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
Hailing from Anchorage, Alaska, Christopherson is a thoughtful songwriter with a powerful sense of perspective. Continue Reading Don’t ‘Erase Me’ Says Quinn Christopherson In Winning NPR’s 2019 Tiny Desk Read More
Aisha Fukushima has a story to tell about hip-hop and rap, but it’s not the only story there is. Fukushima, a 2009 graduate of Whitman College in Walla Walla, returns May 19 to share this story and her world-wide journey as an artist and activist as Whitman’s 2019 commencement speaker.
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Now 88 years old, Cuba's musical matriarch wants to perform for audiences until she dies. "What I have left to live for is smiles," Portuondo says. Continue Reading Cuban Diva Omara Portuondo Feels As Strong As Ever On ‘Last Read More
The video is a true tear-jerker, driving home the song's rawest emotions by depicting motherhood's joys and drudgery with equal affection and care. Continue Reading ‘The Mother’ From Northwest Native Brandi Read More
Petty's song has been used by striking workers in defiance, by political candidates to show grit, on national stages in the aftermath of tragedy. We asked what "I Won't Back Down" means to you. Continue Reading American Anthem: Tom Read More
Steve Inskeep speaks with superstar pianist Lang Lang about his new album, Piano Book, a reexamination of the classical music repertory he learned as child. Continue Reading From A Piano Virtuoso, A Classical Album To Accompany Read More
New Orleans has a fairly spotty track record when it comes to preserving cultural landmarks, but Buddy Bolden's blighted former residence may avoid being lost to time, as he nearly was. Continue Reading Preserving The New Read More
The Dentsu Aegis Network, which had been funding the ambitious, three-day 50th-anniversary music festival with headliners including Jay-Z and Santana, says that the August event will not happen. Continue Reading Woodstock 50 Canceled By Its InvestorsRead More
The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge became a household name in 2016, not for its beautiful scenery or because 300 bird species flock there, but because a militant, anti-government group had taken over headquarters for 41 days, leading to a fatal shooting. Three years later, an Oregon symphony offers music as healing. Read More
"Hello Sunshine," the first single from Bruce Springsteen's upcoming album Western Stars, shares the same melancholy space as early '70s ballads by Jimmy Webb and Kris Kristofferson. Continue Reading Bruce Springsteen Finds A New Sound By 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
There's a grainy video of the first time Nirvana played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" live, at a small club in Seattle in April 1991. Nirvana was largely unknown outside of punk and indie rock circles in the Pacific Northwest. The band hadn't even recorded the song yet, which meant that nearly everybody in the room was hearing it for the very first time. Still, the reaction Read More
NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Christian McBride of Jazz Night in America about the forgotten all-female big bands that toured the United States during World War II. Continue Reading Remembering The All-Female Big Bands That Read More
The song was everywhere during the 1967 gatherings in San Francisco. After it was used in a public service announcement, it became an anthem for the rest of the world. Continue Reading American Anthem: Beyond The 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
Nirvana's Kurt Cobain died 25 years ago Friday. The band's former manager Danny Goldberg discusses his memories of Cobain and his new book, Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain. Continue Reading Reflecting On Kurt Read More
World Cafe premieres this tightly syncopated groove from Gilfillian which draws on the vibes of '70s Afro-rock and funk. Continue Reading World Cafe: Devon Gilfillian Puts His Love Of Nigerian Psychedelic Read More
On his new album titled c.1300-c.2000, the pianist begins with a medieval song by Machaut and ends with an étude by Philip Glass. Continue Reading A Musical Odyssey Through 7 Centuries Of Music With Jeremy DenkRead More
The newly disclosed sale agreement of Westminster Choir College to a conglomerate partly owned by the Chinese government appears to state that the prospective owners can close the school at any time. Continue Read More
The former member of The Walker Brothers and singer of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" was also one of experimental music's most beloved composers. Continue Reading Scott Walker, Pop Idol Turned Avant Auteur, Dies At 76Read More
The bill for Woodstock 50 has been announced featuring acts like Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z and Miley Cyrus. The lineup is prompting conversation online. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson weighs in. Continue Reading Can Woodstock 50 ‘Re-Create The Read More
The jazz legend and barrier breaker was born on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Ala. Continue Reading Nat King Cole Still Remains ‘One Of The Great Gifts Of Nature’ 100 Years LaterRead More
The DIVA Jazz Orchestra celebrates 25 years, and one of the last surviving members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm reflects on the legacies of all-female big bands. Continue Reading No Man’s Band: All-Female Jazz Orchestras Then and Read More
Full Episode Jam Sets From This Episode “All of Me” by Billie Holiday “Reel Me Out” by Caridwen Spatz “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin “Voice le St. Jean” – A Traditional French Song Meet Dan Maher Dan Maher originally fell in love with folk music as a teenager growing up in Spokane. A celebrated musician, he… Read More
Regretfully, the Brown-Bag Lunch with Suzanne Bona, host of Sunday Baroque, as scheduled for March 21 at the LCSC Center for Arts and History has been cancelled due to a number of logistical factors. If you planned to attend the gathering and can travel up the grade instead, please contact [email protected] for an alternate opportunity… Read More
In the book Speaking of Alabama, an essay by linguistics professor Catherine Davies calls "y'all" a speech "improvement" — at least when referring to the plural second person. Continue Reading Y’all Heard? An Argument For The Great Southern Read More
To mark the sesquicentennial of the composer's death — and a new box set of recordings — Berlioz biographer David Cairns celebrates the one-time musical misfit from France. Continue Reading At 92, The Man Who Wrote The Book Read More
The black British singer grew up loving American country music. Now, she's living out her Americana dreams with her debut full-length, Walk Through Fire. Continue Reading Yola Combines Softness And Grit In Her Virtuosic View Of Read More
A spokesman for Ohio's Cuyahoga County Public Library said there are no hard feelings about the extreme delay and the return sets a good example. "We just want our stuff back," Robert Rua said. Continue Reading Good Day Sunshine: 1968 Read More
André Previn died Thursday morning in Manhattan. He was a composer of Oscar-winning film music, conductor, pianist and music director of major orchestras. Continue Reading André Previn, Musical Polymath, Conductor And Read More
The mayor of Cremona, Italy, blocked traffic during five weeks of recording and asked residents to please keep quiet so master musicians could play four instruments — note by note — for posterity. Continue Reading An Italian Town Read More
How did Samuel Barber's stirring, lush work for strings — music that has become America's semi-official music of mourning — morph into a beloved and endlessly remixed dance floor anthem? Continue Reading American Anthem: Read More
Bob Dylan has called Izzy Young's Folklore Center "the citadel of Americana folk music." It was at the center of the folk music revival in New York City in the 1950s and '60s. Young died Feb. 4 at 90. Continue Reading Izzy Young, Center To The Folk Music Read More
After last year's Grammys, the president of the Recording Academy said that women needed to "step up" in the business. Women and men in the business pushed back, but what's actually changed? Continue Reading A Year After The #MeToo Grammys, Read More
The warm-voiced, and much admired, singer eschewed the glitzy life of an opera star to concentrate on the art of vocal communication. Continue Reading Sanford Sylvan, A Baritone On His Own Terms, Dies At 65Read More
Lubbock, Texas, hasn't always been fond of its best known son, Buddy Holly. But 60 years after his death, the town has a park with a bronze statue of him, and a street and a museum named after him. Continue Reading Buddy Read More
Behind musical legends like Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles is one timeless genre that spans across lifetimes: gospel music. Continue Reading The Power Of Gospel Gets Explored In New Documentary SeriesRead More
The two were arrested Tuesday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and are awaiting extradition to Texas. A young singer has accused the pair of drugging and raping him in 2010. Continue Reading Opera Star David Daniels And Husband Arrested On Read More
Lady Gaga's 2011 megahit has been praised as inclusive and criticized as exploitative. But there's a little history to the song's origins that isn't often discussed. Continue Reading American Anthem: How ‘Born This Way’ Was Born Read More
Together, the women of Lula Wiles are giving folk music a new reputation with band's sophomore album, What Will We Do. Continue Reading Lula Wiles Trio Flips Notions About American Folk Music On Its HeadRead More
The musician worked across genres, collaborating with American stars like Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand. Continue Reading Michel Legrand, Oscar-Winning Composer Who Lived ‘Surrounded by Music,’ Dies Read More
The breakout song from Disney's Frozen has inspired many marginalized groups — but its message of rejecting stigma holds special resonance for disabled people and their families. Continue Reading American Anthem: For Read More
Yo-Yo Ma, the world's most famous living cellist, performed formally and informally in Mumbai this week, part of a long-term project to play Bach's six suites for cello in 36 places around the world. Continue Reading Yo-Yo Ma Surprises Bystanders In Read More
Born as a vessel for one person's trauma, the song by MILCK became an anthem overnight after the 2017 Women's March. But it wasn't done growing. Continue Reading American Anthem: ‘Quiet’ Struck A Chord With Women. Read More
Founded by composer Giuseppe Verdi and funded by royalties from his popular operas, Casa Verdi in Milan opened a century ago as a home for opera musicians in their golden years. Continue Reading For Opera Singers, Life After Read More
Baltimore Symphony music director Marin Alsop traces her discovery of the rollicking 75-minute symphony and the man behind the music. Continue Reading Finding God, Love And The Meaning Of Life In Messiaen’s Read More
Composers of color have long had to compete with dead white men for space on the concert stage. A new project, spearheaded by Rachel Barton Pine, seeks to correct that for the next generation. Continue Reading For One Violinist, Read More
All it took for The Hu to have an Internet breakthrough was a dramatic video and screaming guitars — plus a horsehead fiddle and throat singing. Continue Reading How A Mongolian Heavy Metal Band Got Millions Of YouTube ViewsRead More
Half a century later, 1968 continues to resonate as a landmark year for rock, pop and soul — in part, say musicians who were there in the studio, because artists were trying things no one had before. Continue Reading Why Is The Music Of 1968 So Read More
