WRTI Picks from NPR Music

A DIY Guide To The History Of Women In Jazz

Lara Pellegrinelli — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:29:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8z6fwq4ZSE

Coaxing The Baby To Sleep: A Violinist's Hand-Picked Lullabies

NPR Staff — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

In German, it's wiegenlied; in French, berceuse; in Norwegian, vuggevise. In any language, the universal effect of what we know as the lullaby is, of course, to coax a baby to sleep.

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine had her own baby in mind when she decided to record a collection of lullabies.

Meet The Man Who Assembles The World's Biggest Jazz Concert

Howard Mandel — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:03:00 +0000

The pianist and composer John Beasley has one of the most formidable tasks of anyone associated with today's International Jazz Day, the celebration produced by UNESCO and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. He's music director of the centerpiece concert to be live-streamed from Istanbul tonight (2 p.m. ET in the U.S.).

Remembering Janos Starker, The Cellist 'Born To Be A Teacher'

Sara Wittmeyer — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:20:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpjxj60CKEM

Piano Vs. Piano, And Why Style Matters

Patrick Jarenwattananon — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:15:00 +0000

Comparisons have always helped me appreciate jazz. An artist plays a tune fast; another does it as a ballad. A trumpeter finishes his solo, and a saxophonist takes that closing phrase and morphs it in a different direction. A musician revisits a composition years later with a new arrangement and ensemble.

A Moment With Pulitzer-Winning Composer Caroline Shaw

NPR Music — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:22:00 +0000

How do you write something like Partita for 8 Voices, the a cappella vocal piece that is this year's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music?

"Very late at night," says the composer, Caroline Shaw, speaking with NPR's Scott Simon. "Sometimes it comes from having a sound in your head that you really want to hear, that you've never heard before, and struggling to make that sound happen in any way you can."

At 30, Shaw is the youngest-ever recipient of the music Pulitzer.

The Conductor Who Gained Power By Giving It Up

Tom Huizenga — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:09:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opolY2qTzpc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z9uChJl4iM

How Taxes And Moving Changed The Sound Of Jazz

Patrick Jarenwattananon — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:27:00 +0000

This week — when many of us at NPR rushed to file our U.S. federal income-tax returns, then moved to a new headquarters — I'm reminded of a moment in jazz history.

Winning A Pulitzer For Music At Age 30

Anastasia Tsioulcas — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:09:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTnwdQbN3vY

Vespers, Habaneras And Early Morning Walks: New Classical Albums

Tom Huizenga — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:20:25 +0000

Robert Frost's famous poem "The Road Not Taken" begins with the line: "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood." Frost's traveler must choose between them. But slide that metaphor over to the world of classical music and you will discover hundreds of paths to explore.