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Cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist-composer Thomas Adès play together with uncommon instinct and energy. They shine in a recital of disparate pieces, culminating in a world-premiere recording of an eclectic new work by Adès.

The flow of good classical Christmas albums seems to have slowed to a trickle. And that's got one holiday listener longing for holiday albums from years past, from Jessye Norman's Christmastide, Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite and carols led by Robert Shaw.

This year, the most popular records made by young jazz musicians reflected hip-hop, R&B and the black community where they came from. When they broke through, they made an ongoing conversation about jazz's place in popular music more visible.

The world mourned the death this week of the Indian maestro whose name became synonymous with the sitar. Closer to Shankar's home, Indians mourned the man they affectionately call Pandit-ji, or Teacher. "He changed the whole approach to how an artist is perceived," says sitarist Shubhendra Rao.

Fridays are funnier with a classical cartoon at noon, from Deceptive Cadence.

A pair of revealing interviews, peacocks who talk and support — moral and financial — for orchestras: your guide to what you must know in classical music this week. Plus: the Schumann 'brand' and Dave Brubeck's encounter with Schoenberg, who wouldn't take even two.

This Twin Cities trio stages an annual holiday show at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul; it's always the hottest ticket in town. Watch The New Standards perform for The Current.

The inspirational El Sistema music education program, developed in Venezuela, has Sao Paulo Symphony conductor Marin Alsop fantasizing about a better musical world. Her other orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, is bringing similar opportunities to Charm City children.

Fridays are funnier with a classical cartoon at noon, from Deceptive Cadence.

Few people today remember E.T.A. Hoffmann, but most everyone is familiar with his most famous creation: The Nutcracker. NPR's Robert Siegel traces the history of everyone's favorite Christmas ballet all the way back to its much darker original version.