Click on Classical: A new record store, music for mutants, and hearing composers' voices

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Every Monday morning at 9:15, I join John Birge on Classical MPR to discuss the stories we're featuring on our website. Here are the stories we'll be talking about today.

This week our writer Nina Slesinger reported that a trio of collectors plans to open a new store in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis; the store will feature books, posters, and records. Classical music — including vintage 78s — will be a specialty of the store, thanks to John Kass, owner of one of the largest private record collections in the area. The store will have a wry name; read the story to find out what it is.

Music for mutants? That was the challenge facing John Ottman, composer of the score for the new hit movie X-Men: Days of Future Past​. Garrett Tiedemann interviewed Ottman, a man of many talents who also edited the film. Though he's writing music for big-budget blockbusters, Ottman explained why when it comes to music in movies, sometimes less is more.

What does it mean when someone refers to a composer's "voice"? In an essay, Cinda Yager offered her view of how composers use distinctive styles, textures, and tones to create a sound that's distinctly theirs. Read her essay, and hear samples of music to see if you agree with her about the "voices" of Shostakovich, Sibelius, and Brahms.