Daily Schedule

I finally know what it is...

The birds are gone.

It was their song that welcomed me into each Spring day and the absence of their melodies has finally caught my attention.

Much exposure to New Music these days comes in the form of invented or electronically enhanced instruments and experimental mash-ups of seemingly distinct genres. It's less frequent that you hear of innovation in a genre as long-established as a cappella choral music. However, in this episode of Cued Up on Q2, we explore two concerts from contemporary composers Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis and David Lang who have forged idiosyncratic voices in writing uniquely for choir and, in doing so, opened new vistas to what the choral music of the 21st century sounds like. 

This week Hammered! takes its programmatic cue from the probing musical curiosity of pianist Alexei Lubimov, beginning Monday with a Web cast of his Late-Night Elegies recital at Lincoln Center's White Light Festival. The haunting performance features a set of unlikely composers ranging from Valentin Silvestrov to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, whose Fantasia in F-sharp minor, no joke, sounds supremely freaky next to Tigran Mansurian’s Nostalgia.