On this month’s episode of A Curious Ear, we explore the sounds of winter’s stillness, “the whispering air” as Walt Whitman puts it. We’ll hear field recordings from frozen tennis courts and Northern Icelandic towns, as well as purely instrumental works that explore the depths of winter. Music by Kory Reeder, Carol Robinson, Lia Kohl, and Kate Carr.
Read MoreEpisode 5: An experience I had walking home
On this month's episode of A Curious Ear, we explore the ability of synthesized sound to imitate, emulate, and interrupt the world of contemporary classical music. From a work written for “Cyborg Pianist” Zubin Kanga, inspired by a 16th century treatise on microtonal tuning to a pair of works for flute and electronics inspired by nature and a work created specifically for the midi sounds in notation software, we will explore it all A Curious Ear.
Read MoreEpisode 4: Revisiting Ohio University's CLICKFEST
On this month’s episode of A Curious Ear, we visit Ohio University, which held their inaugural CLICKFEST on Sept. 20th and 21st. We'll experience a sampling of the wide range of music presented at the festival and hear from the composers themselves as they talk about their work.
Read MoreEpisode 3: Recent Releases for String Instruments
On this month’s episode of A Curious Ear, we explore very different sounding works for strings. ranging from the lush world of Alex Burtzos’s a moment of transition and Georgia Denham’s to gwen, with love to the sometimes harsh, sometimes intimate world of Scott Wollschleger’s Violain, and more.
Read MoreEpisode 1: (Artificial) Environments
In the debut episode of A Curious Ear, we explore the use of field recordings as a means of contextualizing our listening experience or in some cases, abstracting that experience. We wander through the physical world, in some cases quite literally, as we listen to works that incorporate field recordings.
The archived episode is available here.
Show notes:
no. 13 (Sushi Rice, AM Frequency Gap, Pines) - Sontag Shogun
from Patterns for a Resonant Space (2017)
https://sontagshogun.bandcamp.com/album/patterns-for-resonant-space
On the imagined relations of night sounds - Performer: Andy Kozar, Composer: Paula Matthussen
from A Few Kites (2020) New Focus Recording
https://andykozar.bandcamp.com/album/a-few-kites
Artificial Environments - Performer: Plus-Minus Ensemble, Composer: Joanna Bailie
from Artificial Environments (2019) NMC Recordings
https://joannabailie.bandcamp.com/album/artificial-environments
From the Fish House - Stephen Vitiello, Taylor Deupree
from Captiva (2014) 12K
https://12kmusic.bandcamp.com/album/captiva
Theme music comes from Proof of Concept for a Floating Child, Mvt. I - Performer: Byrne:Kozar:Duo, Composer: Jeffrey Gavett
from It Floats Away from You (2023) New Focus Recordings
https://newfocusrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/it-floats-away-from-you
(Provided courtesy of the composer)