Note: On-demand audio for SymphonyCast is available for 30 days after broadcast in most cases.

On the latest episode of SymphonyCast, Chilean-born conductor Paolo Bortolameolli leads the Minnesota Orchestra in Sergei Prokofiev’s intense Symphony No. 3, and the orchestra’s own Susie Park shines in Gabriela Ortiz’ fiery Violin Concerto, Altar de Cuerda. The concert is kicked off by Miguel Farías’ evocative Retratos Australes. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Program

Susie Park, violin
Minnesota Orchestra
Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor

FARÍAS: Retratos Australes
ORTIZ: Altar de Cuerda
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 3
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 8 (Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor; Bis 1516)

Opera fanatics are persnickety — especially when it comes to singers. Any promising newcomer on the scene will inevitably be placed under a microscope, judged against the so-called "greatest" stars of the past who have sung the same standard repertoire and set any number of arbitrary "gold standards."

Enter Beth Taylor, a Scottish mezzo-soprano whose voluptuous and cavernous voice is almost shockingly beautiful, whether she's unspooling long, flowing lines of text, tenderly paring it down to a thin golden strand of sound, or pushing to thunderous decibels.

Taylor is flying under the radar right now, but not for long. Her stock has been slowly rising since she wowed judges at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2023, where she was a finalist. Last month in London, she made her Royal Opera House debut to glowing reviews. And now she's released her debut solo album called The Deeps Have Music.

The album's title is snatched from a line in Edward Elgar's Sea Pictures, a song cycle from 1899 which anchors this smartly curated, wide ranging recital of songs about the sea. Through a mix of old and new music, Taylor offers myriad views of our relationship to the vast, powerful and mysterious ocean.

Almost every proud British mezzo-soprano with a solid low register has a go at Elgar's evocative Pictures. While the texts may seem fusty today — awash with craggy coves and elfin imagery — Elgar's sweeping music still shines. Taylor's voice is an astoundingly perfect fit. On the song "Where Corals Lie" it plunges as deep as the oceans she sings about, ending with the barest thread of perfectly supported tone. No other singer today can offer both her majesty and detailed dramatic insight. This recording sets a new standard. While the performance is missing Elgar's original orchestration, Taylor's empathetic and imaginative pianist, Hamish Brown, has created a piano and voice reduction based on Elgar's own piano accompaniment. You can feel every roiling wave and taste every smoldering wisp of sea spray.

Taylor is a 32-year-old native of Glasgow who labels herself a mezzo-soprano — but I'm not sure that's true. Her sturdy, burgundy-colored, lower register sinks comfortably into contralto territory. It's a plush instrument used with intelligence — especially in her phrasing, where every line is sculpted with utmost care without being fussy.

The Breakers, for instance, is a brand new, two-paneled set of songs contrasting a tempestuous storm at sea with an introspective, moonlit moment by a river. The composer, a young Welshman named Cameron Biles-Liddle, dedicated the piece to Taylor, who interprets both the turbulent and tender sides of the songs with sublime confidence. The music exploits her dusky, low end and seemingly inexhaustible breath control.

Taylor includes a few deep cuts on the album, including Hamilton Harty's tragic "Sea Wrack" and Schubert's atmospheric "Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren," in a performance that leans into the mystery of a boatman bewitched by the twin stars Castor and Pollux, delivered in nuanced, idiomatic German.

Undervalued women composers also get a turn in the spotlight. Alma Mahler, Gustav's wife, compares love to the unpredictability of a vast ocean in a prayerfully rendered "Lobgesang," while the feisty English suffragette Ethel Smyth paints Three Moods of the Sea in bold pastels and expansive phrases in which Taylor luxuriates. A truly rare discovery here is the set of six short songs, Petits Poèmes du Bord de l'Eau by the forgotten Parisian professor Hedwige Chretien. They are by turns puckish, intimate and evocative — and at least 100 years old, but they sound tailor made for Taylor, who savors the open French vowels and subtle coloring.

Regardless of whether we call her a mezzo-soprano or not, Taylor is blessed with uncommon vocal beauty and the intellect to back it up. Now, with a thoroughly satisfying debut album, she's at the doorstep of stardom.

Copyright 2026, NPR

Composer and pianist Julius Eastman’s personal philosophy was, “To be what I am to the fullest.” A graduate of the Curtis Institute, his music was highly acclaimed and challenged racist and homophobic stereotypes. Find out more in the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ violinist Ariana Kim sews an ‘(un)common thread,’ connecting a collage of composers through the art of improvisation, on her latest album. Listen now with host Julie Amacher!

As Steve Seel bids farewell to evenings on YourClassical for a new shift in the daylight hours, Extra Eclectic completes its decade-long run with a playlist of some of his favorite 21st-century classical music discoveries of over the years — and, works that elicited particular enthusiasm from listeners as well. Composers and musicians featured include Clarice Jensen, John Luther Adams, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Dobrinka Tabakova, Meredith Monk, Steve Tibbetts and many others. Listen now!

Playlist

Canticles of the Sky: Sky with Endless Stars
Composer: John Luther Adams
Conductor: Hans Jorgen Jensen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Northwestern University Cello Ensemble
Cold Blue 41

The Dharma at Big Sur: A New Day
Composer: John Adams
Conductor: John Adams
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Tracy Silverman, violin
Nonesuch 512396

In Paradisum
Composer: Galina Grigorjeva
Conductor: Paul Hillier
Orchestra/Ensemble: Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Ondine 1245

Sky
Composer: Jane Antonia Cornish
Soloists: Vicky Chow, piano
Canteloupe 21174

Truro Canticles
Composer: Dobrinka Tabakova
Conductor: Christopher Gray
Orchestra/Ensemble: Truro Cathedral Choir
Soloists: Joseph Wicks, organ
Regent 530

Final
Composer: Clarice Jensen
Soloists: Clarice Jensen, cello
130701 1339

Life of Joel
Composer: Steve Tibbetts
Soloists: Steve Tibbetts, guitar and piano
ECM 2599

Rainbows, I
Composer: Stephen Scott
Orchestra/Ensemble: The Bowed Piano Ensemble
New Albion 107

Mass for the Endangered: Alleluia
Composer: Sarah Kirkland Snider
Conductor: Gabriel Crouch
Orchestra/Ensemble: Gallicantus
Nonesuch 791998

In This Life
Composer: Sophia Subbayya Vastek
Soloists: Sophia Subbayya Vastek, piano
SELF PROD 2022

Salt Air, Salt Earth
Composer: Clarice Jensen
Soloists: Maya Beiser, cello
Islandia 16

To the Hands: Ever Ever Ever
Composer: Caroline Shaw
Conductor: Donald Nally
Orchestra/Ensemble: The Crossing
Innova 912

Nightfall
Composer: Meredith Monk
Soloists: Sean Shibe, electric guitar
PentaTone 988

Canticles of the Sky: Sky with Endless Stars
Composer: John Luther Adams
Conductor: Hans Jorgen Jensen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Northwestern University Cello Ensemble
Cold Blue 41

There is nothing quite like opera: a full stage production where performers are asked to sing hours of music, in multiple languages, at the very top and bottom of their ranges, and all over a full orchestra. In this episode, Classically Training makes a trip to the Minnesota Opera to find out where this art form came from and how all the pieces come together.

Note: On-demand audio for SymphonyCast is available for 30 days after broadcast in most cases.

On the latest episode of SymphonyCast, it’s an end-of-season party like no other: the Last Night of the Proms! The BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus, and BBC Singers are joined by and pianist Yuja Wang and Scottish tenor Nicky Spence. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Program

Nicky Spence, tenor
Yuja Wang, piano
BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

BERNSTEIN: Overture to Candide
FOULDS: Lament from Keltic Suite
DVORAK: Vidino divan, přesladká from Rusalka
SMETANA: Vltava from Má vlast
BARBER: Piano Concerto
PARTON: Dolly Parton Tribute
TRADITIONAL: Fantasia on British Sea Songs
ARNE: “Rule, Britannia!”
ELGAR: Pomp and Circumstance, March No. 1
PARRY: Jerusalem
TRADITIONAL: The National Anthem
TRADITIONAL: Auld Lang Syne (edited)

The BBC Proms concerts return to YourClassical for the 2026 season. Enjoy live performances featuring world-class ensembles, conductors and soloists from the Royal Albert Hall in London. Listen at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Central on weekdays through Friday, Sept. 25 — plus on-demand audio for 30 days afterward.

YourClassical and nationally

Listed in reverse chronological order, with most recent broadcast at top.

Friday, Sept. 25 – 10 p.m. Central

DVORAK: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"

Prom 65: Dvořák's New World Symphony | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Sakari Oramo, conductor | Jess Gillam, saxophone | Ben Goldscheider, horn | Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello

Recorded Sept. 6, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 25 – 10 a.m. Central

BRITTEN: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Prom 65: Dvořák's New World Symphony | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Sakari Oramo, conductor | Jess Gillam, saxophone | Ben Goldscheider, horn | Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello

Recorded Sept. 6, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 24 – 10 p.m. Central

STRAUSS: Four Last Songs

Prom 69: Strauss' Four Last Songs | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra | Paweł Kapuła, conductor | Natalya Romaniw, soprano

Recorded Sept. 9, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 24 – 10 a.m. Central

SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"

Prom 69: Strauss' Four Last Songs | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra | Paweł Kapuła, conductor | Natalya Romaniw, soprano

Recorded Sept. 9, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 23, – 10 p.m. Central

MAHLER: What the Wild Flowers Tell Me

Prom 69: Strauss' Four Last Songs | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra | Paweł Kapuła, conductor | Natalya Romaniw, soprano

Recorded Sept. 9, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 23 – 10 a.m. Central

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Prom 62: Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 9 | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra | Andrew Manze, conductor | Simone Lamsma, violin: Vaughan Williams, Britten, Smickersgill

Recorded Sept. 4, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 22 – 10 p.m. Central

SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 2

Prom 66: Rattle conducts Schumann | Freiburg Baroque Orchestra | Sir Simon Rattle, conductor | Isabelle Faust, violin

Recorded Sept. 7, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 22 – 10 a.m. Central

SCHUMANN: Genoveva: Overture

Prom 66: Rattle conducts Schumann | Freiburg Baroque Orchestra | Sir Simon Rattle, conductor | Isabelle Faust, violin

Recorded Sept. 7, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Sept. 21 – 10 p.m. Central

SIMCOCK: Triple Concerto for Soprano Saxophone, Horn, and Cello

Prom 65: Dvořák's New World Symphony | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Sakari Oramo, conductor | Jess Gillam, saxophone | Ben Goldscheider, horn | Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello

Recorded Sept. 6, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Sept. 21 – 10 a.m. Central

BERKELEY: Serenade for Strings

Prom 64: Matinee - John Wilson and Sinfonia of London Strings | Julie Roset, soprano: Berkeley, Bridge, Britten, I. Holst

Recorded Sept. 6, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 18 – 10 p.m. Central

SCHUMANN: Violin Concerto

Prom 66: Rattle conducts Schumann | Freiburg Baroque Orchestra | Sir Simon Rattle, conductor | Isabelle Faust, violin

Recorded Sept. 7, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 18 – 10 a.m. Central

JANACEK: Sinfonietta

Prom 58: Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Jakub Hrůša conductor | Lukáš Vondráček, piano: Kaprálová, Rachmaninov, Janáček

Recorded Sept. 1, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 17 – 10 p.m. Central

BRITTEN: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge

Prom 64: Matinee - John Wilson and Sinfonia of London Strings | Julie Roset, soprano: Berkeley, Bridge, Britten, I. Holst

Recorded Sept. 6, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 17 – 10 a.m. Central

IMOGEN HOLST: Suite for String Orchestra

Prom 64: Matinee - John Wilson and Sinfonia of London Strings | Julie Roset, soprano: Berkeley, Bridge, Britten, I. Holst

Recorded Sept. 6, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 16 – 10 p.m. Central

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Symphony No. 9

Prom 62: Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 9 | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra | Andrew Manze, conductor | Simone Lamsma, violin: Vaughan Williams, Britten, Smickersgill

Recorded Sept. 4, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 16 – 10 a.m. Central

MOZART: Symphony No. 35 "Haffner"

Prom 47: Matinee - Mozart's Haffner Symphony | Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields | Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, direction | Amy Harman, bassoon and Felix Klieser, French horn: Britten, Mozart, Musgrave, Elgar

Recorded Aug. 23, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 15 – 10 p.m. Central

BRITTEN: Violin Concerto

Prom 62: Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 9 | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra | Andrew Manze, conductor | Simone Lamsma, violin: Vaughan Williams, Britten, Smickersgill

Recorded Sept. 4, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 15 – 10 a.m. Central

DEBUSSY: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Prom 48: Gautier Capuçon plays Dvořák | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Alain Altinoglu, conductor: Stravinsky, Dvořák, Debussy, Varèse

Recorded Aug 23, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Sept. 14 – 10 p.m. Central

TORVUND: Symphonic Poem No. 1 "Forest Morning"

Prom 55: Stravinsky and Prokofiev with the Oslo Philharmonic | Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor | Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin

Recorded Aug 29, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Sept. 14 – 10 a.m. Central

STRAUSS: Der Rosenkavalier Suite

Prom 51: The Met Orchestra plays Strauss | Metropolitan Opera Orchestra | Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor | Elza van der Heever, soprano

Recorded Aug 26, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 11 – 10 p.m. Central

WALLER-BRIDGE: Solitudes

Prom 53: Late Night - Ultimate Calm with Erland Cooper

Recorded Aug 27, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 11 – 10 a.m. Central

ELGAR: Enigma Variations

Prom 59: Elgar and Tchaikovsky | Berlin Philharmonic | Kirill Petrenko, conductor

Recorded Sept 2, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 10 – 10 p.m. Central

HAYDN: Symphony No. 45 "Farewell"

Prom 45: Mahler's Song of the Earth | BBC Philharmonic | Anja Bihlmaier, conductor | Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano | Clay Hilley, tenor: El-Turk, Haydn, Mahler

Recorded Aug 21, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 10 – 10 a.m. Central

KAPRALOVA: Rustic Suite

Prom 58: Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Jakub Hrůša conductor | Lukáš Vondráček, piano: Kaprálová, Rachmaninov, Janáček

Recorded Sept. 1, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 9 (Extra Eclectic) – 10 p.m. Central

COPLAND: Appalachian Spring

Prom 49: American Classics | Philharmonia Orchestra | Marin Alsop, conductor | Marcus Roberts Trio: Tower, Bernstein, Gershwin, Moross, Copland, Grant Still

Recorded Aug. 24, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 9 – 10 a.m. Central

BERNSTEIN: On the Town: Three Dance Episodes

Prom 49: American Classics | Philharmonia Orchestra | Marin Alsop, conductor | Marcus Roberts Trio: Tower, Bernstein, Gershwin, Moross, Copland, Grant Still

Recorded Aug. 24, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 8 – 10 p.m. Central

DVORAK: Cello Concerto

Prom 48: Gautier Capuçon plays Dvořák | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Alain Altinoglu, conductor: Stravinsky, Dvořák, Debussy, Varèse

Recorded Aug. 23, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 8 – 10 a.m. Central

GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue

Prom 49: American Classics | Philharmonia Orchestra | Marin Alsop, conductor | Marcus Roberts Trio: Tower, Bernstein, Gershwin, Moross, Copland, Grant Still

Recorded Aug. 24, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Sept. 7 – 10 p.m. Central

MARSALIS: Concerto for Orchestra

Prom 37: Gershwin's Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | James Gaffigan, conductor | Yeol Eum Son, piano: Marsalis, Gershwin, Barber

Recorded Aug. 13, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Sept. 7 – 10 a.m. Central

GERSHWIN: Piano Concerto

Prom 37: Gershwin's Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | James Gaffigan, conductor | Yeol Eum Son, piano: Marsalis, Gershwin, Barber

Recorded Aug. 13, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 4 – 10 p.m. central

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"

Prom 33: Dudamel and the LA Phil 1 | Los Angeles Philharmonic | Gustavo Dudamel, conductor: Beethoven and Adès

Recorded Aug. 11, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 4 – 10 a.m. Central

BERNSTEIN: West Side Story: Symphonic Dances

Prom 49: American Classics | Philharmonia Orchestra | Marin Alsop, conductor | Marcus Roberts Trio: Tower, Bernstein, Gershwin, Moross, Copland, Grant Still

Recorded Aug. 24, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 3 – 10 p.m. Central

DVORAK: Symphony No. 8

Prom 46: Chineke! Orchestra with Angel Blue | Jonathon Heyward, conductor: Thornton Jenkins, Barber, Dvořák

Recorded Aug. 22, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 3 – 10 a.m. Central

MOZART: Horn Concerto No. 3

Prom 47: Matinee - Mozart's Haffner Symphony | Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields | Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, direction | Amy Harman, bassoon and Felix Klieser, French horn: Britten, Mozart, Musgrave, Elgar

Recorded Aug. 23, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 2 (Extra Eclectic) – 10 p.m. Central

BARBER: Knoxville: Summer of 1915

Prom 46: Chineke! Orchestra with Angel Blue | Jonathon Heyward, conductor: Thornton Jenkins, Barber, Dvořák

Recorded Aug. 22, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 2 – 10 a.m. Central

BRITTEN: Simple Symphony

Prom 47: Matinee - Mozart's Haffner Symphony | Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields | Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, direction | Amy Harman, bassoon and Felix Klieser, French horn: Britten, Mozart, Musgrave, Elgar

Recorded Aug. 23, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 1 – 10 p.m. Central

BARBER: Symphony No. 1

Prom 37: Gershwin's Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | James Gaffigan, conductor | Yeol Eum Son, piano: Marsalis, Gershwin, Barber

Recorded Aug. 13, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 1 – 10 a.m. Central

JENKINS: Dance Suite

Prom 46: Chineke! Orchestra with Angel Blue | Jonathon Heyward, conductor: Thornton Jenkins, Barber, Dvořák

Recorded Aug. 22, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Aug. 31 – 10 p.m. Central

HOWARD: Concerto for Brass "SIGNAL"

Prom 22: Kavakos Plays Tchaikovsky | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Paavo Järvi, conductor | Leonidas Kavakos, violin: Howard, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin

Recorded Aug. 2, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Aug. 31 – 10 a.m. Central

COPLAND: Billy the Kid: Suite

Prom 41: Copland and Stravinsky | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | Ryan Bancroft, conductor | Anthony McGill: clarinet: Copland, Kahane, Stravinsky

Recorded Aug. 17, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Aug. 28 – 10 p.m. Central

BOULANGER: Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra

Prom 25: Rachmaninov's Second | Hallé | Kachun Wong, conductor | Alexandra Dariescu, piano: Ravel, Boulanger, Rachmaninov

Recorded Aug. 5, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Aug. 28 – 10 a.m. Central

MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto

Prom 24: Dvořák and Mendelssohn | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | Elena Schwarz, conductor | Alina Ibragimova, violin

Recorded Aug. 4, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Aug. 27 – 10 p.m. Central

DVORAK: Symphony No. 7

Prom 24: Dvořák and Mendelssohn | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | Elena Schwarz, conductor | Alina Ibragimova, violin

Recorded Aug. 4, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Aug. 27 – 10 a.m. Central

SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4

Prom 19: Bruch's Violin Concerto | German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen | Omer Meir Wellber, conductor | Daniel Lozakovich, violin: Haydn, Bruch, Schumann

Recorded July 31, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Aug. 26 (Extra Eclectic) – 10 p.m. Central

TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto

Prom 22: Kavakos Plays Tchaikovsky | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Paavo Järvi, conductor | Leonidas Kavakos, violin: Howard, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin

Recorded Aug. 2, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Aug. 26 – 10 a.m. Central

TABAKOVA: Orpheus' Comet

Prom 18: Korngold's Violin Concerto | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra | Delyana Lazarova, conductor | Alena Baeva, violin: Tabakova, Korngold, Prokofiev

Recorded July 30, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Aug. 25 – 10 p.m. Central

POULENC: Sinfonietta

Prom 14: Poulenc and Adams | City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Orchestra | Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus | Lucas and Arthur Jussen, pianos

Recorded July 26, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Aug. 25 – 10 a.m. Central

BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1

Prom 19: Bruch's Violin Concerto | German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen | Omer Meir Wellber, conductor | Daniel Lozakovich, violin: Haydn, Bruch, Schumann

Recorded July 31, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Aug. 24 – 10 p.m. Central

TJOGERSON: Between Trees

Prom 15: From the Alps to the Auvergne | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Edward Gardner, conductor: Tjøgersen, Canteloube, Strauss

Recorded July 27, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Aug. 24 – 10 a.m. Central

POULENC: Concerto for Two Pianos

Prom 14: Poulenc and Adams | City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Orchestra | Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus | Lucas and Arthur Jussen, pianos

Recorded July 26, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 24, 2026 — YourClassical MPR today has announced that veteran public radio host Steve Seel will serve as the next host of YourClassical MPR’s Morning Show beginning on October 5. Seel will take the helm from John Birge, who retired from the host chair in August of this year.

Seel brings more than three decades of experience as a public media host and producer. A familiar voice to YourClassical audiences, Seel currently hosts Sunday through Tuesday evening classical music and the national concert program SymphonyCast, produces and hosts regional concert broadcasts with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and has been a regular fill-in host for YourClassical MPR.

“We’re thrilled Steve Seel will move into the morning drive chair at YourClassical MPR!” said Julie Amacher, programming director at YourClassical MPR. “Steve weaves his in-depth knowledge of the music and our arts community together with his delightful sense of wit and awareness of what’s going on in our world today. That approach makes classical music relevant for our listeners every day.”

Seel began his career in public media working shifts at his hometown station of WUSF-FM in Tampa, Florida, and from there worked his way to Buffalo, New York, where he hosted at the renowned classical station WNED-FM. Seel moved to Minnesota in 1999 to become a weekend and overnight host for American Public Media’s YourClassical.

When The Current launched in 2005, Seel was one of the station’s founding voices and served as midday host before becoming a co-host of The Morning Show alongside Jill Riley in 2009. In 2015, he returned to YourClassical, where he’s served as an evening host and as host of Extra Eclectic.

“I'm honored to be taking over the chair for my good friend and colleague John Birge in the mornings on Your Classical MPR,” said Seel. “While John is in no way replaceable, I promise to bring listeners all of this wonderful music with the same amount of love, and a little humor, too. I can't wait to get started.”

As part of Seel’s transition to the YourClassical MPR host chair, Extra Eclectic will have its last show on September 28. He will continue to host SymphonyCast each weekend. Seel will be heard on YourClassical MPR starting Oct. 5 from 6 – 10 a.m. Mondays – Fridays.

After a decade-plus, longtime host Steve Seel’s Extra Eclectic show on YourClassical is coming to an end. Listen on Monday, Sept. 28, at 10 p.m. Central to hear the final episode. This change comes as Steve makes the transition to YourClassical’s new morning host — 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays — starting on Monday, Oct. 5.

But before then, here’s a little, ahem, extra background on Extra Eclectic and the overall approach for modern classical on YourClassical.

How did Extra Eclectic come to be?

When I returned to YourClassical MPR in 2015 after 10 years as a host on The Current, Program Director Julie Amacher and I talked about how we might capitalize on my lifelong interest in contemporary classical music, and our first idea was for a new show. I was thrilled that Julie was not just receptive to the idea, but enthusiastic! (I had created and hosted a show called Present Tense at WNED-FM in Buffalo, NY during the 1990s, and perhaps that fortified her confidence; I'm not sure). I put together a mockup of what I envisioned, and she allowed me to run with it almost immediately. That practically never happens.

Where did the name come from?

At first, the show didn't even have a name! It was just two hours on a Wednesday night when we played modern classical. Not long after we started it, I just started saying, "thanks for joining me for an extra-eclectic two hours of classical music" every time I did the show. One day she asked me, "so, is that the name, then? It's kind of a mouthful." But it stuck.

The "eclectic" nature of the show was really just that it would be a place where you might hear ways in which classical music was changing in the 21st century, and how the whole idea of what "classical music" was supposed to be was getting less rigid and orthodox. For example, composers feel much freer to use electronics today, or electric guitar, or feature a singing voice that was less traditionally "classical."

Did the show have an "angle"?

It's true that Extra Eclectic was never about all modern classical music. Our goal from the beginning was to create a showcase for how classical has changed, especially in the 21st century, into something that is more exciting and listener-friendly than it was during much of the 20th century (when it earned a reputation for being listener un-friendly).

Jennifer Allen, our longtime Associate Music Director at YourClassical, created practically every playlist for the entire 10-year run of the show. She is, quite simply, the encyclopedic brain behind the breadth and depth of the selections, and also, the originator of almost every weekly topic the program ever had.

Where will listeners be able to continue hearing this kind of classical music even if the show is coming to an end?

Since we began the show, YourClassical has just started sharing the music of contemporary composers during our regular broadcast hours; it's just much more of what we do on a daily basis, because the classical music genre itself is more open-minded and adventurous, and less hung-up on rules. That's better for everybody.

So there's no "show" that's weighted toward contemporary classical anymore?

Actually, there still is. On Sunday evenings, we really enjoy setting a "mood" with works that are contemplative and atmospheric — and as it happens, a lot of contemporary classical fits that bill. So when you tune in, you'll hear quite a lot of modern stuff that also happens to be extremely gorgeous. But if you still want to listen to Extra Eclectic specifically, the show's entire 10-year archive lives online at our website.

How do listeners respond to modern classical music in general?

In short, they love it tons more than they used to! That's why we worry a lot less today than we did 30 years ago — or even 10 years ago — about whether or not we're alienating folks who've "just tuned in to hear Mozart and nothing else." Yes, that was a thing people in classical radio used to say. We know that's no longer true. I seriously used to get phone calls from people who would yell, "What IS this?" Now, when people ask that, it's because they're captivated by it, not angered by it.

What is a piece of classical music that makes you feel good whenever you hear it? Share it with YourClassical MPR.

For the Fall Member Drive — which runs Monday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Oct. 9 — YourClassical is creating a feel-good playlist with your help.

To submit your song, fill out the form below by the end of the day on Monday, Sept. 28. Then, listen during the Fall Member Drive to hear the playlist we built together.

Clarinetist Anthony McGill is the principal clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic, the first Black musician to hold a principal chair in the orchestra’s 178 year history. During his time there, he has wowed audiences and impressed critics with his technique and silky tone, but he has also used the platform to promote social justice issues, specifically racial equity in classical music. Find out more in the latest episode of the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

Pianist Alice Sara Ott recently returned to Iceland to record the music of Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. The resulting record features some of Jóhannsson’s orchestral works reimagined for solo piano, including some of his film scores. Listen now with host Julie Amacher.

Extra Eclectic continues our replay of recordings from the 2026 BBC Proms Festival this week with Welsh composer Gwilym Simcock’s Triple Concerto for Saxophone, Horn and Cello — a thrilling and frequently gorgeous work performed by the three soloists who premiered it 10 years ago: Jess Gillam, Ben Goldscheider and Sheku Kanneh-Mason. It’s an opportunity for a full first-hour of works by composers from the U.K., which also includes music by Huw Watkins, Will Gregory and others. In the second hour, host Steve Seel plays music by Brian Eno, Jane Antonia Cornish, Max Richter and more.

Playlist

Spring
Composer: Huw Watkins
Soloists: Krysia Osostowicz, violin
Somm 181

Triple Concerto
Composer: Gwilym Simcock
Conductor: Sakari Oramo
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Jess Gillam, soprano saxophone
BBC Proms 2026 Recording

Orbit
Composer: Will Gregory
Orchestra/Ensemble: Jess Gillam Ensemble
Soloists: Jess Gillam, soprano saxophone
DG 4851062

Antiarkie
Composer: Ryan Latimer
Conductor: Pierre-Andre Valade
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra
NMC 267

fields of forever
Composer: Chad Lawson
Soloists: Chad Lawson, piano
London/Decca 4563275

Honeyed Words
Composer: Anna Meredith
Orchestra/Ensemble: Ligeti Quartet
Mercury KX 4845720

Fullness of Wind; French Catalogues
Composer: Brian Eno
Conductor: Gavin Bryars
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cockpit Ensemble
Virgin 66493

Sleep: Path 19
Composer: Max Richter
Orchestra/Ensemble: American Contemporary Music Ensemble
Soloists: Max Richter, electronics
DG 4795258

Sky
Composer: Jane Antonia Cornish
Soloists: Vicky Chow, piano
Canteloupe 21174

The Day Dawn
Composer: Sally Beamish
Conductor: Ola Rudner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Bis 1161

Note: On-demand audio for SymphonyCast is available for 30 days after broadcast in most cases.

On the latest episode of SymphonyCast, Martha Argerich is back at the Proms, joining Lahav Shani and the Munich Philharmonic for the singing beauty and light-hearted delight of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Brahms’ final symphony offers glimpses of warmth and joy but always shrouded in melancholy. The concert opens with Louise Farrenc’s dramatic Overture No. 2. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Program

Martha Argerich, piano
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra
Lahav Shani, conductor

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 2
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 (Munich Philharmonic Orchestra; Christian Thielemann, conductor; DG 4776404)

Duncan Sheik, the Tony- and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who crafted the music for “Spring Awakening,” has died. He was 56.

Sheik died Thursday night, according to a post on his Instagram page. “The world has a lost a singular talent, and deeply influential voice in music and theater,” the post reads. “His musical legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.”

Sheik had been best known for his lasting radio hit “Barely Breathing” when he turned his sights on Broadway with “Spring Awakening,” resulting in the envelope-pushing show that musicalized teenage angst.

“With the exception of our director, we are all kind of Broadway outsiders. We wanted to shake things up a bit. And we just set out to make this really cool piece of theater,” Sheik told The Associated Press in 2007, as the show swept Tony nominations.

Sheik also tackled musicals based on “American Psycho” and “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Barely Breathing” spent 55 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 16. But he was probably best known for “Spring Awakening,” which ran for over 860 performances on Broadway starting in 2006.

“His deep feeling and his delight gave us so much beauty,” playwright and actor Eisa Davis wrote. “Duncan, thank you for your friendship and for the sublime music.”

‘Spring Awakening’ roused a new side of Sheik — and Broadway

The musical — adapted from a 19th-century play by German playwright Frank Wedekind, with music by Sheik and lyrics by playwright Steven Sater — is frank in its portrayals of incest, abortion and suicide. It's intended partly as a warning that teens need good information about sex to avoid tragic mistakes.

“I don’t mean to be disrespectful to more traditional theater composers,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. “I love Stephen Sondheim. But it’s my mission to make sure that the theater is paying attention to what the rest of the world is listening to.”

Sheik and Sater were practicing Buddhists who met while chanting. They were collaborating on Sheik's third album, “Phantom Moon,” when Sater mentioned he was working on a new production. Neither had written a musical before.

“I said to Steven, ‘I’m happy to do this musical, but I only want to do it if the music in the play is the kind that I and my peers can get behind stylistically and relate to and enjoy,’” Sheik told the AP in 2006.

They made a pact: They'd retain the provincial, 19th-century Germany setting but with, as Sater put it, “the characters breaking into pop-contemporary when they sing.”

“Spring Awakening” won eight Tony Awards, including best musical, as well as the Grammy for best musical show album.

“Sheik’s music, spare in its simple orchestrations, lush in the lapping reach of its seductive choruses, embodies the shadowy air of longing that infuses the show, the excitement shading into fear, the joy that comes with a chaser of despair,” The New York Times said in its review.

The show is beloved in the musical theater community for breaking ground in staging and content, alongside the likes of “Rent” and “Hamilton.” It returned to Broadway in 2015 in a well-received production by Deaf West Theatre. An off-Broadway version is slated to open this fall, as is his musical “Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen,” based on Moyoco Anno’s manga of the same name.

The cast of the original show was loaded with breakthrough actors like Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, Lilli Cooper, Jennifer Damiano, Gideon Glick, John Gallagher Jr., Lauren Pritchard and Krysta Rodriguez, who have each gone on to fame in TV, film and stage. Groff would go on to earn a Tony with “Merrily We Roll Along,” and Michele became a superstar with “Glee.”

Sheik blended musical theater with pop music

Sheik next channeled the music he heard getting past the velvet ropes of trendy, late-1980s Manhattan clubs for a Broadway adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel “American Psycho.”

The 1991 novel — later made into a 2000 movie starring Christian Bale — chronicles a homicidal New York yuppie named Patrick Bateman who is obsessed with high-end clothes and beauty products even as he slashes his way through Manhattan. Sheik, who also supplied lyrics, recalled only getting halfway through the book before throwing it across the room as a Brown University student.

For one standout song, “You Are What You Wear,” he reached out to old girlfriends to ask a question: What were you really into wearing in the late ’80s? He put the answers in the tune about high fashion: “Chanel, Gaultier, or Giorgio Armani/Moschino, Alaïa, or Norma Kamali/Should I rock/The Betsey Johnson/Or stick with classic/Comme des Garçons?”

“Duncan is really a genius and an intellectual and brings something both uniquely his but importantly of this period to the stage,” producer Jesse Singer told the AP at the time.

Because Bateman, played onstage by Benjamin Walker, fancies himself a bit of a music critic — spewing mostly inane ruminations about Phil Collins and Huey Lewis and the News — Sheik also peppered his score with sly reworkings of “In the Air Tonight” and “Hip to Be Square.”

“There’s definitely an art to be able to write a song that on one level is a pop song and one that also has to tell a story and keep an audience engaged in terms of a larger narrative arc,” Sheik told the AP in 2013. “When you’re writing a song for the theater, it has to accomplish all this other stuff. It has to work in tandem with all these other agendas and creative impulses.”

The show, directed by Rupert Goold and with a story by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, made its premiere in 2013 in London. On Broadway in 2016, it bombed, lasting less than 90 performances.

“We were all sort of worried that it might be too violent for people and it might seem too misogynist,” Sheik told the AP on the eve of the opening. “But, in fact, the truth is this piece is a critique of a certain way of thinking about things. So in truth it’s better to go all-in.”

‘Barely Breathing’ was nominated for a Grammy

Growing up between South Carolina and New Jersey, Sheik learned guitar as a child and got his first synthesizer when he was 12. He was heavily influenced by Talk Talk, David Sylvian and Nick Drake. His self-titled debut album was released in 1996 and Rolling Stone gave it a four-star review, calling it “a defiant debut — beautiful and benevolent of spirit.”

“Barely Breathing,” from that album, was nominated for best pop vocal performance in 1998 and would be kept alive on TV shows like “Glee” and “Girls.”

Other projects include “Whisper House,” an album and musical — a ghost story that ran in 2010 at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego — and “Legerdemain,” an album that explored the tension between art and commerce. His most recent album was 2022's “Claptrap.”

But for someone who had once been a total stranger to Broadway, he told AP in 2016 that he had a sense of mission.

“I feel like it’s become my project to kind of drag different people who might not normally go to musical theater pieces to come see a piece of musical theater,” he said.

He is survived by his parents; his wife, Nora Ariffin; and a daughter, Ines.

This story originally appeared at MPR News.

Jeff Scott’s 2024 Grammy-nominated oratorio is full of inspiration from two giants of music — Johann Sebastian Bach and John Coltrane. Passion for Bach and Coltrane with the Imani Winds is an innovative and surprising confluence of classical and jazz. Scott is the founding horn player of the Imani Winds, and along with the Harlem Jazz Quartet, jazz soloists and spoken word by A.B. Spellman, Passion for Bach and Coltrane offers an intimate perspective on the group’s most personal recording in its 25-year history. Listen now with host Toyin Spellman-Diaz in celebration of Coltrane’s 100th anniversary!

Playlist

Hour 1

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Aria, from Goldberg Variations — Glenn Gould, piano

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Variation No. 1, from Goldberg Variations — Glenn Gould, piano

• A.B. Spellman: Dear John, Part 1, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — A.B. Spellman, spoken

• Jeff Scott: Aria, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez and Neal Smith

• A.B. Spellman: Dear John, Part 2, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — A.B. Spellman, spoken

• Jeff Scott: Psalm, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez and Neal Smith

• Jeff Scott: Resolution, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez and Neal Smith

• Jeff Scott: Out of Nazareth, Part 1, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez and Neal Smith

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Variation No. 2, from Goldberg Variations — Glenn Gould, piano

• Jeff Scott: Out of Nazareth, Part 2, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez and Neal Smith

Intermission

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Variation No. 29, from Goldberg Variations — Glenn Gould, piano

Hour 2

• John Coltrane: Acknowledgement, from A Love Supreme — John Coltrane, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Variation No. 4, from Goldberg Variations — Glenn Gould, piano

• A.B. Spellman: Among the Things I Must Have Known, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — A.B. Spellman

• Jeff Scott: Interlude, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez, and Neal Smith

• Jeff Scott: A Hug for Gonzalo, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez and Neal Smith

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Variation No. 13, from Goldberg Variations — Glenn Gould, piano

• Jeff Scott: Variation No. 13 from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez and Neal Smith

• Jeff Scott: Acknowledgement, from Passion for Bach and Coltrane — Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Alex Brown, Edward Perez and Neal Smith

Randall Goosby has been playing violin since he was 7, including studying with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman, and the trajectory of his career shows no signs of slowing down. Find out more in the latest episode of the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

Concert Master Steven Copes and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra join pianist and composer Stephen Prutsman for a new project that takes works by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev and reimagines them for chamber orchestra. Listen now with host Julie Amacher.

Note: On-demand audio for SymphonyCast is available for 30 days after broadcast in most cases.

On the latest episode of SymphonyCast, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its music director, Gustavo Dudamel, pair a Beethoven symphony with a contemporary ballet in this Prom, with the obsessive, often wild rhythms of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 meeting the politically charged pulse of Gabriela Ortiz’ Revolución diamantina — music ‘full of visceral primeval rhythms and mysterious, soulful sound-worlds.’ Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Program

Los Angeles Master Chorale (upper voices)
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A
ORTIZ: Revolución diamantina
COPLAND: Appalachian Spring; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Zubin Mehta, conductor; London/Decca 1231

At this time of year, Jews around the world gather together to celebrate new beginnings. Host Mindy Ratner guides us in a musical observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, known in Hebrew as Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe. Listen now to Music for the Days of Awe: An Observance of the Jewish High Holidays.

Playlist

• Solomon Braslavsky (arr. Bruce Ruben): M’chalkeil Chayim – Kathryn Andersen, violin; Steven Lyon, clarinet; Judith Clurman, conductor

• Paul Schoenfield: Achat Sha’alti – Carol Wincenc, flute; Paul Schoenfield, piano

• Salamone Rossi: Lamnatseach ‘al hagitit mizmor l’David (Psalm 8) – New York Baroque; Eric Milnes, conductor

• Max Janowski (arr. Raymond Goldstein): Avinu Malkeinu – Cantors Azi Schwartz, Shira Lissek and Rachel Brook; Alexander Scheirele, cello; Colin Fowler, piano

• Alessandro Scarlatti: Excerpt from Agar et Ismaele Esiliati – Karina Gauvin (Sara); Nathaniel Watson (Abramo); Seattle Baroque; Byron Schenkman and Ingrid Matthews, conductors

• Igor Stravinsky: Abraham and Isaac (Part 3: “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked”) – David Wilson-Johnson, bass-baritone; London Sinfonietta; Oliver Knussen, conductor

• Traditional: Four Shofar Sounds – Cantor Hans Bloemendal; BW de Jong, shofar

• Joseph Kurland (arr. Max Janowski): Hineni – Trevor Mitchell, cantor; Chicago a cappella

• Traditional: Excerpt from Avinu Malkeynu – Rachel Van Voorhees, harp

• Sarah Gurowitsch: Kol Nidrej – Dieter Klöcker, clarinet; Vlach Quartet Prague

• Judith Clurman (arr. Ryan Nowlin): Ki Hineih Kachomer – James Cunningham, piano; Daniel Miller, cello; Essential Voices USA; Judith Clurman, conductor

• Louis Lewandowski: Ki K’shimcha – Hazzan Steven C. Berke; Madrigalchor der Hochschule fur Musik, Munchen

• Traditional: El Nora Alilah – Galeet Dardashti and Divahn

• Traditional: T’kiah g’dolah – Collegium Musicum Judaicum Amsterdam; Chaim Storosum, conductor

Food during the High Holidays

“It wouldn't be a Jewish holiday without food! Jewish communities around the world share some food traditions and still offer their own unique recipes and food preparation methods. As in any household, there are cherished family recipes that make the holidays special. In my family, it was a moist and spicy honey cake that my paternal grandmother made." — Mindy Ratner

High Holy Days Recipes

The Most Important Jewish Holidays and their Foods

Rosh Hashanah Recipes From Around the World

Surprising suggestions for dishes to break the Yom Kippur fast

The Righteousness of Pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah

Special thanks

Rabbi Shelley Kovar Becker

Rabbi Tamar Magill-Grimm

Rabbi Sharon Stiefel

Cantorial Soloist David Jordan Harris

Beth Jacob Congregation, Mendota Heights, MN

Heritage Judaica

Sonya Rapport

Dan Nass

Jacob Aloi

Ines Guanchez

Violinist and composer George Bridgetower was good friends with Ludwig Van Beethoven. So much so that Beethoven wrote a violin sonata just for him. Find out more in the latest episode of the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

Conductor Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra present their new release featuring music by Antonin Dvorak and Carlos Simon recorded live in the historic Heinz Hall. Listen now with host Julie Amacher.

A performance of Wynton Marsalis’ Concerto for Orchestra recorded at the 2026 BBC Proms Festival offers a look at modern classical works inspired by jazz in the first hour of this episode of Extra Eclectic, which also showcases works by Jon Batiste, Earl Louis Stewart and Jeff Scott. In the second hour, we enjoy a sonic peek at autumn (now that Labor Day has come and gone), with such works as Veljo Tormis’ Autumn Landscapes and Robert Jurjendal’s Autumn Prelude. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Playlist

Startin’ Sumthin’
Composer: Jeff Scott
Orchestra/Ensemble: Imani Winds
Koch 7796

Concerto for Orchestra
Composer: Wynton Marsalis
Conductor: James Gaffigan
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Proms 2026 Recording

Rhythm Sonata: Majestic
Composer: Earl Louis Stewart
Orchestra/Ensemble: Lyris Quartet
Soloists: Marcus Eley, clarinet
Imaginary Animals 213

Eternity Around The Corner
Composer: Jon Batiste
Soloists: Jon Batiste, piano
Verve 244313

Autumn Prelude
Composer: Robert Jurjendal
Soloists: Volkmar Zimmermann, guitar
Albany 1738

Fragments of Light
Composer: Sophie Hutchings
Soloists: Sophie Hutchings, piano
Mercury KX 90583

Autumn Landscapes
Composer: Veljo Tormis
Conductor: Tonu Kaljuste
Orchestra/Ensemble: Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
ECM 2793

Estonian Lullaby: Kuus Kuus kallike
Composer: Arvo Part
Orchestra/Ensemble: Hesperion XXI
Soloists: Montserrat Figueras, soprano
Alia Vox 9826

In Air Clear and Unseen: An Autumn Evening
Composer: Alexander Knaifel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Keller Quartet
ECM 2324

Lieux retrouves (Rediscovered Places)
Composer: Thomas Ades
Conductor: Nicholas Collon
Orchestra/Ensemble: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Tomas Nunez, cello
Ondine 1411

Always Know
Composer: Jon Batiste
Soloists: Jon Batiste, piano
Verve 244313

Note: On-demand audio for SymphonyCast is available for 30 days after broadcast in most cases.

On the latest episode of SymphonyCast, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the combined orchestras of London’s Royal Academy of Music and New York’s Juilliard School in three 20th-century orchestral masterworks. At the heart of the program, Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang is the soloist in Berg’s heartbreaking elegy of a Violin Concerto. The concert kicks off with Stravinsky’s jagged, rhythmic Symphony in Three Movements, and closing the program, Bartók’s 1943 Concerto for Orchestra — a work filled with folk-inspired melodies and collective virtuosity. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Program

Vilde Frang, violin
Juilliard School Orchestra
Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor

STRAVINSKY: Symphony in Three Movements
BERG: Violin Concerto
BARTÓK: Concerto for Orchestra
STRAVINSKY: Pulcinella Suite (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Yuri Temirkanov, conductor; RCA 60394)

Afro-Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes’ style is a unique alchemy of the Brazilian folk and popular songs he grew up with, Latin classical traditions, and the Western canon. Now located in London, Fernandes’ recently released his debut album, ‘Saudade,’ and is working to teach and inspire new generations of musicians. Find out more in the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

Violinist and composer Curtis Stewart recently released a two-CD recording featuring ‘24 American Caprices’ composed in the styles of the many genres he grew up listening to on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Listen now with host Julie Amacher.

Brass instruments are the focus on episode of Extra Eclectic, in solo, duo and ensemble settings. Valerie Coleman’s Fanfare for Uncommon Times offers a riposte to Aaron Copland’s famous work, and Olivier Messiaen’s Apparition du Christ Glorieux depicts of a religious encounter that's almost unsettling in its indescribable mystery. We also hear music by Michael Daugherty, Dani Howard, Carter Pann and more. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Playlist

Credo: 4th movement
Composer: David Sanford
Orchestra/Ensemble: Meridian Arts Ensemble
8bells 20

Concerto for Brass “SIGNAL”
Composer: Dani Howard
Conductor: Paavo Jarvi
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Proms 2026 Recording

To the Lighthouse
Composer: Linda Kouvaras
Orchestra/Ensemble: Lyrebird Brass
Toccata 794

Bells for Stokowski
Composer: Michael Daugherty
Conductor: Jerry Junkin
Orchestra/Ensemble: University of Texas Wind Ensemble
Reference 104

Instrumental Round No. 1 in Snaketime
Composer: Moondog (Louis Hardin)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Extension Ensemble
Summit 389

Illuminations of the Beyond (Eclairs sur l’au-dela): Apparition du Christ glorieux (Apparition of the Glorious Christ)
Composer: Olivier Messiaen
Conductor: Myung-Whun Chung
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre de la Bastille
DG 439929

Elements of Nature: Water, Fire
Composer: Paul Osterfield
Soloists: Jozef Zimka, trumpet
Navona 6714

Fanfare for Uncommon Times
Composer: Valerie Coleman
Conductor: Brian Kaufman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Brass for Uncommon Times
Naxos 579190

River of Time
Composer: David Biedenbender
Conductor: Timothy Muffitt
Orchestra/Ensemble: Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Neil Mueller, trumpet
Blue Griffin 715

A Nearer Sun
Composer: The Westerlies
Orchestra/Ensemble: The Westerlies
Songlines 1617

My Brother’s Brain: The Hymn of Forgiving
Composer: Carter Pann
Conductor: Mallory Thompson
Orchestra/Ensemble: Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Summit 717

Lament
Composer: Brandon Ridenour
Orchestra/Ensemble: Canadian Brass
Steinway & Sons 30008

Note: On-demand audio for SymphonyCast is available for 30 days after broadcast in most cases.

On the latest episode of SymphonyCast, Adam Hickox leads the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in this enthralling program of all Russian music. First, two works by Shostakovich — his Festive Overture and his witty Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring soloist Maximilian Hornung. Then, Gubaidulina’s Fairytale Poem introduces a whimsical element, a sumptuous musical fantasy about the adventures of a piece of chalk. Closing the concert, Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances — a whirling phantasmagoria of rhythm and melody. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Program

Maximilian Hornung, cello
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Adam Hickox, conductor

SHOSTAKOVICH: Festive Overture
SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello Concerto No. 1
GUBAIDULINA: Fairytale Poem
RACHMANINOFF: Symphonic Dances
TCHAIKOVSKY: Capriccio Italien (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Litton, conductor; Virgin 59699)