Classical

About This Section

A wide selection of the most appealing classical music from every era, with special emphasis on new releases and music of timely interest.

Decca Archives

The voice of Jessye Norman soars again in trove of unreleased recordings

Tom Huizenga

A new collection of recordings finally freed from the vaults offers a chance to hear one of opera's greatest artists sing Wagner, Strauss, Berlioz and more.
INA FASSBENDER

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AFP via Getty Images

Scientists sequence Beethoven's genome for clues into his painful past

Ari Daniel

Scientists have sequenced the genome of Ludwig van Beethoven from two-century-old locks of hair, and found clues about the ailments that plagued him in life.

Josh Goleman

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Courtesy of the artist

For pianist Dan Tepfer, improvisation is the mother of Bach's Inventions

Olivia Hampton

Two musical worlds collide as jazz pianist Dan Tepfer finds inspiration, and room for improvisation, in J.S. Bach's Two-Part Inventions.
Yuja Wang, 'You Come Here Often?'

Tom Huizenga

Hear the powerhouse pianist barrel through a rambunctious bonbon written for her by Michael Tilson Thomas.

Classical

Prodigious fiddler Mark O'Connor celebrates 50 years of music with memoir

Olivia Hampton

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Mark O'Connor about his memoir, Crossing Bridges, on his journey from multi-instrumentalist child prodigy to solo artist composing and performing on world stages.
Classical

N.Y. Philharmonic chief looks to Gustavo 'Dudamel era' after historic appointment

Olivia Hampton

New York philharmonic president and CEO Deborah Borda discusses the decisionmaking process behind bringing the superstar conductor to the Big Apple.
Classical

Gustavo Dudamel's new musical home is the New York Philharmonic

Anastasia Tsioulcas

The New York Philharmonic announced Tuesday afternoon that the charismatic 42-year-old conductor will be taking on the music director designate post at the start of the 2025-26 concert season.
Classical

Kalia Vandever, 'Temper the Wound'

Tom Huizenga

Hear a meditative trombone improvisation, inspired by dreams, and powered by spiraling loops and gentle melodies.
Classical

Lara Downes' season 3 of 'Amplify' launches with a theme of renaissance

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to pianist Lara Downes about her interview series Amplify, which examines how Black artists today might find themselves in a new cultural renaissance.
Classical

Jazz singer Samara Joy embraces the past while making music for the future

Lara Downes

Watch Lara Downes' conversation with the 23-year-old, Grammy-nominated sensation about balancing the demands of a surging career and the women artists who paved the way.
Classical

Forensic musicologists race to rescue works lost after the Holocaust

Tim Greiving

The Exilarte Center in Vienna is the world's leading research institution devoted to preserving the work of composers such as Walter Arlen and others, who were exiled or killed during the Holocaust.
Classical

As Ryuichi Sakamoto returns with '12,' fellow artists recall his impact

Elizabeth Blair

The composer has been lauded for decades over his deeply affective music; director Alejandro González Iñárritu, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir and more join us to explain why.
Classical

For Missy Mazzoli, composing is the hard work of making life easier

Tom Huizenga

The composer of Breaking the Waves speaks candidly about equity in her field, the importance of role models and the unglamorous side of writing music every day.
Classical

Marc-André Hamelin: Tiny Desk Concert

Tom Huizenga

Watch the pianist, who's been called "a performer of near-superhuman prowess," play a smart set that spans six centuries.