Music

Early opera recordings on wax cylinders 1900–1904, recorded by Lionel Mapleson.

Mystery recordings will now be heard for the first time in about 100 years

5:22am April 05, 2022

by Jennifer Vanasco

The New York Public Library recently received a machine that will read cracked and scratched wax cylinders — which include some of the earliest recorded audio.

Music & Culture

Encore: Barlow & Bear bring musical theater into the TikTok era

4:33pm April 04, 2022

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Grammy winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear of the group Barlow and Bear about breaking into musical theater via TikTok and their 'Bridgerton' musical.

Encore: Arooj Aftab considers her Grammy nods a triumph. But they won't define her

4:23pm April 04, 2022

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Grammy winner Arooj Aftab about finding musical inspiration in the words of the 13th-century Sufi mystic poet Rumi and about how her Pakistani heritage informs her work.

Conductor Marin Alsop talks about the joys and challenges of leading an orchestra

1:30pm April 04, 2022

by Terry Gross

Alsop talks about the rejection she faced on the way to becoming the first woman to lead a major American orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony. She's now the subject of a new documentary, The Conductor.

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Jon Batiste (center) performs at the 64th annual Grammy Awards on April 3, 2022. Batiste was nominated in 11 categories and took home five prizes, including album of the year.

Music & Culture

The Grammys make a clear statement: Sometimes feeling good is good enough

1:19pm April 04, 2022

The show, despite a delay caused by the pandemic and brief moments of seriousness, was mostly a highly professional, relentlessly energetic showcase for the pleasure of live music. Plus a few awards.

Jon Batiste accepts the Grammy for album of the year at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, presented Sunday, April 3 in Las Vegas. Batiste was the night's biggest winner by the numbers, with five awards including the night's final honor.

Jon Batiste and Silk Sonic take home major prizes at 2022 Grammys

1:15pm April 04, 2022

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

In a year of particularly wide-ranging nominees and competitive fields, bandleader Jon Batiste and the duo Silk Sonic came away with big prizes. Ukrainian president Zelenskyy also made an appearance.