Modern Notebook for July 30

Modern Notebook for July 30 - August 5, 2023

Photo: Composer Louise Alenius (photo credit: Josefine Seifert).

On this week’s Modern Notebook with Tyler Kline: A combination of fairly disparate events led composer Damián Ponce de León to create his piece “The Butterfly Route:” one was the consideration of the complex features flight paths of butterflies; another, the murder of a Mexican environmentalist leader who devoted his life to protect Monarch butterflies; and finally, the realization that the thyroid is actually shaped like a butterfly.

Then, we’ll hear a large-scale work by Louise Alenius titled “Stille Slag,” or “Quiet Beats.” And with this music, the composer asks: “What happens to the body when you are locked up? How do you hold on to yourself in an enclosed space?”

Plus music by Eric Guinivan, Allison Loggins-Hull, Helen Grime, Yuko Mabuchi, Rachael Lavelle, Aida Shirazi, Yannis Kyriakides, and others; and performances by pianist Nic Gerpe, Ensemble Pi, cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia, Bent Frequency Duo Project, pianist Sarah Cahill, Splinter Reeds, and more.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Recent Shows

Modern Notebook for November 30 - December 6, 2025

By Tyler Kline • November 27, 2025

On the final episode of Modern Notebook with Tyler Kline: Hideaki Aomori’s Split stretches the bass clarinet to its limits, exploring the full breadth of its sound world. This hour also features Baljinder Sekhon’s Drifting Seeds for cello and harp, along with music by Anna Mieke, Vivian Fung, and more. Then: chamber music by Jessica Ackerley called Spark Surge — one of the highlights of the final hour. You’ll also hear Fumiko Miyachi’s piano duo Up, Down, Top, Bottom, Strange Charm , alongside music by Shirish Korde, Oliver Knussen, and others. Also in this episode: music by Tania León performed by pianist Isabel Dobarro; Claire Victoria Roberts performed by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain; Judd Greenstein performed by NOW Ensemble; Justin H. Bush performed by saxophonist Timothy McAllister and pianist Liz Ames; and flutist Tessa Brinckman performing music by Shirish Korde.