wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

With his melding of East and West, ancient and modern sounds, Hungarian composer Bela Bartok was an inspiration for many 20th-century artists and composers. Today, a look at his influence, first with Margaret Leng Tan, a pianist who has taken on the seminal "Makrokosmos" by American composer George Crumb, which themselves were influenced by Bartok. As we hear in a live performance, each of these "Twelve fantasy pieces after the Zodiac for Amplified Piano," corresponds to a sign of the Babylonian zodiac. Then we talk with Chinese-American composer Tan Dun, where non-Western influence goes into the heart of his work, notably, "The Map," an ambitious symphony/multimedia project which draws on his discovery of music from the isolated corners of China. We round out the show by speaking with composer Steve Reich, who shares his favorite Bartok recording. Tune in for this encore broadcast of Soundcheck.