Arts Desk

Acclaimed Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov’s most recent album, Bach: The Art of Life, takes a personal look at J.S. Bach—the husband and father—through his music. It also includes works by his sons, and music from a notebook of compositions created for his family's studies and entertainment.

WRTI looks at the origins of this famous ballad, its mysteries, and why it is sung to convey deeply felt emotion and love during times of mourning.

(Originally published on March 15, 2021) With a grand stroke of prescience, NEA Jazz Master Maria Schneider crafted a double album about being polarized by the demands of a digital society and longing for human connection, all before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kendrah Butler-Waters' love for jazz, composition, arranging, and performative musicality shines throughout her debut solo album, Faith Walk."I always say that [this album] was a labor of love because it took me a really long time to release it," Kendrah said as she wrapped up a day with students. "I recorded Faith Walk three years ago when I was pregnant with my first son."

Chad Lawson's interpretation of Chopin's nocturnes, preludes, and waltzes involves a surprising reconfiguration of the piano, and offers a sense of intimacy with the music that is likely new to most listeners.

In her self-titled debut album, Samara Joy approaches tunes immortalized by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Carmen McRae with such maturity and erudition, you wouldn't guess that she never really studied, or performed any of their repertoire, until she enrolled in SUNY Purchase’s jazz program just four years ago.

Lift Every Voice and Sing, an anthem with a surging melody and a promise of hope and freedom, has been a part of family, political, and social life in Black communities for more than a hundred years.

Cinema Paradiso, written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1989. Its "Love Theme," written by Ennio Morricone with his son Andrea, has been embraced and interpreted by artists and ensembles across genres, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, BBC Orchestra, Chris Botti, Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden, George Colligan, Josh Groban, and Roberta Gambarini.

Whether it’s hosting a jam session at Chris’ Jazz Café or winging up to the Village to play at Smalls until 2 AM before driving the 90 miles back down to Philly to teach the next day at Temple University, bassist Mike Boone doesn’t stop; he’s always playing, always teaching, and like every great bass player, always listening.

A visionary with seemingly boundless energy, pianist Lara Downes is clearing new paths in the classical music landscape, expanding minds and spurring…