Modern Notebook for September 24 - 30, 2023

Photo: composer John Liberatore (photo courtesy of the artist).

On this week’s Modern Notebook with Tyler Kline: Composer Lei Liang truly admires the music of Mongolia, resulting in Mongolian music serving as the inspiration for several pieces of his… including this piece, titled “Gobi Gloria.” It is music that includes shades of Mongolian long-chant, as well as music of dance and shaman rituals.


Then, John Liberatore’s eight-movement work for percussion, prepared piano, and guitar, “Catch Somewhere” takes its inspiration and movement titles from Walt Whitman’s poem titled “A Noiseless Patient Spider.” It’s poetry - and in turn, music - that draws an analogy between the spider’s web weaving and the artist’s creative activity.


Plus music by Sophia Jani, Daijana Wallace, H. Leslie Adams, Viet Cuong, Beatrice Ferreira, Maeve Gilchrist, Yunfei Li, Phyllis Chen, and others; and performances by cellist Kivie Cahn-Lipman, Latitude 49, Saxophilia Saxophone Quartet, Aizuri Quartet, Duo Entre-Nous, flutist Claire Chase, and more.

Hour 1

  • Andrà by Sophia Jani.
  • Daijana Wallace’s Shades.
  • Song of Solitude (Alone…) by H. Leslie Adams.
  • Lei Liang’s Gobi Gloria.
  • Wax and Wire by Viet Cuong.
  • Beatrice Ferreira’s Nightmare Fragments.
  • Webster’s March by Maeve Gilchrist.

Hour 2

  • Circling by Yunfei Li.
  • John Liberatore’s Catch Somewhere.
  • Roots of Interior by Phyllis Chen.
  • Jessie Montgomery’s Strum.

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