Brad Balliett appears in the following:
Imaginary Beasts and the Composers Who Love Them
Thursday, April 18, 2013
What is it about imaginary animals that captures the human imagination? Borges imagined many monsters, as did Lewis Carroll, Maurice Sendak, and other literary luminaries. This week t...
Bizarre Instruments
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Last January, the Brothers Balliett presented the Grown-Person's Guide, examining the orchestra one section at a time. By popular request, this week, they add more recent and usual in...
The Big Bad Madrigal Throwdown
Thursday, April 04, 2013
What does the word "madrigal" bring to mind for you? Close harmony on charming texts? Italian chromaticism? This week, the Brothers Balliett listen to a handful of living composers of...
A Kaleidoscopic Array of Colorful Curiosities
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Whether you have full blown synesthesia, or you've just always thought that D Major sounds kind of blue, humans have associated color with music for ages. This week, the Brothers Ball...
The "Out of Tune" Hour
Thursday, March 21, 2013
What happens when composers abandon the traditional equal division of the octave into twelve parts? This week the Brothers explore some music that might be considered 'out of tune' b...
Lerdahlpalooza
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Fred Lerdahl writes music that is thumping, harmonically interesting, and full of groove, and to listen to his music is to understand his process. The Brothers Balliett have been fans...
Where's Gesualdo?
Thursday, March 07, 2013
It's become almost a cliche to hear a wiseacre remark about a particularly pungent Carlo Gesualdo madrigal: 'That's crazier than most new music you hear these days, and it's over 400 ...
Night of the Living Symphony Orchestra
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if a major symphony orchestra took a page from the Q2 Music handbook? Today at 3 pm, the Brothers Balliett offer a program devised to foll...
Post-Classical Jazz for Valentine's Day
Thursday, February 14, 2013
We live in a post-classical world. Every day genre boundaries are pushed, invaded, blurred or otherwise violated. With that in mind, the Brothers Balliett take a multi-angled look at ...
Beethoven's 10th Symphony
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Yes, you heard correctly. The Brothers Balliett share a musical oddity — a performing version of Beethoven's 10th symphony in Eb major, completed (compiled?) from sketches by Dr. Barry Cooper. Only a truly audacious musician would dare attempt this task, and the results are well worth a listen.
Rituals, Memorials and Auras
Thursday, January 31, 2013
This week, the Brothers Balliett investigate three interconnected orchestral works, all centered around the idea of a memorial or homage. Music of Harrison Birtwistle, Magnus Lindberg...
The Grown Person's Guide to the Orchestra: Piano, Harp & Percussion
Thursday, January 24, 2013
All good things must come to an end, and so this week, the Brothers Balliett close the month-long series The Grown Person's Guide to the Orchestra with a deep dive into the worlds of piano, harp and percussion.
The Grown Person's Guide to the Orchestra: Strings
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Picking up with Part III of the The Grown Person's Guide to the Orchestra, the Brothers Balliett explore that silky smooth sound of the string section this week. Be prepared for sound...
The Grown Person's Guide to the Orchestra: Brass
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Today at 3 pm, join the Brothers Balliett as they continue their four-part Grown Person's Guide to the Orchestra, which each week gives one of the standard orchestral families of inst...
The Grown Person's Guide to the Orchestra: Woodwinds
Thursday, January 03, 2013
To kick off the new year, the Brothers Balliett kick off The Grown Person's Guide to the Orchestra, a multi-week series that makes a direct response to Britten's "Young Person's Guide...
The Brothers Balliett Tackle Franz Schubert
Thursday, December 27, 2012
The influence of Franz Schubert is all over the music of everyone from Gustav Mahler to David Lang. This week's episode explores the wide-ranging tributes to the composer that have ap...
A Wintery Listening Session
Thursday, December 20, 2012
This week the Brothers Balliett offer up some bright, sparkling pieces appropriate for a bright, cold December afternoon. Beginning with the bustling New York soundscape of Bertolozzi...
A Swiss Sojourn
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Brothers Balliett revisit one of their favorite new music locations: Switzerland. This show is a thanks to all their Swiss buddies, and a reminder that Swiss composers are full of...
Can a Mouse Swallow a Dinosaur?
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Can a Mouse Swallow a Dinosaur? An extreme question, to be sure - but one that Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino addresses in his solo-flute (!) arrangement of J.S. Bach's towering...
We Are The Brothers Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 22, 2012
This week's show offers up some savory sounds for your ears to accompany your Thanksgiving feast. But these Thanksgiving treats are a little bit edgy, and might bite back.