Music

Margaret Bonds in 1956. Born in Chicago in 1913, Bonds became one of the first African-American female composers to gain recognition in the United States.

Music & Culture

At 100, Composer Margaret Bonds Remains A Great Exception

4:35pm March 03, 2013

by NPR Staff

Four decades after her death, Bonds — a gifted pianist and a friend and collaborator of Langston Hughes — is still one of few African-American woman composers to gain recognition in the United States.

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Music & Culture

Pianist Van Cliburn, Warmed Russian Hearts During Cold War

6:35pm March 02, 2013

by Scott Simon

The Texan won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 — and wooed Russians in the process. Van Cliburn died Wednesday at 78.

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A youthful Van Cliburn, captured mid-concerto.

Music & Culture

Remembering Van Cliburn, A Giant Among Pianists And A Cold War Idol

11:37am March 01, 2013

by Bill Zeeble

The Texan pianist who captured America by conquering Moscow has died at age 78. The first classical musician to sell a million albums, he went on to mentor generations of young artists through the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

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Strict laws made it impossible for the Iranian singer Hani to pursue her dream in her home country.

Exiled From Iran, A Singer Makes The Case For Beauty

9:03pm February 28, 2013

by Roxana Saberi

In the Islamic Republic, a woman is typically not allowed to sing solos in public unless she performs for an all-female audience and is accompanied by an all-female band. The Iranian singer known as Hani is pursuing her dream in Iraq.

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Atoms For Peace's debut album is called Amok.

Music & Culture

Atoms For Peace: Thom Yorke's Electronic Shadow-World

8:44pm February 28, 2013

by Tom Moon

Inside the famously fevered head of the Radiohead lead singer, the ghosts and phantoms are still working overtime. Hear a review of his new project.

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Jazz clarinetist Ben Goldberg has released two new albums for different quintets.

Music & Culture

Ben Goldberg's Variations: Two New Albums From A San Francisco Jazz Staple

1:00pm February 28, 2013

by Kevin Whitehead

Known for his work in New Klezmer Trio, clarinetist Ben Goldberg has just released two new albums for different quintets: Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues and Unfold Ordinary Mind.

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Richard Thompson performs live at the All Things Considered studio.

Music & Culture

Richard Thompson: The Acoustics Behind 'Electric'

6:03pm February 27, 2013

by NPR Staff

For nearly half a century, the British guitarist and songwriter has created music that's both beautiful and haunting. Here, Thompson discusses his new album, Electric, and performs selections from it live in the studio.

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Aretha Franklin became a star on the Atlantic record label after leaving Columbia.

Music & Culture

Aretha Franklin Before Atlantic: The Columbia Years

6:01pm February 27, 2013

by Ed Ward

Franklin found her voice in songs such as "I Never Loved a Man" for Atlantic Records in the 1960s. Before Atlantic, however, Franklin recorded for Columbia, and in those early recordings you can hear the legend just beginning to emerge.

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Music & Culture

Remembering World-Renowned Classical Pianist Van Cliburn

2:43pm February 27, 2013

American classical pianist Van Cliburn died Feb. 27, 2013 at the age of 78. Cliburn rose to fame in 1958, when he won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at the age of 23. NPR's Neal Conan remembers Cliburn with a song.

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Ron Nine, Mitch Ebert, Eden Schwartz, Fiia McGann and Gretta Harley perform in These Streets, a new play based on a series of interviews with Seattle musicians.

Women Of Grunge Reclaim Rock History In 'These Streets'

7:05pm February 26, 2013

by Marcie Sillman

Two years ago, the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind sparked a slew of retrospectives about the Seattle grunge scene. But those narratives left something out: the influence of women. A new play by Gretta Harley and Sarah Rudinoff aims to update the historical record.

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