Modern Notebook for September 18, 2022

Photo: Composer Reena Esmail (photo credit: Rachel Garcia)

On the next Modern Notebook: music for solo cello by Reena Esmail composed as an interlude between two Haydn Sonatas, titled “Varsha,” which in Hindi means “The Rainy Season.” And throughout the piece, Esmail uses Hindustani raags which are often sung to beckon rain.


Then, Tampa-based flutist Taylor Irelan joins Tyler Kline to discuss his new album titled The Journey, which features new works for flute and piano by LGBTQIA+ composers.


Also featuring music by Baljinder Sekhon, Deena T. Grossman, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, Viet Cuong, and others; and performances by cellist Claire Bryant, steel pan soloist Dave Gerhart with the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, saxophonist Dylan Ward, and more.

Listen to Modern Notebook, Sunday night from 8 to 10 ET on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9. Streaming at wsmr.org.


Hour 1

  • Movement IV from Thomas Albert’s Thirteen Ways.
  • Baljinder Sekhon’s Passageways.
  • Cumulus Accumulation by Mark Zanter.
  • Reena Esmail’s Varsha.
  • Wildfires by Deena T. Esmail.
  • Dorothy Hindman’s Drift.
  • Sonoran Storm by Nokuthula Ngwenyama.

Hour 2

  • Interview with flutist Taylor Irelan featuring music by Carla Ng and Isaac Montellano.
  • Naica by Viet Cuong.
  • Žibuokle Martinaityte’s Nunc fluens. Nunc stans.

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