The Winter Solstice is upon us, and this week’s Modern Notebook with Tyler Kline is a celebration of the longest night of the year. We’ll hear multiple works inspired by and titled “Solstice,” including a work for orchestra by Lou Harrison; one for piano and marimba by Hilary Tann; and Melissa Hui’s “Solstice,” which unfolds across time as a singular musical gesture.
Then, we’ll hear Kitty Xiao’s “Solstice I” and the first movement of Akemi Naito’s “Winter Shadow.” And a piece simply titled “Winter” by Stuart Saunders Smith… It is an aleatoric work for unspecified percussion instruments and winds which he describes as “music of co-existence.”
Plus: music by Aileen Sweeney, Joanna Marsh, Yaz Lancaster, and Hannah Kendall; and performances by cellist Sonia Cromerty, pianist Eunmi Ko with marimba soloist Michael Skillern, Common Sense Ensemble, National Sawdust Ensemble, and McCormick Percussion Group with violinist Nicole Wendl, flutist David Le, and bassoonist Susanna Hancock, and more.
That’s on the next Modern Notebook: Sunday night from 8 to 10 ET on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9; streaming online at wsmr.org.
Hear a special encore broadcast of this edition of Modern Notebook on the night of the Winter Solstice: Wednesday, December 21 from 9-11 pm ET.
Hour 1 Siku by Aileen Sweeney. Hilary Tann’s Solstice. In Winter’s House by Joanna Marsh. Melissa Hui’s Solstice. Solstice by Lou Harrison. | 
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Hour 2 The first movement from Akemi Naito’s Winter Shadow. Solstice I by Kitty Xiao. Yaz Lancaster’s firn. A Winged Spirit by Hannah Kendall. Stuart Saunders Smith’s Winter. | 
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Each week, Tyler Kline journeys into new territory and demystifies the music of living composers on Modern Notebook. Listen for a wide variety of exciting music that engages and inspires, along with the stories behind each piece and the latest releases from today’s contemporary classical artists. Discover what’s in store on Modern Notebook.
