On this week’s Modern Notebook with Tyler Kline: On the very first page of the sheet music for Christopher Stark’s piece “This is Not a Story,” the clarinetist is instructed to play “incredibly soft, make the audience listen.” The three movement work grows from there, moving through introspective music, to music that “sorts out Beethoven,” and concludes with a movement titled “Cecilia Sings the Music in Her Heart; Captain Leighton Bids Farewell.”
Then, Emma O’Halloran’s piece “Sum of its Parts” was created after spending hours with saxophonist Matthew Levy in a recording studio discussing and recording different sounds and techniques. The result was a vast catalog of coloristic elements that explores the full range of the saxophone, which went on to influence the piece.
Plus music by Benton Roark, Akemi Naito, Reena Esmail, Lei Liang, Jukka Tiensuu, and others; and performances by violist Kate Read, clarinetist Scott Andrews with the Calyx Piano Trio, Brooklyn Rider, Latitude 49, saxophonist Dylan Ward, Trio Klangspektrum, and more.
That’s Sunday night from 8 to 10 ET on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9. Stream online at wsmr.org.
Hour 1 Benton Roark’s Evennight. Memory of the Woods by Akemi Naito. Christopher Stark’s This is Not a Story. two Elliott Carter tributes by Jeffrey Mumford. Reena Esmail’s Zeher (Poison). Thread and Fray by Sarah Kirkland Snider. | 
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Hour 2 Baljinder Sekhon’s Twelve Virtues. Sum of its Parts by Emma O’Halloran. Jukka Tiensuu’s Plus IV. | 
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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.
