It’s the most wonderful time of the month – where we showcase some of the new music that has reached our earholes. There’s macabre work from Violinist and vocalist Carla Kihlstedt based on a book by Edward Gorey, the inverted string quartet OWLS, and Icelandic composer María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, to name a few.

Listen to music from OWLS, an inverted string quartet with a collective approach to arranging and interpreting. Owls happens to be an all-star band of current and former members of yMusic, Aizuri Quartet, and Kronos Quartet: Alexi Kenney (violin), Ayane Kozasa (viola), Gabriel Cabezas (cello), and Paul Wiancko (cello). Listen to their arrangement of music by the folk duo Trollstilt (Dan Trueman and Monica Mugan), from their forthcoming album, Rare Birds, produced by Grammy™-winner William Brittelle. There’s also music by violinist and vocalist Carla Kihlstedt based on Edward Gorey's macabre classic The Gashlycrumb Tinies, which chronicles the untimely demises of 26 children in alphabetical order, with illustrations and rhyming couplets. Kihlstedt has also crafted lyrics which tell a story from the perspective of the child, or the thing that caused their demise. Listen to “Death by Peach” after “E is for Earnest who choked on a peach”.

Then, hear music by Icelandic composer María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, her “Aequora”, for electronics with violin and piano, without time signatures, in which the duo Mystery Sonata (Mina Gajić and Zachary Carrettin) respond to the electronic atmospheres. Also, listen to work by composer, electronic musician and violinist Matt McBane from his latest, Buoy. There’s a new recording by European post-punk electronic discipline of Immersion in collaboration with the American ambient country band SUSS, a new live record by Syrian-born New York-based Kinan Azmeh and CityBand, and new work by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir as well. - Caryn Havlik

Program #4981, New Releases, Feb. 2025 (First aired 2/28/2025)

ARTIST: Carla Kihlstedt, Present Music, David Bloom (cond.)
WORK: Death By Peach [1:00]
RECORDING: 26 Little Deaths
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music, due out March 28
INFO: https://carlakihlstedt.bandcamp.com/album/26-little-deaths

ARTIST: Immersion | SUSS
WORK: Cross Pollination [7:03]
RECORDING: Nanocluster Vol.3
SOURCE: Swim
INFO: https://swim.greedbag.com/buy/nanocluster-vol-8/

ARTIST: Matt McBane
WORK: Buoy [5:23]
RECORDING: Buoy
SOURCE: Gradient Music
INFO: https://mattmcbane.bandcamp.com/album/buoy

ARTIST: Carla Kihlstedt, Present Music, David Bloom (cond.)
WORK: Death By Peach [4:26]
RECORDING: 26 Little Deaths
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music, due out March 28
INFO: https://carlakihlstedt.bandcamp.com/album/26-little-deaths

ARTIST: OWLS
WORK: Ricercar by Trollstilt (Dan Trueman & Monica Mugan) [4:20]
RECORDING: Rare Birds
SOURCE: New Amsterdam, due out March 14
INFO: https://owls-are-everywhere.bandcamp.com/album/rare-birds

ARTIST: Kinan Azmeh & CityBand
WORK: Daraa [9:56]
RECORDING: Live in Berlin
SOURCE: Dreyer Gaido
INFO: https://kinanazmeh.com

ARTIST: Mystery Sonata
WORK: María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir: Aequora [10:02]
RECORDING: Aequora
SOURCE: Sono Luminous
INFO: https://sonoluminuslabel.bandcamp.com/album/aequora

ARTIST: Claire Chase, flutes; Katinka Kleijn and Seth Parker Woods, cellos; Cory Smythe, piano; Levy Lorenzo, live sound
WORK: Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Ubique, Part V [2:39]
RECORDING: Anna Thorvaldsdottir - Ubique
SOURCE: Sono Luminous
INFO: https://sonoluminuslabel.bandcamp.com/album/ubique