Relevant Tones

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

Jacob Druckman: Chiaroscuro (excerpt)

Steven Block: Shadows

Colin Brumby: Chiaroscuro, III

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

John Corigliano: Chiaroscuro, I & II

Richard Lavenda: Chiaroscuro

Laura Schwendinger: Chiaroscuro Azzurro, III

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

Ben Johnston: String Quartet No. 9 (excerpt)

Johnston: String Quartet No. 3 (excerpt)

Johnston: Sonata for Microtonal Piano, I & II

Johnston: String Quartet No. 4, Amazing Grace

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

Johnston: Trio

Johnston: Calamity Jane (excerpt)

Johnston: String Quartet No. 10, III

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

Lawrence Axelrod: Brandenburg Fantasia No. 5, V

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

Michael McLean: Suite for Viola and Orchestra, II

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

Carl Vollrath: Past Recollections, I. Piazzolla in Paris

Timo Andres: Mozart Coronation Concerto Re-Composition

George Perle: Classic Suite

Reginald R. Robinson: Man Out of Time

Maria Newman: Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra, III

Pierre Boulez: Notations I – IV

Esa-Pekka Salonen: Concerto for Violin, I

Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Hrím

Anna Clyne: Fits + Starts

Shulamit Ran: Mirage (excerpt)

Thea Musgrave: Concerto for Orchestra, I (excerpt)

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

William Susman: Vitality fr. Camille

Joseph Byrd: Animals

Gyan Riley: Stumble Smooth

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

Gordon Goodwin: Focus fr. Three Stages for String Quartet

Clancy Newman: Juxt-Opposition

Pamela J Marshall: Dance of the HooDoos- Allegro Vigoroso

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

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

Robert Kritz: Diaspora Dances

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

Robert Kritz: Blue Reflections for Saxophone and Piano

Robert Kritz: Connections, II & III

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

Daniel Kellogg: Beginnings from Divinum Mysterium (excerpt)

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

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

Evan Ziporyn: Ka fr. Sulvasutra

Tristan Murail: Gondwana (excerpt)

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

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

John Corigliano: The Mannheim Rocket

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

Dan Tepfer: Improvisation 1 & Variation 1

Uri Caine: The Introitus Variation

J.S. Bach: Aria fr. Goldberg Variations

Misha Zupko: Ghost Variation

Jennifer Higdon: Gilmore Variation

Derek Bermel: Kontraphunktus

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

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

Uri Caine: Variation 9 (Canon at the Third)

Uri Caine: Variation 10 (Fughetta)

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

Bright Sheng: Variation Fugato

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

Krzystof Penderecki: La Follia for Violin Solo (excerpts)

Amy Beth Kirsten: Pirouette on a Moon Sliver

Narong Prangcharoen: Antahkarana

Antonio Celso Ribeiro: Syrian Requiem, I & IV

Paul Yeon Lee: Lost in the Echo

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

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Eunwa Lee: Roadsound (excerpt)

Shinuh Lee: Chorale Fantasy No. 3

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

Cheonwook Kim: Descent into the Bottomless Abyss

Hyukjin Shin: Night Flight (excerpt)

Uzong Choe: Piano Prelude No. 8

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