At this time of year, Jews around the world gather together to celebrate new beginnings. Host Mindy Ratner guides us in a musical observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, known in Hebrew as Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe. Listen now to Music for the Days of Awe: An Observance of the Jewish High Holidays.

Playlist

• Solomon Braslavsky (arr. Bruce Ruben): M’chalkeil Chayim – Kathryn Andersen, violin; Steven Lyon, clarinet; Judith Clurman, conductor

• Paul Schoenfield: Achat Sha’alti – Carol Wincenc, flute; Paul Schoenfield, piano

• Salamone Rossi: Lamnatseach ‘al hagitit mizmor l’David (Psalm 8) – New York Baroque; Eric Milnes, conductor

• Max Janowski (arr. Raymond Goldstein): Avinu Malkeinu – Cantors Azi Schwartz, Shira Lissek and Rachel Brook; Alexander Scheirele, cello; Colin Fowler, piano

• Alessandro Scarlatti: Excerpt from Agar et Ismaele Esiliati – Karina Gauvin (Sara); Nathaniel Watson (Abramo); Seattle Baroque; Byron Schenkman and Ingrid Matthews, conductors

• Igor Stravinsky: Abraham and Isaac (Part 3: “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked”) – David Wilson-Johnson, bass-baritone; London Sinfonietta; Oliver Knussen, conductor

• Traditional: Four Shofar Sounds – Cantor Hans Bloemendal; BW de Jong, shofar

• Joseph Kurland (arr. Max Janowski): Hineni – Trevor Mitchell, cantor; Chicago a cappella

• Traditional: Excerpt from Avinu Malkeynu – Rachel Van Voorhees, harp

• Sarah Gurowitsch: Kol Nidrej – Dieter Klöcker, clarinet; Vlach Quartet Prague

• Judith Clurman (arr. Ryan Nowlin): Ki Hineih Kachomer – James Cunningham, piano; Daniel Miller, cello; Essential Voices USA; Judith Clurman, conductor

• Louis Lewandowski: Ki K’shimcha – Hazzan Steven C. Berke; Madrigalchor der Hochschule fur Musik, Munchen

• Traditional: El Nora Alilah – Galeet Dardashti and Divahn

• Traditional: T’kiah g’dolah – Collegium Musicum Judaicum Amsterdam; Chaim Storosum, conductor

Food during the High Holidays

“It wouldn't be a Jewish holiday without food! Jewish communities around the world share some food traditions and still offer their own unique recipes and food preparation methods. As in any household, there are cherished family recipes that make the holidays special. In my family, it was a moist and spicy honey cake that my paternal grandmother made." — Mindy Ratner

High Holy Days Recipes

The Most Important Jewish Holidays and their Foods

Rosh Hashanah Recipes From Around the World

Surprising suggestions for dishes to break the Yom Kippur fast

The Righteousness of Pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah

Special thanks

Rabbi Shelley Kovar Becker

Rabbi Tamar Magill-Grimm

Rabbi Sharon Stiefel

Cantorial Soloist David Jordan Harris

Beth Jacob Congregation, Mendota Heights, MN

Heritage Judaica

Sonya Rapport

Dan Nass

Jacob Aloi

Ines Guanchez

The BBC Proms concerts return to YourClassical for the 2026 season. Enjoy live performances featuring world-class ensembles, conductors and soloists from the Royal Albert Hall in London. Listen at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Central on weekdays through Friday, Sept. 25 — plus on-demand audio for 30 days afterward.

YourClassical and nationally

Listed in reverse chronological order, with most recent broadcast at top.

Thursday, Sept. 10 - 10 p.m. Central

HAYDN: Symphony No. 45 "Farewell"

Prom 45: Mahler's Song of the Earth | BBC Philharmonic | Anja Bihlmaier, conductor | Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano | Clay Hilley, tenor: El-Turk, Haydn, Mahler

Recorded Aug 21, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 10 - 10 a.m. Central

KAPRALOVA: Rustic Suite

Prom 58: Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Jakub Hrůša conductor | Lukáš Vondráček, piano: Kaprálová, Rachmaninov, Janáček

Recorded Sept. 1, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 9 (Extra Eclectic) - 10 p.m. Central

COPLAND: Appalachian Spring

Prom 49: American Classics | Philharmonia Orchestra | Marin Alsop, conductor | Marcus Roberts Trio: Tower, Bernstein, Gershwin, Moross, Copland, Grant Still

Recorded Aug. 24, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 9 - 10 a.m. Central

BERNSTEIN: On the Town: Three Dance Episodes

Prom 49: American Classics | Philharmonia Orchestra | Marin Alsop, conductor | Marcus Roberts Trio: Tower, Bernstein, Gershwin, Moross, Copland, Grant Still

Recorded Aug. 24, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 8 - 10 p.m. Central

DVORAK: Cello Concerto

Prom 48: Gautier Capuçon plays Dvořák | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Alain Altinoglu, conductor: Stravinsky, Dvořák, Debussy, Varèse

Recorded Aug. 23, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 8 - 10 a.m. Central

GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue

Prom 49: American Classics | Philharmonia Orchestra | Marin Alsop, conductor | Marcus Roberts Trio: Tower, Bernstein, Gershwin, Moross, Copland, Grant Still

Recorded Aug. 24, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Sept. 7 - 10 p.m. Central

MARSALIS: Concerto for Orchestra

Prom 37: Gershwin's Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | James Gaffigan, conductor | Yeol Eum Son, piano: Marsalis, Gershwin, Barber

Recorded Aug. 13, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Sept. 7 - 10 a.m. Central

GERSHWIN: Piano Concerto

Prom 37: Gershwin's Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | James Gaffigan, conductor | Yeol Eum Son, piano: Marsalis, Gershwin, Barber

Recorded Aug. 13, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 4 - 10 p.m. central

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"

Prom 33: Dudamel and the LA Phil 1 | Los Angeles Philharmonic | Gustavo Dudamel, conductor: Beethoven and Adès

Recorded Aug. 11, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Sept. 4 - 10 a.m. Central

BERNSTEIN: West Side Story: Symphonic Dances

Prom 49: American Classics | Philharmonia Orchestra | Marin Alsop, conductor | Marcus Roberts Trio: Tower, Bernstein, Gershwin, Moross, Copland, Grant Still

Recorded Aug. 24, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 3 - 10 p.m. Central

DVORAK: Symphony No. 8

Prom 46: Chineke! Orchestra with Angel Blue | Jonathon Heyward, conductor: Thornton Jenkins, Barber, Dvořák

Recorded Aug. 22, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Sept. 3 - 10 a.m. Central

MOZART: Horn Concerto No. 3

Prom 47: Matinee - Mozart's Haffner Symphony | Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields | Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, direction | Amy Harman, bassoon and Felix Klieser, French horn: Britten, Mozart, Musgrave, Elgar

Recorded Aug. 23, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 2 (Extra Eclectic) - 10 p.m. Central

BARBER: Knoxville: Summer of 1915

Prom 46: Chineke! Orchestra with Angel Blue | Jonathon Heyward, conductor: Thornton Jenkins, Barber, Dvořák

Recorded Aug. 22, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Sept. 2 - 10 a.m. Central

BRITTEN: Simple Symphony

Prom 47: Matinee - Mozart's Haffner Symphony | Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields | Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, direction | Amy Harman, bassoon and Felix Klieser, French horn: Britten, Mozart, Musgrave, Elgar

Recorded Aug. 23, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 1 - 10 p.m. Central

BARBER: Symphony No. 1

Prom 37: Gershwin's Piano Concerto | BBC Symphony Orchestra | James Gaffigan, conductor | Yeol Eum Son, piano: Marsalis, Gershwin, Barber

Recorded Aug. 13, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Sept. 1 - 10 a.m. Central

JENKINS: Dance Suite

Prom 46: Chineke! Orchestra with Angel Blue | Jonathon Heyward, conductor: Thornton Jenkins, Barber, Dvořák

Recorded Aug. 22, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Aug. 31 - 10 p.m. Central

HOWARD: Concerto for Brass "SIGNAL"

Prom 22: Kavakos Plays Tchaikovsky | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Paavo Järvi, conductor | Leonidas Kavakos, violin: Howard, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin

Recorded Aug. 2, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Aug. 31 - 10 a.m. Central

COPLAND: Billy the Kid: Suite

Prom 41: Copland and Stravinsky | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | Ryan Bancroft, conductor | Anthony McGill: clarinet: Copland, Kahane, Stravinsky

Recorded Aug. 17, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Aug. 28 - 10 p.m. Central

BOULANGER: Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra

Prom 25: Rachmaninov's Second | Hallé | Kachun Wong, conductor | Alexandra Dariescu, piano: Ravel, Boulanger, Rachmaninov

Recorded Aug. 5, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Friday, Aug. 28 - 10 a.m. Central

MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto

Prom 24: Dvořák and Mendelssohn | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | Elena Schwarz, conductor | Alina Ibragimova, violin

Recorded Aug. 4, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Aug. 27 - 10 p.m. Central

DVORAK: Symphony No. 7

Prom 24: Dvořák and Mendelssohn | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | Elena Schwarz, conductor | Alina Ibragimova, violin

Recorded Aug. 4, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Thursday, Aug. 27 - 10 a.m. Central

SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4

Prom 19: Bruch's Violin Concerto | German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen | Omer Meir Wellber, conductor | Daniel Lozakovich, violin: Haydn, Bruch, Schumann

Recorded July 31, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Aug. 26 (Extra Eclectic) - 10 p.m. Central

TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto

Prom 22: Kavakos Plays Tchaikovsky | BBC Symphony Orchestra | Paavo Järvi, conductor | Leonidas Kavakos, violin: Howard, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin

Recorded Aug. 2, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wednesday, Aug. 26 - 10 a.m. Central

TABAKOVA: Orpheus' Comet

Prom 18: Korngold's Violin Concerto | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra | Delyana Lazarova, conductor | Alena Baeva, violin: Tabakova, Korngold, Prokofiev

Recorded July 30, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Aug. 25 - 10 p.m. Central

POULENC: Sinfonietta

Prom 14: Poulenc and Adams | City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Orchestra | Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus | Lucas and Arthur Jussen, pianos

Recorded July 26, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Tuesday, Aug. 25 - 10 a.m. Central

BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1

Prom 19: Bruch's Violin Concerto | German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen | Omer Meir Wellber, conductor | Daniel Lozakovich, violin: Haydn, Bruch, Schumann

Recorded July 31, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Aug. 24 - 10 p.m. Central

TJOGERSON: Between Trees

Prom 15: From the Alps to the Auvergne | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Edward Gardner, conductor: Tjøgersen, Canteloube, Strauss

Recorded July 27, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Monday, Aug. 24 - 10 a.m. Central

POULENC: Concerto for Two Pianos

Prom 14: Poulenc and Adams | City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Orchestra | Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus | Lucas and Arthur Jussen, pianos

Recorded July 26, 2026, Royal Albert Hall, London

Violinist and composer George Bridgetower was good friends with Ludwig Van Beethoven. So much so that Beethoven wrote a violin sonata just for him. Find out more in the latest episode of the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

Conductor Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra present their new release featuring music by Antonin Dvorak and Carlos Simon recorded live in the historic Heinz Hall. Listen now with host Julie Amacher.

A performance of Wynton Marsalis’ Concerto for Orchestra recorded at the 2026 BBC Proms Festival offers a look at modern classical works inspired by jazz in the first hour of this episode of Extra Eclectic, which also showcases works by Jon Batiste, Earl Louis Stewart and Jeff Scott. In the second hour, we enjoy a sonic peek at autumn (now that Labor Day has come and gone), with such works as Veljo Tormis’ Autumn Landscapes and Robert Jurjendal’s Autumn Prelude. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Playlist

Startin’ Sumthin’
Composer: Jeff Scott
Orchestra/Ensemble: Imani Winds
Koch 7796

Concerto for Orchestra
Composer: Wynton Marsalis
Conductor: James Gaffigan
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Proms 2026 Recording

Rhythm Sonata: Majestic
Composer: Earl Louis Stewart
Orchestra/Ensemble: Lyris Quartet
Soloists: Marcus Eley, clarinet
Imaginary Animals 213

Eternity Around The Corner
Composer: Jon Batiste
Soloists: Jon Batiste, piano
Verve 244313

Autumn Prelude
Composer: Robert Jurjendal
Soloists: Volkmar Zimmermann, guitar
Albany 1738

Fragments of Light
Composer: Sophie Hutchings
Soloists: Sophie Hutchings, piano
Mercury KX 90583

Autumn Landscapes
Composer: Veljo Tormis
Conductor: Tonu Kaljuste
Orchestra/Ensemble: Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
ECM 2793

Estonian Lullaby: Kuus Kuus kallike
Composer: Arvo Part
Orchestra/Ensemble: Hesperion XXI
Soloists: Montserrat Figueras, soprano
Alia Vox 9826

In Air Clear and Unseen: An Autumn Evening
Composer: Alexander Knaifel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Keller Quartet
ECM 2324

Lieux retrouves (Rediscovered Places)
Composer: Thomas Ades
Conductor: Nicholas Collon
Orchestra/Ensemble: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Tomas Nunez, cello
Ondine 1411

Always Know
Composer: Jon Batiste
Soloists: Jon Batiste, piano
Verve 244313

Afro-Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes’ style is a unique alchemy of the Brazilian folk and popular songs he grew up with, Latin classical traditions, and the Western canon. Now located in London, Fernandes’ recently released his debut album, ‘Saudade,’ and is working to teach and inspire new generations of musicians. Find out more in the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

Violinist and composer Curtis Stewart recently released a two-CD recording featuring ‘24 American Caprices’ composed in the styles of the many genres he grew up listening to on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Listen now with host Julie Amacher.

Brass instruments are the focus on episode of Extra Eclectic, in solo, duo and ensemble settings. Valerie Coleman’s Fanfare for Uncommon Times offers a riposte to Aaron Copland’s famous work, and Olivier Messiaen’s Apparition du Christ Glorieux depicts of a religious encounter that's almost unsettling in its indescribable mystery. We also hear music by Michael Daugherty, Dani Howard, Carter Pann and more. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Playlist

Credo: 4th movement
Composer: David Sanford
Orchestra/Ensemble: Meridian Arts Ensemble
8bells 20

Concerto for Brass “SIGNAL”
Composer: Dani Howard
Conductor: Paavo Jarvi
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Proms 2026 Recording

To the Lighthouse
Composer: Linda Kouvaras
Orchestra/Ensemble: Lyrebird Brass
Toccata 794

Bells for Stokowski
Composer: Michael Daugherty
Conductor: Jerry Junkin
Orchestra/Ensemble: University of Texas Wind Ensemble
Reference 104

Instrumental Round No. 1 in Snaketime
Composer: Moondog (Louis Hardin)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Extension Ensemble
Summit 389

Illuminations of the Beyond (Eclairs sur l’au-dela): Apparition du Christ glorieux (Apparition of the Glorious Christ)
Composer: Olivier Messiaen
Conductor: Myung-Whun Chung
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre de la Bastille
DG 439929

Elements of Nature: Water, Fire
Composer: Paul Osterfield
Soloists: Jozef Zimka, trumpet
Navona 6714

Fanfare for Uncommon Times
Composer: Valerie Coleman
Conductor: Brian Kaufman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Brass for Uncommon Times
Naxos 579190

River of Time
Composer: David Biedenbender
Conductor: Timothy Muffitt
Orchestra/Ensemble: Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Soloists: Neil Mueller, trumpet
Blue Griffin 715

A Nearer Sun
Composer: The Westerlies
Orchestra/Ensemble: The Westerlies
Songlines 1617

My Brother’s Brain: The Hymn of Forgiving
Composer: Carter Pann
Conductor: Mallory Thompson
Orchestra/Ensemble: Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Summit 717

Lament
Composer: Brandon Ridenour
Orchestra/Ensemble: Canadian Brass
Steinway & Sons 30008

Earlier this summer, longtime collaborator pianist Jonathan Biss reunited with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra musicians, bringing the ensemble’s 25-26 season theme full circle in a concert that honored the lives and music of Robert and Clara Schumann, with Robert’s Piano Concerto as the program’s finale. An accomplished pianist in her own right, Clara is essential to Robert’s music, and she was the soloist who premiered his concerto in 1845 following its completion. In addition to the only piano concerto her husband ever finished, this program features Clara’s Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano, as well as works by contemporary composers Augusta Reed Thomas and György Kurtág, who were both inspired by the music of the Schumanns. Biss intersperses these shorter works within Schumann’s larger works for piano and orchestra throughout the program. Listen to the concert now through the player above!

Program

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
Jonathan Biss, piano

ROBERT SCHUMANN Introduction and Allegro appassionato (Konzertstück)
GYÖRGY KURTÁG Hommage à R. Schumann for Clarinet, Viola and Piano
CLARA SCHUMANN Trio in G Minor for Violin, Cello and Piano
AUGUSTA READ THOMAS Clara’s Ascent
ROBERT SCHUMANN Piano Concerto
GYÖRGY KURTÁG Selections from Játékok (Games) for Solo Piano and Signs, Games, and Messages for String Trio

For more information regarding this concert, please visit the official website.

Use the player above to listen to YourClassical MPR host John Birge’s final regular shift recorded on Friday, Aug. 28. Then, use the player below to listen as host Tom Crann interviews Birge about his career and time at MPR during Birge’s penultimate shift on Thursday, Aug. 27.

When YourClassical MPR host John Birge started his career more than 40 years ago, he was terrified of talking on the radio. “I could never do that!” he thought.

He’d been drawn to broadcasting not only because of his early love for classical music, but because of his passion for the behind-the-scenes aspect of radio; he hadn’t really envisioned an on-air role. “I was kind of a tech person,” Birge says. “I loved recording and audio. I was kind of a stereo geek, collecting records and reading about hi-fi stuff.

“All of that went together with my abiding interest in story, in narrative, in connecting the dots.”

Birge took the plunge behind the microphone and has been connecting the dots for YourClassical MPR listeners for 29 years – including 21 as morning show host. On Aug. 28, he’ll sign off for his last regular shift.

It’s the home stretch of a journey that started during childhood in Plymouth, Michigan, where his mother would quiz him about the particulars of the music that was a constant presence in the background. Birge says that he came to know who composed the pieces he heard on that radio, which led him to piano lessons and a concentration on the French horn (which he eventually played with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra).

Birge found that the musical life suited him, leading him to attend Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy with the intent of becoming a professional. His music education continued at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

“For a whole bunch of reasons, along the way I decided I wanted to do something – instead of just playing the French horn in a symphony orchestra – that had a wider focus,” Birge says. He decided to lean into his technological interests, and to tell the stories of the music he loved.

He started working at WGUC, Cincinnati’s classical music station, when he “rang the doorbell and said, ‘I want to learn and I’ll work for free.’” There, he got his first taste of on-air life. “The boss said, ‘How about filling in on an overnight shift?’ I thought, ‘How much damage can I do at three in the morning?’

“I realized I really liked it,” Birge says. “I was exposed to all different kinds of music that I couldn’t necessarily play [on the horn] – piano sonatas, string quartets.

“Being a classical music DJ is the perfect thing for what a friend calls ‘public radio garbage brain.’ It’s fun to delve into and find out a little about a lot of things.”

Following a short stint at NPR as an audio engineer in the news department, Birge again felt the pull of music and went back to the overnight shift at WGUC. “It was a good way for me to be a classical DJ every night and get better at it, because I wasn’t very good at it,” he says. After three-and-a-half years of honing his craft in the wee hours, he took over the station’s morning drive show, a job he held from 1986 to 1997.

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Then Classical MPR came calling, with an offer to shepherd the afternoon program. The station would be Birge’s home for the next 29 years.

In 2005, accompanied by the dulcet tones of Bach’s “Sleepers Awake,” he moved to his current spot as morning host. His choice of theme music is more layered than one might think.

“As so often in radio, you do things that might seem aesthetic, but are for very practical reasons,” Birge says. “The show that precedes me ends at 5:59 and the newscast comes on at 6:01. So that’s two minutes that I need to cover.

“Two minutes is a long time in radio. No one wants to hear me blab on for two minutes straight,” he says. “I needed some music to cover that, something to make it a little more palatable.”

Birge landed on “Sleepers Awake” because “A, it’s got a nice vibe; B, it’s about waking up; and C, there are dozens and dozens of different arrangements. So it’s worked out pretty well,” he says.

The theme song – and the show – have become a routine for so many. “It will be hard to wake up without him,” says Julie Amacher, YourClassical MPR program director.

“He calls what he does every morning ‘a little college of musical knowledge,’ as he weaves a story about the music, into something happening in the world today, into how the weather will impact your day.”

Indeed, Birge is likely best known for the morning gig, but additional duties have included putting together Composers Datebook, billed as a daily snapshot of composers past and present, and holiday specials, most notably Giving Thanks.

The Thanksgiving staple had its roots in Birge’s WGUC days. “ ‘Giving Thanks’ was my passion project,” he says, “and it originally addressed practical aspects of Thanksgiving morning – what do you play? I was trying to come up with a playlist that would match the mood of the day. People are listening in the kitchen, while they’re putting turkey or pies in the oven, or in the car, on a three-hour drive to grandma’s.

“So I started assembling music that I felt addressed gratitude in some special way, or something that addressed things I felt thankful for – nature, especially, but also music about food, poems I liked about food.”

The special became nationally syndicated in 1999, giving Birge leeway to bring in special guests. Because he had incorporated the spoken word into the musical mix, he had an epiphany. “Why should I read a Billy Collins poem, when I could get Billy Collins on the show? That was the direction the show took. Every year a featured guest was brought in to talk about gratitude, like [actor] Stanley Tucci about his love for food and cooking. That’s how the show evolved, 25 years of it.”

Chatting about gratitude with illustrious guests has been a perk of the job, but not Birge’s only thrilling experience. He experienced a full-circle moment in 2007, when he traveled to Vienna with the Minnesota Orchestra.

“I was asked to record a live concert at the Musikverein,” he says. “And I was thrilled to do that. Apart from what a great gig it was, 12 years before that – when I was an extra player with the Cincinnati Symphony – I got to play in the Musikverein, which is Valhalla for an orchestra. The hall, and that city of course, are central to everything that happened in classical music.

“Being there first as a musician and then to come back as a broadcaster and audio engineer – it was a nice set of bookends.”

Specific memories aside, Birge is most grateful for those who tune in. “The best part of the job is the listener, because that’s why you’re here,” he says. “As I’ve often said in member drives, somebody is born every day who hasn’t heard [Beethoven’s] ‘Emperor Concerto,’ and I envy them because there’s nothing like hearing it for the first time. In broadcasting, we cast broadly, with an incredible ability to share music and stories with people.”

Amacher amplifies that sentiment. “John has developed a relationship with his listeners in the most heartfelt way,” she says. “When he opens the mic, it’s always in service to the listener, and to the music.

“He makes us want to hear more, to learn more. And he does it all with a twist of wit and good humor.”

Birge seems to know how fortunate he is to have such reach among listeners. “Classical MPR in one week has an audience that will sell out Orchestra Hall 74 times, and that’s the power of radio,” he says. “To bring classical music to so many people, everywhere, for free, it’s pretty amazing.”

For Birge, the man who once was hesitant to speak on the air, that big audience isn’t daunting. “I’m talking to one person at a time,” he says. “I don’t go on the air as if I’m talking to thousands; it’s just you and me, in your kitchen or in your car – it’s a magic conduit there.

“It’s a daily thrill and a real honor to just be here and be allowed in people’s lives. They rely on it. We get lots of letters from people who were going through a rough patch. They feel like, boy, this Classical MPR really saved my life. People say that!

“Another public radio truism is that collectively, the audience knows everything, so I’ve learned so much from listeners,” Birge says. “And I hope they’ve learned a little bit from me along the way.”

The listeners probably aren’t done learning; he plans to be available for on-call and fill-in hosting duties. But he’s looking forward to traveling, cooking, seeing theater and yes, attending concerts (Birge calls himself a musical omnivore, with a different favorite composer or genre “every 10 minutes”).

“I realized earlier this year that it was 40 years doing mornings,” he says. “That’s a good run. Leave the party while you’re having fun, and I’m still having fun.”

Listen to John Birge’s final regular morning show shift from Friday, Aug. 28, through the player above.

Use the form below to send a farewell message to John Birge or share a favorite moment.

Duke Ellington once said, “All arrangements of historic American Negro music have been made by conservatory-trained musicians who inevitably handle it with a European technique. It’s time a big piece of music was written from the inside.” That piece of music premiered in 1943 in Carnegie Hall, and it was titled ‘Black, Brown, and Beige.’ Find out more in the ‘Rhapsody in Black‘ podcast.

The Catalyst Quartet recently released the fourth and final volume of its ‘Uncovered’ project. The album focuses on Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and features 18 of his string quartets. Listen now with host Julie Amacher.

The trees, the soil, the air — the Earth is our one home, and on this episode of Extra Eclectic, contemporary composers pay tribute in their music. Erland Cooper’s Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence literally incorporates the Earth itself as a collaborator, and Kristine Tjogersen and Jekabs Jancevskis take us into the woods to be one with the trees. We also hear from Clarice Jensen, Stacy Garrop, Mary Jouyoumdjian, and others. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Playlist

Blue Curve of the Earth
Composer: Tina Davidson
Soloists: Hilary Hahn, violin
DG 19103

Between Trees
Composer: Kristine Tjogersen
Conductor: Edward Gardner
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra
BBC Proms 2026 Recording

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

Lignum
Composer: Jekabs Jancevskis
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kremerata Baltica
Soloists: Alina Vizine, Zane Kalnina, Rakele Chijenaite, svilpaunieki
ECM 2745

Burn as Brightly
Composer: Gala Flagello
Orchestra/Ensemble: Talla Rouge
Bright Shiny Things 202

The Green Fuse
Composer: James Wilson
Conductor: Anthony Parnther
Orchestra/Ensemble: Chineke! Orchestra
NMC 250

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

String Quartet No. 3 “Gaia”: Dance of the Earth
Composer: Stacy Garrop
Orchestra/Ensemble: Biava String Quartet
Cedille 122

Silent Spring
Composer: Steven Stucky
Conductor: Manfred Honeck
Orchestra/Ensemble: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Reference 747

Aghavni (Doves)
Composer: Mary Kouyoumdjian
Soloists: Lara Downes, piano
Sony 92079

Black Earth
Composer: Fazil Say
Orchestra/Ensemble: Between Worlds Ensemble
Soloists: Avi Avital, mandolin
DG 4867526

Salt Air, Salt Earth
Composer: Clarice Jensen
Soloists: Maya Beiser, cello
Islandia 16

Cassie Kinoshi has taken on the role of musical mad scientist by mixing together Black American jazz, West African and Caribbean rhythms, and Western classical music in a process of compositional nuclear fusion. Find out more in 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!

It’s a philosophical look at time on this episode of Extra Eclectic, with works considering both fleeting moments and the vastness of eternity. Chris Rogerson’s Thirty Thousand Days honors his father’s way of counting a lifetime in terms of days instead of years, and Steve Reich’s Proverb is based on the Ludwig Wittgenstein quote, “How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life.” We also hear music by Shelley Washington, David Lang, Clarice Jensen and more. Listen now with host Steve Seel!

Playlist

Eternal Present: Now
Composer: Shelley Washington
Orchestra/Ensemble: ~nois
Bright Shiny Things 197

Eternity’s Sunrise
Composer: Howard Skempton
Orchestra/Ensemble: Ensemble 360
First Hand 90

Violin Concerto “Shrink”
Composer: Nico Muhly
Orchestra/Ensemble: Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Soloists: Pekka Kuusisto, violin
Pentatone 745

Time’s Timeless
Composer: Jason Thomas
Orchestra/Ensemble: Zephyr Quartet
Navona 6275

Thirty Thousand Days: Quasi una ciacona
Composer: Chris Rogerson
Orchestra/Ensemble: Dover Quartet
Soloists: David Shifrin, clarinet
Delos 3576

The Fountain: Together We Will Live Forever
Composer: Clint Mansell
Soloists: Feico Deutekom, piano
Zefir 9654

momentary
Composer: Olafur Arnalds
Orchestra/Ensemble: Voces8
Soloists: Olafur Arnalds, electronics
London/Decca 4851870

almost all the time
Composer: David Lang
Orchestra/Ensemble: Jasper String Quartet
Dorian 92212

Unfold
Composer: Skuli Sverrisson
Soloists: Gyda Valtysdottir, cello
Dorian 70012

Proverb
Composer: Steve Reich
Conductor: Paul Hillier
Orchestra/Ensemble: Theater of Voices
Nonesuch 79430

Final
Composer: Clarice Jensen
Soloists: Clarice Jensen, cello
130701 1339

The Lakes Area Music Festival — a nonprofit organization that has brought world-renowned orchestra, opera, and chamber music performances to central Minnesota each July and August since 2009 — has received a $2 million endowment to help fund future seasons.

Scott Lykins, the festival’s artistic and executive director, announced the gift following the festival’s Sunday-afternoon presentation of Bizet’s Carmen at the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts in Brainerd. Dave and Marlys Theis of Plymouth, Minnesota, made the donation establishing the new endowment. It is the largest gift the Lakes Area Music Festival has ever received.

“A gift of this size is incredibly meaningful for an organization like ours,” Lykins told the audience in Brainerd on Sunday evening. “Our board and artistic teams were already in discussions for innovative programming in the upcoming seasons and to pave the way to a sustainable future. This generous gift from Dave and Marlys fuels both of these — turning what might have been long-term dreams into a reality.”

Lykins added he was struck by “knowing that someone in our community would see the value of our mission and the impact in the community and be moved to support it like this.”

“We are very pleased to support the Lakes Area Music Festival and make a difference with this donation,” benefactors Dave and Marlys Thies said in a statement. “We want this to be a catalyst and hope it leads to more people discovering the talent that these people have. It truly is something to behold.”

The gift comes near the end of a season the Lakes Area Music Festival built around the theme of “passion.” “It lies at the heart of everything we do,” Lykins said. “Passion fuels great artistry, but it also connects us — to one another, to our community, and to the stories that shape us.”

There are three events remaining in this year’s program: Wednesday evening, a Chamber Orchestra will perform works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Richard Strauss and Francis Poulenc. The Symphony Finale is set for Saturday, Aug. 22, and Sunday, Aug. 23, featuring works by Carlos Simon, Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky. Music Director Christian Reif, who brings his family from Germany to central Minnesota for the summer, will conduct all three performances.

Growing up in Louisiana, Jon Batiste barely spoke until he was about 10 years old. Instead, he absorbed and listened closely to everything around him. And there was a ton of material to work with as a member of the storied Batiste musical dynasty that has roots in New Orleans jazz, R&B, funk and brass band.

"With music around me from all different sources, I was like, okay, how do I feel about this?" Batiste said in an interview with Morning Edition host Michel Martin. "Classical music is cool, but what if you took it and you expressed it in this way instead of the way that everybody says you should express it?"

In a trio of new albums, Batiste draws from his early years as a classical piano student and his subsequent jazz studies at Juilliard to share his takes on Mozart and Thelonious Monk.

"This is just an outgrowth of that, just taking the ideas of all this great music — Mozart, Thelonious Monk — and adding to the continuum of it and contributing my own thoughts to it," he tells Morning Edition host Michel Martin. "It would be like us sitting around the piano and trading bars and saying, 'Okay, you did this, and what if we took it this way?'"

The albums are part of a series that began with Beethoven Blues in 2024, where he improvised on works like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and added some of his own tunes like "Life of Ludwig."

In the largely improvisational Black Mozart, which was recorded in just a day, Batiste grabs the melodies from some of the 18th century Austrian composer's most famous works and spins them off using Black American music traditions like jazz, blues, and folk.

He plays with the melody, harmony and rhythm of Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major (nicknamed Sonata facile), the "alla turca" movement of Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major or even the first movement of Symphony No. 40 in G minor. Sometimes, he creates entirely new pieces.

This omnivorous approach caused friction with traditionalists during Batiste's student years.

"It was rough," he recalled. "I almost didn't make it out of school because every other year they were trying to kick me out. They were like, 'What are you doing? Why are you playing the melodica with your band in the subway for people?' There was a lot of misunderstanding of my sort of precocious and questioning posture toward the administration and toward the classics."

Batiste describes such criticism as "very myopic," limiting a practice he'd like to see freed up instead.

"It is a very group-think phenomenon that is divisive and it separates us, and that shouldn't extend to the arts. It shouldn't extend anywhere. But it's everywhere, as in our politics as a religion. And I just am like, man, why would we make the thing that is the universal language be trapped and boundaried and ismed to death?"

Batiste recalls first being introduced to Monk by community elders in New Orleans who served as some of his first mentors.

"And then I moved to New York and I started hearing Thelonious Monk's music at jam sessions and I was like, 'Oh, wow, I'm trying to be able to play in a way that is very aligned to this music.'"

In Monk Movements, Batiste says he's expressing the virtuosity of the Black American pianistic tradition, "fusing Monk with all the other influences that I love on the piano that make me who I am."

Batiste's joyful, inspired spirit lifts Monk favorites like "In Walks Bud" and "Ugly Beauty," where his exclamations can be heard while playing the piano. Batiste originally wrote the theme in his own "Red Beans" as a child. The unusual chords, dissonance and disjointed melodies are evocative of Monk, but Batiste has said he wasn't familiar with him at the time.

A separate album, Monk Meditations, is more contemplative. Those pieces create "the spiritual underpinning" of Monk's music, Batiste says. "You could meditate to that album, you could chat to that album, you could pray to that album, you could sleep to that album," he adds. It's a soundscape that flirts with new age. The lines are often long, the chord progressions clearly delineated.

Batiste hopes anyone from the casual listener to the seasoned musician will feel a connection to his latest compositional frenzy.

"Our understanding of music and our understanding of who we could be and who we actually are has limited us from knowing our history," Batiste says.

"And all of that is not a negative thing because then it just gives the opportunity for guys like me to come along… You've got to have people that are just like, 'Let me come in, let me carry the torch and spread the depth and the gifts that our ancestors have left us.' And do it with joy and passion."

Copyright 2026, NPR

The award-winning strings duo Black Violin has been mixing classical and hip hop for over twenty years. The group’s goal is to make the violin and viola sound naturally and unabashedly Black. Find out more in the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks’: Jon Batiste’s latest recording, Black Mozart, is about commonality, improvisation, expression and innocence, in that spiritual realm where Mozart lives. Listen now with host Julie Amacher.

Host Steve Seel poses a lot of musical questions on this episode of Extra Eclectic, and you’ll have to decide if you hear any answers. Anna Clyne’s Dance interprets the mysterious words of the poet Rumi as a work for cello and orchestra, and Estonian composer Toivo Tulev’s A child said, what is the grass sets the words of Walt Whitman from his poem “Song of Myself.” Also, Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question is “answered” by Laurie Spiegel’s work The Unquestioned Answer.

Playlist

Live the Questions
Composer: Jake Runestad
Conductor: Joel Rinsema
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kantorei Denver
Naxos 559892

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

Dance
Composer: Anna Clyne
Conductor: Marin Alsop
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra
Soloists: Inbal Segev, cello
Avie 2419

Dancing on Glass
Composer: Victoria Bond
Soloists: Anna Cromwell, violin
Albany 1797

Whosay
Composer: yMusic
Orchestra/Ensemble: yMusic
StorySound 161050

Why?
Composer: Mid-Air Thief/Summer Soul
Orchestra/Ensemble: Attacca Quartet
Sony 15433

Fate
Composer: Felipe Tellez
Orchestra/Ensemble: TakeFive Ensemble
Centrediscs 28721

Where Life and Death May Dwell
Composer: Snorri Sigfus Birgisson
Soloists: Vikingur Olafsson, piano
DG 4863390

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

What Was Said
Composer: Ashley Bathgate/Paul Fowler
Soloists: Ashley Bathgate, cello
Curve Blue 2020

The Unquestioned Answer
Composer: Laurie Spiegel
Soloists: James McVinnie, organ
Pentatone 7404

Hip-hop artist and composer André 3000 released his latest album, ‘New Blue Sun,’ in 2023. The album centers around compositions with wind instruments and is result of his need to explore and the many influences around him, both jazz and classical. Find out more in the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ recorder virtuoso Michala Petri presents her latest recording featuring Danish composer Ole Buck’s ‘Concerto Rosignolo,’ a piece composed specifically for her. Listen now with guest host Melissa Ousley.

While classical music — old and new — can sometimes be about frivolous things, this episode of Extra Eclectic is concerned strictly with ideas on a “higher plane,” so to speak. Host Steve Seel brings us Olivia Belli’s Limina Luminis, inspired by the awe that astronauts experience viewing the Earth from space, as well as the reverent sounds of Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa, Gavin Bryars’ Eternity is a Mysterious Absence of Times and Ages from his work The Fifth Century, and more. Listen now!

Playlist

Arcana: Search
Composer: Alex Shapiro
Soloists: Adam Marks, piano
Innova 41

Limina Luminis
Composer: Olivia Belli
Soloists: Anna Lapwood, organ
Sony 80927

Tabula Rasa
Composer: Arvo Part
Conductor: Richard Studt
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Soloists: Tasmin Little, violin
Virgin 45314

The Fifth Century: Eternity Is a Mysterious Absence of Times and Ages
Composer: Gavin Bryars
Conductor: Donald Nally
Orchestra/Ensemble: The Crossing
ECM 2405

Code
Composer: Paola Prestini
Orchestra/Ensemble: A Far Cry Orchestra
Soloists: Awadagin Pratt, piano
New Amsterdam 177

And Some Will Fall
Composer: Max Richter
Soloists: Max Baillie, violin
London/Decca 6572991

Lonely Angel
Composer: Peteris Vasks
Conductor: Jonathan Stockhammer
Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra
Soloists: Mari Samuelsen, violin
DG 4835869

Drone Mass: Divine Objects
Composer: Johann Johannsson
Conductor: Paul Hillier
Orchestra/Ensemble: Theatre of Voices
DG 4837419

Nightfall
Composer: Meredith Monk
Soloists: Sean Shibe, electric guitar
PentaTone 988

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!

Grammy-winning mandolinist, singer, songwriter and composer Chris Thile brings his singular artistry to the Minnesota Orchestra in ATTENTION!, his playfully bold autobiographical work for mandolin and orchestra. Part narrative song cycle, part musical self-portrait, ATTENTION! blends virtuosity, humor and storytelling. Whether you know Thile from Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek, or from his tenure as host of public radio’s Live from Here, you’ll be dazzled by his wit, invention and restless imagination. Listen to the concert now!

Program

Minnesota Orchestra
Chris Thile, mandolin and vocals
Alex Sopp, vocals
Susie Park, violin
David Stevens, drums
Members of the Minnesota Chorale
Jerry Rubino, special projects conductor

SAMUEL BARBER Overture to The School for Scandal
CAROLINE SHAW And So
DUKE ELLINGTON Selections from The River Suite
CHRIS THILE ATTENTION!

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

Minnesota Orchestra presents John Williams' greatest scores

On Friday, July 24, Sarah Hicks led the Minnesota Orchestra in a salute to composer John Williams, living legend of Hollywood! This all-new program features some of Williamsʼ most beloved and unforgettable music of the silver screen, including E.T., Harry Potter, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and more. Listen to the concert now!

Program

Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor

JOHN WILLIAMS
Welcoming the World
Olympic Fanfare and Theme
Slice of History: World War II
March from 1941
Theme from Schindler’s List
Leading Women
Sayuri’s Theme, from Memoirs of a Geisha
Devil’s Dance, from The Witches of Eastwick
Momentous Meetings
Symphonic Suite form Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Duel of the Fates, from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Epic Battles
March of the Resistance, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Theme from The Patriot
Flights of Fancy
Love Theme, from Superman
Flying Theme, from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Heroes’ Homecoming
Raiders March, from Raiders of the Lost Ark
Harry’s Wondrous World, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Throne Room and End Title, from Star Wars: A New Hope

Minnesota Orchestra and special guests perform Beethoven's '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. The Minnesota Orchestra has its own trio of all-stars on tap for this program, which includes Robert Schumann’s reflection of life in the Rhineland and a Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten. Listen to the concert now!

Program

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

BENJAMIN BRITTEN Simple Symphony for String Orchestra
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano and Orchestra, Triple *
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.

Aida Shahghasemi is a Minneapolis-based musician with roots in Iran.

On Sunday, July 19, she invited three other Minnesota-based Iranian musicians from different walks of life to collaborate on the second installment of her residency at the Minneapolis nightclub Berlin. The performance featured Shahghasemi’s own music through the lens of various genres, including classical, contemporary, jazz and Iranian folk music.

"Our musical backgrounds may be different,” Shahghasemi said during an interview with the nightclub, “but it's amazing how sharing a language, history, culture and messy politics can weave a common thread among us."

The three guest musicians include violist Niloofar Sohi and kamancheh (an Iranian bowed, stringed instrument) player Niloufar Shiri, as well as guitarist, composer and improviser Niyayesh Shababi.

“I knew the majority of the music prior (to) coming these rehearsals because it’s Aida,” Sohi says. “We love Aida! We love her music. But we also wanted to add our own interpretation, or (…) add something new to it. So there were some of the pieces that we changed a little bit based on (our) different backgrounds.”

Below, listen to a conversation with Shahghasemi and Sohi recorded prior to the concert, and find out more about Shahghasemi’s upcoming projects on her official website.

Artist Interviews

Composer Damien Geter began his musical path as an educator before becoming an acclaimed vocalist. But now, his path as a composer is ‘breaking down the barriers of what classical music should be.’ Find out more in the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ pianist Stephen Hough talks about his latest recording, featuring music from ‘Mary Poppins,’ along with other songs and melodies from places he’s traveled to over the years. Listen now with guest host Melissa Ousley.

On the latest episode of Extra Eclectic, we close out our month-long celebration of 20th- and 21st-century American classical music with a focus on some of the composers who introduced fresh thinking into the genre while also opening up the concert hall to new audiences. Host Steve Seel showcases the music of giants such as Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, and Steve Reich, while also featuring works by Michael Daugherty and Stephen Scott. Listen now!

Playlist

Duet
Composer: Steve Reich
Conductor: Daniel Hope
Orchestra/Ensemble: Basel Chamber Orchestra
Soloists: Daniel Hope, violin
DG 4795305

Ellis Island
Composer: Meredith Monk
Soloists: James McVinnie, organ
Pentatone 7404

Tirol Concerto
Composer: Philip Glass
Orchestra/Ensemble: Baroklyn
Soloists: Simone Dinnerstein, piano
Naive 9238

Apartment House 1776: Harmony No. 19. New York
Composer: John Cage
Orchestra/Ensemble: Arditti String Quartet
Mode 144

New York Drones
Composer: Stephen Scott
Orchestra/Ensemble: The Bowed Piano Ensemble
Navona 5937

This Land Sings: Marfa Lights
Composer: Michael Daugherty
Conductor: David Alan Miller
Orchestra/Ensemble: Dogs of Desire
Soloists: Eric Berlin, flugelhorn
Naxos 559889

Inspired By Joni Mitchell: Big Yellow Taxi
Composer: Curtis Stewart
Soloists: Lin-Chi Chuang, violin
Bright Shiny Things 243

This Land Sings: selections
Composer: Michael Daugherty
Conductor: David Alan Miller
Orchestra/Ensemble: Dogs of Desire
Soloists: Annika Socolofsky, soprano
Naxos 559889

Joan Baez Suite
Composer: John Duarte
Soloists: Sharon Isbin, guitar
Sony 45456

Kedron
Composer: Traditional/Sam Amidon
Conductor: Pekka Kuusisto
Orchestra/Ensemble: Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Soloists: Sam Amidon, vocals
Platoon 2026

Saro
Composer: Traditional/Sam Amidon
Conductor: Pekka Kuusisto
Orchestra/Ensemble: Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Soloists: Sam Amidon, vocals
Platoon 2026

Silver Dagger
Composer: Stacy Garrop
Orchestra/Ensemble: Heare Ensemble
Innova 40

On the latest episode of the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast, we learn about Omar Thomas, a composer whose music is rooted in topics such as Black liberation and affirmation, including those who are also members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Listen now.