For some reason, I’ve been late to the party on saxophones. I had a good, saxophone-playing friend in college who was so frustrated by what he termed “the musical limitations” of his instrument that I developed an ‘over it’ attitude towards an instrument I was barely familiar with. Ah the folly of youth! In the years since those heady, saxophone-prejudiced days, and as I’ve been slowly adding sax to my listening diet, I’ve come to a realization: I like the saxophone!

These shows originally aired the week of January 18, 2010. For the original show page click here.

A hot tip: If you ever find yourself in sophomore Music History class, arm yourself with the following information, as it can be referenced for approximately one-half of the questions on your mid-term.

These shows originally aired the week of January 11, 2010.Click here for the original show page.

New Music is flush with chamber music these days! Small ensembles of virtuosic musicians are popping up left and right. But how does an ensemble of saxophone, electric guitar, piano, and percussion fit into the classical canon?

These shows originally aired the week of February 1, 2010. Click here for the original show page.

There’s no doubt that electronics, indeed electricity has had a huge impact on classical music; the recording industry alone has revolutionized the way we play, interface with, listen to, and share music.

These shows originally aired the week of March 22, 2010. Click here for the original show page.

Discussions of genre tend to cause bristling, bad moods and miscommunications. Genre identifiers are such ludicrously loaded terms that I tend to be shy even bringing them up (and I’m not, as they say, too terribly shy)! Yet here we are: a week devoted to composer/band leaders and those who tend to be not so category-specific.