Musician Lara Downes aims to highlight the work of composers like Harry T. Burleigh, photographed c. 1938. Granger Classical pianist Lara Downes knew she was onto something profound when audiences ...

Everyday, contemporary composers are making their mark on the sonic palette of classical music. Throughout history, there have been incredible examples of music, artforms, and creative cultures forged ...

Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. There will be a time when we’ll go to concerts again. We will buy our tickets, shuffle shoulder to ...

Actor Anthony Hopkins, 89 years old, has debuted as a classical composer. On the 21st, his first album *Life is a Dream* was ...

You’ve heard it all before. Classical music is dead. It’s one of our culture’s most enduring variations on a theme: that classical music is dying, or aging, or rusty or, at the very least, dusty. It’s ...

Classical organist Joy-Leilani Garbutt had just completed a rehearsal one evening last fall when she stopped by the Takoma Beverage Company. A fellow musician who runs the hangout spot thought Garbutt ...

Composer Missy Mazzoli, whose next opera will be premiered by the Washington National Opera in January. (Marylene Mey) NPR's recent list of the 150 greatest albums by women was inspiring — but where ...

It may be the longest, strangest trip the Grateful Dead's music has endured -- a performance by a symphony orchestra under the baton of a classical composer. By The Associated Press It may be the ...

Noted conductor Gustavo Dudamel leads the Philharmonica Orchestra on Hopkins' 12 compositions.

Well before the advent of the drum machine or even the piano, there was folk music. These rich musical traditions have been inspiring composers of art music for centuries. Let's whet our musical ...

Jessie Montgomery is having a moment. Several moments at once, actually. In the past several years, the 40-year-old composer and violinist has rapidly become a poster child for the shifting classical ...

Music commentator Miles Hoffman talks about the things some famous classical composers were not thankful for. Composers have also felt as though the world should be thankful for them. Over the years, ...