Poster Greens, reds and purples cover the night sky.
A view of the northern lights from Central Park in Roseville, Minn., from Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.
Courtesy of Jim Lundy
Extra Eclectic

An aurora of colors

Extra Eclectic - Nov. 12, 2025

In honor of the amazing display of northern lights seen around the world this week, Steve Seel brings us a collection of color-themed works in the first hour of this episode of Extra Eclectic — with a special focus on works inspired by the paintings of Mark Rothko, including Anna Clyne’s Color Field and a selection from Morton Feldman’s classic Rothko Chapel. In the second hour, it’s a tapestry of works referencing Persia and the Far East, including Reza Vali’s Calligraphy No. 16, (Isfahan) and Mark Winges’ Canticles of Rumi. Listen now!

Playlist

Black
Composer: Marc Mellits
Orchestra/Ensemble: Donald Sinta Quartet
Bright Shiny Things 133

Leonardo da Vinci: Optics, Light and Shadow
Composer: Caroline Shaw
Orchestra/Ensemble: Attacca Quartet
Nonesuch 78984

Color Field
Composer: Anna Clyne
Conductor: Marin Alsop
Orchestra/Ensemble: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Naxos 574620

In Color Suite
Composer: Jessie Montgomery
Orchestra/Ensemble: Third Coast Percussion
Cedille 236

Rothko Chapel 5
Composer: Morton Feldman
Conductor: Philip Brett
Orchestra/Ensemble: University of California-Berkeley Chamber Chorus
Soloists: David Abel, viola
New Albion 39

Finding Rothko
Composer: Adam Schoenberg
Conductor: Michael Stern
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kansas City Symphony
Reference 139

Dance: When you’re broken open
Composer: Anna Clyne
Conductor: Marin Alsop
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra
Soloists: Inbal Segev, cello
Avie 2419

Beloved, do not let me be discouraged
Composer: Colin Jacobsen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Brooklyn Rider
Soloists: Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh
World Village 468078

Calligraphy No. 16 “Isfahan”
Composer: Reza Vali
Conductor: Fawzi Haimor
Orchestra/Ensemble: Wurttemberg Philharmonic Reutlingen
Naxos 579150

Canticles of Rumi
Composer: Mark Winges
Conductor: Robert Geary
Orchestra/Ensemble: Volti
Innova 964

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