The Esopus Foundation Ltd. recently formed a programming partnership with the groundbreaking Chicago-based nonprofit Access Contemporary Music (ACM) consisting of three live podcast events at New York’s Symphony Space throughout 2023. The second installment of the series, “Cosmicomics,” occurred on Friday, June 23, at 7:30 pm. 

The evening centered around Italo Calvino's seminal short story collection Cosmicomics, which tells the story of the dawn of the universe through the eyes of an immortal narrator known as "Qwfwq."

ACM's founder, composer Seth Boustead, released a new album of music inspired by eight of these stories, and for this event, he discussed the process of adapting these works into musical form with Esopus editor Tod Lippy. The stories’ literary and scientific legacies were explored in depth with writer and cartoonist John Dermot Woods (Mortals) and Yale University astronomer Chiara Mingarelli.

As always, the conversation took place in tandem with live music—in this case, five pieces from Boustead's album performed by the acclaimed Unheard-of//Ensemble.

 Forthcoming "Relevant Tones" podcast events at Symphony Space:

- 10/20/23: "Commercialism in Art" will feature music and conversation from creatives working in various disciplines. Details to follow.