"We're trying to compose radio," says Nadia Sirota about the Peabody Award-winning podcast, Meet the Composer, in which she leads listeners through the process behind some of the most interesting music today. The show just launched its third Kickstarter campaign, in preparation for its third season, which will continue to expose the craft, artistry and inspiration of contemporary composers.
The Peabody Awards, in honoring the series, called it: "Fascinating, intelligent, enlightening podcasts devoted to the work of current classical composers. The show integrates music with thoughtful conversation about it without distracting from either."
This upcoming season will diverge a bit from the past two, says executive producer Alex Ambrose: "We are really looking to push ourselves and to make some novel, toothsome radio about music. We will continue to profile composers but also unpack breakthrough pieces and dig into those moments when musical styles clashed, flirted and mutated, from all types of composers, both living and dead. We are very excited to see where this season takes us."
For more about Meet the Composer, check out the below video, featuring Sirota and producer Alex Overington, which provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the podcast is made, and visit the Kickstarter page.
LISTEN:
2 pm — Tune in for Respighi's The Pines of Rome. (WQXR)
9 pm — The New York Philharmonic presents Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, "conveying the cosmic wonder and heady rhythmic fervor of this audacious work," according to The New York Times. (WQXR)
READ:
A look at Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the front runner to become the Metropolitan Opera's next music director. (The New York Times)
Graham Vick, director of the Birmingham Opera Company, gave an impassioned call-to-arms to opera companies to "get up off our arses" and seek out new audiences. (The Guardian)
With 102 cellists invading Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles prepares for the second Piatigorsky International Cello Festival. (Los Angeles Times)
WATCH:
View scenes from The Scarlet Letter, which premiered at Opera Colorado on May 7.
FOLLOW:
A recap of the Met's season in numbers: