Poster Portrait of composer Joby Talbot
This episode of 'Extra Eclectic' features music by composer Joby Talbot.
Anna McCarthy
Extra Eclectic

Ballet for modern times

Extra Eclectic - July 23, 2025

Ballet as we know it may have first emerged in the Italian Renaissance, but even today, modern composers are still writing for the art form. On the latest episode of Extra Eclectic, we hear a number of contemporary ballet scores, from Thomas Ades’ Dante, Joby Talbot’s Transit of Venus, Elena Kats-Chernin’s Wild Swans, and much more. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Playlist

“Still Life” at the Penguin Cafe: Air a Danser
Simon Jeffes
Barry Wordsworth, conductor
BBC Concert Orchestra
Isobel Bradshaw, contralto
London/Decca 425218

Facades
Philip Glass
Michael Riesman, conductor
Glass Ensemble
Sony 62960

Green
Michael Torke
David Zinman, conductor
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Argo 452101

Reflections: Mnemosyne
Sufjan Stevens
Timo Andres, piano
Asthmatic Kitty 148

Corroboree: Dance to the Evening Star
John Antill
James Judd, conductor
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Naxos 570241

Wild Swans: Eliza’s Aria
Elena Kats-Chernin
Nicola Sweeney, violin
Signum 58

Orpheus Undone
Missy Mazzoli
Tim Weiss, conductor
Arctic Philharmonic
Bis 2572

A Ballet Through Mud: A Ballet Through Mud
RZA
Christopher Dragon, conductor
Colorado Symphony Orchestra
36 Chambers 22

Transit of Venus
Joby Talbot
Jess Gillam Ensemble
Jess Gillam, soprano saxophone
DG 4851062

Violin Concerto: 3rd movement
John Adams
Kent Nagano, conductor
London Symphony Orchestra
Gidon Kremer, violin
Nonesuch 512396

Infra 5
Max Richter
Kristjan Jarvi, conductor
Baltic Sea Philharmonic
DG 4860449

Dante: Paradiso
Thomas Ades
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Nonesuch 714908

DESH: Storm Engine
Jocelyn Pook
Bulgarian Orchestra
Labik Kamal, dotar
Pook Music 1

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