Music & Culture

Olga Bell's latest album, Tempo, is a move away from her classical roots — and towards electronic dance music.

Music & Culture

Olga Bell: From Russian Classical Pianist To Brooklynite Dance Musician

8:31am June 04, 2016

by NPR Staff

Though trained in classical piano, Bell has now ventured deeply into the world of electronica. "I guess I felt a compulsion to dance, to do something physical," Bell says of Tempo, her new album.

Kronos Quartet has commissioned 50 pieces of music for its latest project, Fifty for the Future.

Music & Culture

Kronos Quartet Wants To Give You Free Music — And Teach You How To Play It

7:56am June 04, 2016

by Tom Vitale

The Quartet's Fifty for the Future project will commission 50 pieces by as many composers. Then the scores and instructional videos will be free online.

Music & Culture

Paul Simon On World Cafe

5:08pm June 03, 2016

At 74, the legendary songwriter is still searching for sounds he hasn't heard before.

Music & Culture

Across the Blue Ridge #23 - Great Fiddle Tunes, and a tribute to James King

4:51pm June 03, 2016

by Paul Brown

This week, we hear a selection of wonderful fiddle tunes from the south, as musicians across the region start to flock to the fiddlers' conventions that still thrive here as nowhere else. We

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Yannick NÃ©zet-SÃ©guin, conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in New York in February 2015.

Music & Culture

The Metropolitan Opera Baton Passes To Yannick Nézet-Séguin

4:51pm June 03, 2016

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The newly announced music director of the Metropolitan Opera talks about joining one of the world's most famous opera houses — and how he might help heal its wounds.

Music & Culture

Alan Clare On Piano Jazz

4:06pm June 03, 2016

In 1990, the British pianist joined host Marian McPartland from the BBC's London studios.

A scene from the new video for the song "Bubbles Burst," by The Claypool Lennon Delirium.

Music & Culture

All Songs +1: Sean Lennon's Surreal Ode To Michael Jackson's Pet Chimp, Bubbles

2:32pm June 03, 2016

by Robin Hilton

For this week's +1 podcast, Lennon discusses working with Les Claypool, their new album and a famous pet chimpanzee.

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Music & Culture

Herman's Hermits, A Band That Was In It For The Hits And The Kicks

1:48pm June 03, 2016

by Ed Ward

Herman's Hermits hit the American pop charts 22 times in the 1960s and early '70s. Now, a new anthology compiles 66 of the Hermits' tracks. Rock historian Ed Ward considers how the music has held up.

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Paul Simon's new album, Stranger to Stranger, is out now.

Music & Culture

Paul Simon On 'Stranger To Stranger' And Why You Can Call Him Al (Again)

9:07am June 03, 2016

by David Greene

On his new album, Simon remains clever and biting, even when touching on difficult topics — some of them close to home.

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Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Samara Lubelski, 'Driver, In Your Car'

9:00am June 03, 2016

by Doug Mosurock

The NYC mainstay has always skirted the lines of noise and pop. Here she makes psychedelic music like an oil slick spreading rainbows across its surface.