Doug Balliett

Musicians and audiences have long been delighted by Bach's Goldberg Variations, but what about composers? This week, the Brothers Balliett investigate modern takes on the work.

This week the Brothers Balliett sit down to chat with Beecher, whose output is characterized by investigations of memory, ecology, time and place, and his own Estonian heritage.

Ever since John Field invented the Nocturne in the early 19th-century, composers have been clamoring the get a piece of the action.This week, The Brothers play Night Music.

This week, the Brothers Balliett talk to composer Jason Eckardt! From his roots as a metal guitarist to his recent appointment at Peabody, Eckardt's is a career worth exploring.

Who can say what goes on in the mind of a composer who sets out to depict his innermost religious thoughts and experiences? This week, The Brothers listen to works of faith.

To any fan of Bernhard Lang, the words Differenz/Wiederholung conjure up a whole world of groove and uptown funk. Listen Thursday at 3 pm.

This week the Brothers Balliett sample music from Austria's Kairos label, including performances of Klaus Lang and Beat Furrer. Listen Thursday at 3 pm.

What do composers Alan Hovhaness, David Maslanka and Beat Furrer havein common? For one thing, they all wrote music inspired by the 'songs' they heard within the sea and the earth.  

This week the Brothers Balliett take a look at two exciting composers who have at least one thing in common – they both hail from China. 

More and more composers are retaining the old, beautiful, ritualistic form of the liturgical Mass, but jettisoning certain aspects to keep it fresh. Like, for instance, the words.

This week, the Brothers Balliett listen to composers who use extended techniques and bizarre instruments to achieve new and unusual sounds.

This week, the Brothers Balliett are joined by pianist David Kaplan for a listen to modern musicians who scribble all over great Romantic chamber music with astounding results.

This week, the Brothers Balliett are joined in the studio by Gregory Spears – a composer of unearthly beautiful music, from operas to song cycles to neo-Baroque compositions..

You can do a lot with a woodwind instrument. This week, The Brothers Balliett explore wind players fluent in multiple styles, from Indigenous Australian music to Latin jazz.

Continuing their mini-series of music that is so OLD, that it actually begins to sound NEW, the Brothers Balliett listen to pre-1200 AD "passion plays." Thursday at 3 pm.

For this installment of ancient music that might very well be mistaken for new music, The Brothers Balliett listen to music of the troubadours. Thursday at 3 pm.

Continuing their mini-series investigating music that is so old that it actually sounds new, the Brothers Balliett listen to instrumental dance music from c. 1000-1500.

Have you ever heard a piece of VERY early music and thought, "that could easily have been written today"? Today the Brothers Balliett explore music that's so old it sounds new.

The American-born, Germany-based composer Gloria Coates is the most prolific female symphonist of all time. Today at 3, the Brothers Balliett take a listen.

Happy holidaze! This week, the Brothers Balliett pay homage to that great holiday tradition of seemingly-endless travel; two airplane-centric works take centerstage today.