Recently, a debate broke out in the blogosphere over what are the "essential" minimalist recordings. In the New York Times, music critic Steve Smith recently nominated five seminal works by Philip Glass and John Adams. Writing on his blog, critic and composer Kyle Gann suggests a more offbeat selection, with ...

Legendary dance figure Merce Cunningham shares anecdotes and personal memories of his life partner John Cage, in video excerpts from an August 22nd, 2007 interview conducted by Laura Kuhn for WNYC.

 

Browse our web-exclusive materials, including videos of John Cage talking about and performing his music; a detailed timeline of events in Cage's life; some notable Cage quotes; interviews, and art.

Join us for 24:33, as WNYC's weekend overnight host Helga Davis guides us through 24 hours and 33 minutes of John Cage's recorded music, plus rare archival audio of interviews and live performances.

WNYC presents highlights from Rufus Wainwright's recent sold-out concert at the Gramercy Theater in New York, co-hosted by Bob Boilen of "All Songs Considered" and Jad Abumrad, host and producer of WYNC's "Radio Lab."

The concert features selections from Wainwright's latest CD, "Release the Stars" — his most impressively ornate album ...

WNYC presents this live broadcast of the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, as conductor David Robertson leads a powerhouse concert featuring Steven Mackey on the electric guitar for his concerto "Tuck and Roll," and pianist Orli Shaham in Gershwin's Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra.

On Tuesday, June 26, WNYC will join with other internet radio providers – including Yahoo!, Pandora.com, Rhapsody, and KCRW.org -- to observe a “Day of Silence,” to register our disagreement with a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board to significantly increase royalty rates for streaming music. WNYC2, our 24 ...

1955: "Rock Around the Clock," Bill Haley & His Comets
1956: "Hound Dog," Elvis Presley
1957: "Love Letters in the Sand," Pat Boone
1958: "Summertime Blues," Eddie Cochran
1959: "See You in September," the Tempos
1960: "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini," Brian Hyland
1961: "Runaway," Del Shannon
1962: ...

Every summer some ubiquitous tune lodges its way into your brain. It's the song that blares from every radio, television, cellphone, and apartment window. As Soundcheck debates what will be crowned this year's summer jam, we want to hear from you. Check out the contenders and

Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine

Some albums are more important than the music on them, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of them. Ambitious, unified, as engaging as it is challenging, Sgt. Pepper defined our expectations of what a great album should be. ...

Searching the files—or brain—of Michael Tilson Thomas is like taking a journey into the very heart of music and art. The Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony reminiscences about the music and the legendary artists of his career. Suzanne Vega hosts this eight-part musical odyssey, which ranges from ...

On June 1, 2007, The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" turns 40. Many critics still say it's the most important rock album ever; others say it's highly overrated. Check out what critics say, view a slide show, and discover fun facts.

Browse Features by Subject:
Pepper ...

WNYC presents The American Music Festival, an annual showcase of the great music of our land. This year, WNYC turns its attention to the current American musical vernacular and its many accents.

Listen on Demand

WNYC hosts John Schaefer, David Garland, Brad Cresswell and Lauren Rico spearhead a week-long series of conversations and great music, joined by guest hosts Robert Spano, George Steel, and Helga Davis. Special guests also include Osvaldo Golijov, Brandon Ross, Mark Stewart, and Arlene Sierra.

Saturday, May 26
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The 61st annual Tony Award nominations were announced May 15 by Tony Award winning actress Jane Krakowski and former "Rent" star Taye Diggs at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The awards recognize the best and brightest of the 2006-07 Broadway season. David Cote, theater editor at ...

Listen to the entire concert on npr.org
Listen to a sample of Björk's "Oceania"
Hear reviews of Björk's Volta on Soundcheck

Listen on demand to a broadcast of Icelandic singer Björk’s sold-out ...

During the week of April 30th, we'll present a one-hundred-and-fifteen-hour marathon of our favorite recordings of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde on our HD and Internet channel WNYC2 (and you thought Wagner was long before!).

In addition to Tristan, we'll feature recordings of other music directly inspired by Wagner's monumental opera. ...

WNYC presents The Tristan Mysteries, a week long in-depth examination of one of Richard Wagner's most brilliant and enigmatic operas. Highlights include interviews with playwright Terrance McNally; anthropologist Helen Fisher; adult film actress/"Vivid Girl" (and Wagner fanatic) Savanna Samson; choreographer Mark Morris; and acclaimed video artist Bill Viola.

Crafted as ...

Brush up your Wagner as Studio 360 offers a collection of highlights from WNYC's The Tristan Mysteries:

German composer Richard Wagner turned the love story of Tristan and Isolde into an epic opera. Epic as in, nearly 5 hours long, with almost no plot. Sometimes even the stars of the ...