Classical Music News

From our friends at NPR, PRX, and PBS Member Stations from around the country

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's mercurial music, with its sparkle and unpredictability, was a departure from the style of his father, Johann Sebastian.

C.P.E. Bach: Mercurial Diversions For Uncertain Times

Monday, May 11, 2020

In a new album of keyboard concertos, hear how J.S. Bach's son charted his own startling and original path in music that sparkles with unpredictability

An undated portrait of the cellist Lynn Harrell. Harrell died Monday at age 76.

Cellist Lynn Harrell Has Died, Age 76

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

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.

NPR's Scott Simon spoke with Marin Alsop about the end of her tenure as musical director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and a less heralded part of her career: her 1980s swing band.

Marin Alsop On Her Swing Orchestra And Stepping Down From The Baltimore Symphony

Saturday, April 18, 2020

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?

In the wake of pandemics and large-scale crises, composers have responded in a broad variety of ways over the centuries.

When Pandemics Arise, Composers Carry On

Monday, April 13, 2020

Plagues and epidemics are ages-old phenomena. They've triggered both fear and inspiration. NPR's Tom Huizenga surveys musical responses from composers over the centuries.

A dress rehearsal of Ruslan and Ludmila, a 1842 opera by Russian composer Mikhail Glinka in Moscow, Russia. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Russian Music To Lift Your Spirits During Social Distancing

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Classical music opinionator Fran Hoepfner joins us to discuss the music that lifts her spirits during the coronavirus crisis.

Facing The Coronavirus Crisis, Musicians Take To Teaching Online

Monday, April 6, 2020

They can't tour. Their regular income streams dried up instantly. So many performers — from newcomers to world-famous artists — are hoping that virtual students will help them bridge the gap.

Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, at the opening of a music center named after him in southeastern Poland in 2013.

Krzysztof Penderecki, Boundary-Breaking Polish Composer, Dies At 86

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Known early on for his avant-garde works, the composer's challenging music nevertheless found fans far beyond traditional classical music circles.

Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson says he thinks of the composers on his new album, <em>Debussy – Rameau</em>, as "painters in sound."

Conversation Between The Keys: Víkingur Ólafsson Meets Debussy And Rameau

Friday, March 27, 2020

On his new album, the rising pianist once called "Iceland's Glenn Gould" offers a dialogue between two radical French composers born nearly 200 years apart.