Extra Eclectic

Steve Seel shares a particularly "cosmic" Earth Day edition of the program this time out, with an ode to our planet's place in the universe and the inter-connectedness of all things. Composer Terry Riley contributes the work that the episode is named for, and Steve also features pieces from Urmas Sisask's "The Milky Way" to Nimrod Borenstein's "The Big Band and Creation of the Universe."

On this week's show, Steve Seel features modern works that utilize elements from previous centuries to sound timeless -- or at least disconnected from the present moment in inventive and sometimes eerie ways. Composers featured include Michael Nyman, Caroline Shaw, Michi Wiancko, and many others.

Derek Bermel describes his "A Shout, a Whisper, and a Trace" as an ode to Bela Bartok, coming to New York as a refugee and finding alienation in a foreign land. Steve Seel also features music by Colin Jacobsen ("The Flowers of Esfahan"), Bryce Dessner ("Music for Wood and Strings"), Meredith Monk (from "The Games") and much more.

This week Steve Seel offers two hours of contemplative modern works, including Aaron Jay Kernis' "Air" for cello, Jacob Cooper's intensely moving and emotional "Stabat Mater Dolorosa," two intimate chamber works by Richard Danielpour, and more from the new choral release from British/Bulgarian composer Dobrinka Tabakova.

In the grand tradition of works like Benjamin Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" comes Steve Reich's "The Four Sections" - a kind of minimalist take on the time-honored tradition of showcasing what the different sections of the orchestra can do (with a title that's suitably minimalist as well). Steve Seel features Reich's majestic orchestral work this week, as well as pieces by John Adams, Judd Greenstein, Paul Bowles, and more.

Sometimes, good things come in small packages, and that's what Steve Seel features on this week's edition of the show: miniatures, from Mark Mellits, Anna Meredith, Vivian Fung, and others. Plus, the premiere of new music by the British/Bulgarian composer Dobrinka Tabakova.

His day job is drummer for the band Wilco. But Glenn Kotche has also distinguished himself as an accomplished composer of classical music, writing for ensembles including the Kronos Quartet and Eighth Blackbird, in addition to performing the percussion instruments on his own pieces himself. In this edition of Extra Eclectic, Steve Seel features Glenn Kotche with both Kronos and Eighth Blackbird in one grand ensemble. That plus music by John Cage, Evan Ziporyn, Nico Muhly, and more.

If there's one thing that has changed definitively in classical music, it's that there are plenty of composers who are as much at home in rock n' roll for their "day-jobs" as classical. It's true for composers from Bryce Dessner (guitarist for the band The National) to Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, who's classical bona fides are not only strong, but Grammy winning as well. Steve Seel features music by both on this week's program.

"For most people 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," says Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. His Violin Concerto, "Distant Light," provides ample food for the soul on this week's program. Steve Seel also features spiritual-themed works from Terry Riley ("Sun Rings: One Earth, One People, One Love") and James Wilson ("The Green Fuse"), and music by Evan Ziporyn, Daniel Wohl, and Sarah Kirkland Snider.

Composer John Adams wanted to depict "the current pounding and smashing" the cliffs of California's rocky coastline in his work The Dharma at Big Sur. But rather than open with aggressive music, his work for violin and orchestra almost sounds like a meditative religious epiphany. Steve Seel features Adams' music on this week's show, in addition to works by John Cage, Lou Harrison, Douglas Knehans, and more.