Stay ConnectedA 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.
Copyright: © Seth Boustead
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
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