Contemporary Classical Music Podcast
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 … Continue reading #376 Songs About Buildings and Moods
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 … Continue reading #313 ‘Songs About Buildings and Moods’ Live
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. MUSIC Rube G. by Frank … Continue reading #312 Useless Machines
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 Fountain by Amy Wurtz Polish Triangle … Continue reading #303 Sonic Walkabout 2021
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. MUSIC Still Life (mvmt 3) by Elena Kats-Chernin - Performed by Stephen Emmerson, piano and Patricia … Continue reading #290 Still Life
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 all navigate this difficult time. We … Continue reading #283 Moments in this Time
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. MUSICNacht (excerpt) by … Continue reading #274 Pandemic Dances
Narrative is an important aspect of both music and storytelling. Seth will talk 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 … Continue reading #273 What’s the Narrative?