On the next Modern Notebook with Tyler Kline: From the spiny lobster’s tango-like hunt to the lullaby of eelgrass nurseries, Jenni Brandon’s Sea Songs: California Coast dives into the vibrant ecosystems off the California coast. Inspired by her scuba adventures, each movement brings marine life to the surface — with clarinet and piano painting a world full of movement, mystery, and life beneath the waves.
Then: Like a flower that only blooms in darkness, Cereus unfolds gradually — shaped by memory, silence, and resistance. In this piece dedicated to her late father, composer Kay Rhie balances intricate musical detail with a sense of quiet inevitability, letting gestures blossom and fade in a language both personal and luminous.
Also featured this week are works by Wynton Marsalis, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jonathan Bingham, Sophia Jani, Brandee Younger, Osvaldo Golijov, Eleanor Alberga, and Daniel De Togni. Performances by saxophonist Timothy McAllister, pianist Liz Ames, marimbists Christopher Norton and Todd Kemp, clarinetist Jeremy Reynolds, pianist Margaret McDonald, the National Brass Ensemble, Kontai Ensemble, harpist Ashley Jackson, Brooklyn Rider, Winsor Music Trio, Castalian String Quartet, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Unheard-of//Ensemble.
Listen Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9. Stream from anywhere at wsmr.org.
Hour 1 Book Book Nova by Wynton Marsalis Gabriela Lena Frank’s Danza de los Saqsampillos Sea Songs: California Coast by Jenni Brandon Jonathan Bingham’s Deified Everybody was so young by Sophia Jani Brandee Younger’s Essence of Ruby | 
|
Hour 2 Tenebrae by Osvaldo Golijov Kay Rhie’s Cereus Tower by Eleanor Alberga Daniel De Togni’s Postcards from Veneto | 
|
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.
