classical music

French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez (right), seen here in 1984 with musician Frank Zappa (center) and French Minister of Culture Jack Lang, has died at age 90.

Composer Pierre Boulez, A Revered Iconoclast, Has Died At 90

11:39am January 06, 2016

by Bill Chappell

Saying that a musical language always includes both rational and irrational parts, Boulez told Fresh Air in 2005, "What I tried to find, that's freedom — but a freedom which is based on discipline."

Conductor Kurt Masur, seen here performing in Leipzig in 2007, announced in 2012 that he had been suffering from Parkinson's disease. He died at age 88.

Conductor Kurt Masur, Leader Of Orchestras In New York And Beyond, Has Died

12:06pm December 19, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Kurt Masur, the German conductor whose career spanned from leading an orchestra in East Germany to more than a decade of reshaping the New York Philharmonic, has died at age 88.

NPR Acknowledges Plagiarism In 10 Music Stories

12:25pm October 29, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Stories that appeared on NPR's music website were found to include portions of others' work, according to a joint statement by NPR and member station WQXR, where the stories' writer was based.

Asad Ali, 63, was unemployed for four years when Pakistan clamped down on live music in 1977. He now plays the guitar for Sachal Studios Orchestra around the globe and in his hometown, Lahore.

In 'Song Of Lahore,' A Race To Revive Pakistani Classical Music

10:23am April 20, 2015

by Linda Poon

In 1977, classical music virtually died in Pakistan when the government decried music and film. Seven musicians are working to bring the art back, and a film premiering Saturday documents their quest.

Robert Lee Watt was a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for more than three decades.

'The Black Horn': Blowing Past Classical Music's Color Barriers

9:44am November 10, 2014

by NPR Staff

Robert Lee Watt, the first black French horn player to join a major U.S. symphony, spent 37 years with the LA Philharmonic. He faced a lot of resistance along the way, as his new memoir recounts.

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