Steve Seel

Derrick Spiva is an American composer who integrates musical practices from cultures around the world into his works. He's an authority on Persian, Balkan, Hindustani, and West African music, in addition to having traditional western classical training. Fittingly, his work "American Mirror" centers around the theme of immigrants, and how "inter-cultural collaboration," as he says, is "central to the well-being of American society." Steve Seel showcases Spiva's work on this week's program.

As the definition of classical music continues to grow, so too does the global village of composers who are welcomed into the fold of what was once dominated by the west (particularly western Europe) in centuries past. Today, audiences hunger to hear from composing voices outside of that bubble, and on this edition of the program, Steve Seel showcases composers from Argentina, Latvia, China, Venezuela, and more.

In 1887, the Michelson-Morely Experiment was one of the earliest investigations into the speed of light, and it marked a turning point in modern science. Philip Glass's piece "The Light" takes its name from that event, and it was the composer's first full work for symphony orchestra, written in 1987. It's just one of the "light"-themed works featured on the next edition of Extra Eclectic. Ward Jacobsen guest hosts.

Danny Elfman has written over 100 film and TV scores, from Tim Burton's Batman to the theme from The Simpsons. He says that from time to time, however, he finds that he has to write orchestral music totally free from the influence of film, in order to "keep my sanity" -- a process he says he finds "incredibly liberating and relieving." His latest is his Violin Concerto, "Eleven Eleven," and it's featured on this week's show.

We're analyzing the earth from different vantage points this week -- primarily as outside observers. Steve Seel features Tina Davidson's "Blue Curve of the Earth" and David Skidmore's "Aliens with Extraordinary Abilities," in addition to Terry Riley's "Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector" and Christopher Theofanidis' "All Dreams Begin With the Horizon."

Sometimes, illusions are more powerful than reality. That's part of the undercurrent of several of the works on this week's show. Steve Seel features Scott Wollschleger's "We See Things That Are Not There," Brendon Randall-Myers' "Auras" from his "Dynamic of Vanishing Bodies," and Nico Muhly's "Seeing Is Believing," based on how ancient sky-observers saw shapes, animals, and objects in the heavens -- by grouping the stars into constellations.

The practice of writing new music for ensembles who specialize in ancient or early music is one that's gained popularity in the past few decades in contemporary classical. It creates a kind of sound that feels unstuck in time, in a way. Steve Seel has examples on this edition of the show, including Gavin Bryars' "Super Flumina."

In native Australian culture, the Dreaming is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religious cultural worldview attributed to Aboriginal beliefs. Since the term's inception, there's been argument as to whether or not it accurately reflects true Aboriginal culture, or is merely a western misunderstanding of them. Either way, today it's part of the lexicon in popular culture when describing Aboriginal mysticism, and thus, an attractive and interesting concept to Australian musicians and composers as well. Steve Seel explores some on this week's show.

Composer Arvo Part turns 85 this Friday. Few composers of our time have managed to garner both such exuberant critical acclaim and the emphatic love of audiences as Part has. Steve Seel honors Part with performances of his "Magnificat" and "Berlin Mass" on this edition of the program, in addition to works by Johann Johannsson, Marc Mellits, Kate Moore, and others.

Classical MPR's Steve Seel spoke with Kyu-Young Kim, artistic director and principal violin with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, about the plans for the virtual fall season, and what audiences can expect to hear and see.

In classical music today, the guitar has become just as commonplace an instrument as the violin and the piano. What might surprise you though is the inroads the electric guitar has made. Steve Seel features both acoustic and electric guitars in a host of new works on this week's program, including pieces by Chris Brubeck (son of jazz great Dave Brubeck), Elena Kats-Chernin, Judd Greenstein, and others.

This week's program features reflections on the "sharing of wisdom" from one to another, and the value of individual and collective memory. Steve Seel showcases a stirring work from Israeli composer Shulamit Ran on the lessons of the Holocaust, plus Michael Torke's "Four Proverbs" and Judd Greenstein's "In Teaching Others We Teach Ourselves." We also hear music from Tan Dun, Huang Ro, Michael Kurth, and others.

Composer Adam Schoenberg says his American Symphony was inspired by the 2008 presidential election, "where both parties asked the people to embrace change and make a difference." While not a patriotic work, he says, "it's about our collective ability to restore hope within ourselves and our neighbors, both here and around the world." Steve Seel features the work as part of an all American hour on this week's episode.

Composer Kyle Sanna says that the best still photographs tell a story about motion. He wanted to pay tribute to that quality in music, and he called his piece, "Sequence for Minor White" - named after one of the most influential American photographers of the mid-20th century. Steve Seel features that work on this week's episode, played by the quartet Brooklyn Rider. In the second hour, Steve explores works that embody a sense of stillness and motion at the same time.

Guest host Valerie Kahler features pieces that explore themes of "above and below" on this week's episode, including Jeffrey Mumford's "her eastern light amid a cavernous dusk," Michael Daugherty's "The Marfa Lights," Arvo Part's "Tabula Rasa," and Nico Muhly's "Choral Pointing Downwards."

Were you around for the "Be-Ins" of the 1960s? You might remember them as gatherings of hippie culture, some specifically devoted to opposing the Vietnam War and racism. Bass clarinetist and composer Evan Ziporyn takes a look back at those counter-culture gatherings of old, in a work called "Be-In" on this week's episode. Steve Seel also features music by Michael Torke, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and more.

The 13th-century poet Rumi was the inspiration for the work that's the centerpiece of the first hour of this week's show: "Dance" by composer Anna Clyne. Steve Seel also showcases works by Missy Mazzoli, Harold Budd, Lou Harrison, and Clint Mansell.

Philip Glass wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3 for pianist Simone Dinnerstein, who is universally known for her interpretations of Bach. In 2016, Glass saw Dinnerstein perform a concert of his piano etudes, and he instantly knew she was the pianist for whom he wanted to write his new work. Steve Seel features that concerto as the centerpiece of the first hour of this week's show, which also features works on the subject of birds by composers John Luther Adams and Somei Satoh.

While Michael Gandolfi's "Imaginary Numbers" uses mathematical concepts as the centerpiece of the first hour, music about time and its passing make up a philosophical second hour on this week's program. Steve Seel shares Jason Thomas' "Time's Timeless," Maria Huld Markan Sigfusdottir's "Clockworking" and Bartosz Chajdecki's "Clockwork," and Norman Dello Joio's "Meditations on Ecclesiastes" offers a path to meaning amidst our powerlessness to stop time.

Steve Seel offers up an essay on poets and poetry for this week's episode, featuring such works as Lou Harrison's "Air for the Poet," John Corigliano's "Soliloquy" for clarinet, and Jennifer Higdon's "Scenes from the Poets Dreams." Plus, John Adams' choral symphony "Harmonium," with sung text based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson and John Donne, is the centerpiece of the first hour.