New Classical Tracks - "Must-Have" Discs of 2011
Julie Amacher and Valerie Kahler look back at the best new releases from 2011.
Podcasts
New Classical Tracks®
Explore new recordings with top performers and host Julie Amacher
New Classical Tracks:
Episodes
4:58
New Classical Tracks - Colors of Christmas
John Rutter: his name is synonymous with Christmas. Every year, his recordings appear on the radio and choirs around the world sing his arrangements and original carols. Read more about Rutter's latest Christmas disc, and hear Ward Jacobson's exclusive interview.
34:54
New Classical Tracks - A Fiddler's Christmas
Fiddler Mark O'Connor is a musician and a composer who has been stretching the boundaries of music for years. And with this new recording, he does it yet again: traditional holiday favorites re-worked in his signature Americana style.
4:59
New Classical Tracks - In the Moment with a Musical Rodeo
Improvisation, rhythm and musical dialogue reign supreme for cellist Yo-Yo Ma and three very musical friends. Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, and Stuart Duncan join Ma for "The Goat Rodeo Sessions," a new recording of music that transcends any kind of specific categorization and proves that great things happen when you make yourself live in the moment.
4:59
New Classical Tracks - The Vivaldi Connection
A new disc shows the appeal of Antonio Vivaldi's music in transcriptions old and new. Among the offerings: Bach arranging Vivaldi for four harpsichords, and a modern concerto blending baroque inflections with tango.
4:59
New Classical Tracks - Charlie Siem: Keeping It Fresh
Whether it's a beloved standard concerto or some less-familiar repertoire, young violinist Charlie Siem always aims at bringing out the full color and energy of the music he performs.
4:59
New Classical Tracks Encore - Bach's Oboe
In work after work, J. S. Bach gave wonderful solo parts to the oboe. On a new disc, those concertos are gathered together by a master soloist and musician, Heinz Holliger.
4:59
New Classical Tracks - Liszt, Piano Hero
Piano dynamo Lang Lang is paying multiple tributes to Franz Liszt in this anniversary year: with a broadcast in movie theaters on Oct. 22, and with this new CD (with a companion DVD due later in the fall).
4:59
New Classical Tracks - Hommage to Liszt at 200
Franz Liszt wrote some formidably difficult piano music. But on her debut disc, Khatia Buniatishvili argues that his compositions offer much more than mere virtuoso display.
4:59
New Classical Tracks - Classical Roots, Many Branches
The guitar is a classical instrument--but it's also a jazz instrument, a bossa nova instrument, and so on. On her new disc, Sharon Isbin celebrates her instrument's many lives, with some surprising guest artists.
4:59
About New Classical Tracks®
Host Julie Amacher provides an in-depth exploration of a new classical music release each week.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Radio Public, or RSS.
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.