Contemporary Classical Music Podcast
As the WFC 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 … Continue reading #378 William Ferris Chorale Part I
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 … Continue reading #224 Memory Palaces
Chicago is rapidly becoming known as one of the country’s premiere cities for contemporary music and the Ear Taxi festival aims to showcase as much of this exciting activity as possible. Seth talks with festival founder and producer Augusta Read Thomas and chooses the highlights from the festival’s ambitious lineup of 300 musicians, 75 composers, 25 ensembles, … Continue reading #196 Ear Taxi Festival Preview
Formed as an unprecedented umbrella organization comprised of all of the groups in the city performing contemporary music, New Music Chicago is a model of large-scale, inter-organizational cooperation. We’ll feature audio from their ten-year anniversary concert. Hosted by Seth BousteadProduced by Jesse McQuarters JacobTV: Close Fight (excerpt) Stephen Burns, trumpet, Andy Baker, trombone (Fulcrum Point) … Continue reading #167 A Decade of New Music Chicago
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 … Continue reading #142 Augusta Read Thomas
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 BousteadProduced by Jesse McQuarters Arnold Schoenberg – … Continue reading #64 Stravinsky and Schoenberg: 100 Years Part II
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 BousteadProduced by Jesse McQuarters Karol Szymanowski: Symphony No. 3, Vienna Phil/BoulezAugusta Read … Continue reading #58 Music Inspired by Rumi
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 BousteadProduced … Continue reading #47 Ying Quartet: Life Music