Doug Balliett

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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.

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...

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.

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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? 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...

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.

Brad Balliett and Doug Balliett — identical twin composers and performers from Massachusetts — have been performing together and collaborating for nearly thirty years. The bassoonist ...