New Classical Tracks: The shenanigans of 'Widdershins'
The latest album by Kirk Elliot and the Orchestra of Unmitigated Gaul is inspired by mediaeval stories and songs -- even the instruments have stories behind them.
Podcasts
New Classical Tracks®
Explore new recordings with top performers and host Julie Amacher
New Classical Tracks: Kirk Elliot and the Orchestra of Unmitigated Gaul, 'Widdershins'
Episodes
4:59
New Classical Tracks: Stephen Layton, 'American Polyphony'
Stephen Layton and British vocal ensemble Polyphony have assembled a collection of choral works by composers Layton calls 'the real grandfathers of American choral music writ large.'
4:59
New Classical Tracks: ZOFO Plays Terry Riley
The fourth project of four-hand piano duo ZOFO celebrates the 80th birthday of Terry Riley, an iconic American composer who's one of the founders of the Minimalist movement.
4:59
New Classical Tracks: Sugarloaf Mountain - An Appalachian Gathering
Although Apollo's Fire is primarily a Baroque orchestra, its latest album is a recording of early American folk music. 'We follow the journey of the music through the stories of the men and women who gathered in the hills of Appalachia to build new lives,' says Apollo's Fire Artistic Director Jeannette Sorrell.
4:58
New Classical Tracks: Stephen Hough, 'Lyric Pieces'
Pianist Stephen Hough focuses on 27 pieces composer Edvard Grieg wrote for the enjoyment of amateur pianists. 'They were for domestic consumption,' Hough says. 'I love these pieces.'
4:57
New Classical Tracks: Stephen Hough's 'Miracle'
Pianist and devout Catholic Stephen Hough finished the final movement of his Mass of Miracles after a near-fatal car accident in England. Andrew Litton conducts the Colorado Symphony in this the piece's first recording.
5:00
Lara Downes' musical portrait of Billie Holiday
Pianist Lara Downes pays tribute to jazz singer Billie Holiday on her latest record A Billie Holiday Songbook. Read and listen to learn more about how she created this musical portrait.
5:16
Lara Downes: 'A Billie Holiday Songbook'
Billie Holiday's 100th birthday was this past spring, and pianist Lara Downes celebrated by recording A Billie Holiday Songbook, a musical portrait of the great singer that features 22 jazz standards Holiday made famous.
4:59
New Classical Tracks: The Radiant sound of the trumpet
Trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden's debut solo recording — entitled ‘Radiance’ — focuses on works by American composers, and features selections that are both accessible yet innovative.
4:57
New Classical Tracks: Terrifying, restless, witty
Jonathan Biss is halfway through a nine–year, nine–disc recording project of the entire Beethoven sonata cycle. The most recent is volume four. Learn more about the project — including its educational component — and enter for a chance to win the CD.
4:59
About New Classical Tracks®
Host Julie Amacher provides an in-depth exploration of a new classical music release each week.
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Your Host
Julie Amacher's desire to introduce others to great music is what led her to radio. She began her professional broadcast career at a station in Sun Prairie, Wis. She went from rock 'n' roll to the Rocky Mountains, where she found her niche in public radio at KUNC in Greeley, Colo. Julie spent 13 years at KUNC, where she managed the announcers and their eclectic music format. During that time, she earned four national awards for best announcer. She joined Minnesota Public Radio in 1997 as an on-air host and also produces New Classical Tracks, a weekly podcast critiquing a new release each week. It airs locally at 7:15 a.m. Wednesdays and 5:15 p.m. Fridays.