Wilson, who won three Grammy awards and recorded more than 60 albums, died at her California home Thursday after a long illness. From 1996-2005, she hosted NPR's documentary series Jazz Profiles. Continue Reading Nancy Wilson, Read More
Music
‘Tis the season for all manner of festivities, from celebrations of the holidays at home to premieres of new works for the theatre. In fact, many productions enjoyed their first performances at this special time of year. Continue Read More
The country legend talks about creating the soundtrack to Dumplin', the new Netflix film starring Jennifer Aniston that's inspired by her music. Continue Reading ‘Dream It On Through’: Dolly Parton On Her Read More
An elite music college in Princeton, N.J., is up for sale. Its prospective buyer is a for-profit Chinese company — which is partially owned by the Beijing municipal government. Continue Reading Why Is The Chinese Government Read More
When NPR asked listeners for their personal American anthems, many responded with Simon & Garfunkel's "America." We asked them to tell us why. Continue Reading What’s Your Favorite Anthem? America Answered: Read More
Pianist Jason Moran calls James Reese Europe "basically the 'big bang' of jazz." Moran's tribute to the composer and WWI "Hellfighter" pulls his contributions to the genre out of history. Continue Reading A Century Later, Jazz Pioneer James Reese Read More
Even in a studio, backed by a symphony orchestra as they survey their long career in pop music, these guys know how to work a room. Continue Reading In ‘String Theory,’ Hanson With Orchestra Delivers The Read More
Turn on your radio, pour a cup of tea, cozy up to a warm fire, and enjoy uplifting music, heartwarming stories and inspiring performances to celebrate the season. Here’s a list of special programs coming your way throughout the month of December. Read More
The celebrated young pianist Daniil Trifonov steals aboard a steam locomotive, chugging through the Rockies to the strains of Rachmaninov's Fourth Concerto. Continue Reading No Humdrum Affair: Dreaming Of Rachmaninov On A Train Read More
The Spanish singer studied traditional cante flamenco in college and now mixes it with pop music influences in a way that's led some to call her the "Spanish Beyoncé." Continue Reading Flamenco Fusion: Rosalía Offers A Modern Take On Spanish Read More
Sometimes it takes an outsider to see a culture clearly. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's Ninth Symphony was an ode to what American music could become. Continue Reading How Dvorak’s ‘New World’ Symphony Introduced American Read More
From bourgeois turkeys to Mother Goose, music commentator Miles Hoffman introduces us to classical music about fowls. Continue Reading ‘Ballad Of The Fat Turkeys’: Talking Fowl But Festive Music In The Classical Read More
It's been worth the long, long wait: Amazing Grace, made in January 1972, is an extraordinary document that depicts an artist at her technical, creative and spiritual heights. Continue Reading Aretha Franklin Touches Read More
The singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his fleet guitar work and big smile, began his career as a teenage prodigy and rose to become a regular presence in the living rooms of America. Continue Reading Roy Clark, ‘Hee Haw’ Read More
Producer Giles Martin shares the remarkable stories, early demos, outtakes and stunning new mixes from the just-released deluxe version of the album. Continue Reading 50 Years Since A ‘Revolution’: How The Beatles Made ‘The Read More
Armistice Day: Music from the Trenches This program commemorates the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the end of World War I. You’ll hear music from both sides of the Atlantic related to the historic period spanning the start of WWI through the signing of the armistice. It includes pieces by Ravel, Holst, Butterworth, Farrar… Read More
November 11 marks the centennial of the end of World War I, otherwise known as the “Great War” and the “War to End All Wars.” Simply put, it was a cataclysm, a conflict that marked a threshold in modern history. In the world of classical music, composers responded in many different ways. Read More
For the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, writing rhyming poems called calaveras literarias — mocking epitaphs for the dead or satire targeting the living — has become a proud tradition. Continue Reading These Wicked Dia De Los Read More
From family memorials to jam sessions to every show at the Grand Ole Opry, the familiar singalong helps people feel connected to those who have died — whether legendary musicians or loved ones. Continue Reading ‘Will The Circle Read More
One of the best-known anthems of second-wave American feminism might not have become a No. 1 hit without an obnoxious display of macho behavior. Continue Reading You’re Gonna Hear Them Roar: ‘I Am Woman’ Is An Anthem Beyond Read More
Need a good scare or just something to do with the family this fall? Check out this list of Halloween activities happening around the Northwest. Continue Reading Check Out These Northwest Haunted Attractions For A Spooky Good TimeRead More
When the FBI recovered virtuoso violinist Roman Totenberg's stolen Stradivarius after his death, his daughters wanted the instrument to be played everywhere. Ensuring that was not so simple. Continue Reading The Tale Of The Stolen Read More
Sixty years ago, a Mexican folk tune sung entirely in Spanish became a rock and roll phenomenon. Generations after Ritchie Valens, young Latinos are still harnessing its power. Continue Reading American Anthem: Through Read More
In many ways, Lafourcade has left her mark on the 21st century by looking back. Her work has freed music that for many younger listeners had been trapped in amber, and imbued it with new life. Continue Reading Natalia Lafourcade: The 21st Read More
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, which begins to mark its centennial this fall, is credited with helping to bring high culture and great composers to L.A. Continue Reading The Rise Of The LA Philharmonic To ‘America’s Most Read More
The revered Spanish soprano, who died Saturday, spins out silvery threads of tone in her recordings, the likes of which no one has ever matched. Continue Reading One Mesmerizing Moment With Soprano Montserrat CaballéRead More
The list of 2019 nominees also includes Janet Jackson, Radiohead, Def Leppard and John Prine. Continue Reading Stevie Nicks, The Cure Among 15 Acts Nominated For Rock & Roll Hall Of FameRead More
The resourceful singer is unafraid to bring opera — and his high-flying top notes — to unlikely places, from sixth-grade classrooms to the offices of NPR. Continue Reading Making Opera Accessible Again: Anthony Roth Read More
Although Johann Sebastian Bach was probably no tap-dancer, he did know something about dancing. The gigues, menuets and courantes that populate his various suites are, essentially, stylized dance movements that can leap off the page in a good performance. Read More
The resourceful Mexican jazz singer Magos Herrera partners with the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, creating an album that's steeped in Latin American culture. Continue Reading Erasing Genres En Español: A Smoky-Voiced Jazz Singer Read More
Dutcher spent five years researching, writing and recording his brilliant and ambitious debut album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa -- now, it has earned one of Canada's most prestigious prizes. Continue Reading Jeremy Dutcher: The Newest Read More
The Bob Dylan classic came out in 1963 and was embraced by the civil rights and anti-war movements. Decades later, young people are finding it vibrates with new meaning. Continue Reading American Anthem: ‘The Times They Are Read More
The never-before-seen clip, of the two former Beatles recording Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" in 1971, comes ahead of the Oct. 5 release of a 6-CD box set, Imagine - The Ultimate Collection. Continue Reading Not Hard To Imagine: Read More
Despite its origins in the popular music of the North, the song became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy during the Civil War and still endures as a divisive symbol in modern America. Continue Reading The Anthemic Allure Of Read More
Consider this year’s apples: Born from the seeds of an earlier generation’s trees, the fruit you hold in your hand this fall will allow you “to shake hands with a good friend over the centuries.” That’s how the composer and antiquarian Gerald Finzi put it. As your apples ripen, with the sweet strains of classical music… Read More
The country singer-songwriter's voice changed in her 50s and, for a time, she thought her career in music was over. With advice from Tony Bennett and a voice coach, Mattea has returned. Continue Reading How Kathy Mattea Got Her Voice Back With Read More
The second annual Adam West Day in Walla Walla is September 19th. This year's event features more activities including a showing of the Bat-mobile, an actor portraying Batman and a gathering at Adam West's childhood home. Continue Reading Holy Read More
Don Gonyea visits musician Lee Greenwood to talk about the song that, after three decades in political campaigns, might be more popular than "Hail to the Chief." Continue Reading ‘God Bless The U.S.A.,’ A Country Anthem With Read More
Now that "Kamikaze's" suicide mission is complete, how will Eminem resurrect his love for hip-hop? Continue Reading Eminem Became A Parody Of Himself And Everybody’s LaughingRead More
Even from its beginnings in late-'60s Oakland, Tower of Power has always stood out. Fifty years later, its devotion to classic horn-driven soul remains unmatched, its passion and precision unchanged. Continue Reading NPR Tiny Desk Concert: Tower Of PowerRead More
"The Star Spangled Banner" has been played at major sporting events as far back as the Civil War, even before it was officially named the national anthem. How and why did the tradition stick? Continue Reading How Sports Met ‘The Star Spangled Banner’Read More
In this candid conversation, the singer reveals he hasn't felt compelled to write a new song in years, talks about the desire to better know himself and reflects on the very meaning of life itself. Continue Reading Paul Simon Says ‘I’m Finished’ Read More
The ways in which Spalding's music is the most radical are perhaps the most easily overlooked: how, through her singing and playing, she challenges gender norms across styles. Continue Reading Esperanza Spalding Is The 21st Century’s Jazz GeniusRead More
Born 100 years ago on Aug. 25, 1918, Bernstein was a larger-than-life character — on stage as a conductor, at the piano as a composer, on TV as an educator and in a sometimes tangled personal life. Continue Reading The Complex Life Of Leonard Read More
Mmhmm is a small word that's often used unconsciously. But it can actually tell us a lot about language, bias and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Continue Reading Ready For A Linguistic Controversy? Say ‘Mmhmm’Read More
If the celebrated cellist could soundtrack his life, the music would be J.S. Bach's six Cello Suites. Yo-Yo Ma explains why they mean the world to him while he played the music at the NPR offices. Continue Reading NPR Tiny Desk Concert: Yo-Yo Ma’s Life Read More
Warm nights and clear skies are a perfect combination to see some of the night sky’s wonders, even if you don’t have a telescope. And what could be better than stargazing with a themed classical music soundtrack? Continue Reading Look Up: Musical Inspiration Read More
The first known photograph of Leonard Bernstein (left) as a conductor, taken at a summer camp on 1937. CREDIT: Library of Congress, Music Division “Moynik!” (“Music!”), the young Leonard Bernstein would exclaim, even before his second birthday. He was clearly fascinated by the sounds emanating from his parents’ Victrola at home in Lawrence, Massachusetts and… Read More
The 85-year-old legend canceled a string of shows earlier this year after suffering from the flu. But with his wife and sons in tow, he's come back fiercer than ever. Continue Reading After Illness, Willie Nelson Is On The Road Again Read More
A long, relaxed summer evening in the company of live classical music and fine food. That’s a favorite Northwest pleasure offered around the region: Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival (Concert on the Village Green), Bellingham Festival of Music (Chamber by the Bay), and Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival (Music Under the Stars), to name a few. It’s the kind of Read More
