Extra Eclectic

In native Australian culture, the Dreaming is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religious cultural worldview attributed to Aboriginal beliefs. Since the term's inception, there's been argument as to whether or not it accurately reflects true Aboriginal culture, or is merely a western misunderstanding of them. Either way, today it's part of the lexicon in popular culture when describing Aboriginal mysticism, and thus, an attractive and interesting concept to Australian musicians and composers as well. Steve Seel explores some on this week's show.

Composer Arvo Part turns 85 this Friday. Few composers of our time have managed to garner both such exuberant critical acclaim and the emphatic love of audiences as Part has. Steve Seel honors Part with performances of his "Magnificat" and "Berlin Mass" on this edition of the program, in addition to works by Johann Johannsson, Marc Mellits, Kate Moore, and others.

Steve Seel celebrates Women's Equality Day with a program of all female composers this time out. From Valerie Coleman's "For Josephine" honoring Josephine Baker to a work by Dobrinka Tabakova saluting the ordination of women to the Anglican priesthood, it's two hours celebrating the strides that women have made in composing in the last several decades. Steve also features works by Anna Clyne, Elena Ruehr, and many others.

We're gazing at the night sky on this week's edition of the program; Steve Seel features John Luther Adams' "Sky with Four Moons" as well as Michael Harrison's "Just Constellations" and Robert Morris's "Stars of Highest Magnitude." Also, if you're a fan of the television program Poirot, you already know the music of composer Christopher Gunning. Steve features Gunning's Violin Concerto as the major work on the first hour of the show.

The Latvian composer Peteris Vasks has said, "Today, the spiritual dimension has been lost. My intention is to provide food for the soul, and this is what I preach in my works." It's what he preaches, and it's also what he delivers. Steve Seel plays Vasks' "Lauda" on this week's program, plus music by Fazil Say, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Ola Gjeilo, and more.

In classical music today, the guitar has become just as commonplace an instrument as the violin and the piano. What might surprise you though is the inroads the electric guitar has made. Steve Seel features both acoustic and electric guitars in a host of new works on this week's program, including pieces by Chris Brubeck (son of jazz great Dave Brubeck), Elena Kats-Chernin, Judd Greenstein, and others.

This week's program features reflections on the "sharing of wisdom" from one to another, and the value of individual and collective memory. Steve Seel showcases a stirring work from Israeli composer Shulamit Ran on the lessons of the Holocaust, plus Michael Torke's "Four Proverbs" and Judd Greenstein's "In Teaching Others We Teach Ourselves." We also hear music from Tan Dun, Huang Ro, Michael Kurth, and others.

Composer Adam Schoenberg says his American Symphony was inspired by the 2008 presidential election, "where both parties asked the people to embrace change and make a difference." While not a patriotic work, he says, "it's about our collective ability to restore hope within ourselves and our neighbors, both here and around the world." Steve Seel features the work as part of an all American hour on this week's episode.

Composer Kyle Sanna says that the best still photographs tell a story about motion. He wanted to pay tribute to that quality in music, and he called his piece, "Sequence for Minor White" - named after one of the most influential American photographers of the mid-20th century. Steve Seel features that work on this week's episode, played by the quartet Brooklyn Rider. In the second hour, Steve explores works that embody a sense of stillness and motion at the same time.

Guest host Valerie Kahler features pieces that explore themes of "above and below" on this week's episode, including Jeffrey Mumford's "her eastern light amid a cavernous dusk," Michael Daugherty's "The Marfa Lights," Arvo Part's "Tabula Rasa," and Nico Muhly's "Choral Pointing Downwards."