Mining the Brains of Today's Most Dynamic Composers

November 12, 2014 8:01 AM

Meet the Composer is a new podcast that dives into the minds of some of today's top composers. Produced by WQXR and Q2 Music, and hosted by New York area violist Nadia Sirota, Meet the Composer "takes listeners into the minds and creative processes of the composers making some of the most innovative, compelling and breathtakingly beautiful music today."

Originally funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013, Nadia Sirota set out to create a new podcast that goes beyond the traditional radio interview. Instead, she wanted to find out what really inspired and motivated artists to create what they do.

"Meet the Composer aims to show the listener who the composer is as a person, as a thinker and as an artist. The listener, in turn, gets richer context for new work than is provided by your average program note, CD liner or digital booklet, and hopefully an engaging entry point into the exciting world of New Music."

Now finishing their first season, Meet the Composer has interviewed five composers creating some of the most interesting new music today.

• John Luther Adams: Bad Decisions and Finding Home + Bonus Track - The Wind in High Places (Adams, previously, previously)
• Andrew Norman: Better Living Through Architecture + Bonus Track - Sabina from The Companion Guide to Rome
• Donnacha Dennehy: Composing With Frequency + Bonus Track - Excerpts from The Hunger
• Caroline Shaw: Lives Life Beautifully + Bonus Track - Its Motion Keeps (Shaw, previously)
• Marcos Balter: Failure Is An Option + Bonus Track - Intercepting a Shivery Light

Meet the Composer uses their name by permission from New Music USA, but is otherwise unrelated to the project founded by composer John Duffy.

posted by fremen (6 comments total)

Was this featured on Radiolab recently?
posted by jangusm at 8:05 AM on November 12, 2014

This is a great series so far, I'm very happy a project like this exists. (And that ever-contentious aspect of anything to do with living composers--choosing good ones--is very well-handled so far).

I would expect her biggest obstacle is that hardly anyone has ever heard these composers' music before, as composed concert music, especially of the contemporary variety, has essentially no cultural penetration or presence in our current moment. Hopefully this will help to change that, because there really are some fantastic composers working right now.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:15 AM on November 12, 2014

Was this featured on Radiolab recently?

Yep!
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:17 AM on November 12, 2014

>hardly anyone has ever heard these composers' music before

...which is sad, given that Adams and Shaw both were awarded Pulitzers for music (2014 and 2013 respectively)
posted by seawallrunner at 11:34 AM on November 12, 2014

Thank you so much for posting this.
posted by hanoixan at 5:51 PM on November 12, 2014

Man, I remember seeing the kickstarter, and I remember making a mental note to back it, but I guess I completely failed to do so, which I feel terrible about now because this is my new favorite thing. I love hearing these new voices in music, and to get a look behind the process is extraordinary. Thanks for making this post, I hope this podcast gets the attention it deserves.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 3:34 PM on November 16, 2014