WWNO skyline header graphic
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local Newscast
Hear the latest from the WWNO/WRKF Newsroom.

Support local, independent journalism on WWNO with your Member Fest gift now! Click the donate button or Call 844-790-1094.

Modern Classics: A New Five-Week Series Airs Fridays in March

Jennifer Higdon, conductor Marin Alsop, Mason Bates

Classical 104.9 FM and local host James Arey have created Modern Classics -- a new, five-week series dedicated to contemporary music.

With a focus on new music from living composers, Modern Classics will air at 6pm on each of the five Fridays in March, beginning on March 1st.

Over the course of five hour-long episodes, recent compositions by Mason Bates, Jennifer Higdon, Son Lux, Bjork, Magnus Lindberg, James Newton Howard, Nico Muhly, Aaron Jay Kernis, John Luther Adams, John Williams, Joan Tower and Michael Torke will be featured.

You'll also hear world-class performances by Hilary Hahn, Colin Currie, Augustin Hadelich, Anne Akiko Meyers, Renee Fleming, James Ehnes, Gil Shaham, Eighth Blackbird, and the London Symphony.

Episode 1 • March 1

  • Bjork: All Is Full Of Love (Renee Fleming)
  • Magnus Lindberg: Clarinet Concerto
  • Mason Bates: Violin Concerto (Anne Akiko Meyers)

Episode 2 • March 8

  • Son Lux: To Love (Eighth Blackbird)
  • Michael Torke: Three Manhattan Bridges
  • Michael Torke: "Mallets" from Percussion Concerto
  • Nico Muhly: Two Sections from "I Drink the Air Before Me"

Episode 3 • March 15 • The Music of Jennifer Higdon

  • Jennifer Higdon: Short Stories: Stomp and Dance
  • Jennifer Higdon: Violin Conerto: Finale ("Fly Forward")
  • Jennifer Higdon: All Things Majestic: The Cathedrals
  • Jennifer Higdon: Concerto for Orchestra

Episode 4 • March 22

  • Joan Tower: Petroushskates
  • Andre Previn: Tango, Song and Dance (2003)
  • John Williams: Bassoon Concerto "Five Sacred Trees"
  • John Williams: Treesong (Part Three)

Episode 5 • March 29

  • James Newton Howard: Violin Concerto (Finale)
  • Aaron Jay Kernis: Violin Concerto (Finale)
  • Steve Reich: Six Marimbas
  • John Luther Adams: Canticles of the Sky -- The Sky with Four Moons
  • Einojuhani Rautavaara: Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra (2015)

Modern Classics | Fridays in March | 6pm - 7pm | Classical 104.9 FM & WWNO HD-2

James served as Classical Music Host and Music Director for WWNO from 1999-2007. He relocated to Atlanta with several WWNO staff members after Katrina, and, in 2007, he accepted a position as Music Director at KVNO in Omaha, Nebraska, where he coached young announcers, programmed, and hosted classical music until 2010.