Down through the centuries, composers have written music about children, for children, and occasionally, for children to actually perform (and sometimes all three at once). On this week’s episode of Extra Eclectic, contemporary composers explore themes of childhood, from Angelica Negron’s Drawings for Meyoko and Thomas Ades’ Marchentanze — both evoking the sound of childhood innocence and wonder — to Osvaldo Golijov's Um Dia Bom (A Good Day) and Terry Riley’s Simone;s Lullaby, which capture the melancholy of adults observing childhood from the outside.
Playlist
A Paper, A Pen, A Note to a Friend
Composer: Shara Nova
Orchestra/Ensemble: yMusic
New Amsterdam 32
Drawings for Meyoko
Composer: Angelica Negron
Orchestra/Ensemble: Janus
New Amsterdam 24
Four Folk Songs: Children’s Dance
Composer: Gabriela Lena Frank
Orchestra/Ensemble: Claremont Trio
Tria 2022
Marchentanze
Composer: Thomas Ades
Conductor: Nicholas Collon
Orchestra/Ensemble: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Pekka Kuusisto, violin
Ondine 1411
A Whistle, A Tune, A Macaroon
Composer: Shara Nova
Orchestra/Ensemble: yMusic
New Amsterdam 32
Youth
Composer: Edmund Finnis
Soloists: Clare Hammond, piano
Pentatone 7197
Lullaby for Natalie
Composer: John Corigliano
Soloists: Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
Avie 2386
Fairytale Poem (Marchenbild)
Composer: Sofia Gubaidulina
Conductor: Bernhard Klee
Orchestra/Ensemble: Hannover Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
CPO 999164
Dreamcatcher
Composer: Marcos Balter
Soloists: James McVinnie, piano
Pentatone 7404
Harmonielehre: Meister Eckhardt and Quackie
Composer: John Adams
Conductor: Edo de Waart
Orchestra/Ensemble: San Francisco Symphony
Nonesuch 79453
Um Dia Bom (A Good Day): Plim (Feather)
Composer: Osvaldo Golijov
Orchestra/Ensemble: Brooklyn Rider
In a Circle 25
Child: Sweet Air
Composer: David Lang
Conductor: Carlo Baccadoro
Orchestra/Ensemble: Sentieri Selvaggi
Cantaloupe 21013
Simone’s Lullaby
Composer: Terry Riley
Orchestra/Ensemble: ZOFO Duet
Dorian 92189
Julie Amacher
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