Minnesota Orchestra and YourClassical MPR's broadcast partnership continues for the 2025-26 season. This page features a schedule of the upcoming concerts that you can hear on YourClassical MPR, and when possible, on-demand audio of the performance available for 30 days after the broadcast. Bookmark this page for updates throughout the season!

As principal timpani of the Minnesota Orchestra, Erich Rieppel can usually be found near the back of the stage. Sometimes he sits quietly, waiting to make a subtle mark or a grand entrance, and sometimes there’s a lot happening. On Friday, May 29, Rieppel took center stage in a concert featuring guest conductor Domingo Hindoyan to play a new concerto by a composer who’s also a virtuoso percussionist: Andy Akiho. Listen to the concert now!

Program

Minnesota Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan, conductor
Erich Rieppel, timpani *

ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK An American Port of Call
ANDY AKIHO Timpani Concerto *
CÉSAR FRANCK Symphony in D minor

Yo-Yo Ma at Orchestra Hall

A guiding principle for Yo-Yo Ma is to make the listener feel like the most important person in the room. The fact that he’s done that for more than 60 years is a testament to his commitment. Ma’s performance of Elgar’s soulful Cello Concerto on Tuesday, March 3, was part of an all-English program that was tailor-made for Thomas Søndergård and the Minnesota Orchestra. Enjoy pictures of the event below!

Gallery

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Meet YourClassical MPR's Melissa Ousley

Previous Concerts

Søndergård leads the Minnesota Orchestra in Wagner and Bartók

Opera love stories tend to unfold quickly, leaving the composer with the task of supporting a plot with music that speaks volumes. The chord progression at the beginning of Richard Wagner's Tristan and Isolde is a textbook example of musical foreshadowing. In Béla Bartók's psychological thriller Bluebeard's Castle, two extraordinary artists portray a doomed couple. Enjoy selections from both on this Minnesota Orchestra program featuring Music Director Thomas Søndergård and guest soloists Michelle DeYoung and Nathan Berg. Listen to the concert now!

Program

Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano (Judith)
Nathan Berg, bass-baritone (Bluebeard)
Christina Baldwin, prologue speaker
Adam Larsen, creative director

RICHARD WAGNER Prelude to Lohengrin
RICHARD WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
BÉLA BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle

Upcoming Broadcasts

Friday, June 5 — Søndergård, Barton and Prokofiev

Jamie Barton was raised on her family’s farm in Georgia, where “pickin’ and grinnin’s” happened all the time. Friends showed up with their instruments, a potluck dish and a desire to make music. Although she began her musical journey with Bluegrass, Barton has become a musical omnivore. She’ll bring the Neruda Songs to life in her Minnesota Orchestra debut.

Program

Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Jamie Barton, mezzo *

SAMUEL BARBER Adagio for Strings
PETER LIEBERSON Neruda Songs *
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 7

Friday, June 12 — Søndergård and Tchaikovsky

When Jennifer Higdon began to compose blue cathedral, she imagined a journey through a glass cathedral in the sky. Her creativity leaves the door wide open for you to explore “humanity’s perennial question of existence” with Charles Ives, and be drawn into Alexander Scriabin’s own brand of musical mysticism.

Program

Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Alexander Gavrylyuk, piano *

JENIFER HIGDON blue cathedral
PYOTR ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 *
CHARLES IVES The Unanswered Question
ALEXANDER SCRIABIN The Poem of Ecstasy

Friday, June 19 — Juneteenth with the Minnesota Orchestra

This can’t-miss concert is a celebration and exploration of Black ritual and spirituality through the music of the African diaspora. A wide array of instruments, traditions and guests take center stage in this powerful program.

Program

Minnesota Orchestra
Kedrick Armstrong, conductor
Melody Betts, vocals
Brian Raphael Nabors, Hammond Organ

SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR The Bamboula
BRITTANY J. GREEN Testify!
NKEIRU OKOYE Voices Shouting Out
BRIAN RAPHAEL NABORS Concerto for Hammond Organ

Friday, July 17 — Beethoven Triple Concerto

Archduke Rudolph of Austria was the pianist for the premiere of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto—and he also happened to be one of the composer’s most important patrons. To make him shine, Beethoven brought in two of the best players of the day. We’ve got our own trio of all-stars on tap for this program, which includes Robert Schumann’s reflection of life in the Rhineland.

Program

Minnesota Orchestra
Stephanie Childress, conductor
Sarah Grimes, violin
Silver Ainomäe, cello
Alessio Bax, piano

BENJAMIN BRITTEN Sinfonia da Requiem
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Atlas (Piano Concerto) *
ROBERT SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish)

Minnesota Orchestra - Listening Project will be recorded to be post produced on another date.

When the Minnesota Orchestra launched its Listening Project in 2021, our goal was to present and record top-notch performances of music by underrepresented composers—in other words, to share music that many of us were not hearing. The project continues this season with Music Director Thomas Søndergård and soprano Janai Brugger.

‘Thomas Søndergård: Taken by the Sound’

Melissa Ousley joined Minnesota Orchestra music director Thomas Søndergård in his native Denmark last year to explore some of the most important places in his life. Join them as they walk through his memories, musical and otherwise, in this documentary short.

‘Celebrating a Century on the Airwaves’

On most Friday nights, no matter where you are in the state — or in the world, for that matter — you can look forward to tuning into YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio to hear a live concert. From a radio debut in 1923 under Bruno Walter to television transmissions in the 1950s and the ensemble’s unprecedented international broadcast from Havana in 2015, the orchestra has always been on the forefront of finding new ways to connect audiences with music.

Reflecting on 100 years of radio broadcast history, MPR host Melissa Ousley sat down with historian John Michel, technical director Michael Osborne and former broadcast host and current orchestra staffer Brian Newhouse for a spirited retelling of this vital history.

On the latest episode of Saturday Cinema, host Lynne Warfel shares listeners’ requests for their favorite film music. Selections include music from The Color Purple, Gigi, The Hobbit and more. Listen now!

Playlist

The Thomas Crown Affair: Windmills of your Mind/La valse des lilas
Composer: Michel Legrand
Conductor: Angele Dubeau
Orchestra/Ensemble: La Pieta
Soloists: Angele Dubeau, violin
Analekta 8743

The Cowboys: Overture
Composer: John Williams
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Pops Orchestra
Philips 420178

Summer of ‘42: The Summer Knows
Composer: Michel Legrand
Conductor: Stephane Deneve
Orchestra/Ensemble: Brussels Philharmonic
Soloists: Renaud Capucon, violin
Erato 33936

Fiddler on the Roof: If I Were a Rich Man
Composer: Jerry Bock
Conductor: Milton Greene
Orchestra/Ensemble: Original Broadway Cast
Soloists: Zero Mostel, vocals
RCA 51430

The Night of the Generals
Composer: Maurice Jarre
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 1047

James Bond Medley
Composer: John Barry
Conductor: Stanley Black
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

A Man and a Woman
Composer: Francis Lai
Orchestra/Ensemble: I Salonisti
Sony 61731

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Into the West
Composer: Annie Lennox/Fran Walsh/Howard Shore
Soloists: Annie Lennox, vocals
Reprise 48521

The Hobbit: Old Friends
Composer: Howard Shore
Conductor: Howard Shore
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra

Hawaii
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Conductor: Elmer Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Pops
Denon 75288

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: Main Titles
Composer: Michael Kamen
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80342

Gigi: I Remember It Well
Composer: Frederick Loewe
Conductor: Andre Previn
Orchestra/Ensemble: MGM Studio Orchestra
Soloists: Maurice Chevalier, vocals
Rhino 71962

The Grifters: The City
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 66460

The Color Purple: Main Theme
Composer: Quincy Jones
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Itzhak Perlman, violin
Sony 63005

They Call Me Mr. Tibbs: Main Title
Composer: Quincy Jones
Orchestra/Ensemble: Prague Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Primary Wave 500609

Saving Mr. Banks: selections
Composer: Thomas Newman
Conductor: Thomas Newman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Walt Disney 193110

Star Trek: The New Enterprise
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Conductor: John Mauceri
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra
LPO 86

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: Epilogue/End Credits
Composer: James Horner
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80146

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck and soprano Renée Fleming about their collaborative project and album, The Fiddle and The Drum, which celebrates Appalachian folk music.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, BYLINE: Grammy Award-winning Renee Fleming is often most seen and heard on the world's greatest opera stages.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NORMA, ACT I: CASTA DIVA")

RENEE FLEMING: (Vocalizing).

MARTIN: And Bela Fleck is a Grammy Award-winning banjo player, best known for his blend of roots music with other genres.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELA FLECK'S, "VERTIGO")

MARTIN: Now they've joined forces for an album of Appalachian bluegrass, where even Dolly Parton makes an appearance. It's called "The Fiddle And The Drum." There are mountain songs, ballads and folk hymns celebrating traditional American music.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IN THE PINES")

RENEE FLEMING AND DOLLY PARTON: (Singing) You've caused me to weep. You've caused me to mourn.

MARTIN: I started our conversation by asking how this unusual partnership came about.

FLEMING: I learned to play the guitar when I was about 12 years old and then added other instruments to it - badly, by the way - sort of after I had recorded a lot of my standard repertoire, and I thought it would be really fun to examine this music. So the label said, you've got to meet Bela Fleck. So we met in New York and started this project a long time ago.

MARTIN: Bela Fleck, what about you? Do you remember how you met?

BELA FLECK: Well, I'm still blushing, but, yes, I remember Renee had a list of maybe hundreds of songs she liked 'cause she loves to do a lot of research and she came down to Nashville and we recorded a few things, kind of did some demos. And so we finally found a space to explore it and we continued it and we completed it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE FIDDLE AND THE DRUM")

FLEMING: (Singing) And so, once again, my dear Johnny, my dear friend.

MARTIN: What intrigued you, though, about the collaboration?

FLECK: Well, I am a big fan of female vocalists of all stripes and a huge Joni Mitchell fan and Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. So this is someone at the highest level coming up and saying, hey, do you want to do something you've always wanted to do?

MARTIN: You mentioned Joni Mitchell. The album takes its title, "The Fiddle And The Drum," from a song that was first recorded by Joni Mitchell in 1969.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE FIDDLE AND THE DRUM")

FLEMING: (Singing) How did you come to trade the fiddle for the drum?

MARTIN: It's sort of organized around themes of loss and war. What was the thinking there?

FLECK: Yeah. We both love these first six songs and thought they went together for some reason that was never spoken.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE SCARLET TIDE")

FLEMING: (Singing) We'll rise above the scarlet tide that trickles down through the mountain and separates the widow from the bride.

MARTIN: Renee, while I have you here, you resigned from your role as artistic adviser to the Kennedy Center after President Trump's takeover. You pulled out concerts that had been scheduled for this year. You've performed there many times. You were a Kennedy Center honoree. You know, it's set to shut down for two years, starting in July. And I just wonder, you know, what are your thoughts about that?

FLEMING: Oh, it's all been painful. This was always the most beautiful bipartisan institution. There was something for everybody. It was a gorgeous, diverse audience. I loved walking through. I was proud to be part of the Kennedy Center. And hopefully, everything can be stopped.

MARTIN: And, Bela, you also pulled out of performances that had been scheduled.

FLECK: I think the whole thing is very sad and very unmusical. I think music is about breaking down barriers, welcoming people, even what Renee and I are doing, you know, reaching out from different musical idioms towards finding a way to make music together. That's more like what the Kennedy Center is about. And it just felt it was going in a direction that was hard to watch and hard to be a part of.

(SOUNDBITE OF RENEE FLEMING SONG, "IN THE PINES")

MARTIN: OK, Renee. Dolly Parton, the legend...

FLEMING: I know.

MARTIN: ...Joins you for this incredible duet.

FLEMING: Exactly.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IN THE PINES")

FLEMING AND PARTON: (Singing) In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines. And we shiver when the cold, cold, wind blows.

MARTIN: How did that happen?

FLEMING: Well, I said to him - I said, well, of course it would be a dream to work with Dolly Parton, but I can't imagine that could ever happen.

MARTIN: I just think it's kind of cute how you feel like she wouldn't have returned your phone call, but OK.

FLECK: Yeah, me too.

FLEMING: (Laughter).

FLECK: I'm with you on that.

MARTIN: I mean, I'm clocking that.

FLEMING: When I heard what she did, I thought, wow, to blend in with another person's voice and style is not a small thing. You don't just do it, you know, in one take.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IN THE PINES")

FLEMING AND PARTON: (Singing) Look up. Look up. Look down. Look down that lonesome road.

MARTIN: Renee, you know what? I was curious about what's going on with your voice. Is there something different physically about how you use your voice for this type of music compared to opera?

FLEMING: Yeah. Well, definitely. I have found over time that when I'm singing outside the classical genre, I need to typically stay in my lowest range because otherwise it starts to sound operatic. In Broadway, there's something in between that I can manage stylistically. But for this album because it's atmospheric, it's mournful, it made sense to really stick with this lower range, unless I'm doing the whoops and the oohs.

MARTIN: (Laughter) Is there...

FLEMING: And those are fun.

MARTIN: Did you feel like a different person singing this music?

FLEMING: No, because it's not any different for me than the difference between singing French opera and Strauss and German opera. I mean, it's - those all require stylistic shifts based on the centuries in which the music was composed, the language, the actual style of the particular piece. It's all the same. It's really just adapting to a different genre and style.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY EPITAPH")

FLEMING: (Singing) Don't waste their beauty on cold, lifeless clay.

MARTIN: Do you have a hope for you hope to find this album?

FLECK: Yeah. Well, I mean, I start in a different position. Maybe Renee can relate to this a little bit, but I'm a banjo player, so everybody's expectations of me are so low...

MARTIN: (Laughter).

FLECK: ...It's almost impossible for me not to shatter them.

(LAUGHTER)

FLECK: And so if you have ideas that this is like, what a terrible idea. And then you hear it, it's really quite nice.

MARTIN: That is Grammy Award-winning banjo player Bela Fleck and Grammy Award-winning soprano Renee Fleming. Their new album together is "The Fiddle And The Drum." Thank you both so much for talking with us.

FLECK: Thank you.

FLEMING: Thank you, Michel.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE CUCKOO")

FLEMING: (Singing) Till the fourth day of July.

Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is conscious of how the work of Black singers in the past have helped him succeed in his career, and he intends to do the same for upcoming young singers. Find out more in the latest episode of the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ the Time for Three ensemble and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato bring the poetry of Emily Dickinson to life with music by Kevin Puts. Listen now with host Julie Amacher!

Get your binoculars out for this episode of Extra Eclectic! Host Steve Seel brings us two hours of new classical works about birds, including Jennifer Higdon’s An Exaltation of Larks, John Luther Adams’ Strange Birds Passing, and Jocelyn Morlock’s Oiseaux Bleus et Sauvages, as well as a performance by the group Eighth Blackbird. Listen now!

Playlist

Birdflight
Composer: Christopher Gunning
Conductor: Christopher Gunning
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Signum 621

Strange Birds Passing
Composer: John Luther Adams
Conductor: John Heiss
Orchestra/Ensemble: New England Conservatory Contemporary Ensemble
Mode 240

Y Deryn Pur (The Gentle Dove)
Composer: Cecilia McDowall
Conductor: Peter Fisher
Orchestra/Ensemble: Chamber Ensemble of London
Soloists: Peter Cigleris, clarinet
Somm 653

composition as explanation: intertext
Composer: David Lang
Orchestra/Ensemble: eighth blackbird
Cedille 250

Birds of Eden
Composer: Algirdas Martinaitis
Conductor: Modestas Barkauskas
Orchestra/Ensemble: St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra
Ondine 1398

Gossamer Albatross
Composer: Cameron Britt
Orchestra/Ensemble: Janus
New Amsterdam 24

The Shadow of the Blackbird
Composer: David Bruce
Soloists: Bruce Levingston, piano
Dorian 92218

Oiseaux Bleus et Sauvages
Composer: Jocelyn Morlock
Conductor: Bramwell Tovey
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Centrediscs 20014

Skylark Lullaby
Composer: Jennifer Bellor
Conductor: Chien-Kwan Lin
Orchestra/Ensemble: Eastman Saxophone Project
Innova 45

On the latest episode of Saturday Cinema, host Lynne Warfel shares music from films that recognize service and sacrifice, including Band of Brothers, Glory and Bridge on the River Kwai. Listen now!

Playlist

The Longest Day: March
Composer: Paul Anka
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 1037

Band of Brothers: Main Titles
Composer: Michael Kamen
Conductor: Michael Kamen
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Metropolitan Orchestra

Friendly Persuasion: Main theme
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Pops Orchestra
Philips 411037

Gettysburg: Main Theme
Composer: Randy Edelman
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Soloists: Timothy Berens, guitar
Telarc 80437

Gettysburg: Reunion and Finale
Composer: Randy Edelman
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80440

Glory: Closing Credits
Composer: James Horner
Conductor: James Horner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Virgin 86150

The Deer Hunter: Cavatina
Composer: Stanley Myers
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Soloists: John Williams, guitar
Sony 63000

Victory at Sea Suite
Composer: Richard Rodgers
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80175

Midway: March
Composer: John Williams
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Pops Orchestra

Platoon: Theme
Composer: Georges Delerue
Conductor: Georges Delerue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Scottish Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 66225

Born on the Fourth of July: Theme
Composer: John Williams
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Pops Orchestra

The Best Years of Our Lives: Theme
Composer: Hugo Friedhofer
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra
Sony 62788

Patton: Entr’acte
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Conductor: Jerry Goldsmith
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Scottish Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 66225

A Bridge Too Far: Overture
Composer: John Addison
Orchestra/Ensemble: Prague Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Primary Wave 500609

The Bridge on the River Kwai: Colonel Bogey
Composer: Malcolm Arnold
Conductor: Richard Hickox
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra
Chandos 9100

The Bridge on the River Kwai: Finale
Composer: Malcolm Arnold
Conductor: Richard Hickox
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra
Chandos 9100

Saving Private Ryan: Omaha Beach
Composer: John Williams
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Symphony Orchestra

The year 2026 is a milestone in American music. It is the birth centenary of one of the country’s most prolific and revolutionary composers: Miles Davis.

Born on May 26, 1926, Davis was a changeling who soon outgrew the very music he helped define: bebop jazz. In March of 1959, he stepped into the Columbia Studios in New York to begin working on Kind Of Blue, a recording that has been hailed as one of the most influential jazz albums of all time, in part due to its impact on different genres, including classical.

With an outstanding band that included John Coltrane and Bill Evans, Davis would carve a deceptively simple concept into one of the most pivotal music events of the 20th century.

Join host Kevin O’Connor for selections from Kind of Blue, as well as commentary and facts about the iconic Miles Davis.

Playlist

• So What - Miles Davis, trumpet; John Coltrane, Julian Adderley, saxophones; Bill Evans, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums

• Freddie Freeloader - Miles Davis, trumpet; John Coltrane, Julian Adderley, saxophones; Wynton Kelly, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums

• Blue in Green - Miles Davis, trumpet; John Coltrane, Julian Adderley, saxophones; Bill Evans, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums

• All Blues - Miles Davis, trumpet; John Coltrane, Julian Adderley, saxophones; Bill Evans, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums

• Flamenco Sketches - Miles Davis, trumpet; John Coltrane, Julian Adderley, saxophones; Bill Evans, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums

• I Thought About You - Miles Davis, trumpet; John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, saxophones; Wynton Kelly, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums

Conductor Anthony Parnther knows how uncomfortable it can be to walk into a room and not see anybody who looks like you. That’s why his career has focused on advocating for Black composers and changing the perception of what classical music should be. Find out more in the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra bring Igor Stravinsky’s ‘Fairy Tales’ to light on their latest album. Listen now with host Julie Amacher!

With spring in full bloom, Steve Seel brings us a bounty of “green sounds” in the first hour of this episode of Extra Eclectic, from Jeffrey Mumford’s verdant cycles of deepening spring to Clint Needham’s String Quartet No. 1, (Shades of Green). In the second hour, it’s music for meditation and the deep breathing that can accompany it, including Daniel Bjarnason’s Air to Breath and Erland Cooper’s Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence.

Playlist

Spring
Composer: Huw Watkins
Soloists: Krysia Osostowicz, violin
Somm 181

Varsog (Breath of Spring)
Composer: Henning Sommerro
Conductor: Christian Kluxen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arctic Philharmonic
Soloists: Eldbjorg Hemsing, violin
Sony 93608

String Quartet No. 11 “Reykjavik”: Spring Song and Dance
Composer: Elena Ruehr
Orchestra/Ensemble: Quartet ES
Avie 2798

verdant cycles of deepening spring
Composer: Jeffrey Mumford
Conductor: Allen Tinkham
Orchestra/Ensemble: Chicago Composers’ Orchestra
Soloists: Christine Wu, violin
Albany 1948

String Quartet No. 1 “Shades of Green”
Composer: Clint Needham
Orchestra/Ensemble: Poiesis Quartet
Bright Shiny Things 213

Breathturn: Part 1
Composer: John Zorn
Soloists: Mika Stoltzman, marimba
Avie 2807

Tsuki no Waka
Composer: Akemi Naito
Orchestra/Ensemble: New York Polyphony
Bis 2719

Abstractions
Composer: Anna Clyne
Conductor: Marin Alsop
Orchestra/Ensemble: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Naxos 574620

Air to Breath
Composer: Daniel Bjarnason
Soloists: Gyda Valtysdottir, cello
Dorian 70012

Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence: walking through heather and peat
Composer: Erland Cooper
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Collective
Soloists: Daniel Pioro, violin
Mercury KX 6576069

A child said, what is the grass
Composer: Toivo Tulev
Conductor: Donald Nally
Orchestra/Ensemble: The Crossing
Navona 6303

On the latest episode of Saturday Cinema, host Lynne Warfel celebrates famous folks born in May, including Erich Wolfgang Korngold, John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart and more. Listen now!

Playlist

Julius Caesar: Caesar’s Procession
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
Conductor: Rainer Padberg
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Bay Cities 3028

Rebecca: Suite
Composer: Franz Waxman
Conductor: Charles Gerhardt
Orchestra/Ensemble: National Philharmonic Orchestra
RCA 708

The Sea Hawk: Suite
Composer: Erich Korngold
Conductor: James DePreist
Orchestra/Ensemble: Oregon Symphony
Delos 3234

The Lion in Winter Suite
Composer: John Barry
Conductor: Kenneth Alwyn
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 6015

On Golden Pond: Main Theme
Composer: Dave Grusin
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Soloists: William Tritt, piano
Telarc 80474

Mr. Roberts: Suite
Composer: Franz Waxman
Conductor: Franz Waxman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 5257

The Man Who Knew Too Much: Prelude
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 1051

The Greatest Show on Earth: March
Composer: Victor Young
Conductor: William Stromberg
Orchestra/Ensemble: Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Naxos 573368

North by Northwest: Main Title
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 1030

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Comedy Tonight
Composer: Stephen Sondheim
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Soloists: Zero Mostel, vocals
Rykodisc 10727

The Adventures of Robin Hood: Robin Hood and His Merry Men
Composer: Erich Korngold
Conductor: John Scott
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Pops
Denon 75470

The Music Man: Seventy-Six Trombones
Composer: Meredith Willson
Conductor: Frederick Fennell
Orchestra/Ensemble: Dallas Wind Symphony

The Music Man: Ya Got Trouble
Composer: Meredith Willson
Orchestra/Ensemble: Ensemble
Soloists: Robert Preston, vocals
Warner Bros 1459

Stagecoach: Narrative for Orchestra
Composer: Richard Hageman
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 1037

For a Few Dollars More: Main Theme
Composer: Ennio Morricone
Conductor: Ennio Morricone
Orchestra/Ensemble: Czech National Symphony Orchestra
London/Decca 25323

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Composer: Ennio Morricone
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Prague Philharmonic
Silva 1057

The Bridges of Madison County: Love Theme
Composer: Clint Eastwood
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80440

All About Eve: Main Title
Composer: Alfred Newman
Conductor: Charles Gerhardt
Orchestra/Ensemble: National Philharmonic Orchestra
RCA 183

Cocoon: Theme
Composer: James Horner
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80146

The Big Sleep: Suite
Composer: Max Steiner
Conductor: Charles Gerhardt
Orchestra/Ensemble: National Philharmonic Orchestra
RCA 136

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera have inspired books, films and plays with their evocative paintings and passionate, turbulent relationship. Now, the 20th century Mexican painters are protagonists in an opera.

"We all see elements of this relationship in our own relationships and how we replicate these kinds of toxic elements too," composer Gabriela Lena Frank said ahead of the May 14 opening night at New York's Metropolitan Opera.

"They remind me a little bit of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, you know, they were just brilliant and charismatic and attracted to one another and then they drove each other nuts also."

On a recent morning, she took time between rehearsals for the opera, El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, to visit a companion exhibition of Kahlo and Rivera's work at the nearby Museum of Modern Art, which runs through September.

Frank lingered in front of a striking, surreal painting by Kahlo, where her head is superimposed on the body of a deer shot through with arrows.

"If I had to pick one Frida Kahlo painting that I would look at for the rest of my life, it was always going to be this one," said Frank. "I remember seeing this as a little girl. I was just kind of haunted by it."

Frank had just won the Pulitzer Prize for her orchestral work Picaflor: A future myth, inspired by Andean cosmology.

Joining her on the tour of MoMA's Frida and Diego: The Last Dream — a translation of the opera's Spanish title — was librettist and fellow Pulitzer winner, librettist Nilo Cruz.

The exhibition features paintings and drawings by Kahlo and Rivera, as well as archival photographs, all in an environment created by Jon Bausor, the opera's set and costume designer.

Beverly Adams, the museum's Estrellita Brodsky curator of Latin American art, noted that Rivera was far more famous than Kahlo during their lifetimes.

"In the 1930s, he was the most famous artist in the world," she told Frank and Cruz about the painter who created enormous frescoes. "He was the second person to have a retrospective at MoMA."

But more than seven decades after her death, it's Kahlo who's evolved into an international pop-culture phenomenon. Her floral crown, bleeding heart and unibrow are now ubiquitous on anything from jewelry to coffee mugs and stationery. She's also a celebrated feminist icon.

Frank avoided facile reductions in developing the opera — her first. It all began nearly 20 years ago, when the Arizona Opera approached Frank, who's of Peruvian Chinese and Lithuanian Jewish descent, to write an opera about the pair. She met with Cruz at her publisher's office, to see if he'd be interested in collaborating.

"When Gabriela approached me about the project, I immediately said to her, I'm not interested in writing a biopic on Frida and Diego," the Cuban-American playwright recalled. "I was very resistant because the movie had come out with Salma Hayek, I'd seen several plays, the biographies were out, and so I really wanted to veer away from that."

Then Frank played a piece of music for him inspired by Mexico's Day of the Dead holiday.

"It immediately inspired me," Cruz recalled. "I said, 'this is the entry into their world. How about if Frida is dead, but Diego is dying and he wants her to come back for the Day of the Dead.' And immediately, we both looked at each other. We were..."

Frank jumped in to finish the sentence: "That's it. We got the framework in our very first meeting!" she laughed. "We didn't even know each other. It was like a blind date!"

The two artists became fast friends and worked together on several projects, but it took a while for the Kahlo/Rivera opera to come to fruition. It premiered at the San Diego Opera in 2022, moved to the San Francisco Opera and, earlier this year, the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The Metropolitan Opera's production, directed by Deborah Colker, is an entirely new one. "It's not biographic. It's not their painting. It's a dream, no?" said the Brazilian artist, who has her own dance company and has worked with Cirque du Soleil.

Her kinetic production features hip-hop popping skeletons and chorus singers wearing death masks. The set and costumes evoke both artists' imagery. "I thought that I needed to bring this surrealism language all the time. It's through the imagination, through dance, through movement," Colker said.

The opera — sung entirely in Spanish — is kind of a reverse Orpheus story. Diego wants Frida to return to the living, but down in the Underworld, Frida remembers the physical and emotional pain she felt when she was alive. They reunite briefly among the living before a final farewell.

Kahlo, who died at the age of 47, had chronic spinal column concerns, contracted polio as a young child, was seriously injured in a bus accident as a teenager and spent the rest of her short life in severe pain.

Her relationship with the much older Rivera was passionate and toxic. They both had numerous affairs, but Kahlo was traumatized by Rivera's relationship with her younger sister Cristina, causing a brief separation.

"She's convinced to come back because she actually wants to see her art and she wants to see her house and she wants to visit the world again, you know?" said mezzo soprano Isabel Leonard, who not only sings the part of Frida, but also dances.

"She loved the world and she was in love with the colors of her home and the animals and the market. She had such passion, I think, for all of those things, including for Diego."

Cruz's libretto constantly references color and, for Frank, orchestral color is important, too.

"There are instruments that are featured that you don't normally hear featured," said the composer. "One is the marimba, which is the quintessential instrument of Central America. That's my main tribute to Mexican culture, the inclusion of this magnificent instrument."

Spanish baritone Carlos Álvarez plays Diego Rivera. "I don't judge Diego as a character, as a person, I try to empathize with him," said the singer. The reunion with Frida is, to say the least, bittersweet.

"They get together, they separate, they cannot touch each other," Álvarez said. "That's the only rule, not breakable. Death needs to have a distance with life. And then only when they touch each other is when Diego dies."

Adams, the MoMA curator, says the lives and art of Rivera and Kahlo remain compelling because they were especially vibrant.

"These are people who lived their lives to the fullest," she said. "They felt all the pain and all the pleasure and they made every bit of their lives count. And that's something I think we can see in their pictures and know from their stories."

At the end of the opera, Frida and Diego stand center stage. Blossoms fall from above and the chorus sings that their art is eternal. "This is the last dream of Frida and Diego," said librettist Cruz. "And then you wonder at the beginning, whose dream is it? Is it his dream? Is it her dream? Or are we all dreaming this dream when we come see this opera?"

Audiences can see El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego at the Met through June 5. It will be available live in HD on Saturday, May 30 in theaters across the U.S. and internationally.

The broadcast and digital versions of this story were edited by Olivia Hampton.

Copyright 2026, NPR

Tania León has been hailed as an astoundingly original composer and a music ambassador who continues to impact classical music significantly. Her story inspires, showcasing her perseverance and commitment to excellence in the face of adversity. Find out more in the latest episode of the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ violinist Gil Shaham performs Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto alongside conductor Eric Jacobson and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Listen now with host Julie Amacher!

Identity theft in classical music? Not quite. Composers have quoted, borrowed from, and paid tribute to earlier composers for centuries, and Steve Seel brings us some contemporary examples on this episode of Extra Eclectic. A new release from Greg Saunier and Curt Sydnor sets movements from Bach’s Goldberg Variations for synthesizer and drums, and Caroline Shaw’s Watermark offers a kind of “remix” of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. In the second hour, Steve returns to a favorite topic — the intersection of classical music and indie rock — with music by Greg Saunier, Bryce Dessner, Devonte Hynes and Anna Meredith.

Playlist

By Beauteous Softness (After H. Purcell)
Composer: Thomas Ades
Soloists: Ruby Hughes, soprano
Bis 2568

Ora pro nobis
Composer: George Rochberg
Soloists: Daniele Ruggieri, flute
Brilliant 95753

Goldberg Variations: Canon a la neuvieme (Variation 27)
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bach Artillerie
Ernest Jenning 873344

Watermark
Composer: Caroline Shaw
Conductor: Malin Broman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Jonathan Biss, piano
Orchid 100433

Goldberg Variations: Canon a la tierce (Variation 9)
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bach Artillerie
Ernest Jenning 873344

The Ringing World
Composer: Adrian Knight
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bearthoven
Cantaloupe 21129

A Short Tribute to Teenage Fanclub
Composer: Anna Meredith
Orchestra/Ensemble: Ligeti Quartet
Mercury KX 4845720

Goldberg Variations: Canon a la seconde (Variation 6)
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bach Artillerie
Ernest Jenning 873344

Deerhoof Chamber Variations
Composer: Greg Saunier
Orchestra/Ensemble: Ensemble Dal Niente
New Amsterdam 76

Electric Counterpoint: Fast
Composer: Steve Reich
Soloists: Bryce Dessner, guitar
DG 4876947

Aheym
Composer: Bryce Dessner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
Anti 87296

Perfectly Voiceless
Composer: Devonte Hynes
Orchestra/Ensemble: Third Coast Percussion
Cedille 192

As a kid, actor Will Sharpe moved from Japan to England and says he never quite felt like he fit in.

"People who have lived in different countries or who are mixed race, you do sometimes end up with this feeling that you're not really sure where your home is or how to identify," Sharpe says. "If I go back to Japan, I can speak the language, but kind of in a very wobbly way ... like a very Western version of a Japanese person."

Sharpe brings some of that outsider energy to the limited Starz series, Amadeus. The show, which was adapted from the 1979 stage play, tells the story of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — an eccentric genius who uses music to express what he isn't able to say.

Amadeus tells a fictionalized story of the rivalry between Mozart and the court composer Antonio Salieri. Sharpe likens the relationship between the two men to a brotherhood — except that the pious Salieri feels "neglected by God [while] Mozart is getting all of the attention and is having music showered upon him."

To prep for the role, Sharpe spent months learning specific piano pieces and practicing the art of conducting. "There's this sense that Mozart was someone for whom music just fell out of the sky into his lap," he says. "But I was sort of curious to try and imagine: What does that actually look and feel like in his day-to-day life?"

Sharpe previously played a newly wealthy tech bro in the second season of The White Lotus. He also appeared in Lena Dunham's series Too Much and the Oscar-winning film A Real Pain.

Interview highlights

On playing Mozart as socially awkward

He doesn't know how to read a room. There's a lot written kind of speculatively about neurodiversity. And I tried not to be too literal about that or to retro-diagnose him, but [I] definitely wanted to play him as slightly "other." And he doesn't understand social norms or can't understand why people are offended. ... Things that are simple to everyone else he can't do, and he can communicate successfully in a kind of ordinary, normal way.

On working with Mike White on Season 2 of The White Lotus

I think Mike is just so precise in his tone and in his writing and how he kind of crafts anything that he's the author of. It feels very deliberate. And that is something that I admire and something that I respect, but also he's managed to make a show that feels elevated and kind of true to him as a creator, but has reached a really wide audience.

On collaborating with Lena Dunham on Too Much

It did feel like we were always working together to find who [the character] was even from our very first cup of tea ... in London. She has this incredibly fast story brain and is able to retain information and encounters in a very formidable way. And sometimes we'd have a very offhand conversation about a scene or an episode that was coming up, and then I'd see rewrites that seemed to kind of work that conversation into it.

On acting opposite Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain

[Kieran] is an electric performer … Jesse [would come] in with a very specific plan about how to shoot it and where everyone would be and how it was going to be choreographed … and Kieran was like, hang on a minute, "Why would I stand there?" or "Let's rehearse it. Let's see what happens." And so even before we'd started rolling in a kind of meta-dramatic way they'd fallen into the same dynamic as the characters. And Jesse would very wryly be like, "Well, this is perfect because you have no respect for me as a director and nor does the character have any respect for you, so this is going to work great." And it did work great. …

It was exciting to act opposite Kieran. … You know he's always going to bring it and it's always gonna work. But then he's also very playful and doesn't mind pushing the edges of it, which I think sometimes makes for really unexpected choices that can lead to interesting things happening on camera.

Therese Madden and Susan Nyakundi produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the web.

Copyright 2026, NPR, Fresh Air

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Songwriter Maurice White is best known as the founder and lead songwriter for Earth, Wind & Fire.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEPTEMBER")

EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: (Singing) Do you remember the 21st night of September?

MARTIN: He also wrote orchestral music that is only now reaching the public 23 years after White composed it.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

That's the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra rehearsing "Passages," a piece commissioned in 2002. The ensemble blends jazz and classical genres. They premiered "Passages" at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California, over the weekend. Here's SJO music director Mitch Glickman.

MITCH GLICKMAN: Sadly, we thought it was lost over the years.

MARTIN: Glickman had hired a video crew to record White's work in progress. But then funding for the project fell through and it was shelved.

GLICKMAN: When Maurice passed away, 2016, we did a search, couldn't find any of the tracks. The software was so old at this point. Lots of moves had gone on. So we thought, all right, that's the end of that.

MARTÍNEZ: A new Earth, Wind & Fire documentary is scheduled to air on HBO later this year, so there was new interest in the old footage. Glickman went digging.

GLICKMAN: Lo and behold, in a hot garage in an unmarked box were the tapes. So as we were going through that, we realized the fly on the wall b-roll had Bill and Maurice listening back to the piece.

(SOUNDBITE SYMPHONIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA'S PERFORMANCE OF WHITE'S "PASSAGES")

GLICKMAN: So while the score is gone, the tracks are gone, everything is physically gone, the music was right there. It was all spelled out. It just needed to be extracted.

(SOUNDBITE SYMPHONIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA'S PERFORMANCE OF WHITE'S "PASSAGES")

MARTIN: With painstaking effort, White's cowriter, Bill Meyers, used the old tapes to rebuild the 11-minute piece over the course of three or four months.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: On the tapes, Maurice White talks about his approach.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MAURICE WHITE: I was amazed in a sense of, what direction should I go? I've had many Top 40 hits, but my essence is really jazz. This is not just a Earth, Wind & Fire project. It's like a Maurice White presentation I'm making to the world. So that's the way I looked at it, you know? So it's like, it's something that you have to, like, take your time and explore it. It's all about discovery.

MARTIN: An exploration, more than two decades in the making.

(SOUNDBITE SYMPHONIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA'S PERFORMANCE OF WHITE'S "PASSAGES")

Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

The show must go on, but how? For Canio and his traveling troupe, painted smiles and colorful costumes belie infidelity and betrayal. The façade is shattered when a hidden affair is revealed and a lighthearted night at the theater gives way to jealousy, suspicion, and ultimately violence. As the line between performance and reality blurs and the drama onstage begins to mirror the turmoil offstage, Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci begs the question — does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?

Host Steve Staruch speaks with three members of the production’s cast: soprano Amanda Batista and tenor Won Whi Choi, as well as Principal Coach and Chorus Director Celeste Marie Johnson, in preparation for opening night on Saturday, May 9, at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Listen to their conversation through the player above, as well as a sneak peek of their performances in the videos below, recorded here at Minnesota Public Radio’s Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser studio.

Stridono lassù with Amanda Batista (Celeste Marie Johnson, piano)

Un tal gioco, credetemi with Won Whi Choi (Celeste Marie Johnson, piano)

Gallery

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Find out more about the production and how to purchase tickets on the Minnesota Opera’s official site.

On the latest episode of Saturday Cinema, host Lynne Warfel celebrates Mother’s Day with music from movies that celebrate moms and mother figures, including Steel Magnolias, Dumbo, Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook and Little Women. Listen now!

Playlist

Little Women: Dr. March’s Daughters
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Conductor: Alexandre Desplat
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Sony 702752

Steel Magnolias: Suite
Composer: Georges Delerue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 66460

Mrs. Doubtfire: Main Title
Composer: Howard Shore
Conductor: Howard Shore
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Arista 11015

Little Women: Suite
Composer: Thomas Newman
Conductor: Thomas Newman
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra
Sony 66922

Terms of Endearment: Theme
Composer: Michael Gore
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80168

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: Mildred Goes to War
Composer: Carter Burwell
Conductor: Carter Burwell
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 67536

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: Billboards on Fire
Composer: Carter Burwell
Conductor: Carter Burwell
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 67536

Brave: Suite
Composer: Patrick Doyle
Conductor: James Shearman
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

Coco: Remember Me
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Conductor: Robert Ziegler
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Soloists: Lang Lang, piano
DG 4803885

Mamma Mia: Slipping Through My Fingers
Composer: Benny Andersson
Conductor: Martin Lowe
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Soloists: Meryl Streep, vocals
London/Decca 11439

Psycho: Suite
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 1051

Mommie Dearest: Theme
Composer: Henry Mancini
Conductor: Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble: Mancini Pops Orchestra
RCA 60471

Philomena: Suite
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Conductor: Alexandre Desplat
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra

Gypsy: Everything’s Coming Up Roses
Composer: Jule Styne
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Pops Orchestra
Sony 45567

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is internationally known for his outstanding career in jazz. Many don’t know that he has also found success in classical music. Find out more in the latest episode of the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes pays tribute to Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt on his latest project featuring the composer’s only piano sonata, as well as folk tunes and songs performed by Andsnes’ sister: vocalist Solveig Andsnes. Listen now with host Julie Amacher!

May the 4th be with you! This annual “Star Wars Day” provides the inspiration for the latest episode of Extra Eclectic, with works about space and stars. Steve Seel also pays special tribute to American composer Michael Harrison, who died on April 17, with a performance of his choral work Just Constellations. Listen now!

Playlist

On Seven-Star-Shoes
Composer: Julia Wolfe
Orchestra/Ensemble: Quintet of the Americas
Newport 85512

Interstellar: No Time for Caution
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Soloists: Anna Lapwood, organ
Sony 67609

Voyage
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Conductor: John Morris Russell
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Fanfare Cincinnati 15

Just Constellations: The Acoustic Constellation: Spring
Composer: Michael Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble: Roomful of Teeth
New Amsterdam 134

Just Constellations: The Opening Constellation: Summer
Composer: Michael Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble: Roomful of Teeth
New Amsterdam 134

Just Constellations: The Romantic Constellation: Autumn
Composer: Michael Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble: Roomful of Teeth
New Amsterdam 134

Just Constellations: The Magic Constellation: Winter
Composer: Michael Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble: Roomful of Teeth
New Amsterdam 134

Constellation No. 2
Composer: Dustin O’Halloran/Gyda Valtysdottir
Soloists: Dustin O’Halloran, piano
DG 4839884

Invisible Dance: II. In the slow time of stars
Composer: Dorothy Chang
Conductor: Pierre Simard
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vancouver Island Symphony
Redshift Records

Ad Astra: The Wanderer
Composer: Max Richter
Conductor: Robert Ziegler
Orchestra/Ensemble: Lyndhurst Orchestra
Soloists: Max Richter, electronics
DG 4837518

Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Composer: Missy Mazzoli
Conductor: Daniel Bjarnason
Orchestra/Ensemble: Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Dorian 92267

Radif IV “Stars of Highest Magnitude”
Composer: Robert Morris
Orchestra/Ensemble: Galax Quartet
Soloists: David Morris, crystal goblets
Music and Arts 1297

Choirbook: The Milky Way
Composer: Jesper Koch
Conductor: Flemming Windekilde
Orchestra/Ensemble: Danish National Vocal Ensemble
Dacapo 220627

The Milky Way
Composer: Urmas Sisask
Orchestra/Ensemble: ZOFO Duet
Dorian 92178

On the latest episode of Saturday Cinema, guest host Ward Jacobsen celebrates famous folks born in May. Selections include music from Superman, It’s a Wonderful Life, A Summer Place and more. Listen now!

Playlist

Midway: March
Composer: John Williams
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Pops Orchestra

Is Paris Burning?
Composer: Maurice Jarre
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 1047

Superman: March
Composer: John Williams
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Philharmonic

White Christmas
Composer: Irving Berlin
Orchestra/Ensemble: John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra
Soloists: Bing Crosby, vocals
Geffen 73017

Our Town: Grover’s Corners
Composer: Aaron Copland
Conductor: Aaron Copland
Orchestra/Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra
Sony 60593

It’s A Wonderful Life: Love Sequence
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
Conductor: David Newman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Telarc 88801

The Best Years of Our Lives: Theme
Composer: Hugo Friedhofer
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra
Sony 62788

The Bishop’s Wife: Main Title
Composer: Hugo Friedhofer
Conductor: Hugo Friedhofer
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
MGM Music 109

Hamlet: Prelude
Composer: William Walton
Conductor: Neville Marriner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Chandos 8842

The Nun’s Story: Suite
Composer: Franz Waxman
Conductor: Richard Mills
Orchestra/Ensemble: Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 5257

Two for the Road: Main Title
Composer: Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Warner 24503

The Alamo: The Green Leaves of Summer
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
Conductor: John Scott
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Pops
Denon 75470

Tom Jones: Main Title
Composer: John Addison
Orchestra/Ensemble: Prague Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Primary Wave 500609

Murder on the Orient Express: Waltz
Composer: Richard Rodney Bennett
Conductor: John Mauceri
Orchestra/Ensemble: Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Philips 438685

Citizen Kane: Prelude and Finale
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Conductor: John Scott
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Pops
Denon 75470

The Third Man: Theme
Composer: Anton Karas
Conductor: Andre Rieu
Orchestra/Ensemble: Johann Strauss Orchestra
Philips 522933

Jezebel: Waltz
Composer: Max Steiner
Conductor: John Mauceri
Orchestra/Ensemble: Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Philips 438685

Casablanca Suite
Composer: Max Steiner
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80175

A Summer Place
Composer: Max Steiner
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80168

Dial M for Murder: Suite
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
Conductor: Paul Bateman
Orchestra/Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Silva 1101

The High and the Mighty: Suite
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
Conductor: Richard Kaufman
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra
LSO 720

These are hard times to be a human being on this planet. At a time when everything around us feels disconnected and divisive, how do we hold on?

Melanie DeMore believes the power of music can bring us together. How to Hold On features original songs of comfort and solace by DeMore, who brings these songs to life with the help of the Minneapolis-based choral ensemble VocalEssence. Listen as Julie Amacher talks with DeMore about these songs and the heartfelt, real-life stories that inspired them.

Playlist

Music by Melanie DeMore, performed by the composer and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers.

• “How to Hold On”

• “Shine On Me”

• “Bright Blue Sky”

• “Standing Stone”

• “As Much As Air”

• “In the Cool”

• “Blessed Be”

• “Somebody’s Baby/Rock-a-Bye”

• “Sending You Light”

• “Turning Into Gold”

• “If I Were Bird”

Related Videos

In 2025, DeMore and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, including Artistic Director Philip Brunelle, joined us at YourClassical’s headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., to record three of the pieces featured on this radio special. Enjoy the group’s performances of DeMore’s ‘Blessed Be’ and ‘If I Were Bird,’ as well as a touching rendition of the traditional spiritual ‘There Is a Balm in Gilead.’

Pianist, composer and innovator Duke Ellington is famous today for his jazz and swing music. However, he had a few other visions kicking around in his tool box, including some memorable suites such as ‘The Queen’s Suite.’ Find out more in the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ bassoonist Frank Morelli presents his latest album From the Soul; a record that reflects the many life experiences he’s had during his exceptional career. Listen now with host Julie Amacher!

On the latest episode of Extra Eclectic, we consider the planet we call home from several different vantage points. Eriks Esenvalds’ Earth, Teach Me Quiet sets the words of a Ute poem for chorus and wine glasses, and Martin Bresnick’s Ishi’s Song honors the man known as Ishi, the last known surviving member of the Yahi People, who lived in what is present day California, while Reena Esmail’s Earth Speaks depicts the thoughts of the Earth itself. In the second hour, works by Kars Aksel Bisgaard, Sarah Kirkland Snider and Eric Sawyer honor the American Transcendentalists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Playlist

The Demise of the Shepard Glacier
Composer: Philip Maneval
Soloists: Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
Azica 71349

Earth Teach Me Quiet
Composer: Eriks Esenvalds
Conductor: Donald Nally
Orchestra/Ensemble: The Crossing
New Focus 281

Gratitude
Composer: Dawn Avery
Soloists: Wilhelmina Smith, cello
Azica 71377

Ishi’s Song
Composer: Martin Bresnick
Soloists: Lisa Moore, piano
Starkland 221

Earth Speaks: Curiosity
Composer: Reena Esmail
Conductor: Andrew Grams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Interlochen Center for the Arts Chorus
Soloists: Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
Azica 71392

Wepan
Composer: Tina Davidson
Orchestra/Ensemble: Jasper String Quartet
Soloists: Natalie Zhu, piano
New Focus 415

Walking (Hommage a Thoreau)
Composer: Lars Aksel Bisgaard
Soloists: Carl Petersson, piano
Grand Piano 717

Drink the Wild Ayre
Composer: Sarah Kirkland Snider
Conductor: Andrew Cyr
Orchestra/Ensemble: Metropolis Ensemble
Soloists: Noel Wan, harp
Nonesuch 89324

Towards the Forest
Composer: Bryce Dessner
Soloists: Gautier Capucon, cello
Erato 27273

The Unanswered Question
Composer: Charles Ives
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
Orchestra/Ensemble: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Adolph Herseth, trumpet
Sony 42381

Fantasy Concerto: Concord Conversations
Composer: Eric Sawyer
Conductor: Gil Rose
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Modern Orchestra Project
BMOP/sound 1108

On the latest episode of Saturday Cinema, host Lynne Warfel celebrates film composers born in April, including Andre Previn, Miklos Rozsa, Elmer Bernstein and Henry Mancini. Listen now!

Playlist

Madame Bovary: Waltz
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
Conductor: John Mauceri
Orchestra/Ensemble: Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Philips 438685

Elmer Gantry: Main Title
Composer: Andre Previn
Orchestra/Ensemble: Prague Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Primary Wave 500609

My Fair Lady: Main Title
Composer: Frederick Loewe
Conductor: Keith Lockhart
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Pops Orchestra
Boston Pops 4

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Composer: Andre Previn
Conductor: John Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Itzhak Perlman, violin
Sony 63005

Irma la Douce: Theme
Composer: Marguerite Monnot
Conductor: Johnny Williams
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Soloists: Andre Previn, piano
Columbia 8834

Irma la Douce: Our Language of Love
Composer: Marguerite Monnot
Conductor: Andre Previn
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Rykodisc 10742

Gigi: I Remember It Well
Composer: Frederick Loewe
Conductor: Andre Previn
Orchestra/Ensemble: MGM Studio Orchestra
Soloists: Maurice Chevalier, vocals
Rhino 71962

Eye of the Needle: Finale and Epilogue
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
Conductor: Miklos Rozsa
Orchestra/Ensemble: Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 66460

Plymouth Adventure: The Mayflower
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80682

El Cid: Love Theme
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
Conductor: Alexander Shelley
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Soloists: Daniel Hope, violin
DG 4792954

Spellbound Concerto
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
Conductor: John Mauceri
Orchestra/Ensemble: Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Soloists: Stephen Hough, piano
Philips 442425

El Cid: Fanfare and Entry of the Nobles
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80342

The Magnificent Seven
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Conductor: Elmer Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Pops
Denon 75288

To Kill a Mockingbird: Main Title
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80708

The Man with the Golden Arm
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Conductor: Elmer Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Pops
Denon 75288

Far from Heaven: Autumn in Connecticut
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 66460

Birdman of Alcatraz: Suite
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Prague Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Primary Wave 500609

The Grifters: The City
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 66460

The Age of Innocence: End Credits
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Conductor: Elmer Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Studio Orchestra
Sony 57451

Tarantula: Selections
Composer: Henry Mancini
Conductor: Masatoshi Mitsumoto
Orchestra/Ensemble: Krakow Radio & Television Orchestra
Monstrous 1951

Days of Wine and Roses
Composer: Henry Mancini
Soloists: Roger Williams, piano
MCA 10698

Gaily Gaily: The Tango I Saved For You
Composer: Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble: Prague Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Primary Wave 500609

Hatari!: Baby Elephant Walk
Composer: Henry Mancini
Conductor: Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble: Mancini Pops Orchestra
RCA 55938

The Great Waldo Pepper: March
Composer: Henry Mancini
Conductor: Erich Kunzel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Telarc 80183

The Pink Panther Theme
Composer: Henry Mancini
Conductor: Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble: Mancini Pops Orchestra
RCA 55938

When William Dawson was 12, he ran away from home to study music at the Tuskeegee Institute. In 1930, he returned to his roots as director of the Tuskeegee School of Music, a post he held for 25 years. Find out more in the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.