NPR Staff

The celebrated pianist, and newly minted MacArthur fellow, describes the 'naughty, wicked and bittersweet' sides of Bach's iconic keyboard work. Denk's new recording includes a DVD with him discussing various aspects of the music.

The jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer embarked on a spiritual journey that spanned years before he was able to complete his new record. In a discussion with NPR's Arun Rath, Nash talks about starting from square one in educating himself about Hindu philosophy.

As a bandleader in the 1960s and '70s, Smith wrote timeless music — and secured that label during the '80s and '90s, when hip-hop producers sampled his work left and right. NPR's Arun Rath speaks with Smith on the occasion of a new album that revives the out-of-print gems of a six-decade career.

This week, harpist Elizabeth Hainen and the Philadelphia Orchestra will perform the U.S. premiere of Tan Dun's Nu-Shu: The Secret Songs of Women. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Tan and Hainen about the work, which was inspired by an ancient secret language spoken by women in Tan's home province.

The jazz legend practiced his saxophone 10 to 15 hours a day before he got his big break, and while he wasn't the most reliable husband, when it came to music, he never wavered. Scholar Stanley Crouch's Kansas City Lightning is the first of a two-volume biography of Parker.

The composer's tendency to push buttons won him harsh reviews — and a lasting legacy. Conductor John Mauceri discusses how Giuseppe Verdi was regarded during his lifetime and where he stands now, 200 years after his birth.

Music was Erik Friedlander's refuge when his wife fell ill. Then, in one week, he lost both. The cellist and composer speaks with NPR's Arun Rath about making the new album Claws & Wings after months out of commission.

Labor disputes engulfed the Minnesota Orchestra. Bankruptcy shuttered the New York City Opera. Even Carnegie Hall had to cancel its opening-night gala. What gives?

Matt Haimovitz is 42 and a world-renowned cellist. His mother took him to many concerts as a kid, but nothing in his family history explains where he got his extraordinary talent. And that's typical, says Ellen Winner, a psychology professor at Boston College who has spent much of her career studying prodigies.

Kicking off a week of stories on Morning Edition about the extraordinarily talented children often known as prodigies, NPR's David Greene spends a few minutes with a preteen musician who has already performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House.