wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

The turn of the 17th century saw the "nuove musiche" (new music) movement in Europe — brought about not by performers or composers, but a group of artists, scholars and philosophers who reacted against the dense polyphony in vogue at the time. The result was a simpler, more personal style that changed the way composers thought about (and wrote) music. Tonight we'll hear a sprinkling of selections from these composers, courtesy of Baroque specialist Rolf Lislevand.

Moving to more recent times, we'll hear Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concerto in the Gallant Way" for Cello and Orchestra; James Judd leads the New Zealand Symphony in Ralph Vaughan Williams' picturesque "In the Fen Country." Music by Arnold Bax and Franz Berwald follows; wrapping things up is pianist Andras Schiff with Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 6 in F Major.