Music

December 6, 2021 - 9:00am

Read full article: Olga Neuwirth's bold gender-bending opera has won the Grawemeyer Award

Olga Neuwirth, a groundbreaking Austrian composer and multimedia artist known for the technical virtuosity and elemental power of her work, is the newest recipient of one of classical music's most prestigious and lucrative honors. On Monday, Neuwirth was announced as the winner of the 2022 University of Louisville Grawemeyer...

Kennedy Center honors creative excellence in the arts at annual gala

December 6, 2021 - 4:40am

This year's Kennedy Center honorees Joni Mitchell, Bette Mider, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels and Justino Díaz were celebrated this weekend with a reception at The White House, a medallion ceremony at The Library of Congress and a splashy, black-tie event at the performing arts center's Opera House. The tributes...

Why everyone loves to hate Kenny G, according to the jazz musician himself

December 5, 2021 - 4:08pm

Updated December 6, 2021 at 11:50 AM ET

Kenny Gorelick, better known as Kenny G, is a musical hero for legions of fans around the world. Yet, to an equally fervent degree, the smooth jazz icon is also the subject of memes, mockery and more than his...

The Thistle & Shamrock: 'A Child's Christmas In Wales'

December 4, 2021 - 10:32am

Cerys Matthews is a Welsh musician and patron of the Dylan Thomas Society. In this program, originally broadcast in 2015, she narrates excerpts from the Dylan Thomas holiday classic "A Child's Christmas in Wales," and talks about the music that she created for the recording project with her collaborator Mason...

BTS returns to the stage reuniting their ARMY of fans after a 2-year hiatus

December 4, 2021 - 6:00am

It's been over two years since BTS and fans met face to face at a live concert. The group's very last show was in Seoul, South Korea during the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour on Oct. 29, 2019.

Announcing the dates with nearly a week's notice to...

When Making Music Breaks Your Body

December 4, 2021 - 4:00am

Meric Long had been playing guitar for three years when he realized the instrument could be more than his hobby — it could be his way of communicating, too, of feeling he had something important to say.

At a high-school friend's house party, Long, then an anxious California teenager,...

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 1998

December 3, 2021 - 12:12pm

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of World Cafe, we're looking back and posting playlists from each year of the show. As music has evolved over the years, so have our playlists, which have grown to reflect a much wider range of music than when we first set out....

Newsmakers, December 3, 2021 (Encore)

December 3, 2021 - 10:00am

Westby Foster Grandparent Sally Vyvyan poses in Madison with her Governor's Service Award, August 2021; Image courtesy of Southwest Community Action Program.

WPR La Crosse's “Newsmakers” host Ezra Wall speaks with guests about life-enriching activities and programs for seniors. Our guests include a representative from Monroe County’s ADRC speaking about their Music and Memory program, and a life-enrichment coordinator with Eagle Crest Communities’ long term care facilities in La Crosse. We then speak with a resident of Westby, who recently received a Governor’s service award for her many years volunteering as a foster grandparent at Westby Elementary. We also talk with the coordinator of the foster grandparent program, administered by Wisconsin’s Southwest Community Action Program and AmeriCorps Seniors.

Strata-East at 50: How a revolutionary record label put control in artists' hands

December 3, 2021 - 9:22am

About 50 years ago, pianist Stanley Cowell and trumpeter Charles Tolliver embarked on a bold venture together. In the face of a tough business climate, at a time of constriction in the record industry, they started their own label, Strata-East Records, breaking in its catalog with the self-titled debut by...

Asleep At The Wheel on Mountain Stage

December 3, 2021 - 9:00am

In October, having recently marked their 50th anniversary with a new album, Half A Hundred Years, the iconic Texas swing band Asleep At The Wheel stopped by to see their good friends at Mountain Stage — and to celebrate. We did so in a special Mountain Stage roadshow at...

Tiny Desk Playlist: Zazie Beetz and David Rysdahl's favorite Tiny Desk concerts

December 3, 2021 - 6:00am

For Tiny Desk Playlists, we ask musicians, creators and folks we admire to choose the Tiny Desk concerts they've come to love. For this edition, we asked actors Zazie Beetz and David Rysdahl to pick their favorites.

Zazie Beetz is a German-American actor best known for her role as...

New met opera season airs Saturdays on WPR

December 2, 2021 - 1:00pm

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2021-22 season of Saturday afternoon broadcasts runs Dec. 4 through June 11.

These NYC kids have written the history of an overlooked Black female composer

December 2, 2021 - 10:39am

For decades, it was almost impossible to hear a piece of music written by Florence Price. Price was a Black, female composer who died in 1953. But a group of New York City middle school students had the opportunity to quite literally write Florence Price's history. Their book, titled...

Spectrum West, December 2, 2021

December 2, 2021 - 10:00am

Holiday Musical Performances and Student Mental Health– This week on ‘Spectrum West’ host Al Ross welcomes the directors and conductors of the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra, The Master Singers and the University of Wisconsin Jazz Ensembles to preview the many holiday concerts taking place across Eau Claire this month. Ross will also be talking to the director of counseling services at UW-Eau Claire about student mental health.

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021

December 2, 2021 - 4:05am

"Only here to sin." That admission from NPR Music's song of the year lies at the heart of many of the stories told across these 100 tracks. Perhaps the crowning of Cardi and Megan's "WAP" last year signaled a transgressive sea change. Maybe, after 20 months behind masks, we...

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Olga Neuwirth's bold gender-bending opera has won the Grawemeyer Award

Kennedy Center honors creative excellence in the arts at annual gala

Why everyone loves to hate Kenny G, according to the jazz musician himself

The Thistle & Shamrock: 'A Child's Christmas In Wales'

BTS returns to the stage reuniting their ARMY of fans after a 2-year hiatus

When Making Music Breaks Your Body

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 1998

Newsmakers, December 3, 2021 (Encore)

Strata-East at 50: How a revolutionary record label put control in artists' hands

Asleep At The Wheel on Mountain Stage

Tiny Desk Playlist: Zazie Beetz and David Rysdahl's favorite Tiny Desk concerts

New met opera season airs Saturdays on WPR

These NYC kids have written the history of an overlooked Black female composer

Spectrum West, December 2, 2021

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021 (80-61)

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021 (60-41)

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs Of 2021 (40-21)

NPR Music's 100 Best Songs Of 2021 (20-1)

Stream NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2021

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