Tom Huizenga
Stories
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Music
What's past is present for Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov
The 86-year-old Kyiv native, living in exile in Berlin, has a new album of symphonic works that explores the idea of reminiscence.
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Music
Cellist Maya Beiser's variation on a minimalist manifesto
Armed with just her cello, a looping machine and a pair of percussionists, Beiser crafts a rendition of Terry Riley's pioneering In C that is equally mesmerizing and graceful.
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Music
28-year-old conductor Klaus Mäkelä will lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
When he takes over, in the fall of 2027, he will be the youngest music director in the orchestra's 133-year history.
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Music
Rediscovering the rigor of composers Julia Perry and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
A new album, American Counterpoints, reasserts the importance of two 20th century Black composers whose work has been neglected.
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Music
Seiji Ozawa, longtime conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died at 88
The pioneering Japanese-American conductor who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra for nearly decades died Tuesday.
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Books
NPR staffers share their non-fiction picks from Books We Love
NPR staffers recommend non-fiction reads from our Books We Love list: "On Minimalism," "Anansi's Gold," "Asian-Americans in an Anti-Black World," and "The Wager."
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National
After 12 years, pianist Awadagin Pratt rediscovers his sweet spot
Absent from the recording studio for more than a decade, the restless musician has commissioned six composers for his new album.
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National
Dvorak's beloved 'New World' symphony was an anthem to what American music could be
Antonin Dvorak's "New World Symphony" is an anthem to American roots. It was written by a foreigner and required white classical musicians to respect Black spirituals and Native American music.
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Music
'Dark with Excessive Bright' coaxes unusual sounds from a symphony orchestra
On her new album, Dark with Excessive Bright, the vibrant, young composer coaxes unusual sounds from a symphony orchestra.
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Music
Our biggest orchestras are finally playing more music by women. What took so long?
As the new concert season gets underway, composers and orchestra administrators say they are feeling a shift in whose music gets heard.