Next week will see the release of the cast album of the Tony-nominated Broadway production of Porgy and Bess.  As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, the controversy over the style and scale of the musical is in keeping with the long history of the piece.  Here is the next Fishko Files…

With some good advice from her mother (“who needs Harvard?”), political dynamo Bella Abzug went to law school and later exploded on the political consciousness in the 1970s. As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, listening to Bella is still a powerful experience.  (Produced in 2008).

This coming Wednesday, a rare performance of the Busoni Piano Concerto will be heard at Carnegie Hall. As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, Busoni was a musician with a fantastic combination of gifts, musical styles and inspiring thoughts about music’s future. Here is the next Fishko Files.

As we say good-bye to April, which is National Poetry Month, WNYC’s Sara Fishko listens to recorded poets, and asks, how do their speaking voices compare to their poems?

As World War Two was ending in the mid 1940s, John Huston began to make a film for the US Army on veterans who’d been psychologically damaged in battle. As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, the film “Let There Be Light” was filled with gripping footage of ailing veterans.  But the film never saw the light of day until thirty-five years later.  Here is the next Fishko Files…

Next weekend The Little Orchestra Society will end its season with Sergei Prokofiev’s popular piece of 1936, Peter and the Wolf.  As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, millions of children listened to the narrated musical saga, which used the instruments of the orchestra to evoke its characters and action.  But that’s only part of the story…

Fifty years ago last week, a now-famous classical concert turned into a musical battleground – with very instructive results. WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells the story, in this edition of Fishko Files.

To the world in general, Leonard Bernstein was a great, multi-talented figure. But to New Yorkers, he was the conductor of our home-town orchestra, the New York Philharmonic.  WNYC’s  Sara Fishko spoke to five NY Phil players who had strong memories of “Lenny.” (originally produced in 2000). 

Miklos Rozsa was one of Hollywood's most celebrated composers. His work on film noir classics in the 40's and epic films in the 50's was, and still is, well known. But, as WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, it turns out Rozsa had another composing life.

A new staging of the play Death of a Salesman opened last night on Broadway, with incidental music by Alex North. The score goes back 63 years to the play’s original production.  In today’s Fishko Files, WNYC’s Sara Fishko has this appreciation of North’s musical gifts…

You have only two more weeks to see the “Photo League” photography show at the Jewish Museum, entitled “Radical Camera.”  As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, the League was not just a convenient place to meet other photographers. The “Photo League” was organized around a way of looking at the world. Here is the next Fishko Files.

Pianist Murray Perahia, as WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, has found Bach -- late in a stellar pianistic career. He talks about Bach, harpsichords, Horowitz and musical storytelling in this Fishko Files episode (originally produced in 2000).

This Sunday, the Motion Picture Academy gives out its Oscars, and the silent film “The Artist” is nominated in ten categories.  As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, that film is driven by a story engine that just won’t quit.  Here is the next Fishko Files…

Every musician is different; some love to play music that everyone knows, and others love to explore new musical horizons. In this archival edition of Fishko Files, Sara Fishko spoke to one pianist who has somehow managed to do both; and who's tried to open people's ears in the process (Produced during Pollini’s “Perspectives” series at Carnegie Hall, 2001).

Fifty years ago, in the simpler days of television, all three networks aired a tour of the White House led by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, a stunning number of Americans tuned in and took notice. Here is the next Fishko Files.

Awards season is in full swing; still to come: Annies (for animation), Grammies and Oscars. Winning one can be a thrill. But as WNYC’s Sara Fishko found out, how you handle winning the prize can be an art in itself. (Produced in 2001).

Next week, a 1950s English play opens off-Broadway that was more than just a play, says WNYC’s Sara Fishko. It was a cultural landmark that shook English class consciousness to its foundations.  A trip to post World War II Britain –in this episode of Fishko Files.