(August 2021) Episode 347 is JULIA WOLFE.  I’ve seen the words “relentless” and “visceral” used to describe her music, and they are apt, and why I love it. There is much diversity and eclecticism in her sounds and styles, in part due to her collaborations in the Bang on a Can partnership, with a strong undercurrent of post-minimalism.  Her compositions feature an abundant lack of convention, offering frequent surprises around each corner.

Favorite piece: Big Beautiful Dark and Scary

Favorite single instrument piece: LAD (bagpipes)

Favorite choral work: Shelter (with Gordon and Lang)

Favorite cello/vocal multimedia freak-out: Spinning

Compared to expectations: ↑

(July 2021) Episode 344 of the “opus project” is LOUIS ANDRIESSEN, another one begun following the artist’s passing. Perhaps the most important modern Dutch composer, Andriessen’s works are like a menu sampler of classic musical genres of the 20^th century, from neoclassical to serialism to minimalism, then arriving at a style iconoclastically his own. There is a lot here to choose from, including operas, experimental pieces, odd combinations featuring rock music elements, and quiet little piano pieces. 

Favorite piece: Workers Union

Favorite choral/orchestral piece: De Staat

Compared to expectations: ↑

(July 2021) Episode 340 of the “opus project” is ANTON WEBERN. The last for me of the big three of the Second Viennese School of serious serialists. His portfolio isn’t big and he hardly makes it into any repertoires, but he was influential and the music is interesting.

Favorite piece: String Trio

Compared to expectations: same

(June 2021) Episode 335 is ARVO PÄRT, maybe the most popular living composer you’ve never heard of.  He started out in neo-classical and serialist forms, but then went into seclusion in the early 1970s and came out with a dramatically different approach.  He invented a form called tintinnabuli, of a minimalist aesthetic.  He also focused on choral works, mostly spiritual following study of medieval music and a personal religious conversion, which also forced him to leave the USSR. Much of Pärt’s music sounds meditative and mystical, embodying his spiritual inspirations. 

Favorite piece: Fratres (for violin and piano) 

Favorite choral piece: Stabat Mater

Favorite meditative piece: Spiegel im Spiegel

Compared to expectations: ↑

(May 2021) Episode 331 is KAIJA SAARIAHO. Saariaho is kind of a throwback, composing in conventional classical forms with conventional instruments, earning commissions and premiering at esteemed venues, rather than venturing into film soundtracks or cross-genre collaborations.  Her music, though, is very modern, with polyrhythms, dissonance and rich masses of sounds.  

Favorite piece: Circle Map 

Favorite concerto: Graal théâtre

Favorite chamber piece: Neiges

Favorite opera: L’Amour de loin

Compared to expectations: same

(March 2021) Episode 324 is ERIK SATIE. For his era, he stands out for the simplicity and subdued aesthetic of his works, primarily in piano, his most common medium. His compositions are intimate affairs, both for their brevity and straightforwardness. It’s not hard to see why he’s considered a precursor to minimalism and ambient music.

Favorite piece(s): Gymnopédies

Favorite orchestral work: Parade

Favorite choral work: Socrate

Compared to expectations: same

(March 2021) Episode 321 is UNSUK CHIN. A South Korean-born contemporary classical composer with a diverse array of influences (she studied under Ligeti), styles and forms, both conventional and experimental. Many of her works feature frenetic bursts of notes, and make full use of available sounds from instruments (sliding along strings, tapping the body).

Favorite piece: Cello Concerto

Favorite piano piece: Etude No. 5

Favorite choral work: Cantatrix Sopranica

Favorite experimental piece: Double Bind?

Compared to expectations: ↑

(February 2021) Episode 317 is GYÖRGY LIGETI. You will recognize him from the monolith music in 2001: A Space Odyssey, excerpted from his innovative choral works composed in a technique he called micropolyphony, which characterized his late 1960s focus.  But his breadth extended to electronic, chamber, orchestral and piano, making him one of the most influential and one of my favorite avant-garde composers of the second half of the 20th century.

Favorite piece: Chamber Concerto for 13 instrumentalists

Favorite choral work: Requiem

Favorite orchestral piece: Ramifications

Favorite chamber piece: String Quarter #2

Favorite keyboard piece: Hungarian Rock (Chaconne)

Compared to expectations: ↑