The Price of Admission: A Musical Biography of Florence Beatrice Price
Florence Beatrice Price wrote more than 300 musical compositions. Some of her works have been lost, others are unpublished, and some of piano and vocal music is still being heard in concert halls. When...
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I, Too, Sing America: Music in the Life of Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes, an enduring icon of the Harlem Renaissance, is best-known for his written work, which wedded his fierce dedication to social justice with his belief in the transformative power of the...
View ArticleQuiz: Test Your Knowledge of NYC's Composer Statues
New York City's parks and squares are home to a remarkable array of statues commemorating historic composers. These, along with many others, recently drew attention when a group began a campaign to...
View ArticleReturning the 'Razzle Dazzle' to Broadway
Razzle Dazzle is the jazzy title of a new book about the history of Broadway by Michael Riedel, the New York Post theater columnist and co-host of the show "Theater Talk." The book, which was published...
View ArticleThrowback Thursday: Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
It was on this day and this date 152 years ago, on a Thursday, November 19th, in the year 1863, that Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. The speech is one of the most famous in American...
View ArticleWatch: 25 Bizarre Facts About Classical Music
Hay eating pianos, string quartets in helicopters, 20 minutes of a single note, Bach's eye surgery and more.The YouTube channel list25 has turned its attention to classical music and assembled a video...
View ArticleFrom the Archives: George Shirley Interviews Marian Anderson
Wednesday marks the 75th anniversary of an arts event that rocked a nation grappling with racial segregation. On April 9, 1939 – Easter Sunday – black contralto Marian Anderson sang at the Lincoln...
View Article6 Historical Figures Whose Side Hustle Was Composing Music
Sometimes it may seem impossible to follow your passions and pursue new hobbies. But these notable names made it work, balancing some pretty heavy daily responsibilities with some serious musical...
View ArticleBehold the Power of the Oud Featuring Yemeni Musician Ahmed Alshaiba (Video)
If you ever find yourself in a position in which you need to bring music appreciators and history buffs together, all you need to do is mention the oud.The instrument is basically a living textbook...
View Article10 of the Coolest Musical Mentors Throughout History
We just passed the centenary of Juilliard professor and music educator Dorothy DeLay, who taught some of the world's finest violin masters. It got us thinking about other notable — and sometimes...
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History of Muzak: Where Did All The Elevator Music Go?
Of Muzak, Professor Gary Gumpert of Queens College, in a 1990 interview for Britain’s Channel 4, said: “[it’s] a kind of amniotic fluid that surrounds us; and it never startles us, it is never too...
View ArticleWhy Is the Orchestra Seated That Way? An Explanation
Why don’t the oboes and tubas sit in the front of the orchestra? Why don’t flutes and first violins swap positions, or — in what would be the coolest configuration, let’s be honest — bass trombones and...
View ArticleWatch: Stravinsky Recalls 'The Rite of Spring' Riot
Le Sacre du Printemps ("The Rite of Spring") is one of Igor Stravinsky’s best-known works. And, because of its quite literally riotous 1913 Paris premiere, it also boasts one of the most infamous...
View ArticleHow Many Movements Are There in a Symphony?
“What are the four movements of a symphony?” is a weird question. Not a bad question, but certainly a weird one. That’s because it assumes that there are always four movements in a symphony. There are...
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A Brief History of Circus Music
For nearly a century and a half, the likes of floppy-shoed clowns, bicycling poodles in diamanté boleros, and slinky highfliers of bottomless gumption ran helter-skelter beneath the Ringling Brothers...
View ArticleHistory Clashes With Culture Over Roman Rock Opera 'Nero'
The rock opera Divo Nerone (“Divine Nero”), a massive spectacle of musical theater, premiered this weekend in Rome. But while the show and it’s all-star direction stopped at nothing to wow the...
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How Was Musical Notation Invented? A Brief History
Imagine a piece of music. No, not the music, but the written score or sheet. Some of us look at it, and immediately begin translating those symbols into sounds. Others among us might not be able to...
View ArticleExplainer: Why Conductors Change Classical Music Scores
In April 1962, a 29-year-old pianist named Glenn Gould joined Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall for a performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1. The interpretive...
View ArticleIs the Piano a String or Percussion Instrument?
Labels are limiting. It’s hard to truly define something or someone by one word or another. But as humans, we can’t seem to give it up. And so we get caught up in trying to classify the piano as a...
View ArticleWhy Do Orchestras Tune to an A-Note Pitch at 440Hz?
The sound of an orchestra tuning is instantly recognizable. As soon as you hear it, you know exactly what’s about to happen. But there is a simple reason why a whole lot of tuning orchestras sound...
View ArticleWhy Is It So Hard to Find Saxophones in the Concert Hall?
You cannot deny that the saxophone is the odd-one-out in orchestral ensembles. Some reference books or encyclopedias (hi, Grove!) will include entries that present the saxophone as an instrument like...
View ArticleComposer Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Jack of All Trades and Master of All of...
Mastery of any craft requires focus, dedication to perfection, reception to criticism and the willpower to stay in on many a Saturday night. It’s difficult to excel, and most of us can call ourselves...
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Weird Classical: The History of Black Death Music Parties
Are music and the Black Death, an outbreak of the bubonic plague, related in any way? Music expanded in new directions as Europe’s mid-14th century society collapsed in the face of the plague....
View ArticleWhy Are There Ballets in the Middle of French Opera?
In 1861, Richard Wagner was ready to take his opera Tannhäuser to the Paris Opéra. He knew that in order to please his Parisian audience, he had to revise it to include a ballet, which he managed to...
View Article5 Tales From the Complicated Life of Beethoven
Passionate, moody, troubled, social — Beethoven's personality is hard to pin down. Here are a few wild stories from his life that provide a glimpse into a life misunderstood.As Salieri's Vocal...
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A Very Brief History of the Violin
Much like the Voynich manuscript, the Baghdad battery and babies, we don’t exactly know where violins come from. That’s not to say that violins just appeared out of the 16th-century ether playing...
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Blacklisted: The Political Life of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein understood that art was political. As long as he wielded the baton, the maestro dared not shy away from at least being involved with the most pressing social issues of his day; as a...
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The Incredible Story of Elise Hall's Saxophone and Debussy's Trainwreck...
In 1898, Elise Hall, an ambitious amateur saxophonist, was frustrated for a simple reason: there wasn’t enough music written specifically for her instrument. So she decided to go on a commissioning...
View ArticleWhat Was the First Symphony, and Who Wrote It?
There is a lot of glory in being the first to do something groundbreaking. The first figure defies the odds, makes a courageous stand and is remembered throughout history. But when it comes to...
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Toy Pianos Aren’t Playing Around
In music, size matters not. Jane Little, a bassist in the Atlanta Symphony for 71 years—she met her end last May after collapsing on stage during a concert—was 4 feet, 11 inches and 98 pounds, over a...
View ArticleComposer, Alchemist, Poet and ... Time Traveler Immortal?
Imagine you’re at a dinner party and out of nowhere comes a complete stranger who seems to know everything about everything, speaks five languages and claims to be immortal.The magnetizing gent you’ve...
View ArticleThe Beat Goes On: A Short History of the Metronome
The musician sent home to practice with a metronome confronts in this prescription an absentminded chaperone. It sits on the stand and clucks a rigid beat regardless of whether the player, afflicted...
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What Does Rosin Actually Do to Violin Bows?
When writing about violin players furiously bowing their strings, it has become a bit cliché to evoke the image of “rosin flying into the air” as a display of ecstatic music-making. It’s easy to find...
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Giving Classical the Boot(leg): A Brief History of Illicit Recording
For certain music enthusiasts, of all concert souvenirs, the bootleg recording is the most covetable. Neither autographed Big Gulps nor commemorative T-shirts exceeding the cost of one’s wardrobe can...
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Handel and Hendrix: Genius Roommates Who Lived Centuries Apart
Happy birthday, Handel! Hear music from the Baroque composer— who was born on Feb. 23, 1685 — all Friday on WQXR.Jimi Hendrix must have been quite the roommate.(Handel & Hendrix in London /...
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This Is Einstein's Violin — and It's Up for Auction
Update: The violin was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $516,000. At five times the low-estimate, the sale set an auction record for Einstein memorabilia.It’s no secret that music was central...
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You Can Now Take a Peek at Mozart's Musical Diary
In a move that is the stuff of nightmares for journaling teenagers everywhere, the British Library has made Mozart’s musical diary digitally available to the public.The diary isn’t the kind that might...
View ArticlePivotal Classical Musical Moments of the 1960s
The 1960s was a period of confusion, violence and uncertainty. As wars raged and the marginalized demanded their voices be heard, various artistic media had their aesthetic assumptions challenged,...
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Every A+ Violin Needs an ‘F’: Why the Instrument Has Those Distinctive Sound...
The cover of my high school calculus text featured a close-up of a string instrument, with a particular focus on the sound hole. It was pretty slick cover art — although they’re unrelated, the integral...
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When Did WQXR Start Calling it 'Classical' Music?
In 1942, WQXR co-founder Elliott Sanger wrote an essay (“Who Likes Good Music?”) in which he argues people of various backgrounds and income groups listen to “good music.” What did he mean by “good”...
View ArticleWatch Two Opera Stars Record Their Voices on Edison Wax Cylinders
If rising vinyl sales are any indicator, a good portion of us crave a throwback, tactile listening experience. The Met Opera seems to have taken note, because earlier this year they, too, experimented...
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Hugo Fiorato, Founder of WQXR String Quartet, Dies at 97
The conductor and violinist Hugo Fiorato, a founding member of the WQXR String Quartet and a fixture with the New York City Ballet, died April 23 at the age of 97, The New York Times reports.In 1947,...
View ArticleFirst Hearing with Lloyd Moss: 20th Anniversary Show
"First Hearing," hosted by the late Lloyd Moss, featured a changing panel of experts who gave their opinions of new, unidentified recordings. On this, the show's 20th anniversary program, taped before...
View ArticlePierre Boulez at 90: Interviews from the NYPR Archives
Thursday marks the 90th birthday of the revolutionary composer and conductor Pierre Boulez. Famously outspoken on musical culture, he’s shared his views with New York Public Radio at various points...
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Listen: Van Cliburn's 1958 Broadcast Debut from Carnegie Hall
On May 19, 1958, some five weeks after winning the first Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Van Cliburn gave a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall that was broadcast live on WQXR.Joined by the Soviet...
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Lloyd Moss, WQXR Host for More Than 50 Years, Dies at 86
Lloyd Moss, a WQXR host of five decades who brought an irreverence and genial wit to the once staid universe of classical radio, died on Saturday at his home in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. He was 86 and had...
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WQXR Dabbled in Rock Music in 1969
It's 1969 on the new season of AMC's "Mad Men" and culture clashes are everywhere. Don Draper is making a shaky return to Sterling, Cooper & Partners. The patrician Roger Sterling is an LSD-taking...
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Throwback Thursday: WQXR Discusses 'The Lincoln Center' in 1961
Urban renewal projects were the great hope for the performing arts in 1961. For "Throwback Thursday," here's an excerpt from "A Year in Music," in which WQXR program director Abram Chasins and the...
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Margaret Juntwait, Former WNYC Host, Voice of Metropolitan Opera, Dies at 58
Margaret Juntwait, the former WNYC Radio announcer who became the first woman to host the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday Afternoon Radio Broadcasts, died on Wednesday of complications from ovarian...
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