The twentieth century saw an interesting movement as composers banded together in collectives to help promote each other’s work.
Composer Collectives
Playlist
Not a Single Night’s Sky (excerpt), by Ed Harsh
New Millennium Ensemble
Blood on the Curb, by Greg Simon
Stepan Rudenko, piano
The Conjecture, by Timothy Edwards
Antonin Hradil, violin; Ludmila Bubenickova, cello; Lucie Kaucka, piano
Coming around?,by Belinda Reynolds
New Millennium Ensemble
Shiverer, by Eric Wubbels
Wet Ink Ensemble
The Alchemist and the cat-flap, by David Gordon
Adam Summerhayes, violin; Catherine Summerhayes, piano
Still Life with Arms Extended, by Christopher Cerrone
Christopher Cerrone, piano and electronics
Lapis Lazuli, by Carolyn Yarnell
New Millennium Ensemble
Foster the Music Festival — Darmstadt
One of the world’s most famous new music festival, Foster the Music, has been held in Darmstadt since 1946.
Playlist
Kreuzspiel (excerpt) by, Karlheinz Stockhausen
Alfred Schweinfurter, oboe; Wolfgang Marx, bass clarinet; David Tudor, piano; Christoph Caskel, Heinz Haedler, & Manfred Wehner, percussion; Karlheinz Stockhausen, conductor
Doubles, by Pierre Boulez
Het Residentie Orkest; Pierre Boulez, condcutor
Sequenza No.1 for Flutem by Luciano Berio
Severino Gazzelloni, flute
a un moment de terre perdue, by Beat Furrer
Klangform Wien; Beat Furrer, conductor
Salz, by Enno Poppe
Ensemble Mosaik
Composer Alive — Poland
Access Contemporary Music has commissioned the Warsaw based composer Agnieszka Stulgińska for their annual Composer Alive project, which tasks international composers to write a piece inspired by their homeland.
Playlist
Dance with My Breath, by Agnieszka Stulginska
Palomar Ensemble; Francesco Milioto, conductor
Moon Flowers, by Marta Ptaszynska
Palomar Ensemble; Francesco Milioto, conductor
Jennifer Koh
Jennifer Koh tells us about some of the 60 works that have been written especially for her including a new work by Kaija Saariaho.
Playlist
Bedeviled, by Phil Kline
Jennifer Koh, violin
Sense, by Kaija Saariaho
Jennifer Koh, violin
The Singing Rooms, by Jennifer Higdon
Jennifer Koh, violin; Atlanta Symphony Orchestra ; Robert Spano, conductor
Graal théâtre: Delicato and Impetuoso, by Kaija Saariaho
Jennifer Koh, violin; Conner Covington, conductor; Curtis 20/21 Ensemble
A Bernstein Family Photo Album
In celebration of the centenary of her father’s birth, Jamie Bernstein shares some of her favorite family photos – including a couple shared exclusively with WFMT.
Related Posts
Synesthesia in Music and Visual Art
We’re finding out how color and visual art affect composers and their music.
Playlist
Bright Blue Music for Orchestra, by Michael Torke
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
Rothko Chapel, by Morton Feldman
California EAR Unit
Short Stories for Saxophone Quartet I & IV, by Jennifer Higdon
Ancia Saxophone Quartet
Light Coming on the Plains & Starlight Night from Prairie Light: 3 Texas Watercolors of Georgia O’Keefe, by Dan Welcher
Honolulu Symphony Orchestra; Donald Johanos, conductor
The Twittering Machine fr. Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee, by Gunther Schuller
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra; Antal Dorati, conductor
Twittering Machine, by Cindy McTee
North Texas Wind Symphony; Eugene Migliaro Corporon, condcutor
King of the Sun, I & IV, by Stephen Hartke
Dunsmuir Piano Quartet
Bright Blue Music for Orchestra, by Michael Torke
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
Thirsty Ears Festival LIVE in the Levin Performance Studio
We’re opening our doors to Nick Photinos, David Schrader, and other Thirsty Ears Street Festival performers for a preview concert.
Playlist
Information, from “Artifacts”, by Florent Ghys
Nick Photinos, solo cello and electronics
“La” Suite for Flute and Piano, by Amy Wurtz
IV. Love
V. Laude
John Wachala, Flute; Amy Wurtz, Piano
Middleground, by Shelley Washington
Zafa Collective
Improvisation, by David Schrader
David Schrader, piano
Arizona Mirage, by Mauricio Arias
Josephine Yang, piano
On a Windswept Plain, by Trevor Patrick Watkin
Trevor Patrick Watkin, flute; Josephine Yang, Piano
Factory and Flowers, from “Artifacts”, by Florent Ghys
Nick Photinos, solo cello and electronics
Haitian Composers
Cellist, music educator, and concert organizer Tom Clowes stops by to talk with Seth about the music of Haitian composers.
Playlist
“Clair de Lune” (“Moonlight”), by Sabrina Claire Detty Jean Louis
Crossing Borders Music Collective; Sara Chazin and Maya Shiraishi, violin; Ben Weber, viola; Tom Clowes, cello
Suite Folklorique, by Werner Jaegerhuber
Crossing Borders Music Collective; Sara Chazin and Maya Shiraishi, violin; Ben Weber, viola; Tom Clowes, cello
Exodus String Quartet: I. Tale, by Jean “Rudy” Perrault
Crossing Borders Music Collective; Sara Chazin and Maya Shiraishi, violin; Ben Weber, viola; Tom Clowes, cello
String Quartet “From Exile, Lòt Bò Dlo”, Op. 3, by Claude Dauphin
Crossing Borders Music Collective; Sara Chazin and Maya Shiraishi, violin; Ben Weber, viola; Tom Clowes, cello
Choucoune, by Michel Monton
Crossing Borders Music Collective; Sara Chazin and Maya Shiraishi, violin; Ben Weber, viola; Tom Clowes, cello
Quartet No. 1, by Julio Racine
Crossing Borders Music Collective; Sara Chazin and Maya Shiraishi, violin; Ben Weber, viola; Tom Clowes, cello
Misha’s Bear Dance, by Terry Riley
Regina Myers, Piano
Composer Spotlight: Joan Tower
Joan Tower is an accomplished composer, conductor, pianist and educator who has reached the pinnacle of success and inspired numerous composers to follow in her footsteps.
Playlist
Fanfare No. 1 for the Uncommon Woman
Marin Alsop, Conductor; Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Black Topaz
Laura Flax, Clarinet; Patricia Spencer, Flute; Deborah Moore, Jonathan Haas, Percussion; Stephen Gosling, piano; Mike Powell*, trombone; Chris Gekker, trumpet
Silver Ladders
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Petroushskates
Eighth Blackbird
Made in America
Nashville Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Just Intonation
In Just Intonation, we’re leaving the world of equal-temperament behind and exploring various contemporary pieces written for instruments.
Playlist
The Harp of New Albion- Premonition Rag, by Terry Riley
Terry Riley, piano
Just Ancient Loops, II, by Michael Harrison
Maya Beiser, vc.
The Harp of New Albion – Cadence on the Wind, by Terry Riley
Terry Riley, piano
Serenade for Guitar – Air, by Lou Harrison
David Tannenbaum, guitar
Dharma at Big Sur – A New Day, by John Adams
BBC Symphony Orchestra/John Adams, conductor; Tracy Silverman, violin
Trio, by Ben Johnson
Trio Amici
Fugitive Objects, by Kyle Gann
Kyle Gann, piano
Everything Must Go, II, by Martin Bresnick
Prism Saxophone Quartet
