As one of the most-performed living composers, the Pulitzer winner insists that her music communicate to everyone — from farmers to children to the classical music intelligentsia.


Jennifer Higdon won't apologize for writing accessible music

From plumbing pipes and rice bowls to vibraphones and one big bass drum, Sandbox Percussion makes mesmerizing music that you have to see to believe.


Sandbox Percussion performs a rhythmically-adventurous Tiny Desk Concert

The soprano and her pianist husband offer a deeply considered look at the human condition through seven distinct songs.


Julia Bullock and Christian Reif perform their Tiny Desk Concert

The famed Frenchman brings all his elegance and colorful playing to music by Ravel, Brahms and Villa-Lobos.


Jean-Yves Thibaudet: Tiny Desk Concert

The 88-year-old composer, who talks as fast as the interlocking phrases of his music, looks back on crucial moments in a career that moved minimalism into the mainstream.


Steve Reich has always been able to hear the pulse

One of the first modern women composers to reach international acclaim, Gubaidulina wrote bold music, inspired by Eastern and Western philosophies, and the joy of sound itself.


Sofia Gubaidulina, the composer who fused sound and spirituality, has died at 93

On his new album, the British keyboardist offers both engaging and entertaining contemporary works for the misunderstood instrument.





Can James McVinnie change your mind about the pipe organ?

Discover a wide range of this year's most compelling classical music, from symphonic thrill rides and soaring voices to delicate baroque suites, ambient adventures and one groove-laden masterwork.



NPR: The 10 Best Classical Albums of 2024

The youngest ever winner of the Van Cliburn Piano Competition makes our trusty upright piano sound like a 9-foot grand in music by Liszt and Tchaikovsky.


Yunchan Lim performs a lyrical Tiny Desk Concert

Riley’s pioneering piece, which premiered 60 years ago, leaves many decisions up to the performers. It helped launch the movement known as minimalism, but In C itself has also survived and changed.


Tom Huizenga

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