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Since January 2005, Music From Other Minds has presented new and unusual music by innovative composers and performers from around the world. Produced weekly for KALW 91.7 FM San Francisco by Charles Amirkhanian and the Other Minds staff, and aired at 8pm every Sunday, Music From Other Minds aims to open up radio listeners to experimental classical work by living and recent composers. We bring you the latest in contemporary music from around the world, and some glimpses into the past, to give a context for today’s music.

Follow this link for information and track listings from programs prior to program 501.
Follow this link to download a complete list of works played on MFOM up to program 791.

Previous Programs

Program 790: John Cage in Conversation with Morton Feldman

This program features a series of archival rebroadcasts of the composers John Cage and Morton Feldman in conversation. Cage and Feldman recorded four open-ended discussions at the studios of radio station WBAI in New York. These meetings spanned six months between July 1966 and January 1967 and were produced as five “Radio Happenings.” These conversations between two old friends, relaxed, smoking, and throwing out ideas, are full of laughter and long ponderous silences. They form an incredible historical record of their concerns and preoccupation with making music, art, society, and politics of the moment.

Program 789: "Caged" Minds

On this Music from Other Minds, Liam Herb plays three very different artists who cite John Cage as major influences on their music. We’ll hear Jürg Frey‘s evening length work for string quartet and saxophone quartet Continuité, fragilité, résonance, selections by the Vienna-based Vegetable Orchestra, and Steve Roden‘s stars of ice.

Program 788: Force of Nature

This program features music inspired by natural forces: the wind, quantum physics, and the sounds of the natural world. Christopher Cerrone’s Beaufort Scales channels varied levels of wind intensity, while Cheryl E. Leonard’s Greater than 20 Knots captures the power of Antarctic winds. Field recordings duet with human performers in Giacomo Fiore’s Lost Horse Wash Drone, recorded at Joshua Tree National Park, and Karen Power’s loved bees and Amazonian frogs with recordings from Ireland and Peru. Closing the program is Waves and Particles by John Luther Adams, a piece inspired by quantum physics, fractal geometry, and noise.

Program 787: New OM Releases

This program features two new releases from Other Minds Records: an improvised set by bass player Joëlle Léandre and vocalist Lauren Newton performed during Other Minds Festival 26, and Giacomo Fiore’s guitar exploration of just intonation and desert resonance recorded at the Lou Harrison House near Joshua Tree National Park. Plus music for chamber orchestra by Liza Lim, Charlotte Moorman and Nam June Paik play music by Earle Brown and Toshi Ichiyanagi, a cello and electronics improvisation by Joana Guerra, Miroslav Beinhauer plays music for Alois Hába’s sixth-tone harmonium written by Judith Berkson, and John Schneider plays music by Lou Harrison arranged for just intonation guitar.

Program 786: From the Archives: Elliott Carter in Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian

On this Music from Other Minds, an archival broadcast of Charles Amirkhanian and Elliott Carter‘s 1983 on-stage discussion as a part of the “Speaking of Music” lecture series. At the time of this broadcast, Carter (1908-2012) was celebrating his 75th birthday! Tune in to hear the two composers discuss the musical developments of the early 20th century, Carter’s friendships with Ives, and much more.

Program 785: Walking Across Europe

On this program, we’re walking across Europe from Norway to Romania, listening to the composers whose paths we cross on our cross-continental journey. Included is music by Jan Martin Smørdal, Anders Hillborg, Simon Steen-Andersen, Hanna Hartman, Calliope Tsoupaki, Karel Goeyvaerts, Joëlle Léandre and Lauren Newton, Giacinto Scelsi, Beat Furrer, György Kurtág, and Doina Rotaru.

Program 784: New Releases / Remembering Larry Polansky (1954-2024)

On this Music from Other Minds, Liam Herb plays new releases by Anqi Liu, Daniel Lentz, Amina Claudine Meyers and Wadada Leo Smith, and Olivia Block. Also on the program, a tribute to the late Larry Polansky (1954-2024).

Program 783: To Hell and Back

In this week’s program, electronic artist Philippe Petit offers a new interpretation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Using a Buchla system and other analog synthesizers, prepared piano, sounds from inside the piano, metal percussion, cymbalon, field recordings, and voices, Petit creates a stunning adaptation of the 14th Century classic. Tracing Dante’s trip through Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise, it’s a mind bending journey on a cinematic scale. A few screams will be heard, but don’t abandon hope! The program opens with Diamanda Galás singing John Lee Hooker’s “Burning Hell” and concludes with an excerpt from Éliane Radigue’s electronic portrayal of the bardo, Kyema, Intermediate States.

Program 782: A Piano Recital by Emily Wong

On this program, we’ll listen to an archival recording of an Ode to Gravity program from 1982. From a recording made on August 2, 1982, pianist Emily Wong performs a live recital of both modern and more classical compositions in the KPFA studios. Charles Amirkhanian hosts the broadcast and provides some background about each of the pieces, which include a rare performance of early works by Conlon Nancarrow, a selection of standards by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, and two works by John Adams. The program finishes with an excerpt of Russ Jennings’ 1987 interview with the late artist Marian Zazeela and composer La Monte Young about their collaborative work, The Well-Tuned Piano.

Program 781: Before Other Minds

On this Music from Other Minds, Liam Herb takes us back to the Composer-to-Composer Festival, a proto-Other Minds of sorts, which took place from 1988-1991 in Telluride, CO. Founded by Charles Amirkhanian and John Lifton as an opportunity for composers from across literal and ideological seas to meet and discuss their works, this four year experiment was home to performances by composers like Henry Brant, Pauline Oliveros, John Cage, Conlon Nancarrow, and many more.

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