On the next Modern Notebook with Tyler Kline: Reena Esmail’s Saans began as a gift — a piano trio woven from the slow movement of her clarinet concerto, reimagined for a dear friend’s wedding. But over time, it became something more personal, tying together friendship, love, and the quiet breath of life that music can carry across time and distance.
Then: There’s a particular kind of memory that holds fast — not the dramatic, but the quietly beautiful. In Sunday, Shelley Washington writes from the memory of one perfect, unremarkable afternoon: reading, wandering, doing nothing. It’s a bittersweet portrait of stillness, written just before everything changed.
Also featured this week are works by Ahmed Alabaca, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Judith Ring, Narong Prangcharoen, Baljinder Sekhon, Margaret Brouwer, Peter Wilson, Gareth Farr, and Peter Van Zandt Lane. Performances by the Danish String Quartet, clarinetist Karel Dohnal, the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Latitude 49, Ember Trio, flutist Lina Andonovska, pianist Alex Raineri, Heare Ensemble, steel pan player Dave Gerhart, the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Riot Ensemble, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Duo AYA, and Ensemble Vim.
Listen Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9. Stream the next day at modernnotebook.org.
Hour 1 Sekstur from Vendsyssel / The Peat Dance (Traditional Music) Ahmed Alabaca’s Ascension You Are Free by Sarah Kirkland Snider Reena Esmail’s Saans All You Can Do Is Hang On For Dear Life by Judith Ring Narong Prangcharoen’s Bencharong Passageways by Baljinder Sekhon | 
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Hour 2 Pluto by Margaret Brouwer Peter Wilson’s String Trio Sunday by Shelley Washington Gareth Farr’s Kembang Suling (p)neumes by Peter Van Zandt Lane | 
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Each week, Tyler Kline journeys into new territory and demystifies the music of living composers on Modern Notebook. Listen for a wide variety of exciting music that engages and inspires, along with the stories behind each piece and the latest releases from today’s contemporary classical artists. Discover what’s in store on Modern Notebook.
