There's far more to this enduring figure than the famous Fifth Symphony. And to find out, we've invited writer Jan Swafford to join us for an all-Beethoven "take-over" edition of All Songs Considered to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. Read More
Classical Music
The Pulitzer winner has released his first memoir, "Silences So Deep: Music, Solitude, Alaska." It's a personal account of Adams' formative decades making art in the Artic. Continue Reading Composer John Luther Adams On The Arctic Sounds Read More
From her home in Germany, the provocative American soprano delivers songs of introspection and freedom from Franz Schubert's mountaintop epiphany to Billy Taylor's wish for equality and justice. Continue Reading Soprano Read More
The new concert film, shot in 2018, shows one of the stars of the electronic and indie classical worlds in his element: a homebrewed nest of traditional and modern instruments working together. Continue Reading Read More
The thoughtful soprano believes that art is good at questioning, challenging and provoking. But the real question, she says, is: "What happens after the provocation?" Continue Reading Provocation And Follow-Through: Read More
The talented Canadian composer and songwriter creates an ensemble in their bedroom for our Tiny Desk quarantine series. Continue Reading Owen Pallett Layers Instruments, Voice And His Own Story For An NPR Tiny Desk Read More
Pulitzer-winning composer Anthony Davis based You Have The Right To Remain Silent, released this week as a virtual performance, on his own experience with police. Continue Reading A Tense New Classical Work Bottles The Feeling Read More
Since the pandemic started, musicians have been trying to find ways to play together in real time online. Two platforms — Audio Movers and Jack Trip — offer promise. Continue Reading Musicians Turn To New Software To Play Together OnlineRead More
Lewiston resident Lilienne Shore Kilgore-Brown actively takes part in protests now. So did her grandmother Susan Kilgore in the 1970s. On StoryCorps Northwest, Susan tells Lilienne what she was protesting and what she learned from those experiences. Read More
What would Beethoven do when he was hungry? He’d have mac and cheese! The Viennese version, of course: Kaesespaetzle, or "cheese noodles;" tiny dumplings topped with crispy onions. For Ludwig’s 250th anniversary year, may we suggest he spice things up with a pepper and a sprig of rosemary? How about some Cougar Gold instead of that Parmigiano-Reggiano? Keep reading Read More
When she was young, Lewiston resident Colleen Mahoney lived near the Minidoka Japanese Internment camp. That experience, plus witnessing housing discrimination in Utah, shaped her politics and community advocacy. Continue Reading Read More
This new work, composed by Duncan Neilson, tells the story of Frankenstein's monster from the perspective of the creature himself, with text extracted from Mary Shelly's classic novel. Listen to a special presentation of "The Monster," Saturday, October 31, at 8:00 PM. Continue Read More
Nathan Chan talks about his pandemic pick-me-ups, Yo-Yo Ma and TikTok. Before he could read, let alone read sheet music, theSeattle Symphony cellist had already conducted an orchestra through Mozart’s Variations. At 3 years old, Chan directed the San Jose Chamber Orchestra — and had to stand on a chair to see over the podium. Read More
The gifted American pianist Simone Dinnerstein has always taken a thoughtful--even bold--approach to her art. Now, Dinnerstein has emerged from a pandemic-induced period of reflection with an impressive new recording, “A Character of Quiet,” which combines etudes by Philip Glass with Franz Schubert’s last sonata. She and her longtime producer laid down the tracks over two Read More
This is the first time that the New York Philharmonic has been forced to cancel its entire concert season. No previously scheduled concerts will happen before June 2021. Continue Reading New York Philharmonic Cancels Its Entire Read More
With a voice by turns soaring and haunting, Shajarian was considered one of his nation's treasures — and then ran afoul of the regime. He died Thursday in Tehran at age 80. Continue Reading Master Singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian, A Voice Of Read More
La Maestra, held in Paris this September, is the first fully realized competition solely for women conductors — an effort to help balance a male-dominated field. Continue Reading Women Conductors Are The Rule, Not The Exception, At A Read More
When young composers explore old musical formulas, exciting things can happen. Mass for the Endangered is a contemporary twist on an ancient tradition. Continue Reading MUSIC REVIEW: Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass, Rebooted For The Read More
In his version of “Goldberg Variations,” Gould adapted the sounds of ancient period instruments, harpsichord and organ, to modern piano playing. Lang Lang says this inspired him to learn how to play the harpsichord, studying with Andreas Staier in Cologne, Germany. Read More
They point to a real estate deal that could drain two-thirds of the American Guild of Musical Artists' financial reserves and a secretive, failed deal with disgraced opera star Plácido Domingo. Continue Reading Whistleblowers Read More
While a valiant endeavor, the Metropolitan Opera's new series of steaming concerts can't seem to shake off opera's fusty, aristocratic traditions. Continue Reading MUSIC REVIEW: The Met Opera’s Live Streaming Series Sticks To Read More
Vocal ensembles that normally would be touring the summer festival circuit have organized a virtual concert series. Groups hail from 10 different countries including the U.S., Zimbabwe and France. Continue Reading Vox Virtual, An International Read More
Guitarist Julian Bream, who died Friday at the age of 87, was as important to the history of classical guitar as Andres Segovia. Continue Reading Remembering Julian Bream, The Classical Guitar Giant With The Soul Of A Jazz Read More
Watch the rising young pianist, in a final performance from his Berlin home, make the case for two seemingly disparate French composers born nearly 200 years apart. Continue Reading Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson Sits At The Read More
The National Virtual Medical Orchestra brings together health care workers and gives them a creative outlet during the pandemic. Continue Reading Meet The Medical Professionals Playing Classical Music Together OnlineRead More
The beloved pianist was a young lion of his generation until a hand injury forced him to rethink his relationship to music. Continue Reading Leon Fleisher, The Pianist Who Reinvented Himself, Dies At 92Read More
Pianist Yuja Wang, violinist Leonidas Kavakos and several prominent academics have been accused this week of making anti-Black comments. Ensuing debates have been playing out on Twitter and Instagram. Continue Reading Classical Music Tries To Reckon Read More
Hear the cellist talk about the purpose of music in the face of racial tension and health crises, plus his new album, Not Our First Goat Rodeo, which reunites him with old bluegrass buddies. Continue Reading Yo-Yo Ma: Goats, Read More
The Library of Congress is debuting 10 works of new music about the COVID-19 pandemic. The project takes inspiration from Giovanni Boccaccio, a writer who collected stories about the Black Death. Continue Reading A New Library Of Congress Read More
With the help of a few "wrong" notes, the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic turned "America the Beautiful" into a solemn protest of police violence. Continue Reading Clarinetist Anthony McGill Kneels, Pleads And Plays For Read More
The harpsichord is alive and well. Watch Mahan Esfahani give the first solo harpsichord recital at the Tiny Desk, playing music that spans over 250 years. Continue Reading Before COVID-19, There Was Harpsichord. And Mahan Read More
The Grammy-winning American cellist had a wide-ranging career that spanned Bach to new music written by Augusta Read Thomas. His colleagues also treasured him as a generous musical collaborator. Continue Reading Prominent Cellist Lynn Harrell Dies At Age 76Read More
The Philadelphia Orchestra has shuttered its doors in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin reflects on their final performance — streamed for people at home. Continue Reading ‘This Is Why We Read More
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts all nine symphonies this year. He spoke about the surprisingly political side of Beethoven's music with All Things Considered. Continue Reading Revisiting Beethoven’s Beloved, Radical Read More
2020 marks the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, and the world is saluting him with festivals, concerts and exhibitions all year long. Vienna and his birthplace - Bonn - are at the center of the festivities, but the Northwest is also celebrating the great composer, humanist, visionary and nature lover. Here are a few concerts you can look forward to in 2020. Read More
A thoughtful musician from a distinguished family, Peter Serkin interpreted the classics and expanded the repertoire by commissioning new works. He died Saturday, Feb. 1, at his home in Red Hook, N.Y. at age 72. Continue Reading Remembering Peter Serkin, The Read More
The Grammy-winning Pacifica Quartet is known for their advocacy of contemporary music and for their acclaimed performances of complete quartet cycles by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Carter, and Shostakovich. From their home at Indiana University, Bloomington, they visited Moscow, Idaho in January 2020 for a week of concerts, outreach events and master classes. Read More
They were a classical music hosts who helped make the genre approachable. Bob and Bill started at Northwest Public Radio delighting audiences with their humor and knowledge. Recently, Bob Christenson passed away. Bill Morelock remembers him. Read More
For more than twenty years, Imani Winds has inspired audiences and young musicians of all backgrounds with their energetic performances, outreach endeavors and adventurous programming. Anjuli Dodhia caught up with horn player/composer Jeff Scott and bassoonist Monica Ellis at an Imani Winds rehearsal. Read More
Norman was one of the leading African American opera figures in a time when there were fewer than now. The soprano won four Grammys and the National Medal of Arts. Continue Reading Grammy-Winning Opera Singer Jessye Norman Dies At 74Read More
Compared with monkeys, humans have a brain that is extremely sensitive to a sound's pitch. And that may reflect our exposure to speech and music. Continue Reading A Musical Brain May Help Us Understand Language And Appreciate Read More
Ron Howard's new Pavarotti film fails to make us feel much for its subject, and does little to bolster the magical, complicated art called opera. Continue Reading Review: Documentary Film On Luciano Pavarotti Misses All The Right Read More
The financially embattled organization surprised its musicians, and its audience, by shortening its season and cutting the players pay and vacation, it announced Thursday. Continue Reading Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Suddenly Cancels Summer Read More
In her U.S. debut as Don Giovanni, Lucia Lucas became the first known trans person to sing a principal role on an American opera stage. Continue Reading ‘They Know That I’m The Real Deal’: Transgender Read More
BBC music broadcaster Stephen Johnson's remarkably diverse aesthetic and personal sensitivity are on full display in his new book on the Russian composer's music — and his own personal struggles. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: Read More
The acclaimed Concertgebouw Orchestra issued a warmly worded statement Tuesday saying its disagreements with the conductor have been resolved by both parties. Continue Reading Top Dutch Orchestra And Ousted Conductor Daniele Read More
Chief organist Olivier Latry looks ahead at the church's extensive renovation process after the Notre Dame cathedral fire on April 15. Continue Reading After The Flames, Notre Dame’s Centuries-Old Organ May Never Be The Same Read More
The young composer's opera, which debuted at the Los Angeles Opera, was inspired by her own experience as a survivor of sexual assault. Continue Reading Readjusting Your Opera Reality: Ellen Reid Wins Music Pulitzer For ‘P r i Read More
Nézet-Séguin uses every part of his body when he conducts — including his eyes, eyebrows, shoulders and feet. He's the music director at New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Continue Reading Fresh Air: Read More
Suzanne Bona, producer and host of Sunday Baroque on NWPB and syndicated across the U.S., visted the Palouse March 18 – 21. Her activities included a fund raising lunch for… Continue Reading Photos Gallery: Suzanne Bona Plays The PalouseRead More