New Classical Tracks: Stephen Hough, 'Lyric Pieces'
Pianist Stephen Hough focuses on 27 pieces composer Edvard Grieg wrote for the enjoyment of amateur pianists. 'They were for domestic consumption,' Hough says. 'I love these pieces.'

Explore new recordings with top performers and host Julie Amacher

Pianist Stephen Hough focuses on 27 pieces composer Edvard Grieg wrote for the enjoyment of amateur pianists. 'They were for domestic consumption,' Hough says. 'I love these pieces.'

Pianist and devout Catholic Stephen Hough finished the final movement of his Mass of Miracles after a near-fatal car accident in England. Andrew Litton conducts the Colorado Symphony in this the piece's first recording.

Pianist Lara Downes pays tribute to jazz singer Billie Holiday on her latest record A Billie Holiday Songbook. Read and listen to learn more about how she created this musical portrait.

Billie Holiday's 100th birthday was this past spring, and pianist Lara Downes celebrated by recording A Billie Holiday Songbook, a musical portrait of the great singer that features 22 jazz standards Holiday made famous.

Trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden's debut solo recording — entitled ‘Radiance’ — focuses on works by American composers, and features selections that are both accessible yet innovative.

Jonathan Biss is halfway through a nine–year, nine–disc recording project of the entire Beethoven sonata cycle. The most recent is volume four. Learn more about the project — including its educational component — and enter for a chance to win the CD.

Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and guitarist Jason Vieaux have a new collaborative album that pairs two instruments that aren't often heard and seen together.

Tenor Bryan Hymel has found his niche in the heroic tenor roles of French opera, which require agility, stamina, lyricism and stellar high notes. For his first recital disc, Hymel soars through 11 of these demanding arias.

JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra recently released their second recording of works by American composer Jack Gallagher. This CD features Gallagher's Symphony No. 2, Ascendant, and another work titled 'Quiet Reflection.'

Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra put their own stamp on an iconic set of concertos by Antonio Vivaldi.
Host Julie Amacher provides an in-depth exploration of a new classical music release each week.
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Julie Amacher's desire to introduce others to great music is what led her to radio. She began her professional broadcast career at a station in Sun Prairie, Wis. She went from rock 'n' roll to the Rocky Mountains, where she found her niche in public radio at KUNC in Greeley, Colo. Julie spent 13 years at KUNC, where she managed the announcers and their eclectic music format. During that time, she earned four national awards for best announcer. She joined Minnesota Public Radio in 1997 as an on-air host and also produces New Classical Tracks, a weekly podcast sharing behind-the-scenes stories about a new release each week. It airs locally at 7:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesdays and at 9 a.m. on Saturdays.