lan

Shui

Zhou Long: The Ineffable

Laura Park, v.; David Fedele, fl.; David Fedele, picc.; Chris Finckel, vc.; William Trigg, perc.; Min Xiao-Fen, pipa

Percussionist Payton MacDonald calls Super Marimba the nexus point of all of his artistic activities. Featuring influences from jazz and classical to Hindustani and improvisational music, this is the marimba as you’ve never heard it before.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Ravi Shankar: Raga Bhimpalasi

Shankar, sitar

Payton MacDonald: Jor

Shawn Mativetsky, tabla

Payton MacDonald: For John & For Blake

MacDonald, super marimba

Gundecha Brothers: Raag Gaoti (alap) 2 (excerpt)

Gundecha Brothers

Payton MacDonald: Lifeboat No. 6

JACK Quartet; Young Voices of Colorado

Payton MacDonald: Concerto for Tabla and Percussion Quartet

Shawn Mativetsky, tabla; William Paterson University Percussion Ensemble/Payton MacDonald

We had the fantastic opportunity to travel to Wrocław, Poland to attend the storied World Music Days festival, where we met a wealth of Polish composers who are part of the living legacy of this vibrant cultural mecca.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Krzysztof Penderecki: Violin Concerto No. 2, Metamorphosen, V (excerpt)

London Symphony Orchestra/Penderecki; Anne-Sophie Mutter, v.

Witold Lutosławski, arr. Marta Ptaszynska: Paganini Variations

Safru Duo and Slovak Piano Duo

Hanna Kulenty: Breathe for String Orchestra

Wrocław Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra/Ernst Kovacic

Mateusz Ryczek: 28 Days of Moon

Ensemble Kwartludium

Marta Ptaszynska: La Novella d’Inverno (Winter’s Tale) for Strings

Polish Chamber Orchestra/Jerzy Maksymiuk

Zygmunt Krause: Fête galante et Pastorale (excerpt)

Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Jacek Rogala; Music Workshop

Generous sponsorship of these episodes has been provided by LOT Polish Airlines and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

We had the fantastic opportunity to travel to Wrocław, Poland to attend the storied World Music Days festival, where we met a wealth of Polish composers who are part of the living legacy of this vibrant cultural mecca.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Jacek Sotomski: beautiful to me. ah (excerpt)

NFOM Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum/Ernst Kovacic; Rafał Łuc, accord.; Jacek Sotomski, live electronics

Agata Zubel: Not I (excerpt)

Klangforum Wien/Clement Power

Michał Moc: stuntmen’s relay

AUKSO Chamber Orchestra of Tychy/Marek Moś

Paweł Hendrich: Emergon αβ (excerpts)

Ensemble Musikfabrik/Masson

Zygmunt Krauze: Piano Concerto No. 1 (excerpt)

Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Wojciech Michniewski; Krauze, p.

Generous sponsorship of these episodes has been provided by LOT Polish Airlines and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

We’re having a ball trying to keep up with our ever-expanding musical collection as composers and performers around the world joyously overwhelm us with their creations.

We’re consistently amazed by their level of talent and artistry, and are thrilled this week to share it with our listeners.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

**Greg Bowers: String Quartet No. 2, By-products of Mass Media

III. I’11/Artifly Away Songfact**

The Boston String Quartet

Kolbeinn Einarsson: The Indigenous Spirit

Tobias Guttman, Marimba, Percussion; Ingólfur Vilhjalmsson, bass clarinet

Jonathan Kirk: The Metal Cicadas for Amplified Violin and Amplified Cello

Anna Cromwell, violin; Mira Frisch, vc.

Dan Cooper: Design Duo

Lynn Bechtold, violin; Jennifer DeVore, cello

**Stephen Paulus: From Within fr. Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra,

Three Places of Enlightenment**

Nashville Symphony/Giancarlo Guerrero; Jun Iwasaki, vln I; Carolynn Wann

Bailey, vln II; Daniel Reinker, vla; Anthony LaMarchina, vc.

Debra Kaye: And So It Begins, II. Andante

Javier Oviedo, ten sax; Amy Kimball & Lynn Bechtold, violins; Entela Barci, vla.;

Garo Yellin, vc.; Frank Wagner, double bass/Charles Coleman

Eric Chasalow: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, III. Distant

Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose; Bruno Schneider, horn

Nathan Lincoln DeCusatis: Oblivion, III. The Reckoning

Inscape/Richard Scerbo

Legendary composer George Crumb created a unique, haunting sound world that leaves an indelible impression upon anyone who hears it. The master turns 85 in October and we’ll celebrate with an entire show dedicated to his music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

George Crumb: Vox Balanae, I (excerpt) & finale

eighth blackbird

Crumb: “Se ha llenado de luces mi corazón de seda” from Ancient Voices of Children

The Contemporary Chamber Ensemble/Arthur Weisberg; Jan DeGaetani, ms.; Michael Dash, boy soprano

Crumb: Nocturnal Sounds (The Awakening) fr. Makrokosmos III

Gilbert Kalish &James Freeman, pianos; Raymond Des Roches & Richard Fitz, percussion

Crumb: “Deep River” fr. The River of Life

Orchestra 2001/James Freeman; Ann Crumb, voc.

Crumb: Tammy, Fritzi and Yoda fr. Mundis Canis

David Starobin, guitar; Crumb, perc.

Crumb: Black Angels, III. Return

Kronos Quartet

It takes fine craftsmanship to achieve a perfect partnership between text and music in which neither element overshadows the other. This week, we’ll listen to a fascinating array of spoken word and music by composers striving to achieve this symmetry.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Scott Johnson: How it Happens (The Voice of I.F. Stone) (excerpt)

Kronos Quartet

Aaron Jay Kernis: Goblin Market, Part II, Scenes 2 & 3

The New Professionals/Rebecca Miller; Mary King, narrator

Martin Butler: The Tummy Beast fr. The Dirty Beasts

Soundwood Ensemble/David Campbell; Richard Stilgoe, narrator

Joseph Schwantner: New Morning for the World (excerpt)

Oregon Symphony/DePriest

David Lang: On Being Hit on the Head and On Hearing the Voice of God fr. Are You Experienced?

Nouvel Ensemble Moderne/Vaillancourt

Michael Daugherty: Sing Sing: J. Edgar Hoover

Kronos Quartet

Lee Hyla: Howl

Kronos Quartet, Alan Ginsburg, voice

Originally a German musical creation, Wandelweiser is a kind of extreme minimalism that is fast becoming popular with composers around the world. We talk with two of its creators, Jürg Frey and Eva-Maria Houben, about the phenomenal growth of this movement.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Jürg Frey: More or Less Normal

a.pe.ri.od.ic

Frey: 60 Pieces of Sound (excerpt)

a.pe.ri.od.ic

Eva-Maria Houben: Von da, nach da (excerpt)

Houben, org.; Sebastian Jeuck, sax.; Rommel Ayoub, vln.

Frey: Fragile Balance

a.pe.ri.od.ic

Houben: Go and Stop (excerpt)

R. Andrew Lee, p.

Special thanks to the co-organizers of the Chicago Wandelweiser Festival, Peter Margasak and Nomi Epstein.

Mystical Minimalist Arvo Pärt is one of the most significant composers in the 20th and 21st centuries, and in this program we’ll travel across the Baltic to Estonia to visit his musical homeland and talk with those curating his music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel (rehearsal excerpt + concert performance)

Johannes Peeter Sarapuu, vc.; Joonas Mattias Sarapuu

Pärt: Für Alina

Johanna Kivimägi, p.

Pärt: Berliner Messe, Sanctus & Angus Dei

Estonian Chamber Orchestra & Estonian Philharmonic Choir/Tõnu Kaljuste

Pärt: Estonian Lullaby

Girls’ Choir of the Old Town Music House

Pärt: Vater Unser

Heldur Harry Põlda, s.; Arvo Pärt, p.

Pärt: Adam’s Lament (excerpt)

Sinfonietta Riga, Latvian Radio Choir, Vox Clamantis/Tõnu Kaljuste

The ultimate instrumental showcase, the concerto has inspired composers to torture performers for hundreds of years, relentlessly pushing their physical capabilities. Now that performers have virtually no limits on their technique, how are composers innovating this storied form?

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Kimmo Hakola: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, I (excerpt), IV

FRSO/Sakari Oramo; Kari Kriikku, clarinet

Daron Hagen: Concerto for Koto and Orchestra, I. Genji/Cicada Shell

Orchestra of the Swan/David Curtis; Yumi Kurosawa, koto

Philip Glass (arr. Amy Dickson): Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, I

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Mikel Toms

Mark O’Connor: The Improvised Violin Concerto, III. Water

Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra/Frederico Cortese

Gabriel Prokofiev: Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra, II. Adagietto, Irreguluv

Heritage Orchestra/Jules Buckley; DJ Yoda, turntables

Kalevi Aho: Concerto for Theremin and Orchestra, Acht Jahreszeiten, III. Schwarzer Schnerr

Lapland Chamber Orchestra/John Storgårds; Carolina Eyck, theremin

Jennifer Higdon: Concerto for Orchestra, III

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra/Robert Spano

A big trend in the 2000’s saw contemporary music ensembles commissioning composers not to write new pieces for them but to arrange music by pop artists.

We’ll listen to music from two such collaborations: Alarm Will Sound performing arrangements of electronic musician Aphex Twin and Osso Quartet’s arrangements of indie pop superstar Sufjan Stevens.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

PLAYLIST

Sufjan Stevens: Year of the Snake (excerpt)

Sufjan Stevens (arr. Olivier Manchon): Year of the Snake

Osso String Quartet

King Crimson (arr. Ziporyn): Epitaph

Maya Beiser, vc.

Philip Glass, Symphony No. 1, Low Symphony, I (excerpt)

Brooklyn Philharmonic/Davies

Beck (arr. Kahane): Mutilation Rag 2:08

Ymusic

Kraftwerk: Pocket Calculator (excerpt)

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk: Pocket Calculator

Balanescu String Quartet

Sigur Rós (arr. Prutsman): Flugufrelsarinn

Kronos Quartet

Queen/Tolga Kashif: The Queen Symphony, III (Who Wants to Live Forever, Save Me)

Royal Philharmonic/Tolga Kashif

Aphex Twin: Logon Rock Witch (excerpt)

Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin (arr. Jonathan Newman): Logon Rock Witch

Alarm Will Sound

Part II of our field trip to Finland features more interviews and performances of music by leading and emerging composers from this incredible musical hotbed.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Magnus Lindberg: Kraft (excerpt)

Toimii Ensemble/Esa-Pekka Salonen

Sebastian Fagerlund: Isola, II

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Dima Slobodeniouk

Juhani Nuorvala: Toivo

Eija Kankaanranta- 15 string kantele

Matthew Whithall: the heaven that dwells so deep (Concerto for Viola and Orchestra) (excerpt)

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Ernest Martinez Izquierdo; Ilari Angervo, vla.

Antti Auvinen: Orior (excerpt)

Atlas Ensemble/Artjom Kim

Einojuhani Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus- Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, III

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/Leif Segerstam

The latest installment of In the Field brings us to a country that has exported a dizzying list of big name composers and conductors in the last couple of decades: Finland.

We’ll talk with established composers and rising stars about their music and the lasting influence of the Sibelius Academy.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Kaija Saariaho: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Notes on Light, I (excerpt)

Orchestre de Paris/Eschenbach; Karttunen, vc.

Kalevi Aho: Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, II (Presto)

Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Brabbins; Piet Van Bockstal, oboe

Esa-Pekka Salonen: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, III (Pulse II)

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Salonen; Josefowicz, v.

Lotta Wennäkoski: Love and Life of a Woman (excerpts)

Avanti Ensemble/Hanniakinen; Räisänen, s.; Rantanen, ms.

Osmo Tapio Räihälä: Barlinnie Nine (excerpt)

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Tomi Räisänen: Stheno

Erik Bosgraaf, recorder tubes; Izhar Elias, Guitar

Kaija Saariaho: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Notes on Light, V

Orchestre de Paris/Eschenbach; Karttunen, vc.

For many years the composer-in-residence with the NY Philharmonic, Christopher Rouse combines neoromanticism with hard driving, rock-inspired rhythms to create a fascinating musical style all his own.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Christopher Rouse: Iscariot

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic/Alan Gilbert

Rouse: Phaethon

Houston Symphony Orchestra/Eschenbach

Rouse: Symphony No. 4

NY Phil/Gilbert

The Contemporary Music Centre in Ireland is one of the world’s foremost models of government support for composers, with dozens of composers receiving financial support, commissions and travel grants. We plunge into the incredible wealth of music created by this program.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

PLAYLIST

Donnacha Dennehy: “He Wishes His Beloved Were Dead” fr. That the Night Come

Crash Ensemble/Pierson; Upshaw, s.

Eric Sweeney: Ceol Rince Ros Mhic Treoin (New Ross Dance Music)

Finghin Collins, Dearbhla Collins & Alexander Bernstein, p.

Stephen Gardner: The Mayfly

Fidelio Trio

Jane O’Leary: Reflections II

Concorde Contemporary Music Ensemble/O’Leary; Harry Sparnaay, bs. clarinet

Karen Power: Relocating Elk … By Train

Carin Levine, bs. flute, tape

Adam Melvin: Little Engines

Mary Dullea, p.

Seán Clancy: Changing Rates of Change

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra/Maloney

One of the world’s most famous new music festivals has been held in Darmstadt since 1946. We’ll trace the festival from its beginnings through modern times and feature some of the seminal works that were premiered there.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

PLAYLIST

Stockhausen: Kreuzspiel (excerpt)

Alfred Schweinfurter, oboe; Wolfgang Marx, bass clarinet; David Tudor, piano;

Christoph Caskel, Heinz Haedler, & Manfred Wehner, percussion/Stockhausen

Pierre Boulez: Doubles

Het Residentie Orkest/Boulez

Luciano Berio: Sequenza No. 1 for Flute

Severino Gazzelloni, flute

Darmstadt archives

Beat Furrer: à un moment de terre perdue

Klangforum Wien/Furrer

Enno Poppe: Salz

Ensemble Mosaik

One of America’s most acclaimed and versatile contemporary music pianists, performance artist and keyboardist Kathleen Supové is known for breaking boundaries between audience and performer and for her multimedia performances as the “Exploding Piano.”

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Randall Woolf: Adrenalin Revival, III & II

Kathleen Supové, piano

Koch 7572

1:16, 3:05

Corey Dargel: Hooked for Life & Hands fr. Removable Parts

Dargel, voc.; Supové, p.

New Amsterdam 021

2:38, 4:37

Missy Mazzoli: Isabelle Eberhardt Dreams of pianos

Supové, p.

8:41

Lukas Ligeti: Delta Space (excerpt)

Supové, p.

Tzadik 7099

5:50

Carolyn Yarnell: The Same Sky (excerpt)

Supové, p.

Koch 7572

14:37

John Adams: 5 Pages from John’s Book of Alleged Dances

I- Judah to Ocean

Yousif Sheronick, percussion; Lark Quartet, strings (Deborah Buck, Violin 1; Basia Danilow, Violin 2; Kathryn Lockwood, Viola; Caroline Stinson, Cello)

Ronald Roxbury: Goodbye My Fancy

Patrick Mason, baritone; Susan Palma, flute; David Starobin, guitar

Shulamit Ran: Mirage

The Da Capo Chamber Players: Patricia Spencer, flute; Laura Flax, Clarinet; Eric Wyrick, Violin; Andre Emelianoff, cello; Sarah Rothenberg, piano

Dan Visconti: Ramble and Groove

Scharoun Ensemble, Markus Weidmann; bassoon

Mario Davidovsky: Synchronisms #10 for Guitar and Electronic Sounds

David Starobin, guitar

Jennifer Higdon: Scenes from the Poet’s Dreams

III- 3:49

V- 3:42

Lark Quartet (Deborah Buck, Violin 1; Basia Danilow, Violin 2; Kathryn Lockwood, Viola; Caroline Stinson, Cello), Gary Graffman, piano

Paul Lansky: Horizons

I- Up Close 5:11

II- Rough Edged 4:51

III- Vanishing 5:59

Real Quiet (Andrew Russo, Piano; Felix Van, Violoncello; David Cossin, percussion); Mihae Lee, pianist

Relevant Tones’ annual live broadcast returns with a 2-hour broadcast from City Winery. Performers include Fonema Consort, Gaudete Brass, and Graham Reynolds.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Fonema Consort

Pablo Chin, Artistic Director; Nina Dante, voice; Kathryn Schulmeister, voice; Emily Beisel, clarinet; Ryan Packard, percussion

Mort d’Antigone by Hèctor Parra

Como la leyenda de Tlön, I by Pablo Santiago Chin

Tandem by Chris Fisher-Lochhead

Como la leyenda de Tlön, II by Pablo Santiago Chin

Les sept crimes de l’amour by Georges Aperghis

Gaudete Brass

Ryan Berndt, trumpet; Julia Filson, horn; Bill Baxtresser, trumpet; Scott Tegge, tuba; Paul von Hoff, trombone

Bright and Fast from Frost Fire by Eric Ewazen

Record of a Lost Tribe by Conrad Winslow

Artifacts

History

Ceremonies

Still by David Sampson

Gazebo Dances Overture by John Corigliano (setting by Cliff Colnot)

Graham Reynolds

Jeff Yang and Madeline Capistran, violins; Becca Wilcox, viola; Nicholas Photinos, cello

Cult of Color: The Miracle Machine

Back to the Cell (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded)

String Abstraction No. 3 (Cottontail)

The Difference Engine

The Cogwheel Brain

Ada

Cam Stack and Crank Handle

Late at Night – The Astronomer

The Difference Engine

Before Midnight/Creatures

A master of orchestral timbre and an ardent individualist, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Joseph Schwantner has been one of the most prolific composers in the 20th and 21st centuries. He visits our studios to talk about his life and music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Joseph Schwantner: Aftertones of Infinity

Juilliard Orchestra/Slatkin

Schwantner: September Canticle (excerpt)

Dallas Symphony/Litton; Diaz, org.

Schwantner: …And the Mountains Rising Nowhere

Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble/Thompson

Schwantner: Concerto for Percussion & Orchestra, III

Nashville Symphony Orchestra/Guerrero

Thanks to virtuoso performers like Gary Karr, François Rabbath and Edgar Meyer, the double bass is leaping to the front of the concert stage and composers are taking note. This week we’ll listen to some of the music written in the last few decades for this sonorous and incredibly versatile instrument.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarter

Adam Ben Ezra: Can’t Stop Running (excerpt)

Adam Ben Ezra, bass

Frank Proto: Four Rogues, No. 1, Calm

John Ebinger, bass; Roy Hakes, piano

Dave Anderson: Duets

II- Parade of the Pigs

V- Lament

Dave Anderson & Hal Robinson, double basses

Gunther Schuller: Quartet for Double Basses, II

Robert Gladstone, Frederick Zimmerman, Orin O’Brien & Alvin Brehm, basses

Patrick Neher: Grig’s Dance

Patrick Neher, bass; Mark Rush, violin

Tom Johnson: Failing: A Very Difficult Piece for String Bass

Robert Black, bass & narrator

George Pearle: Monody II

Robert Black, bass

Edgar Meyer: Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra, I

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra/Wolff; Meyer, bass

Manuel Enriquez: Mobil II

Bertram Turetzky, bass

Thelonious Monk: Blue Monk (excerpt)

Superbass (Ray Brown, John Clayton, Christian McBride, basses)

Just as influenced by the blazing energy of Count Basie’s big band as Steve Reich’s minimalism, Dutch composer Louis Andriessen was a true trailblazer in the 20th century. We celebrate his 75th birthday by looking back at his illustrious career.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Louis Andriessen: Life, Part I- Wind

Bang on a Can All-Stars

CA 21074

5:02

Andriessen: De Staat (excerpt)

Schoenberg Ensemble/Reinbert de Leeuw

Nonesuch 79251

11:45

Andriessen: Materie, Part I

Schoenberg Ensemble/de Leeuw

Nonesuch 79367

6:19

Andriessen: Lucifer & The Garden of Earthly Delights fr. La Commedia (excerpts)

Dutch Nat’l Opera, ASKO Ensemble/Reinbert de Leeuw

Nonesuch 534877

7:25, 6:45

Andriessen: Worker’s Union (excerpt)

Bang On a Can All-Stars

Cantaloupe 21012

2:20

Composers like Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Bartók and have sought to musically depict their environs for centuries. How are landscapes, both urban and pastoral, being represented musically today?

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

David Sampson: Grant Park from Chicago Moves

Gaudete Brass

Toshio Hosokawa: Landscape V (excerpt)

Munich Chamber Orchestra/Alexander Liebreich; Mayumi Miyata, sho

Peter Sculthorpe: From Oceania

New Zealand SO/James Judd

Michael Daugherty: George Washington fr. Mount Rushmore

Pacific Symphony/Carl St. Clair

Joan Tower: Big Sky

Chee-Yun, v.; André Emelianoff, vc.; Joan Tower, p.;

John Luther Adams: The Far Country of Sleep (excerpt)

Cabrillo Music Festival Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta

Christopher Tin: Haf Gengr Hriðum (The Storm-Driven Sea)

Royal Philharmonic & Schola Cantorum/Christopher Tin

Pierre Jalbert: Glass is a Place fr. Icefield Sonnets

Ying Quartet

Versatile singer, pianist and composer Errollyn Wallen is creating a unique body of work and making an international name for herself along the way. We talk with her and play as much of her music as we possibly can.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Wallen: Dervish

Dominic Harlan, p.; Matthew Sharp, vc.

Wallen: “Beehive” and “White Christine” from Are You Worried About the Rising Cost of Funerals?

Patricia Rozario, s.; David le Page, v.; Kirsty Staines, v.; David Aspin, vla.; Joseph Spooner, vc.

Wallen: “Dark and Mysterious” fr. Horseplay

Continuum Ensemble/Hedlem

Wallen: Daedalus (excerpt)

Wallen, voc. & piano

Wallen: Daedalus

Brodsky Quartet; Wallen, voc.

Wallen: In Our Lifetime

Mike Henry, baritone

Wallen: My Feet May Take a Little While

Wallen, voc. & piano

Ever since its creation by Haydn in the 18th century, the string quartet has been one of the preeminent vehicles for more musical innovation. This show features new directions for the string quartet, pairing the quartet with unusual other instruments like frame drum, alto flute and more.

William Kraft: Music for String Quartet and Percussion, III: The Winds of Evanescence

Southwest Chamber Music

Romano Crivici: Flat Earth for didgeridoo and string quartet (excerpt)

Elektra String Quartet; Crivici, didgeridoo

Mason Bates: Bagatelles, I- Rough Math

Del Sol Quartet

Franghiz Ali-Zadeh: Apsheron Quartet, II- Reverse Time

Kronos Quartet; Ali-Zadeh, p.

Osvaldo Golijov: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, IV

Kronos Quartet, David Krakauer, clarinet

Terry Riley: The Cusp of Magic- Buddha’s Bedroom

Kronos Quartet; Wu Man, pipa

Diego Schissi: Liquido

Spektral Quartet; Julien Labro, bandoneon

Scriabin so linked color to his music that he created a “light organ” to display colors that corresponded to different notes in his pieces. How does color and visual art affect composers and their music today?

Michael Torke: Bright Blue Music for Orchestra

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Zinman

Morton Feldman: Rothko Chapel

California EAR Unit

Jennifer Higdon: Short Stories for Saxophone Quartet, I & V

Ancia Saxophone Quartet

Dan Welcher: Light Coming on the Plains & Starlight Night from Prairie Light: 3

Texas Watercolors of Georgia O’Keefe

Honolulu Symphony Orchestra/Johanos

Gunther Schuller: The Twittering Machine fr. Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee

Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra/Antal Dorati

Cindy McTee: Twittering Machine

North Texas Wind Symphony/Eugene Migliaro Corporon

Stephen Hartke: King of the Sun, I & IV

Dunsmuir Piano Quartet

He played with Miles Davis, was principal horn of the Cleveland Symphony at age 18, is the co-creator of the “third stream” movement and so much more. Seth talks with Schuller about his incredible life and legacy in music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Gunther Schuller: Conversations

Modern Jazz Quartet & Beaux Arts String Quartet

Schuller: Of Reminisces and Reflections

Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra/Bernardi

Schuller: Abstraction

Beaux Arts String Quartet + Ornette Coleman, sax; soloists

Schuller: String Quartet No. 3, III

Emerson String Quartet

Schuller: Little Blue Devil from Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee

Minneapolis Symphony/Dorati

We invite some of our favorite musical friends to bring a new recording into the studio for listening, lively discussion and the joy of new discoveries.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Max Grafe: “Bantams in Pine-wood” fr. Three Madrigals

Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble

Michael Gordon: Industry

Maya Beiser, amplified cello

Peter Ablinger: Drei Minuten für Orchester

SWR Sinfonieorchester/Sylvain Cambreling

Peter Ablinger: Angela Davis

Mark Knoop, p.

Amanda Feery: Squarepushers

Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble

Jan Sandström: Acintyas

Stockholm Chamber Orchestra/Leif Segerstam

One of the world’s largest cities and a mecca for diverse art and culture, Mexico City is also the home of a fascinating array of creative musicians and composers. Part 1 of a two-part series will feature interviews and music from the city’s musical leaders.

Ana Lara: Y Los Oros, La Luz (excerpt)

Ana Lara: Concierto para Corno di Bassetto, II + III (excerpt)

Georgina Derbez: Double Concerto for Orchestra, Piano and Flute

Jorge Torres Sáenz: Órbitas

Rosino Serrano: Adam & Eve film score (excerpt)

Federico Ibarra: String Quartet No. 2, Prestoo

Cuarteto Latinamericano

Chicago’s Lincoln Trio performs two large scale works, one a premiere, live on Relevant Tones from the stage of the Merit School of Music in the West Loop.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Laura Schwendinger: Arc of Fire (World Premiere)

Stacy Garrop: Sanctuary

Called one of the best drummers of all time by Gigwise magazine, Kotche is also a talented and multi-faceted composer who has worked with powerhouse groups like eighth blackbird, So Percussion and Kronos Quartet.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Kotche: Anomaly, II, III, IV, V, VII

Kronos Quartet; Kotche, perc.

Kotche: The Haunted (excerpts)

Lisa Kaplan & Yvonne Lam, pnos.; Doug Perkins & Matthew Duvall, perc.

Kotche: Triple Fantasy

Various artists

Kotche: The Traveling Turtle (excerpt)

Gamelan Galak Tika/Ziporyn

The story of the Nativity, infused by John Adams and Peter Sellars with texts new and old celebrating the miracle of birth and renewal.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Adams: El Niño (excerpts)

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Nagano; Theatre of Voices; London Voices; Upshaw, s.; Lieberson, ms.; White, bar.

With roots in jazz, classical and sacred music, rhythmic influences derived from travels in six continents, and a combustible spontaneity, cellist Eugene Friesen (Paul Winter Consort), pianist and master harmonica player Howard Levy (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Kenny Loggins, Paquito d’Rivera), and percussionist Glen Velez (Paul Winter Consort, Steve Reich) epitomize the quintessential group for the 21st century.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Engineered by Eric Arunas

Street Corner (E. Freisen)

Steering by the Stars (H. Levy)

Miriam’s Prophecy (G. Velez)

In the Village (E. Freisen)

Drum Improv; Ghost in my Heart (E. Freisen)

Mi Yemalel (Trad.)

Brazilian Dorian Dream (M. Fest/H. Levy)

Lumbriga (H. Levy)

With groups like PLOrk and Benoit and the Mandelbrots leading the way, the laptop ensemble is becoming a force to be reckoned with. We’ll feature laptop ensembles improvising, playing composed music, live coding and even collaborating with an orchestra. Listen and believe!

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Benoit and the Mandelbrots – Ghostly

The Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk) – Inline

The Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork) of Virginia Tech – Citadel

The Concordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk) – Excerpt from Creation

Performed by CLOrk, the Orchestre Symphonique de l’Isle; Cristian Gort, conductor

PLOrk – FourSquared

The Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana (LOL) Jargos Table (excerpt) by Van SteifelIn

ChucK (excerpt) by Stephen David, BeckCliX (excerpt) by Ge Wang

Manchester Metropolitan University Laptop Ensemble (MMUle – )Cut Up Slow Down

William S. Burrows, text; Martin Blaine, director

The EMU Ensemble – Ginger

Cristine Soeffing, director

Patricia Morehead, composer and oboist, is one of Chicago’s most prominent and influential composers. Her teaching and compositions have shaped generations of young composers much for the better, including our own Seth Boustead! Listen in this week as she discusses her music with us.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Turbion Galaxy for solo harpsichord- Jory Vinikour, harpsichord

Good News Falls Gently– Jonita Lattimore, soprano; Phillip Morehead, conductor, CUBE Ensemble; poetry by Regina Harris Biachi

Blackhawk Speaks (concert reading)- Vox 3 Singers, Saori Chobi, pianist, Michael McKelvane, conductor

Just Before the Rain– Yang Wei, pipa; Betty Sheng, erhu; Christie Miller, clarinet

Cityscape– Robert Winston, conductor; Symphony Orchestra of Kiev

Ladders of Anxiety– Caroline Pittman, solo flute; James Bauer, guitar; members of the Avalon Quartet; Blase Magniere, violin; Anthony De Vroy, viola; Chen How Lee, cello

This week, we look at composers releasing their music on older formats- vinyl and even cassette!

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

MUSIC

Elizabeth Start- Scents Sent (in a Sense)

Olafur Arnalds- Fyrsta

Christopher Bono- Invocation No. 1, Exhaust

The Roots featuring Mos Def- Double Trouble (excerpt)

LJ White- Zin Zin Zin Zin

Spektral QuartetReleased by Parlour Tapes

Tim Corpus- From Spring’s Thaw

Christopher Campbell- Imago

Arvo Pärt- Pro et Contra

Olafur Arnalds- This Place is a Shelter

This week we’ll talk with pianist, toy pianist and composer Phyllis Chen, who is celebrating the release of her third album, Little Things.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Stephen Montague: Mirabella a Tarentella for Toy Piano

John Cage: Suite for Toy Piano, II

Phyllis Chen: Cobwebbed Carousel

Angelica Nagron: The Little Things

Fabian Svensson: Toy Toccata

Karlheinz Essl: Whatever Shall Be

Nathan Davis: Mechanics of Escapement (excerpt)

Andrien Pertout: Pi Obstruction (excerpt)

Once a year the American Academy in Rome holds a competition, honoring 15 emerging artists as well as 15 scholars from the US with the so-called Rome Prize.

The winners are invited to the Academy, where they can thrive on the presence of cultural heritage as well as the exchange with the fellows from other fields.

We take a look at some of the compositions, that winners in musical composition have composed either while staying in Rome, or based on their experiences there.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Andrew Norman – A Companion Guide to Rome

Performed by the Scharoun Ensemble

Charles Norman Mason – Incantessimi

Steven M. Burke – Over a Moving Landscape

Performed by Paul Hostetter and the Sequitur Ensemble

Michael Hersch – Octet

Performed by members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Pierre Jalbert – Sonata for Solo Marimba

Performed by Makoto Nakura

Philip Glass is arguably the most famous plumber, mover and cab driver ever to work in New York. While not every example is that extreme, there are quite a few composers with day jobs – multitalented people, that advocate for their fellow composers, write, work in radio or have a Ph.D in neuroscience.

Tune in to listen to their works, and to find out what’s up with the elephants.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

John Duffy – Clarinet Concerto

Performed by JoAnn Falletta and the Virginia Arts Festival Wind Ensemble with Patti Ferrell Carlson

Kyle Gann – Sunken City, (mvt. 1, Before)

Performed by Jussi Jaatinen and the Orkest de Volharding with Geoffrey Douglas Madge

Dave Soldier – Little Andre

Performed by Robert Dick

Ed Harsh – Trill

Performed by the Cecilia String Quartet

Frank J. Oteri – Fair and Balanced? (mvt. 1, Remaining Neutral, and mvt. 2, Seeming Partial)

Performed by PRISM Saxophone Quartet

William Susman – I (mvt. 1, Vitality and mvt. 3, triumph)

Performed by Octet

Dan Gilliam – The Trees are Silver

Performed by the Arsenal Trio

The saxophone quartet has been around a while, with pieces being written for it as early as 1857 (Jean Baptiste Singelee’s op. 53). After the rediscovery for jazz, it has made a comeback to classical music as well. We’re looking at some different takes on how to approach the ensemble.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Jon Raskin and Steve Adams – Radar 11/19/01

Rova Quartet, from the album Totally Spinning

David Maslanka – Recitation Book (mvt. 1, Broken Heart)

Red Line Quartet

Ben Hjertman – The Mares of ’33

Anubis Quartet

Amy Williams – Univocity

H2 Quartet, from the album Groove Machine

John Mackey – Unquiet Spirits

Zzyzx Quartet, from the album Intersections

Jon Raskin and Steve Adams – Preshrunk

Rova Quartet, from the album Totally Spinning

Steven Mackey – Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

PRISM Quartet

Lucie Robert-Diesel – Issos? (mvt. 2)

Premiere Quartet

Joe Duddell – Circle Square (mvt. 1)

Delta Quartet, from the album Facing Death

This week we explore modern music performed on recycled materials. From Harry Partch’s “Quadrangularis Reversum,” to Dean Drummonds’ “Zoomoozophone,” many recent composers have forsaken traditional instruments in favor of their own invented apparatuses.

Enjoy an hour of new and unique sounds, reiterating the proverb that one man’s trash is indeed another man’s treasure.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Harry Partch – Daphne Of the Dunes

Dean Drummond – Then or Never

David Simons – This Hoary Perch

Skip Laplante – Theme and Variations in 13 equal

Terry Dame – invented gamelan – Garden

Joan LaBarbara – Silent Scroll

Gabriel Prokofiev – Import/Export- Fanta

We sat down with composer, Ilya Levinson, to talk about his story as a composer in Chicago. The program also features live performances of Levinson’s works by cellist, Ian Maksin.

Levinson’s body of work varies stylistically, while still maintaining a sound unique to the composer. You can hear his works performed in the Chicago area, and around the world.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Rockin’ Ian Maksin, vc.

In Blue Ian Maksin, vc.

Sevdah Medley Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra: Phil Simmons

Solstice Canyon I Duo Montagnard: Matthew Slotkin, guitar; Joseph Murphy, alto sax

Memory Tango Ian Maksin, vc.; Ani Gogova, p.

Tell-Tale Heart members of the CUBE ensemble: Phil Morehead; David Halloway, baritone

Adventures Civic Orchestra: Cliff Colnot

You send us CDs. Every once in a while we play those CDs on our show. This is the 2013 edition of the CD grab bag! Enjoy this eclectic variety of new music performed by the latest and greatest musicians. This program is straight from our mailbox to your ears.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Derek Johnson – fragments

Motto I. Star Music

Motto II. A song of sorts

Motto III. Blues for Anton

Benjamin Sung, violin; Jihye Chang, piano

Elizabeth Brown – Shinshofukei, or an imagined landscape;

I. Stroll GardenPro Musica Nipponia: Yasushi Inada, conductor

Graham Reynolds – Jabberwocky

Chiaroscuro Trio: Elizabeth Pétillot, Aurélien Pétillot, Yuko Kato

Joseph Pereira – RepoussèIII. ImpastoIV. Monochrome

Los Angeles Percussion Quartet

David Starobin – Berceuse bas de gamme (Cheap Lullaby)

Larry Polansky

Gillberto Mendes – Uma Foz, Uma FalaPoem:

Augusto de Campos, Ensemble Música

Andy Kozar – Invisibility Interlude

Andy Kozar, pianos

Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky – Chang Music III,

TrioXenia Ensemble

Martin Schlumpf – Concerto for solo cello, trumpet obligato, string orchestra and computer

IIMoravian Philharmonic Orchestra: Petr Vronsky, conductor; Petr Nouzovsky, cello; Marek Vajo, trumpet

Elizabeth Brown – Shinshofukei, or an imagined landscape II. Aged Mossy Rock

Brooklyn based quartet Sō Percussion (Eric Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting) collaborate with composer Dan Trueman on their newest album, neither Anvil nor Pulley.

They experiment with different ways of creating sound, using a turntable, a laptop and various gadgets like a video game controller. The result is a piece in five acts, composed with, rather than for the quartet.

We have Eric from Sō Percussion and Dan in the studio to talk about their project and some quirky details of the album.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Neither Anvil nor Pulley

Act 1: Another Wallflower [from Long Ago]

Act 2: 120bpm [or, What is zour Metronome Thinking?]

Act 3: A Cow Call [Please oh Please Come Home!]

Act 4: Feedback [in Which a Famous Bach Prelude Becomes Ill-Tempered]

Act 5: Hang Dog Springar [a Slow Dance]

In our final exploration of the past 100 years of musical modernism, we take a look at composers who fit in neither the uptown nor the downtown traditions of composition.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Aaron Copland – Connotations

Igor Stravinsky – In memoriam Dylan Thomas

Elliott Carter – Cello Sonata

George Rochberg – String Quartet No. 3

John Cage – Music of Changes

George Crumb – Ancient Voices of Children

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Piano Trio No. 1

Joan Tower – Petroushskates

This week in our exploration of the past 100 years of modernism in music we take a look at the legacy of Arnold Schoenberg. The 1912 performance of Pierrot Lunaire created a model of atonality that continues to influence modern composers in the present day.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Arnold Schoenberg – Pierrot Lunaire Part One

Ensemble Intercontemporain

Anton Webern – Five Movements for String Quartet, op. 5

Emerson String Quartet

Alban Berg – Violin Concerto

Anne-Sophie Mutter

Pierre Boulez – Structures Book 1

Milton Babbitt – String Quartet No. 2

Bernard Rands – Concertino

Augusta Read Thomas – In My Sky at Twilight

In this week’s program we begin a three part adventure tracing the musical influence of modernist titans Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg from the early 1900s to the present day.

In part one we start with the first performance on the Le Sacre du Printemps, 100 years ago in 1913, and uncover the path that lead all the way to late 20th and 21st century minimalism.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Igor Stravinsky – The Firebird

Igor Stravinsky – Le Sacre du Printemps

Aaron Copland – Hear Ye! Hear Ye!:Chorus Girls Third Dance Pas-de-Deux #3

Edgard Varèse – Amériques

Béla Bartók- Miraculous Mandarin

Igor Stravinsky – Pulcinella

Igor Stravinsky – Symphony in C: 3. Allegretto

Louis Andriessen – De Staat

Steve Reich – City Life

What do you get when you combine Moravian ululations, Hindustani raga rhythms, and a bass clarinetist that spent a decade in Bali studying gamelan music?

Find out as the new music supertrio Eviyan headlines WFMT’s 2nd annual Thirsty Ear Festival, bringing to audiences “the soundtrack to a 21st century global village.”

We’ll be broadcasting Relevant Tones live from 5-7 PM on July 20th at City Winery, one of Chicago’s hottest new destinations for live music, food, and libations, and you’re invited to join us there as we also feature Chicago’s own Fulcrum Point and microtonal piano ensemble UnTwelve.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Engineered by Joshua Savageau

Since its first performance in 1977, the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) has been the only orchestra in the world dedicated solely to commissioning and performing music written by American composers.

We spoke with new Artistic Director, Derek Bermel about his vision for the group, and took a look back at a few interesting and groundbreaking performances by this revolutionary group of performers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Margaret Brouwer – Breakdown

John Harbison – Piano Concerto

David Bowie – Heroes

Philip Glass – Symphony No. 4

Charles Norman Mason – Addition

Neil Rolnick – iFiddle Concerto

This weekend we’re featuring the Eviyan Trio. The performers in the group are Iva Bittova, Gyan Riley and Evan Ziporyn. These three composers/musicians combine their influences from around the world to create a soundtrack for the 21st century global village.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Eviyan Trio – Odd Meeting

Iva Bittova – Dos Kelbl (The Little Calf)

Terry Riley and Gyan Riley – Turning

Gyan Riley – Guitar Etude

Evan Ziporyn – Tire Fire

Eviyan Trio – Paper ConeListen– Kind of Nice

Persian poet and mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi has had an enormous influence not only on other poets and writers but on thinkers of all kinds. We play music on today’s program by several composers inspired by this timeless poet’s work.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Karol Szymanowski: Symphony No. 3, Vienna Phil/Boulez

Augusta Read Thomas: Rumi Settings, III & IV, Stephan and Julian Hersh

Eric Whitacre: “This Marriage” BYU Singers

David del Tredici: “Quietness” from Three Baritone Songs

Chris Pedro Trakas, baritone; David Del Tredici, p.

Christopher Theofanidis: The Here and Now, III & IX

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/Robert Spano; soloists

Christopher Theofanidis: Messages to Myself, Musica Sacra/Kent Tritle

Kamran Ince: (Gloria) Everywhere from And On Earth, Peace, Chanticleer/Joseph Jennings

Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winning composer Stephen Albert died tragically in 1992, well before his time. On the occasion of an important performance of his seminal piece To Wake the Dead in Chicago, we take a moment to celebrate his legacy and to feature a piece inspired by his music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Stephen Albert – Symphony No. 1, Movement 1

Christopher Rouse – Symphony No. 2, Movement 2

Stephen Albert – To Wake the Dead

Stephen Albert – Symphony No. 2

Seth interviews John Corigliano. We will feature music from the films Altered States and Revolution as well as a piece of surprisingly stunning beauty for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Altered States, Christopher Keene (conductor)

Chiaroscuro, Blair McMillen and Sachiko Kato (pianos)

Revolution, Harry Rabinowitz (conductor)

Filled with Latin rhythms and theatrical drama, Osvaldo Golijov‘s setting of the St. Mark passion is both universally appealing and intensely personal, reflecting his own influences as an Argentinean-born Jewish composer of Russian and Romanian extraction.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Long a masterful purveyor of glissandi, harmonics, and heavenly arpeggios, the harp has leapt into the modern era with a plethora of dynamic new compositions. We’ll sample a few this week to see just how far the instrument has come since the days of Wagner and Tchaikovsky.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Claude Debussy – Trio for flute, viola, and harp, Debussy Trio

Toru Takemitsu – And then I knew ’twas wind

Aurèle Nicolet (flute), Nobuko Imai (viola), Naoko Yoshino (harp)

Angelica Negron – Drawings for Meyoko

Janus Trio

Luciano Berio – Sequenza II

Frederique Cambreling (harp)Purchase

Hans Werner Henze – Carillon, Recitatif, and Masque

Noble Fowl Trio

Mischa Zupko – Despedida, Jule Ann Smith

Stephen Andrew Taylor – Unfurl, Duo Scorpio

In this show we feature music performed by the Ying Quartet from their LifeMusic project. The project began in the late 1990s and seeks to create new works inspired by different facets of the American experience. In doing so the group has commissioned works of contemporary relevance and high aesthetic standards.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Kevin Puts – Dark Vigil

Michael Torke – Corner in Manhattan

Chen Yi – Making the Hand-Pulled Noodles

Augusta Read Thomas – Eagle at Sunrise

Carter Pann – Love Letters

Pierre Jalbert – Icefield Sonnets

From joint commissions to Kickstarter, the 21st century has brought new ways of hiring composers to write music. This week, we’ll look at some of the more unusual and innovative methods and the music that resulted and we’ll chat with NewMusicUSA’s Frank J. Oteri and Scott Winship.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Joan Tower – Made in America, Leonard Slatkin, Nashville Symphony

Michael Holober – Chorale, American Saxophone Quartet, Larry Combs(clarinet)

Michael Gordon – Rushes, Dana Jessen

Steven Mackey – Prelude to the End, Soli Chamber Ensemble

Stacy Garrop – In Eleanor’s Words, Buffy Baggott(mezzo-soprano), Kuang-Hao Huang(piano)

Stacy Garrop – String Quartet No. 3 “Gaia”, Biava Quartet

Joseph Schwantner – Chasing Light, Giancarlo Guerrero, Nashville Symphony

Esa-Pekka Salonen, one of the world’s top composers, conductors and supporters of new music stops by to talk about his latest album. Featured works include the Violin Concerto and Nyx.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Esa-Pekka Salonen, cond., Leila Josefowicz, vln.

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Seth talks with composer Eve Beglarian about her upcoming River Project release.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Down the Dirt Road Blues (excerpt), Charlie Patton, guitar & vocals

I’m worried now, but I won’t be worried long

I am really a very simple person

In and Out of the Game, Guidonian Hand Trombone Quartet

Pump Music

Waiting for Billy Floyd

Feet Don’t Fail Me Now (excerpt), Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Brownie Feet

The Flood

Cellist, music educator, and concert organizer Tom Clowes talks with Seth about the music of Haitian composers.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Sabrina C. D. Jean Louis- Clair de Lune (arr. for four cellos)

Trad: Papa Simbi Sent Me To Find Water, Smithsonian Folkways 06833

Werner Jaegerhuber- Suite FolkloriqueI. ErzulieII. DambalaIV. Papa Simbi

J. Rudy Perrault- Exodus String Quartet, 1. Tale (Generations of Suffering)

Claude Dauphin – String Quartet Op. 3 “From Exile/ lòt bò dlo”I. Allegro e danzante

Michel Monton arr. Fritz Bernardin – Choucounne (for string trio)

Julio Racine- Haitian-American- Quartet No. 1 AllegroII. Yanvalou lentIII. Allegro moderato

All tracks performed by the Crossing Borders Music collective, which includes:Sara Chazin, ln.Maya Shiraishi, vln.Benjamin Weber, vla.Tom Clowes, vc.

Iconic Chicago composer Robert Lombardo and his wife Kathleen Lombardo visit the WFMT studio to talk about Bob’s music and their many years of collaborative art-making.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

New music for Christmas that has nothing to do with Christmas! You're welcome.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Sebastian Currier: Entanglement, Yehonatan Berick, violin; Laura Melton, piano

Elliot Carter: Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux, Claire Chase, fl.; Josh Rubin, cl

Eric Whitacre: Sleep, Grant Park Chrous

Tan Dun: Concerto for Orchestra, I & II, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Anders Hillborg: Peacock Tales, Australian Chamber Orchestra/Tognetti; Martin Fröst, cl.

John Link: Around the Bend, Flexible Music

Aaron Jay Kernis, Yale faculty member and recent winner of Northwestern University’s Nemmers Prize, visits to talk music, life and everything.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Ecstatic Meditations

Mikrokosmos Chamber Choir/Loïc Pierre conducting

Sym of Meditations, Meditation on Oneness

Yale Symphony Orchestra & Glee Club/Kernis; Amanda Hall, sop.

Double Concerto, I

Cho-Liang Lin, v. & Sharon Isbin, g.; Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra/Hugh Wolff

Pandora Dance from Colored Field

San Francisco Symphony/Alasdair Neale; Julie Ann Giacobassi, english horn

Two Movements with Bells, I

James Ehnes, v.; Andrew Armstrong, p.

Too Hot Tocatta (excerpt)

Grant Park Symphony Orchestra/Carlos KalmarPurchase

Chicago-based Ensemble Dal Niente visits Relevant Tones to discuss recent performances and successes, including winning the Kranichsteiner Stipendienpreise in Darmstadt, Germany.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

The second in a two-part series featuring the music of George Flynn.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

St. Vincent’s Words, DePaul University Singers/Clayton Parr

Chicago Mood, Cory Tiffin, cl.; George Flynn, p.

From an Island, Nessinger, ms.; Feinberg, p.

Density of Memory, Larry Combs, Julie DeRoche, Wagner Compos, cl; Colnot, DePaul Orchestra

American Howl, Anaphora Ensemble

Moods for Orchestra, Oistrakh Orchestra

Toward the Light (excerpt)Flynn, p.

George Flynn chaired Musicianship and Composition at DePaul University (Chicago) for 25 years, and continues to direct DePaul’s professional contemporary performance series, “New Music Depaul” as well as Chicago’s “New Music at the Green Mill” series.

He has composed over 100 works in all media, including over five hours of piano solo music, the latter performed by international pianists as well as Chicago pianists Stuart Leitch and Frank Abbinanti.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

‘Til Death, Katherine Hughes, v.George Flynn, p.

Fuguing, Flynn, p.

Wound (exerpt)Flynn, p.

Death Has Won the Soul from Songs of Destruction, Leila Bowie, s.; George Flynn, p.

Introduction and Lullaby from American Rest, Combs, cl.; Conant, vla.; Costanza, vc.; Leitch, p.

Deep Sleep & Nightmare, two nocturnes from American Rest, Flynn, p.

Fantasy Etudes I & II for Violin, Gratovich, v.

This week we’re featuring cellist Maya Beiser‘s latest CD with composer and pianist Michael Harrison, Time Loops.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Michael Harrison: Just Ancient Loops, I

Harrison: Time Loops

Bach/Gounod: Ave Maria

Harrison: Raga Prelude I (Yaman)

Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel

Harrison: Hijaz, Young People’s Chorus of New York City/Núñez; Beiser, vc.

Composer-vocalist Lisa Bielawa is a 2009 Rome Prize winner in Musical Composition. She takes inspiration for her work from literary sources and close artistic collaborations.

Gramophone reports, “Bielawa is gaining gale force as a composer, churning out impeccably groomed works that at once evoke the layered precision of Vermeer and the conscious recklessness of Jackson Pollock,” and The New York Times describes her music as, “ruminative, pointillistic and harmonically slightly tart.”

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

This Time from Seven Kafka Songs

Carla Kihlstedt, violin & voice

Double Violin Concerto, II

Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Rose; Kihlstedt & Jacobsen, vlns.

11 from Synopses– “It Takes One to Know One”

Robert Schulz, drumset

Concerto for Orchestra, In Medias Res

Boston Modern Orchestra Project/RosePurchase

Nothing fr. Chance Encounter

The Knights; Susan Narucki, sop.

Conductor Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra have created a thriving community of composers who have come to be known as “The Atlanta School”. They include Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Theofanidis, Osvaldo Golijov, and Michael Gandolfi, and this week we’ll listen to their music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Michael Gandolfi: The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, I-III

Christopher Theofanidis: Drumsound Rises from The Here & Now

Osvaldo Golijov: Second Wave & Aria fr. Oceana, Luciana Souza, voc.

Jennifer Higdon: On a Wire, Eighth Blackbird

Today we leave the world of equal-temperament behind and explore various contemporary pieces written for instruments in just intonation.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Terry Riley: The Harp of New Albion– Premonition Rag (excerpt), Terry Riley, p.

Michael Harrison: Just Ancient Loops, II, Maya Beiser, vc.

Terry Riley: The Harp of New Albion– Cadence on the Wind (excerpt), Terry Riley, p.

Lou Harrison: Serenade for Guitar– Air, David Tannenbaum, guitar

John Adams: Dharma at Big Sur– A New Day

BBC Symphony Orchestra/John Adams, conductor, Tracy Silverman, electric violin

Ben Johnston: Trio, Trio Amici

Kyle Gann: Fugitive Objects, Gann, piano

Martin Bresnick: Everything Must Go, II, Prism Saxophone Quartet

Seth previews some of the fantastic upcoming performances from Chicago new music groups, including CUBE, Access Contemporary Music, Dal Niente, and more.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Chinary Ung: Laughter Passes Over the Earth & Flying Mirrors fr. Seven Mirrors

– Ensemble Dal Niente

Sebastian Currier: Ethereal & Charged from Static

Access Contemporary Music

Jimmy López: Avec Swing

– CUBE

Stacy Garrop: Thunderwalker, II

– Chicago Composers Orchestra

James Dillon: Soadie Waste (excerpt)

– Spektral Quartet

Amy Wurtz: La (excerpt)

Pierre Boulez: Dérive 1

John Cage: Fourteen (excerpt)

– Northwestern University Contemporary Music Ensemble

In anticipation of John Cage’s 100th Birthday, Relevant Tones examines his life and music. Two members of Chicago-based ensemble Third Coast Percussion, Robert Dillon and David Skidmore, join us in the studio to share anecdotes about their experiences playing Cage’s works.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

CSO composer-in-residence Anna Clyne comes to our studio to talk to us about her new compositions and the artists who inspired them.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

This week’s Relevant Tones focuses on composers who have tried to step outside the box, redefine their definitions of music, and start over without limitations. We’ll be examining the works of Alvin Lucier, Chris Preissing, James Tenney, Lou Harrison, and more.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Alvin Lucier: I am sitting in a room (excerpt)

James Tenney: Cellogram, William Jason Raynovich, Cello

Lou Harrison: Cornish Lancaran, Musicians of the Gamelan Si Betty, Berkeley Chamber Singers

Colin McPhee: Tabuh-Tabuhan, Toccata for Orchestra

Eastman/Rochester Symphony Orchestra-Hanson

Harry Partch: Delusion and the Fury: A Ritual of Dream and Delusion (excerpt)

Christopher Preissing: Pales

Angela DiOrio, ClarinetLive in WFMT Studio

Steven Mackie: Indigenous instruments

Eighth Blackbird

Join us this week for the third part of our foray into the Bang on a Can Marathons. We’ll be focusing on Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe, two of the co-founders of the Bang on a Can organization.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Gordon: Timber, Mvt. 1 (excerpt), Slagwerk Den Haag

Gordon: For Madeline, Bang on a Can All-Stars

Wolfe: Lad, Part I From Dark Full Ride, Matthew Welch (Bagpipe)

Wolfe: Dig Deep, Ethel

Frank Zappa: Zombie Woof, Asphalt Orchestra

Seth brings back his findings and experiences from the Bang on a Can Marathon in New York City. The Bang on a Can Marathon is a yearly celebration of new musical styles and ideas, designed to bring diverse performances to a wide public audience.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Louis Andriessen: De Staat (excerpt), Bang on a Can All-Stars

Milton Babbitt: Vision and Prayer (excerpt), Bethany Beardslee, soprano

Steve Reich: Four Organs (excerpt),

Steve Chambers, Phillip Glass, Arthur Murphy, Steve Reich, organs, John Gibson, Maracas

Martin Bresnick: String Quartet No. 2 “Bucephalus”, Mvt. III, Alexander String Quartet

Martin Bresnick: Prayers Remain Forever, (Ashley Bathgate, cello and Lisa Moore, Piano)

Ruben Naeff: Bash

David T. Little: Sweet, Light, Crude, Newspeak

This week on Relevant Tones, we’ll delve into the music of Gerard Grisey and Tristan Murail, two composers who base their compositions on mathematic spectral analyses of the overtone series. Grisey and Murail’s compositions originated the style of Spectral Music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Gerard Grisey: Partiels (excerpt), WDR Sinfonieorchester of Cologne; Stefan Asbury

Gerard Grisey: Talea (excerpt), Ensemble RechercheAbout Ensemble Recherche

Gerard Grisey: Vortex Temporum (excerpt), Ensemble Recherche

Tristan Murail: In Memoriam, Olivier Messiaen (excerpt), Marilyn Nonken, Piano

Tristan Murail: Gondwana (excerpt), ORTF National Orchestra; Yves Prin

Tristan Murail: Winter Fragments (excerpt), Argento Chamber Ensemble

This week, we’ll be broadcasting a live performance of the Lincoln Trio, a Chicago-based ensemble featuring Desirée Ruhstrat on violin, David Cunliffe on cello, and Marta Aznavoorian on piano.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Stacy Garrop: Silver Dagger

Lera Auerbach: Trio, for violin, cello, and piano; Prelude

Laura Elise Schwendinger: C’e La Lune Questa Sera

Jennifer Higdon: Piano Trio

Pierre Jalbert: Life Cycle

In his Notations, Pierre Boulez composed twelve short piano miniatures that contain a cosmos of sound and potentiality. After decades at the helm of the avant-garde, Boulez has set to work unlocking those inner possibilities through thoughtful orchestration and elaboration.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Olivier Messaien: Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jésus, Mvt. II, Peter Serkin, Piano

Anton Von Webern: Variations for Piano, Op. 27, Mvt. III, Peter Serkin, Piano

Pierre Boulez: Twelve Notations for Piano, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano

Luigi Nono: Il Canto Sospeso

Karlheinz Stockhausen: Klavierstücke, Mvt. III,Herbert Henk, Piano

Boulez: Notations for Orchestra, I-IV Vienna Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, conductor

Boulez: Notations for Orchestra, IV, VIILyon National Orchestra; David Robertson, conductor

During this week’s Relevant Tones, Seth Boustead continues to share more music and interviews from the Bang on a Can Marathon 2012.

Part II features composers Evan Ziporyn and David Lang, two galvanizing forces in the Bang on a Can Marathons.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Evan Ziporyn: Tire Fire, Mvts. 1, 4, 5, Gamelan Galak Tika

Evan Ziporyn: Music from Shadowbang, Bang on a Can All-Stars

David Lang: Cheating, Lying, Stealing, Bang on a Can All-Stars

David Lang: Little Matchgirl Passion (excerpt), Theatre of Voices

Starting in 2004 Access Contemporary Music has read and recorded a piece of music by a living composer every week and posted it to their website. We sample just a few of the highlights from the past eight years of this remarkable program.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Malcolm Dedman: Dispelling the Darkness, Chie Yoshinaka, violin

Bryan Page: Kick the Duck, Richard Sladek, piano

Javier Torres Maldonado: Reflejo Espiral, Alicia Poot, flute, Matthew Peters, percussion

Ioannis Papaspyrou: Will McDaniel, pno, Cory Tiffin, cl, Eliza Bangert, fl, Dave Moss, vla

Silvia Simons: String Quartet, Eric Pidluski, vln, Sarah Cave, vln, Jules Lai, vla, Chai Wolfman, vc

Mark Zanter: Seven Trio, Aurelian Pederzolil, vln, Becca Wilcox, vla, David Keller, vc

Emil Margolis: String Quartet No.I, Mvmt. IChicago Q Ensemble

Aaron Alon: Spell, Jeff Yang, Violin, Alyson Berger, Cello, Dan Klingler, Cello

This week, we’ll listen to how composers are using samples and remixes of recordings to generate an entirely new sound palette.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Luciano Berio: Sinfonia for Eight Voices and Orchestra – excerpt

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/ChaillyLuciano Berio

John Matthias/Nick Ryan: Cortical Songs

John Matthias and Nick Ryan

Thom Yorke: Neuron Trigger

RemixThom Yorke

Jem Finer: The Squid’s Terror of Dry Land

Graham Reynolds: The Difference Engine- The Cogwheel Brain

Octopus Project: The Cogwheel Brain (remix) The Octopus Project

Tansy Davies: Greenhouses

Mira Calix: Greenhouses (remix) – excerpt

Mercury Acoustic: Last Orders, The Mercury Quartet

Monsieur Morphée: Last Orders (remix)

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 in the studio to talk about his composition.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Scene 1, The Dilemma

Gathering Forces

My Limbs Fail

Oh Krishna

Scene 2, The Answer

My Head Turns

The Answer Part I

The Answer Part II

My Head Turns (reprise)

The Answer Part III

Scene 3, The Vision

I am the Beginning

The Vision

I am death

Four-armed form

Epilogue: I will fight

Postlude

Seth talks with the founders of the Chicago Composers Orchestra about their work and mission and upcoming U.S. premiere of Chen Yi’s viola concerto. All pieces conducted by Matthew Kaspar.

Brian Baxter: Roots Run Deep

Randall West: Elements for Orchestra

Chen Yi: Xian Shi (Concerto for Viola and Orchestra), Michael Hall, viola

Gabriela Lena Frank talks with Seth about her travels, music, professional life and the contemporary classical music field.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Toyos and Tarqueada from Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout, Chiara String Quartet

Jungle Jaunt from Latin American Dances, Utah Symphony Orchestra/Keith Lockhart

Harawi Para Colquipocro fr. Ritmos Anchinos, Silk Road Ensemble

Quijotadas for string quartet, II- Seguidilla para la Mancha, ALIAS Ensemble

Adagio para Amantani, ALIAS Ensemble

Zapato de Chincha, Danza de los Diablos & Juegos fr. Hilos, ALIAS Ensemble

This week we dive into our mailbag to listen to some recent new music releases sent to Relevant Tones.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Sunbin Kim: Whirlwind, Palisades Virtuosi

James MacMillan: Seraph, I BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Jason Wright Wingate: Symphony No. 2

Movement of the Vaulted Chambers

The Twittering Machine

Hermitage Orchestra de l’invisible/Wingateabout Jason Wright Wingate

Michael Nyman: Songs for Tony, I&IV sonic.art Saxophone Quartet

Ronald Roxbury: Crazy Jane, Crazy Jane Trio; Patrick Mason, David Starobin, Daniel Druckman

Richard Reed Parry: For Heart, Breath, and Orchestra

Kitchener Waterloo Symphony; Edwin Outwater, Conductor

John Cage: Five, Essential Music

Melinda Wagner: Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra, I, IV

New York Philharmonic Orchestra; Lorin Maazel, Conductor, Joseph Alessi, Trombone

The electric guitar and classical music may seem like strange bedfellows, but almost as soon as the instrument was invented, composers devised ways to take advantage of its sonic possibilities.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Bob Dylan: Maggie’s Farm

Charlie Christian: Solo Flight (excerpt)

Leonard Bernstein: Simple Song from Mass

Donald Erb: Trio for Violin, Electric Guitar and Cello(excerpt)

Morton Feldman: Straits of Magellan

George Crumb: La Guitarra from Songs, Dances and Refrains of Death

Elliott Sharp: Vicious Cycle for electric guitar, electric bass & percussion

Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint, III

Steve Mackey: San Francisco

Mark Anthony Turnage: Shout from. Blood on the Floor

Daniel Lippel: Scaffold

Dutch composer Jacob TV joins us in the studio to talk about the upcoming premiere of his ambitious multi media opera The News.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Playlist

◦ Trailer to “The News” (1:40)

◦ Lipstick (9:38)

◦ Grab It! (1:39)

◦ Garden of Love (7:17)

◦ I was like WOW (excerpt) (4:00)

◦ Giant If & Corroto fr. The News (8:05)

All performances by members of Fulcrum Point

London-based DJ, composer and entrepreneur Gabriel Prokofiev talks with Seth about composing and performing for a 21st century audience, family legacies, and the use of sampling in classical music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Concerto for Turntable and Orchestra (excerpts)

— Heritage Orchestra/Jules Buckley; DJ Yoda, turntable

Piano Book No. 1 (exceprts) — Génia, p.

Float Dance — Peter Gregson, vc.

Suite for Global Junk — Joby Burgess, percussion

String Quartet No. 2 (excerpts)

Fresh off their 2012 Grammy win, the Chicago ensemble eighth blackbird stops by to discuss their latest album, recent premieres and performances across the globe.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Jennifer Higdon: Zaka

Thomas Albert: Thirteen Ways (excerpt)

Frederic Rzewski: Les Moutons De Panurge

Steve Reich: Double Sextet (excerpt)

Jennifer Higdon: Concerto for Sextet and Orchestra, On a Wire

Steven Mackey: Lonely Motel (excerpt)

One of Poland’s most significant 20th century composers, Henryk Górecki led a quiet revolution against the Soviet authorities through his inimitable style of mystical minimalism. We’ll dedicate an hour to his music and life.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Symphony No. 3 (excerpts)— London Sinfonietta, David Zinman, Conductor, Dawn Upshaw,

Piano Preludes (excerpts) — Stephen de Pledge, p.

Scontri — Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra

Beatus Vir (excerpts) — Czech Phil Prague Philharmonic Choir/John Nelson, Nikita Storojev,

Miserere (excerpt) — Krakow Choral Society, Krakow State Philharmonic/Roland Bader

Our series on the Mystic Minimalists continues with John Tavener, whose encounters with Eastern thought changed him into one of the most spiritually-connected composers to ever write music.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

The Protecting Veil (excerpt), LSO/Rozhdestvensky; Isserlis, vc.

The Whale, I, London Sinfonietta/Tavener

Little Requiem for Father Malachy Lynch (excerpt)

English Chamber Orchestra & Westminster Abbey Choir/Martin Neary

Akethist of Thanksgiving (excerpt)

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Westminster Abbey Choir & BBC Singers/Martin Neary

The Dormition fr. The Protecting Veil, LSO/Rozhdestvensky; Isserlis, vc.

Pushkin & Lermontov & Smert fr. Akhmatova Songs

Patricia Rozario & the Vanbrugh Quartet

Song for Athene, English Chamber Orchestra & Westminster Abbey Choir/Neary

Prayer of the Heart, Björk & the Brodsky String Quartet

The first in a three-part series looking at composers whose simple but remarkable music transports many listeners to a deeply spiritual place.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Pärt: Miserere (excerpts), Hilliard Ensemble/Hillier

Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Piano, Op. 23, V Gould, p.

Pärt: Sonatina, Op. 1 No. 2 (excerpt), Stephen de Pledge, p.

Pärt: Perpetuum Mobile, Bamberg Symphony Orch/N. Järvi

Pärt: Collage on the Theme B-A-C-H, Estonian Nat’l Symphony Orchestra/P. Järvi

J.S. Bach: Prelude No. 1 from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Jarrett, p

Pärt: Credo, Swedish Radio Symphony/Salonen

Pärt: Für Alina, Arden, p.

Pärt: Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, Stuttgart State Orchestra/Davies

New York-based composer Sebastian Currier visits to talk about his music and work, including recent collaborations with Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Quiet Time, Cassatt String Quartet

Time Machines, Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Alan Gilbert, New York Philharmonic

Crossover between classical and rock musicians was common in the 1970’s but has taken a bit of a break until recently. Now instead of composers influencing rock musicians like Brian Eno, a rock band is having a huge influence on a diverse array of composers around the globe. The music of Radiohead has been arranged by countless composers and has yielded fascinating results.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Andrew Walker and the Entropy Ensemble: There There

Radiohead: Videotape

Jonny Greenwood: Eat Him By His Own Light fr. There Will Be Blood

Gentlemen of NUCO: Let Down & 15 Step

Radiohead: Nice Dream

Christopher O’Riley, piano: Nice Dream

Vitamin String Quartet: Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

Andrew Walker and the Entropy Ensemble: Ideoteque

Something of a lost art, improvisation in classical music is making a comeback in a big way thanks to composers like Steven Snowden, Don Malone, and Aaron Johnson. Teaming up with fantastic performers, they prove that improvisation very much has a place in the modern concert hall.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Playlist

◦ Bach/Montero: Toccata in d minor, Gabriela Montero, p.EMI 64647

◦ Song of Cerberus, Ens./Thompson Dane recordings 0062

◦ Repercussions, Agrell, hn.; Masunik, p.Wildwind Records 1001

◦ Anon: Sumer is Icumen In, DuendeMSR 1158

◦ Aaron Krister Johnson: Diabolical Suite, I & II, Johnson, p.

◦ Don Malone: Prelude & Toccata (excerpt), David Schrader, p.(live performance)

◦ Steven Snowden: Ground Round, Steve Parker, trombone

◦ Noam Sivan: Improvised introduction to Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3, Sivan, p.

◦ David Darling: Chorale, Darling, vc.

◦ Gunnelpumpers: Symphonie Improvisé

Most pianos have 88 keys, but the notes that they produce are just the beginning of the sonic possibilities available to the keyboardist. This week we’ll listen to how boundary-shattering composers from John Cage to Conlon Nancarrow unlocked and exploited keyboard instruments’ aural potential.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Playlist

◦ Cage: The Perilous Night; Marcus Hinterhauser, p.

◦ Satie: La Piège de Medusa (excerpt); Alexandre Tharaud, p.

◦ Cowell: Aeolian Harp & The Banshee; Henry Cowell, p.

◦ Nancarrow: Study No. 40a for Player Piano

◦ Zappa: Jazz From Hell; Zappa, syncalvier

◦ Zappa: Ruth is Sleeping; Ensemble Modern

◦ Reich: It’s Gonna Rain (excerpt); Brother Walter, nar.

◦ Reich: Piano Phase (excerpt); Josef Christof, Steffen Schleiermacher, pnos.

◦ Glass: Metamorphosis 1; Bruce Brubaker, p.

◦ Crumb: Night Spell & Dream Images fr. Makrokosmos; Margaret Leng Tan, p.

◦ Choi: To Unformed; Choi, piano

Seth talks with Chicago composer and pianist George Flynn.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a symphony! In the first Relevant Tones episode, Seth talks with Michael Daugherty about his Grammy Award-winning Metropolis Symphony, based on the myth of Superman.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Produced by Jesse McQuarters

Michael Daugherty: Metropolis Symphony

Nashville Symphony Orchestra; Giancarlo Guerrero, Conductor