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The great composer and bandleader was distraught over the 1967 death of Billy Strayhorn, his songwriting and arranging partner of 28 years. But Ellington took Strayhorn's passing as an impetus, born of necessity, to increase his own productivity. Here are five examples.

A 100-year-old ballet, composed by a Russian for a French audience, has become something of a standard in an idiom which didn't exist when it premiered. Whether covered, quoted or praised, Stravinsky's masterwork has inspired multiple generations of improvisers.

Four years after it was recorded live in Lucerne, Switzerland, an album of six standards called Somewhere is finally getting a proper release.

Composer and artist Stephen Malinowski has created an incredibly illuminating — but very easy to understand — path into exploring Stravinsky's music, thanks to what he calls his "Music Animation Machine."

San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas guides us through the infamous Rite of Spring premiere, the music's longevity and its surprising singability.

JazzSet celebrates the 70th birthday of NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron with new duets featuring bassist Dave Holland at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater. Plus, hear a solo Barron set.

D'Ambrosio — a vocalist, pianist, visual artist, composer and teacher — joined Marian McPartland in 1994.

The young California composer's expansive, boisterous Play pushes the orchestra to its limits in music both chaotic and serene.

Librettist Gene Scheer says the drama of George Bailey's life is "an operatic story." So he, along with composer Jake Heggie, turned It's a Wonderful Life into an opera.

The score for the new film, which stars Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy grappling with the death of her husband, was written by 29-year old English composer Mica Levi (a.k.a. Micachu).