NPR Staff

To protest the shooting death of Ferguson, Mo., teenager Mike Brown, audience members at a St. Louis Symphony concert unfurled banners and stood to sing an old union song.

A new film about the life of Latin American military leader Simón Bolivar features music by a first-time film score composer: Gustavo Dudamel.

At 46, Joshua Bell leads nine young musicians in the 30-minute HBO documentary Masterclass. Here, the violinist gives advice on finding yourself in the music.

John Luther Adams' Pulitzer Prize-winning composition, Become Ocean, evokes the end of the world — but it also welcomes us to take a swim.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was supposed to open its fall season last week but, in a scenario that has become familiar, contentious contract negotiations led to a lockout of musicians.

Chad Lawson needed to find a way to record at home while his children slept. The result is The Chopin Variations, a set of Chopin works with an intimate, otherworldly sound.

On a new tribute to Waller, Moran explores his subject's many contradictions: "The son of a preacher, the man who likes to drink, the man who finds his sorrow but expresses it through comedy."

A new study suggests that learning to play a musical instrument helps improve the brain's ability to process language. That means music lessons could give kids from low-income communities a big boost.

One of Europe's biggest jazz stars, pianist Stefano Bollani is also a TV personality, a published author and, his friends attest, a skilled impressionist.

The pianist who spent 25 years writing pop hits says he's long been interested in the work of Charles Ives, Arnold Schoenberg and others. Now he's sharing that interest with his audience.