Music

Brian Moynahan's other books include Jungle Soldier and The Russian Century.

Amid Hunger And Cold, An Unforgettable Symphony Premiere

12:30pm November 04, 2014

by NPR Staff

A year into the siege of Leningrad, a haggard group of musicians defiantly — and improbably — performed Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7, which was dedicated to the suffering city.

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Otis Redding in 1967. Redding was also known as "The Mad Man From Macon."

Music & Culture

Capricorn In Retrograde: Macon's Endangered Musical History

7:34pm November 03, 2014

by Adam Ragusea

The Georgia town was home to Otis Redding, Little Richard and Capricorn Records, a label that played a key role in the birth of Southern rock. Now, many of the city's musical landmarks are threatened.

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Sam Amidon's new album is titled Lily-O.

Music & Culture

Re-Compositions, Not Covers: Sam Amidon's Personal Folk Collages

6:23pm November 03, 2014

by Banning Eyre

On his new album, Lily-O, the folk musician approaches the genre with a sense of adventure, not reverence. In the process, he makes parts of our musical past viscerally present to us.

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Music & Culture

Latin Music Celebrates Lives For Day Of The Dead

5:14pm November 02, 2014

In Latin America, the Day of the Dead is a time to remember family and friends who have died. Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd of Alt Latino share their favorite music for this celebration of life.

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Music & Culture

'Merry Widow' Operetta: Stage Versus Screen

4:21pm October 31, 2014

by Lloyd Schwartz

The Metropolitan Opera will be celebrating New Year's Eve with Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow in a new production starring soprano Fleming. But its greatest incarnations have been on film.

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Music & Culture

Taylor Swift: The Peppiest Pop Star We Have Right Now

11:52am October 31, 2014

by Ken Tucker

1989 sidesteps country music entirely to become Swift's first pure pop album.

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Taylor Swift has called her fifth album, 1989, her "very first documented, official pop album."

Music & Culture

The Many New Voices Of Taylor Swift

7:27pm October 30, 2014

by Ann Powers

Swift has received accolades and damnation mostly for her image or the messages she supposedly sends, which must be irritating for a musician so clearly devoted to perfecting her techniques.

Robert Schumann wrote his Violin Concerto in 1853.

Music & Culture

A Violin Concerto Back From Beyond The Grave

2:40pm October 30, 2014

by Nina Totenberg

After composer Robert Schumann died, his Violin Concerto languished in a library — until a grandniece of the man he wrote it for got out her Ouija board.

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Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who is singing the national anthem at Game 7 of the World Series tonight in Kansas City, Mo.

Music & Culture

Just Who Is This Opera Star Singing At The World Series Tonight?

4:39pm October 29, 2014

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Joyce DiDonato — a Kansas native and lifelong Royals fan — happens to be one of the world's greatest opera singers. Here's what makes her so extraordinary.

Music & Culture

SBTRKT: 'There's Always A Space You Can Go'

6:30pm October 28, 2014

Hear the electronic-music producer discuss how his late brother and the "journey of the album" inspired the title track from Wonder Where We Land.

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