Relevant Tones

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&n...

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...

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...

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....

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 liv...

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 revolutio...

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 Littl...

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 Setti...

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...

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 Rabinowi...

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 , Debu...

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 McQuarte...

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 , Leona...

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 (...

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 S abrina 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 Stri...

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 Phil...

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 Concert...

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 Ensem...

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 internat...

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 Jacks...