Poster Portrait of composer Gabriela Lena Frank
This episode of 'Extra Eclectic' features music by Gabriela Lena Frank.
Mariah Tauger 
Extra Eclectic

Night and the city

Extra Eclectic - Aug. 13, 2025

You’ll swear Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade is on the trail of his latest case while listening to this week’s episode of Extra Eclectic — as we listen to music depicting the mystery and romance of the city at night. John Adams’ City Noir is an explicit ode to 40s and 50s noir in its jazz overtones and smoky vibe, and urban nightlife is celebrated elsewhere in Gabriela Lena Frank’s Manhattan Serenades and Michael Tilson Thomas’ You Come Here Often?. In the second hour, Steve Seel returns to a favorite subject — the night sky — with selections including Elena Ruehr’s Shimmer and David Bruce’s The Eye of Night

Playlist

You Come Here Often?
Michael Tilson Thomas
Yuja Wang, piano
DG 4864261

Manhattan Serenades
Gabriela Lena Frank
Aron Zelkowicz, cello
Toccata 23

City Noir
John Adams
Marin Alsop, conductor
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Naxos 559935

Floating City
Julia Kent
Julia Kent, cello
Leaf 106

Air for the Poet
Lou Harrison
Guido Facchin, conductor
Tammittam Percussion Ensemble
Dynamic 401

Shimmer
Elena Ruehr 
Gil Rose, conductor
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
BMOP/sound 1039

The Eye of Night
David Bruce
hat trick
Bridge 9595

Just Constellations: The Opening Constellation: Summer
Michael Harrison
Roomful of Teeth
New Amsterdam 134

Aurora ficta
Stephen Scott
The Bowed Piano Ensemble
Navona 5937

Love the music?

Donate by phone
1-800-562-8440

Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.

Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.

YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.

More Ways to Give

Your Donation

$5/month
$10/month
$15/month
$20/month
$

Latest Extra Eclectic Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Extra Eclectic Episodes

Folk music inspirations

Folk music inspirations

We continue our month-long celebration of American music on this episode of ‘Extra Eclectic’ by looking at how contemporary composers reference American folk idioms in their works, including bluegrass, hymns and lullabies. Selections include music by Daron Hagen, Jennifer Higdon and more. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

1:58:58
Elements of jazz

Elements of jazz

Steve Seel presents another week of purely American sounds on the latest episode of ‘Extra Eclectic,’ and this time, it’s works written by musicians associated primarily with jazz. We hear works by Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny and more.

1:58:58
An American Mirror

An American Mirror

On this episode of ‘Extra Eclectic,’ host Steve Seel extends the 250th anniversary celebrations with two hours of works by contemporary American composers, including Derrick Skye, Jennifer Higdon, Jessie Montgomery, Shelley Washington, Curtis Stewart and more. Listen now!

1:58:59
International and domestic music

International and domestic music

This episode of ‘Extra Eclectic’ highlights international composers and cross-cultural collaborations with works by Gabriela Ortiz, Johann Johannsson and more. In the second hour, host Steve Seel begins a tribute to contemporary American classical music ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. Listen now!

1:58:59
Music for the summer solstice

Music for the summer solstice

Host Steve Seel features contemporary classical sounds for summer on this episode of ‘Extra Eclectic,’ including Jonathan Bailey Holland’s ‘Halcyon Sun,’ Peteris Vasks’ ‘Music for a Summer Evening,’ and the late Michael Tilson Thomas’ ‘Sunset Soliloquy.’ Listen now!

1:58:59
Cross-cultural collaborations

Cross-cultural collaborations

On this episode of Extra Eclectic, Steve Seel brings us examples of composers and performers reaching across cultural lines, including Terry Riley’s ‘The Cusp of Magic,’ Dan Visconti’s ‘Native Tongues’ and more. Listen now!

1:58:58
Extra-musical elements

Extra-musical elements

On this episode of ‘Extra Eclectic,’ we hear works featuring unorthodox instruments and compositional approaches, including Echo Collective’s ‘Unknown Gates’ and Molly Joyce’s ‘It Has Not Taken Long for You to Break.’ Listen now with host Steve Seel!

1:58:59
Rounds, canons and reflections

Rounds, canons and reflections

“Row, row, row your boat,” “Frere Jacques”: rounds are familiar to us all. Make a round a little more complex, and you might get a canon or a fugue. On the latest episode of Extra Eclectic, host Steve Seel explores a host of such works. Listen now!

1:58:59
Feathered friends

Feathered friends

Get your binoculars out for this episode of ‘Extra Eclectic’! Host Steve Seel brings us two hours of new classical works about birds, including Jennifer Higdon’s ‘An Exaltation of Larks,’ John Luther Adams’ ‘Strange Birds Passing’ and Jocelyn Morlock’s ‘Oiseaux Bleus et Sauvages.’ Listen now!

1:58:59
A spring meditation

A spring meditation

With spring in full bloom, Steve Seel brings us a bounty of “green sounds” in the first hour of this episode of ‘Extra Eclectic,’ from Jeffrey Mumford’s ‘verdant cycles of deepening spring’ to Clint Needham’s String Quartet No. 1 (‘Shades of Green’). Listen now!

1:58:59
VIEW ALL EPISODES
YourClassical Radio
00:00
Infinity:NaN