Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks writes about his composition Plainscapes (2002): "The beauty of the Latvian landscape inspired many of my works, for it has given me moments of exceptional happiness. The plains are a dominant feature of the Latvian countryside, a place where one can see the horizon and look at the stars in the sky. Plainscapes is made up of three vocalises separated by little interludes. The dynamic of this diatonic, meditative composition is piano (quiet) almost throughout. At the end of the third vocalise the mood changes, however. A growing crescendo leads to the climax – to the Vision of Nature Awakening." Watch a performance of Vasks' Plainscapes by Sol Gabetta (cello), Guy Braunstein (violin), and Camerata Vocale Freiburg, conducted by Winfried Toll . . . one of this week's FEATURED NEW MUSIC VIDEOS.

Augusta Read Thomas’ deeply personal music is guided by her particular sense of musical form, rhythm, timbre, and harmony. But given this individuality, her music is affected by history - in Thomas' words, "Old music deserves new music and new music needs old music." For Thomas, this means cherishing her place within the musical tradition and giving credit to those who have forged the musical paths she follows and from which she innovates. She was the Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from May 1997 through June 2006, a residency that encompassed nine world premieres, culminating in the premiere of her concerto for violin, flute and orchestra entitled Astral Canticle - one of two finalists for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Music. Watch Augusta Read Thomas talk about her life and her music in an interview for Boston Symphony Orchestra . . . it's our COMPOSER PORTRAIT for the week.

François Bayle's Jeita (1970) originally appeared on an LP in the mythical Silver Series on the Philips label in the early 1970s. This piece was assembled out of sound material partly recorded in front of a live audience in an actual cave. According to Bayle, "Straight away, I realized I had duplicated this large machine which turns time into form flowers by means of billions of busy and regular [water] drops — an immense clock — and I had created a man-size clock for the ear." Heavy natural reverb, echoes, water droplets, site workers, instruments, etc. are all transformed into abstract hazes of the finest order, hence the quote, "This is not a cave!" (- our thanks to the folks at ArcaneCandy.com). Listen to François Bayle's Jeita . . . our FEATURED SOUND ART.

John Aylward's music has been praised for its youthful energy and precision. In line with his mentors David Rakowski, and George Tsontakis, Aylward is quickly paving a new path of sophisticated and emotional American modernism. His latest works entertain experimental harmonic and textural concepts while not sacrificing rigorous technique or rhythmic vitality. Aylward's music has been performed within the U.S and abroad by numerous ensembles including the New York New Music Ensemble, The Lydian String Quartet, Third Angle, The Bard Symphony Orchestra, Juventas, and The Aspen Contemporary Ensemble.  His work has also been championed by soloists Jo Ellen Miller, Curt Macomber, Chris Finkel, Steven Gosling, Christopher Oldfather, Sam Solomon, Elizabeth Keusch, Karina Sabac and Daria Binkowski. In 2010, Aylward was selected as a Composers Apprentice at the National Centre for the arts in Ottowa, Canada. Listen to a performance of John Aylward's Reciprocal Accord (2009) . . . this week's FROM THE PYTHEAS ARCHIVES.