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Soundcheck

Friday, March 12, 2004
  • Joseph Volpe | Eugene Drucker
    Joseph Volpe | Violinist Eugene Drucker

    Met Life

    Joseph Volpe, the no-nonsense, Flatbush-born general manager of the Metropolitan Opera announced recently that he plans to retire in 2006. In his first broadcast interview since that announcement he sits down with host John Schaefer to discuss his rise from apprentice carpenter to become arguably the most powerful man in the performing arts world. During Volpe's four-decade tenure, the Met thrived both artistically and fiscally, all while he settled complex labor disputes and put big divas in their place. Also on the show is Eugene Drucker, violinist and founding member of the Emerson String Quartet. In the 1980’s, the quartet almost single-handedly attracted a new audience to the string quartet genre with its intrepid programming. This season it invites them along on further adventures in programs juxtaposing late Beethoven quartets with Haydn's "Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross" and Bach's "Art of Fugue."

Best Live Performances of 2008

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We revisit memorable in-studio performances from Toumani Diabaté, Cat Power, Regina Spektor, and others.

The Year in Music and Branding

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Pop music and advertising go together like peanut butter and jelly. Grey Group music director Josh Rabinowitz shares his picks for the best song picks and ad campaigns of 2008.

Critics Week

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Music writers look back at the year's best pop, rock, hip hop, classical, jazz, Latin and world albums. Plus: the worst music of the year and the best online music. Read our critics' lists here. And don't forget to cast your vote in our best-albums poll.

Noteworthy New York

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We have invited musicians and artists to help us select their favorite cultural destination in the neighborhood where they live. From parks and coffee shops to bowling alleys and museums, the options are as diverse as our group of contributors.