A mix of familiar and less-familiar names mingle in this cavalcade as we sample the latest from Gabriel Prokofiev, Unsuk Chin, Vivian Fung, Philip Zoubek, Sara Glojnarić and Melia Watras. We also celebrate the 90th birthday of Christian Wolff, the last surviving member of John Cage's inner circle from the 1950s, with a classic solo composition performed by Frederic Rzewski, who plays piano while singing and operating a hi-hat and kick drum.
Fred Frith marks his own 75th birthday with an expanded reissue of his classic Guitar Solos album from 1974. Peter Maxwell Davies’ chamber opera Miss Donnithorne's Maggot turns 50, the story of a broken heart and a rotting wedding cake. And we survey saxophonist Tim Berne’s recent output, noting his and John Zorn’s common debt to Ornette Coleman and Julius Hemphill. We close with a long look at Zorn the organist as he performs a set dedicated to Terry Riley during his own 70th birthday celebrations at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral.
