Living Composers

Bach had a Friday night residency at a coffeehouse in Leipzig. Mozart sold subscriptions to his own concerts just to pay the bills. The composers we think of as legends were, first and foremost, just people – making a living, writing music for the people they loved, responding to the world around them. In that spirit, this program features all music by living composers, alongside a conversation between host Tyler Kline and Arizona Encore producer and editor Anna Williams about what it actually means to be a composer in the 21st century.

The program opens with Fortress by Theresa Martin, an ASU alum whose work was commissioned by conductor Jason Caslor for the ASU Wind Ensemble – a jumping-off point for a discussion about how commissions work and what it means to balance creative passion with professional craft. Bassoonist Albie Micklich and pianist Andrew Campbell follow with two works by Amanda Harberg: Prayer, written in response to a family member’s serious illness, and Tango, inspired by her oldest child. Pianist Inna Faliks performs Black Earth by Turkish composer Fazil Say, recorded at the 2024 Flagstaff Piano Festival.

The second half of the broadcast opens with LIFT, Part 1 by Paul Wiancko – described by NPR Music as what Haydn might write if he were alive today – performed by a string quartet at the Grand Canyon Music Festival, followed by a conversation about composer residencies and what they look like in practice. Belinda Reynolds’ Bark, performed by Sqwonk Bass Clarinet Duo at Katzin Concert Hall, draws on Bartók’s Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm as its seed material. Pianist Jack Gao – who made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2024 – performs the third movement of John Corigliano’s Winging It, a notated improvisation. The broadcast closes with the fourth movement of Spencer Arias’s You, Me, Us, performed by saxophonist Nick May and pianist Alex Li, preceded by an interview with the composer about identity, meaning, and the story behind the piece.