CLASSICAL: The Empty Bottle broadcasts the first Thirsty Ear Festival
On Sat 8/11 at 5 PM, the Empty Bottle will broadcast a show live on the radio for the first time in its history—but the music won’t be the sort of underground rock the club usually hosts. The occasion is the first Thirsty Ear Festival, a two-hour concert of contemporary classical music featuring local ensembles and artists. It’s organized by Seth Boustead, who hosts the hour-long radio program Relevant Tones on WFMT 98.7 FM every Saturday at 5 PM.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Relevant Tones likewise attempts to be educational but nonpedantic. It airs music by and sometimes profiles of important local artists such as Eighth Blackbird and internationally acclaimed composers such as Alvin Lucier and Henryk Gorecki, and it examines movements and trends in new music, among them spectralism and remixing. Saturday’s concert features the meditative free improvisation of clarinetist James Falzone (see Soundboard), works by established composers Iannis Xenkais and Shulamit Ran, and a slew of music from up-and-coming voices, including Chicagoans Brian Baxter and Kyle Vegter. Each act gets a 30-minute slot, and the order of performers is Palomar (the performing arm of ACM), Falzone, the Maverick Ensemble (playing a composition by member Jason Raynovich), and the Chicago Q Ensemble (a relatively new string quartet).
—Peter Margasak
Next: Leor Galil on the long-awaited DJ Tony Trimm debut
—Leor Galil
