#5174, Music in Waves

Listen to music that comes at you in waves in work by pianist and composer Sova, from American composer Dylan Mattingly, and from cellist Zoe Keating.

Preview new work for piano and sound design from Sova (the pianist and composer Sophia Vastek), whose new moniker, beyond being an abbreviation of her given name, sova (or sowa) is the word in several Slavic languages (including her father’s native tongue) for owl—a mythological symbol of wisdom (Terrorbird.com). Her album of classically-rooted piano (performed on a noisy upright) enhanced with electronics and collaborators, Alight!, comes out in September 2026.

Then there’s a piece by American composer and cellist Dylan Mattingly, who is executive and co-artistic director of NY-based new-music group Contemporaneous, and whose music “offers ecstatic, transformative experience and provides an opportunity to alter the way we see our world and place within it,” (Contemporaneous.org). Listen to Mattingly’s work Sunt Lacrimae Rerum (these are the tears of things), which calls for two harps and two alternately-tuned pianos that playfully crash and recede in sparkling waves and interlocking rhythms.

Hear pianist Eunbi Kim plaings a work by Peruvian composer Pauchi Sasaki which uses a sample of Kim and her mother singing a traditional Korean chant/song to create a backdrop for the piano trio (and features violinist Lauren Cauley and cellist Amanda Gookin (I Care If You Listen). Listen also to music in the continuous mode from Canadian composer and pianist Lubomyr Melnyk (of Ukrainian origin), who is now based in Sweden. Plus, music from cellist, composer, and producer Zoe Keating.

Photo of Sova, (Sophia Vastek) by Kiki Vassilakis

Program #5174, Music in Waves (First aired 8/21/26)

ARTIST: Contemporaneous; Conducted by David Bloom
WORK: Dylan Mattingly: Sunt Lacrimae Rerum (these are the tears of things) [1:11]
RECORDING: The Wild Heart
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: https://dylanmattingly.lnk.to/TheWildHeart

ARTIST: Lubomyr Melnyk
WORK: Song of Galadriel [11:15]
RECORDING: The Song of Galadriel
SOURCE: Bandura Records
INFO: https://soundsofsubterrania.bandcamp.com/album/the-song-of-galadriel or discogs.com

ARTIST:Sova (Sophia Vastek)
WORK: Through The Smoke We See Each Other [4:37]
RECORDING: Alight!
SOURCE: Hout Records
INFO: https://orcd.co/hr069

ARTIST: Contemporaneous; Conducted by David Bloom
WORK: Dylan Mattingly: Sunt Lacrimae Rerum (these are the tears of things) [16:58]
RECORDING: The Wild Heart
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: https://dylanmattingly.lnk.to/TheWildHeart

ARTIST: Eunbi Kim, Lauren Cauley, Amanda Gookin
WORK: Pauchi Sasaki: Mother's Hand, Healing Hand (엄마손은 약손) [5:14]
RECORDING: It Feels Like
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things. 
INFO:https://eunbikim.bandcamp.com/album/it-feels-like

ARTIST: Zoe Keating
WORK: Fern [7:29]
RECORDING: One Cello x 16 : Natoma
SOURCE: 020202 Music
INFO: https://zoekeating.bandcamp.com/album/one-cello-x-16-natoma