Podcasts · Episode

Elena Ruehr

Program: NoteWorthy
Aired: Monday, July 15, 2024
Hosted by Loki Karuna

There are so many beautiful phenomena in nature to write music about. You know, things like the sunrise and sunset, gentle breezes, and even the ocean. But what would you think about music inspired by…bugs? Is that something you'd wanna hear? Well before you answer, let me tell you a little about one composer, in particular, who had no problem writing about those creepy crawlies. Hey there – I'm Loki Karuna, and on today's edition of Noteworthy it's you, me, a few insects, and composer Elena Ruehr. 

Elena got her musical start in the upper peninsula of Michigan, where she was born. Considering the natural beauty and relative isolation of that part of the country, you might be able to imagine that many of her musical inspirations come from the natural world. Among those are compositions that draw on cloudy skies, the glow of the moon, and just about anything else you can imagine, including, yes, insects! This tune, composed in 2020, is a part of a large, multi-movement string quartet that she called Insect Dances.

Elena is based in Boston these days, where she's taught at MIT since 1992, but the rural, more natural side of her musical upbringing has always played a vital role in what she's contributed to the western classical repertoire over the years. There aren't many composer who can pull beauty out of things like spiders, but Elena Ruehr is certainly among them, as one of America's most Noteworthy composers.

Noteworthy is a production of WDAV classical public radio. 

Pictured: Elena Ruehr by Liz Linder.

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