From a stunning room overlooking the San Gabriel Mountains in Pasadena, Calif., we hear the ethereal sounds of Active Child. "I chose this space, as this is where I've written nearly every piece of music for my active child project. my music and this house / this view are completely intertwined." Read More
While streams dominated this chaotic, sorrowful year, musicians continued to lay down official statements in the form of albums. And as the pandemic exploded, the economy cracked, the protests thundered and politics grew even more partisan, the arresting albums listed below became the soundtrack to my 2020 – the best in troubled times. In the order they were released are Read More
Americans knew Bolling best for a recording project with noted French flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal which contained Bolling's sparkling "Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano." The album, which was released by CBS in 1975, remained on Billboard's classical charts for an astonishing 530 consecutive weeks. Read More
For this Tiny Desk (home) concert, we pay a visit to the doctor's office. Actually, the venue is called Rare Violins of New York and it's something of a second home to cellist Jan Vogler, who pops in frequently to have the experts give his 1708 Stradivarius cello a thorough checkup. Read More
The humorous side of Beethoven's personality seeps into his music, such as the false stops and musical giggles that fuel his two-minute-long Presto from the Quartet Op. 130, which opens this performance. For contrast, the Borromeos follow with a serious movement from later on in the same piece, the prayerful Cavatina, which Beethoven said even got him choked up. Read More
Ludwig van Beethoven charted a powerful new course in music. His ideas may have been rooted in the work of European predecessors Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Josef Haydn, but the iconic German composer became who he was with the help of some familiar American values: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That phrase, from the Declaration of Independence, is right out Read More
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
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
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
A trio of musicians gather at Aaron Copland's longtime home. Watch them play the iconic American composer's music at his own piano and beside his own writing desk. Continue Reading Music Of ‘America’s Composer’ 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
Created by Pulitzer-winning composer Ellen Reid, Soundwalk lets visitors score their socially distanced walks around the park with an ever-changing, GPS-sensitive soundtrack. Continue Reading Central Park Is Alive With 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
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
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
The quartet, known colloquially as Goat Rodeo, jammed out from four different homes in this Tiny Desk quarantine performance. Continue Reading Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer And Chris Thile Combine For A Tiny Desk Read More
America's biggest arts complex hasn't been able to present its regular programming due to the pandemic. Watch one of the private outdoor concerts organized for healthcare professionals and teachers. Continue Reading During A 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
The tombstone on Isaac Stern's grave reads simply "Isaac Stern, Fiddler," but the violinist was much more than that: He was an educator who mentored generations of musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, and he was an activist who helped save Carnegie Hall from the wrecker's ball. Read More
Broadcast nationwide in 1934 and praised by listeners and critics alike, a masterful symphony soon fell silent. A new recording hopes to help revive an American treasure. Continue Reading Someone Finally Remembered William Dawson’s 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
Watch the pianist reimagine old spirituals and songs of freedom that continue to resonate in new ways. Continue Reading Normally Collaborative, Pianist Lara Downes Gets Intimate At A Tiny Desk (Home) ConcertRead More
Grammy-winning fiddler Augustin Hadelich brings one of the finest violins in the world to the Tiny Desk. Continue Reading Violinist Augustin Hadelich Brings His Extraordinary Instrument And Skills To NPR’s Tiny Read More
In Our Daily Breather, we ask artists to recommend ways to find calm in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Pianist Jonathan Biss is focusing on being grateful. Continue Reading In These Times, Classical Pianist Jonathan Biss 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
We learn all kinds of interesting things when we're at loose ends during a pandemic lockdown. Did you know that Baltimore Symphony Orchetsra Music Director Marin Alsop co-founded a swing band? Continue Reading Marin Alsop On Her Read More
Watch the superstar pianist at home in Shanghai, China, play a soothing Chopin Nocturne and Bach you can dance to. Continue Reading Pianist Lang Lang Gives A Tiny Desk (Home) Concert To Reflect On Trying TimesRead More
In Our Daily Breather, we ask writers and artists to recommend ways to find calm in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Nicholas Cords is finding solace in a thankful musical sentiment from Beethoven. Continue Reading Violist Nicholas Read More
Known early on for his avant-garde works, the composer's challenging music nevertheless found fans far beyond traditional classical music circles. Continue Reading Krzysztof Penderecki, Boundary-Breaking Polish Composer, Dies At 86Read More
Yo-Yo Ma has brought joy to listeners for decades with his virtuosic musicianship. Now, he is using his music to offer some comfort to a global audience in the midst of a pandemic that has sparked widespread anxiety and pain. Read More
Watch the award-winning pianist play a hit by Chopin, a premiere by Thomas Adès and a cherished song by Gershwin dressed in a virtuosic arrangement. Continue Reading Pianist Kirill Gerstein Sits Down At NPR’s Tiny Desk To Read More
The English composer's supernova hit continues to obscure his jaunty, folk inflected St. Paul's Suite. Continue Reading Second-Best Songs: In The Shadow Of ‘The Planets’ Lies Gustav Holst’s Sweet Read More
Thomas Adès' Concerto for Piano and Orchestra riffs on the old classics while speaking in the distinctive voice of a 21st century master composer. Continue Reading A New Piano Concerto For The People May Be The Most Read More
The eclectic composer joins members of the ACME ensemble for some of his most affecting music, which moves the audience to tears. Continue Reading Max Richter Brings Achingly Beautiful Compositions ‘On 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
Watch the celebrated opera star deconstruct old Italian love songs with her signature flair, backed by a crack jazz ensemble. Continue Reading Opera Star Joyce DiDonato Jazzes Up Classical Songs With Spontaneity Read More
The irrepressible harpist proves that the instrument can be as tempestuous as a tango, as complex as a Bach fugue and sing as serenely as a church choir. Continue Reading Harpist Bridget Kibbey Brings Blistering Bach And Jazzy Read More
NPR Music staffers Marissa Lorusso and Tom Huizenga give out superlatives for the best moments in music this past year, including a single breath of operatic singing and an epic guitar solo. Continue Reading One Big Breath And A Blazing Guitar: Read More
A new book explores the relation between a few key figures in American classical music and U.S. foreign policy in the 20th century. Continue Reading ‘Dangerous Melodies’ Examines Classical Music And American Foreign Read More
For nearly 200 years, Beethoven's epic Ninth Symphony, with its powerful "Ode to Joy," has inspired millions. Now conductor Marin Alsop takes it on a world tour. Continue Reading The Music And Morality Of Beethoven’s Mighty NinthRead More