Guitarist Mak Grgić was born in Slovenia in 1987. He's based in the US now, but he loves to play music from the Balkans as a way to connect with his homeland and his heritage. On today's show, we'll hear Mak Grgić perform a set of pieces called the Balkan Suite by Miroslav Tadić.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Richard Strauss: Symphony No. 1 in D minor: Movement 3
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra | Karl Anton Rickenbacher, conductor
Album: Strauss, the Unknown, Vol. 3: Early Symphonies
Schwann 365322

Richard Strauss: Dance of the Seven Veils from "Salome,” Op. 54
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra | Joann Falletta, conductor
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY

Florent Schmitt: Musique sur l'eau
Susan Platts, mezzo soprano | The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra | Joann Falletta, conductor
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo NY

Miroslav Tadić, arr. Leon First: Balkan Suite for guitar, string quartet, and bass
Mak Grgić, guitar | Scott S,t. John, Rasa Kalesnykaite, violins | Lorento Golofeev, viola | Courtenay Vandiver Pereira, cello | Dave Connor, bass
ROCO, Holocaust Museum, Houston, TX

Christopher Cerrone: Meander, Spiral, Explode
Third Coast Percussion | The Britt Festival Orchestra | Teddy Abrams, conductor
Britt Music & Arts Festival, Britt Pavilion, Jacksonville, OR

Hour 2

Peter Tchaikovsky: Mazeppa: Cossack Dance
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | Erich Kunzel, conductor
Album: Tchaikovsky: 1812
Telarc 80041

Florence Price: Ethiopia's Shadow in America
Basel Sinfonietta | Jessica Horsley, conductor
Casino, Bern, Switzerland

Maurice Ravel, arr. Sean Chen: String Quartet in F Major: Movement 2
Sean Chen, piano
Strings Music Festival, Strings Pavilion, Steamboat Springs, CO

Guillaume Connesson: Les Belles Heures (World Premiere)
Dwight Parry, oboe | Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | Louis Langree, conductor
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH