Anastasia Tsioulcas
Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.
On happier days, Tsioulcas has celebrated the life of the late Aretha Franklin, traveled to Havana to profile musicians and dancers, revealed the hidden artistry of an Indian virtuoso who spent 60 years in her apartment and brought listeners into the creative process of composers Steve Reich and Terry Riley.
Tsioulcas was formerly a reporter and producer for NPR Music, where she covered breaking news in the music industry as well as a wide range of musical genres and artists. She has also produced episodes for NPR Music's much-lauded Tiny Desk concert series, and has hosted live concerts from venues like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York's (Le) Poisson Rouge. She also commissioned and produced several world premieres on behalf of NPR Music, including a live event that brought together 350 musicians to debut a new work together. As a video producer, she created high-profile video shorts for NPR Music, including performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a Brooklyn theatrical props warehouse and pianist Yuja Wang in an icy-cold Steinway & Sons piano factory.
Tsioulcas has also reported from north and west Africa, south Asia, and across Europe for NPR and other outlets. Prior to joining NPR in 2011, she was widely published as a writer and critic on both classical and world music, and was the North America editor for Gramophone Magazine and the classical music columnist for Billboard.
Born in Boston and based in New York, Tsioulcas is a lapsed classical violinist and violist (shoutout to all the overlooked violists!). She graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University with a B.A. in comparative religion.
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The South African guitarist and vocalist was best known in the U.S. for his collaboration with Paul Simon on the iconic album Graceland -- but at home, he was a jazz fusion star. -
The vanguard French artist — whose influence has touched everything from the Mean Girls soundtrack to the Futurama theme — has died at age 89. -
The jazz pianist defied classification while steadfastly affirming her roots in the hard-bop tradition of her native Detroit. She died Tuesday in Philadelphia. -
Star Wars was released 40 years ago today — and it wasn't just the light sabers that changed pop culture. John Williams' epic music, played by the London Symphony Orchestra, became a touchstone.
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Some unearthed recordings from this musician-turned-spiritual-leader reveal the many layers of Alice Coltrane's artistic — and personal — identity.
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Was Sunday's episode in Beijing a challenge to France's Emmanuel Macron? A jab at China's piano-tuning skills? Or just Putin passing the time with a little Soviet-era nostalgia?
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The group is celebrating its 25th anniversary by commissioning new pieces of contemporary classical music — and pushing the composers who write for the ensemble to broaden their own points of view. -
An avid amateur musician, France's next president studied at the conservatory in his native Amiens as a child. -
Long reticent to address the turmoil in his native country, conductor Gustavo Dudamel posted a lengthy open letter to the Venezuelan president and government today. -
Stream a compilation of cosmically scaled, rarely heard sounds from a largely unheralded master.
